87 replies to this topic

[payner]

Beautiful. Yes, the TOA is large, the packaging is much larger. Enjoy.

[Lentini]

The wife left the house 20 minutes before the brown truck pulled up.

 

 

 

Fate is on your side!

[Heywood]

OMG. What have I done?

 

The wife left the house 20 minutes before the brown truck pulled up. I've got everything unpacked and put away. She'll be home soon. Wish me luck.

 

 

You removed the counterweight ring???  I imagine it must be terribly front-heavy now.  Is that not so?

Edited by Heywood, 31 March 2025 - 08:20 PM.

[jrazz]

Brown dogs and TOAs... Good match!

 

 

[Ben Diss]

You removed the counterweight ring???  I imagine it must be terribly front-heavy now.  Is that not so?

 

Yea, it sure is, but once the imaging train is installed it'll be fine.

[Kitfox]

What did you decide you will you mount it on?  I like the weight ring on no matter what I have on the focuser; the shorter that end of the scope is, the longer I can run without a pier strike/flip.  And for visual ( ), the eyepiece is higher.  But that changes if your mount is marginal...that ring is heavy!

[Ben Diss]

What did you decide you will you mount it on?  I like the weight ring on no matter what I have on the focuser; the shorter that end of the scope is, the longer I can run without a pier strike/flip.  And for visual ( ), the eyepiece is higher.  But that changes if your mount is marginal...that ring is heavy!

It'll be going on a Mach2. That's a good point about avoiding a pier strike. I'll have to consider that when I mount it. I can always put it back on if it helps.

 

Thanks.

[SilverLitz]

It'll be going on a Mach2. That's a good point about avoiding a pier strike. I'll have to consider that when I mount it. I can always put it back on if it helps.

 

Thanks.

With the TOA150, I would recommend the AP1100 over the Mach2.  The TOA is very long and heavy and the weight is excessively distributed to the front lens cell, giving it a very long lever arm.

 

I have both an AP1100 and Mach2 and have a similar size scope (though more than 100mm longer), vintage SV152 w/ LZOS lens cell.  I am MUCH more comfortable with my SV152 on the AP1100.  I feel the SV152 and TOA150 are pushing the edge of the Mach2's performance envelope, due to its length and weight distribution.   My AP1100 with my SV152 beast consistently guides better than my smaller OTAs do on my Mach2.  The times in which the Mach2 perform better is when it is windy.

 

Sorry, I see that you already have a Mach2.  Be careful balancing the TOA, as the Mach2 is much more sensitive to balance than the AP1100.  I would recommend getting a 19" Losmandy plate and add as much weight as you can to the rear to offset the heavy front.  Do everything you can to have the TOA ride as high in the saddle as possible to reduce the possibility on contacting the tripod/pier.   With the TOA you could either get the Tak ring weight, or as I did put a Losmandy weighted clamp on the rear of the plate.  Mine also has a 3rd ring that I put on the rear with some my USB hub, to further get more weight to the rear.

Edited by SilverLitz, 02 April 2025 - 12:22 PM.

[Lagrange]

OMG. What have I done?

 

The wife left the house 20 minutes before the brown truck pulled up. I've got everything unpacked and put away. She'll be home soon. Wish me luck.

 

 

It came with a free dog? What a bargain!!!

 

Beautiful scope!

[Ben Diss]

With the TOA150, I would recommend the AP1100 over the Mach2.  The TOA is very long and heavy and the weight is excessively distributed to the front lens cell, giving it a very long lever arm.

 

I have both an AP1100 and Mach2 and have a similar size scope (though more than 100mm longer), vintage SV152 w/ LZOS lens cell.  I am MUCH more comfortable with my SV152 on the AP1100.  I feel the SV152 and TOA150 are pushing the edge of the Mach2's performance envelope, due to its length and weight distribution.   My AP1100 with my SV152 beast consistently guides better than my smaller OTAs do on my Mach2.  The times in which the Mach2 perform better is when it is windy.

 

Sorry, I see that you already have a Mach2.  Be careful balancing the TOA, as the Mach2 is much more sensitive to balance than the AP1100.  I would recommend getting a 19" Losmandy plate and add as much weight as you can to the rear to offset the heavy front.  Do everything you can to have the TOA ride as high in the saddle as possible to reduce the possibility on contacting the tripod/pier.   With the TOA you could either get the Tak ring weight, or as I did put a Losmandy weighted clamp on the rear of the plate.  Mine also has a 3rd ring that I put on the rear with some my USB hub, to further get more weight to the rear.

Yea, too late.  I do have the 24" Losmandy plate and plan to hang everything off the rear. I have the counterweight as well.

 

Thanks for the tips.

[ken30809]

Congratulations Ben! Very happy for you.

[briansalomon1]

Talk me off a cliff please.

 

I have jumped feet first into the deep end. I had a chance to pick up a Mach2 after passing on my place in line early last year. The mount arrived, I've figured out how to use it and have been imaging with my Edge 11". All is well, but I'd really like to have a wide field refractor for different targets.

 

I'm at a point in life where I don't mind dropping what just a few years ago would seem like insane amounts of money into this hobby. I figure these things are durable goods, capital assets that depreciate slowly, especially when purchased used. I'm young enough to use them for hopefully 10-15 years before I age out of the heavy equipment.

 

Having said all this, I've fallen in  love with the TOA-130/TOA-150 refractors even though I've never seen one, looked through one, or imaged with one. I figure if I'm going to get one, why not get the big one. I have a rig that doesn't get broke down every night. I roll it out to the driveway from the garage and roll it back in the next morning, so the weight and complexity of setup isn't a concern.

 

So, tell me why I'm crazy to think I should get a big, heavy Takahashi refractor for imaging in bortle 6 skies.

 

Thanks, and I look forward to comments.

 

-Ben

Seeing may or may not bother your imaging, but I regularly observe the differences (visually) that seeing has on both my 4" refractor and 15" dob. In 28 years all over southern California, I have seen only one night when the seeing supported what I consider great planetary views at 3000' and that was with a 4" refractor. I can get pretty decent views in the 15" dob at 6000'. All the great seeing I've had was under very dark skies in remote parts of the Mojave at between 8000' and 12,000'.

 

It's a great scope and I'd love to look through one, but it seems to me you'd need great seeing in order to get your money's worth out of the investment.
 

[t.r.]

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