37 replies to this topic

[grif 678]

After 75 years on this earth, I just bought my first Tele Vue, a small 70mm ranger. I like the idea of being a small scope, and I hope it lives up to its reputation.  Should arrive in about a week. 

[jimtaka]

Grid, hello, jimtaka. I’m a dedicated takahashi guy having spent 30+ years owning several. Two years ago during Covid internship I strayed and became enamored with a Televue pronto for sale. Great deal for me, price condition, great guy selling. Still feel great about the purchase! That nice specimen of pronto is my go-to grab n go. 2 minutes and I’m exploring the universe with that 70mm optic! Been a wonderful time! Good images, sharp, fun! The quality is obvious, focuser is smooth and top notch. A year passed and I encountered a big brother 4” Genesis! Bought and added to my stable. The fast optic provides for wide views, coupled with a 35mm panoptic, or 27mm eyepcs throws up great views! Sweeping the Milky Way is great fun! 4” refractors are a “sweet spot”. Apparently Al Nagler used this configuration as his personal choice for viewing the sky. Having used Takahashi refractors over the years has refined my appreciation for quality instruments. I now understand why Televue has dedicated users and followers. I include myself in this group! Clear, dark skies, jimtaka

[RalphMeisterTigerMan]

Good for you.! The 70mm Ranger would make a great grab-and-go sope! Just a little piece of advice, use decent 1.25-inch eyepieces. After all, you have a really good scope so use really good eyepieces. You wil thank yourself.

 

Clear skies and keep looking up!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

[MortonH]

After 75 years on this earth, I just bought my first Tele Vue, a small 70mm ranger. I like the idea of being a small scope, and I hope it lives up to its reputation.  Should arrive in about a week. 

They have a little bit of false colour but they're very sharp. I love mine.

[LDW47]

They have a little bit of false colour but they're very sharp. I love mine.

What does 'little bit of f...' mean, eh.

[KerryR]

I have a Pronto (same glass), which I adore. But, I think the Ranger is overall a more functional design for the aperture- I very rarely use 2" eyepieces with the Pronto, and it's heft requires a stiffer/larger mount than I'd prefer for the aperture. I think you'll be really happy with the Ranger- so much more compact and easy to mount on something light, while keeping focus wiggles to a minimum.

[scotsman328i]

What does 'little bit of f...' mean, eh.

The Ranger is a Semi APO, not full APO. I have the TV76 APO and have no false color and no CA seen to the eye. The Pronto was another Semi APO. Televue used the ED glass for those two models. They moved to their ‘SD’ glass for the 76, 85, 101, 102 (now out of production) and 127. 

Edited by scotsman328i, 20 March 2025 - 08:39 AM.

[LDW47]

Te Ranger is a Semi APO, not full APO. I have the TV76 APO and have no false color and no CA seen to the eye. The Pronto was another Semi APO. Televue used the ED glass for those two models. They moved to their ‘SD’ glass for the 76, 85, 101, 102 (now out of production) and 127. 

Thats all good but what is the degree of false color mean to ones eyeball ie 'little bit'. I have seen that description before on some of mine but when I looked I saw nothing, so just trying to gleen the actual view affects. I always think of 'a little bit of' as being a pretty fine line description that is sometimes superflous, maybe the poster, the owner would appreciate knowing their new scope.

Edited by LDW47, 20 March 2025 - 08:45 AM.

[scotsman328i]

Thats all good but what is the degree of false color mean to ones eyeball ie 'little bit'. I have seen that description before on some of mine but when I looked I saw nothing, so just trying to gleen the actual view affects. I always think of 'a little bit of' as being a pretty fine line description that is sometimes superflous, maybe the poster, the owner would appreciate knowing their new scope.

Yeah man, I gather some blue or purple fringing on the moon or brighter planets. I really can’t say. These other guys who own the Pronto or Ranger can answer that. Maybe stars are a little on the bluer side also? 

[LDW47]

Yeah man, I gather some blue or purple fringing on the moon or brighter planets. I really can’t say. These other guys who own the Pronto or Ranger can answer that. Maybe stars are a little on the bluer side also? 

Many times you can take that little bits of stuff out with a proper filter, if it bugs. Its part of those small challenges, the fun of astronomy.

[KerryR]

On bright white targets, like the limb of the moon or a white seagull, purple fringing is easily detected. On Jupiter, fringing is far more subtle, but present. Star colors, think Albireo, are generally not visibly affected. I find I can very easily mentally tune out the color fringing I see in my Pronto, while I have a much more difficult time with my 70mm f9 achromat.

 

I think referring to the Pronto and Ranger as "ED" (or semi-apo) scopes is probably misleading relative to the current market; these days "ED" generally suggests no (or very, very minimal) color error for visual use. Back when the Pronto and Ranger came out, tiny aperture semi-apos weren't really much of a thing yet , so the label was, perhaps, more applicable then than it is now. These days, the Pronto and Ranger don't really qualify as "ED" scopes, and the difference between them and a modern ED is not subtle. Given how much worse fringing is on my 70mm f9 achro, I suspect the Pronto and Ranger do indeed have better color correction than they would if they were made from crown and flint, but I'm far more comfortable referring to them as "very well corrected achromats" than "ED".

Edited by KerryR, 20 March 2025 - 09:09 AM.

[sw196060]

I owned a few TV scopes in the past (TV102, TV85, TV76, TV101) and regretted selling them.  I have recently acquired another classic white TV-85 with mag-wheel focus knobs.

I love it.  I find it hits my GnG sweet spot and is a most handsome scope.   No arguments having it sit in the living room for awhile.

