40 replies to this topic

[BKBrown]

I just came in from spending a couple of hours getting acquainted with my new AT72EDII, and I have to say that I am impressed. The seeing was pretty poor, and a chilly wind forced me inside to put on a flannel shirt, but I had a satisfying session under the stars. Despite the seeing, transparency was excellent and I was able to go hard with the little scope. Started with Jupiter low in the west, but I was easily able to see a couple of equatorial belts and the four pinpoint Galilean moons. Moved on from there to the Beehive Cluster and it looked great in the TV 24mm Pan, so I kept it in and just swept for awhile...very nice! The stars were sharp pinpoints and looked beautiful. Later I hunted down M13, M5, and M3 and they looked very good in a TV 9mm Nagler, bright and well defined against a dark sky. So I am more than satisfied with the performance of the scope, and though I did not pick it up for imaging I think I will spring for the reducer/flattener...the optics are outstanding.

 

I currently own three scopes in this class: the AT72EDII, a WO ZS73 III, and a SW Evostar 72ED. All are fine performers, and some upcoming night when I can expect good seeing I will have a shootout just for fun. As far as I am concerned they have all earned a place in the stable.

 

 

Clear Skies,

Brian 

[freddylq]

Nice! I may just get one myself.

[maniack]

I don't know why you need 3 similar refractors, but the AT72EDII is definitely a keeper. It's probably my favorite scope even though I have others that are better at pretty much everything (C5 and C8 for reach and solar system, SV48P for wide field, and 50EDPH for portability). But the all-round performance that it provides in such a compact package is very hard to beat.

[scout]

I bought an AT72EDII a few months ago and love it. It's so sharp and color-free with the FPL-53 glass and is an ideal grab-and-go scope. I use it to split double stars, and the perfect Airy disk pinballs surrounded by a steady diffraction ring at crazy high powers is a beautiful sight.

 

During the day, leaves and birds look in high definition from hundreds of yards away, with no chromatic aberration or fuzzyness at all against the blue sky. 

 

On Astronomics' website, if you sort the refractors for sale by "best selling," the AT72EDII is number one, so it's a popular little scope.

[BKBrown]

I don't know why you need 3 similar refractors, but the AT72EDII is definitely a keeper. It's probably my favorite scope even though I have others that are better at pretty much everything (C5 and C8 for reach and solar system, SV48P for wide field, and 50EDPH for portability). But the all-round performance that it provides in such a compact package is very hard to beat.

We all have our reasons, and all of my scopes are gainfully employed. The AT72EDII will be used for imaging and as a super-finder on my field deployable kit. The other two 70mm class scopes are super-finders on my observatory visual and lunar/planetary imaging suite. I like powerful, flexible finder scopes 

 

 

Clear Skies,

Brian 

[PirateMike]

I could use a 72mm scope, as my first scope was the AT65EDQ. I loved that scope, but hurricane Maria ruined it.

 

I have a 60mm, an 81mm, a 100mm and the FMA 180 which is a 40mm. The 72mm would probably fit in nicely. Anyways, I'm itching for another new scope. 

 

 

Boys must have their toys.

 

 

Pirate

 

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Edited by PirateMike, 27 April 2025 - 12:24 AM.

[desertlens]

A gem indeed. The AT72EDII is a well made and capable small scope at a very fair price.

 

[ngc7319_20]

I don't know why you need 3 similar refractors, but the AT72EDII is definitely a keeper...

Agreed it's a keeper... I've got 3 of them...

[seasparky89]

I have one of the first releases, and use it for night and solar viewing (with my Quark Chromosphere and Herschel wedge). It's a great scope, and so easy to set up and use. the only issue with mine
is a rather loose dew shield for which I need to use a rubber band to keep in in place. Not a big deal.

Edited by seasparky89, 27 April 2025 - 11:27 AM.

[Oldfracguy]

 

I currently own three scopes in this class: the AT72EDII, a WO ZS73 III, and a SW Evostar 72ED. All are fine performers, and some upcoming night when I can expect good seeing I will have a shootout just for fun. As far as I am concerned they have all earned a place in the stable.

 

Clear Skies,

Brian 

I've owned a few AT72EDII scopes, and a few Zenithstar 81s.  I never tried the SW 72ED Evostar because it has a regular ED glass objective like the AT70ED, one of which I now have again  However, I have always wondered how the WO Zenithstar 73-III would do against an AT72EDII.  I think I remember reading a couple years ago that the Zenithstar 73-III either runs out of in-focus travel with a 2" diagonal and a 2" eyepiece or needs an extension tube for visual use with a 1.25" or T2 diagonal and 1.25" eyepieces, which is probably the reason I never tried one.  I do know for a fact that the AT72EDII will reach focus with any combination of diagonal and eyepiece, even with a TSFLAT2 and M48 Spacer in front of the 2" diagonal.  Here are some pictures I took with an AT72EDII and the eyepieces is focus:

 

 

 

 

 

   -------------------  continued  ---------------------

 

 

Edited by Oldfracguy, 27 April 2025 - 12:54 PM.

[Oldfracguy]

 

 

and my favorite perhaps for splitting double stars:

 

 

 

Edited by Oldfracguy, 27 April 2025 - 12:54 PM.

[russell23]

I generally use my AT72EDII if I think I only have a short observing session.  Typically I have used it with the 20mm Brandon because the eyepiece is light and balance is easy.  That gives 22x and a little over a 2 deg TFOV. 

 

That said, since putting the AT72 on an old Unitron mount I've started opening it up to use with 2" eyepieces because the Unitron mount allows better response to the unbalanced setup.  The 16.5mm XW does really well:  26x and a 3.2 deg TFOV.

[kmparsons]

I have always wanted the TV 76, but have always been put off by the price tag. The AT72EDII has only 4mm less aperture and the price is less than a third of the TV. How would the AT stack up in all-around performance vis-a-vis the TV? Thanks. 

[maniack]

I have always wanted the TV 76, but have always been put off by the price tag. The AT72EDII has only 4mm less aperture and the price is less than a third of the TV. How would the AT stack up in all-around performance vis-a-vis the TV? Thanks. 

It's hard to beat the AT72EDII in the doublet format. The 72 comes with the best glass possible (fluorite might be a tad better at considerable additional expense), with its FPL53 front element and its Lanthanum mating element.

 

Now the quality of the glass isn't the only thing, the quality of the figuring is also important. If I'm not mistaken Televue does this in house. The manufacturer of the AT72EDII is KUO which has a good reputation for quality, but this is where the Televue would still likely have an edge. But I doubt it would make enough of a difference to be noticeable at the eyepiece.

[kmparsons]

It's hard to beat the AT72EDII in the doublet format. The 72 comes with the best glass possible (fluorite might be a tad better at considerable additional expense), with its FPL53 front element and its Lanthanum mating element.

 

Now the quality of the glass isn't the only thing, the quality of the figuring is also important. If I'm not mistaken Televue does this in house. The manufacturer of the AT72EDII is KUO which has a good reputation for quality, but this is where the Televue would still likely have an edge. But I doubt it would make enough of a difference to be noticeable at the eyepiece.

Thank you! Given my previous experience with AT, I would be confident of the quality. 

[Jon Isaacs]

Now the quality of the glass isn't the only thing, the quality of the figuring is also important. If I