[scotsman328i]

I owned a few TV scopes in the past (TV102, TV85, TV76, TV101) and regretted selling them.  I have recently acquired another classic white TV-85 with mag-wheel focus knobs.

I love it.  I find it hits my GnG sweet spot and is a most handsome scope.   No arguments having it sit in the living room for awhile.

Nice! 

[Dougfish]

In contrast to jimtaka, I’ve been a Tele Vue guy for the past quarter century or so, and am now awaiting my first Tak, an FC1000DZ that I ordered during their sale. I’m looking forward to comparing views, especially against my NP-101is. I told myself that something would have to get sold, but I might not wind up believing myself. 

[RalphMeisterTigerMan]

An adendum to my original post. An old observing buddy of mine bought the "pronto" back in the day, I know it's not the same thing but same optics. One particular observing session he was lamenting that fact that everyone else on the observing field had a bigger scope and more aperture than he did. So I thought to myself, "he's my chance to make an amateur feel really good about his scope". 

 

So I said to him, "I'll be there pronto to save your Pronto". I inserted my 2-inch 20mm Nagler type II into the focuser. I could not believe the rich field views under our dark sky site. I said to him, "see what your scope excels at". He fell in love with his "little scope" all over again! Unfortunately, I can't remember all the "wide field beauties" we looked, but that little scope really performed.

 

I know your Ranger has a different configuration, but with the proper wide-field eyepieces you will get some fantastic views. I hope you have many years of enjoyment with your Ranger!

 

Clear skies and keep looking up!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

[John Huntley]

I owned a few TV scopes in the past (TV102, TV85, TV76, TV101) and regretted selling them.  I have recently acquired another classic white TV-85 with mag-wheel focus knobs.

I love it.  I find it hits my GnG sweet spot and is a most handsome scope.   No arguments having it sit in the living room for awhile.

I acquired a pre-owned TV 85 last year. My first TV scope since I parted company with a Ranger several years back. I miss the Ranger from time to time but the TV 85 is more than making up for it. The build quality and feeling of "it will outlast me" is very reassuring. It's an excellent performer for it's aperture too 

[Tony Flanders]

The Tele Vue Ranger was my first "serious" telescope -- or, more accurately, the first one that I put to genuinely good use. That was 28 years ago, and I still use it quite a lot.

 

Yes, it shows lots of false color on bright objects; Venus is genuinely technicolor. And I've always had trouble both with the drawtube and the weird mounting rail slipping, no matter how hard I crank the screws down. But it's delightfully simple, light, and compact, and mighty sweet for deep-sky observing within the limitations of its aperture. No slouch on planets or double stars either -- again within the limits of its aperture.

[Tyson M]

I love tele vue scopes. The build quality feels so nice. Size relatively small.

[John R.]

There seems to be a spike in interest in 70mm refractors. Several post's about Rangers, Prontos and a thread about the cheap as chips AT70ED. As well as the SkyWatcher 705 a 70x500 achromat (unfortunately not offered by them in the US market.) Even garden variety 70mm 'Backpack' refractors sold by Celestron, Svbony, Spectrum and Gskyer to name a few, all mostly in the $100 range, are popular. 

I believe Grab and Go has taken on greater urgency as our sky deteriorates.  

[tony_spina]

Welcome to the TV Ranger club. Great little scope that gives wonderful wide field views with 2" eyepieces. I was lucky enough to have Al Nagler sign my Pronto.

 

My Ranger pictured with its sibling TV Pronto  

 

 

 

[jimtaka]

Hi all, Jimtaka. Dogfish, tough to sell scopes!? Especially when you’ve shared time together, under the stars. Corny? Maybe. Just me maybe? The beautiful Pronto residing a top a vintage Towa alt-az mount w/ nice slow motion controls, sits not 8 feet away from the kitchen door! The Mrs. is all good! Very important! Because when we venture out she’s got our eyepiece case in one hand! I’m right behind carrying our beloved grab n go! Easy makes for fun! Pull up a few chairs and get out a beverage or two…let our fun begin! Wonderful hobby we’ve chosen! Clear dark skies, be well all, Jimtaka

[jimtaka]

Dougfish, sorry miss spelled your tag!?! Old guy! Jimtaka

[jimtaka]

Dougfish, sorry miss spelled your tag!?! Old guy! Jimtaka

[gjanke]

 

Welcome to the TV Ranger club. Great little scope that gives wonderful wide field views with 2" eyepieces. I was lucky enough to have Al Nagler sign my Ranger.

 

Pictured with its sibling TV Pronto  

 

Do you mean you were lucky enough to have Al sign your Pronto?

[MortonH]

The Tele Vue Ranger was my first "serious" telescope -- or, more accurately, the first one that I put to genuinely good use. That was 28 years ago, and I still use it quite a lot.

 

Yes, it shows lots of false color on bright objects; Venus is genuinely technicolor. And I've always had trouble both with the drawtube and the weird mounting rail slipping, no matter how hard I crank the screws down. But it's delightfully simple, light, and compact, and mighty sweet for deep-sky observing within the limitations of its aperture. No slouch on planets or double stars either -- again within the limits of its aperture.

I wouldn't say "lots" of false colour but there's definitely some.

 

Regarding the mounting rail, my scope was bought used and the rail had been replaced by rings. I later replaced the rings with a 3" clamshell (same size as used by the Pronto, TV-76 and TV-85). The clamshell adds some weight but it's much easier to rebalance now.

Edited by MortonH, 21 March 2025 - 07:52 PM.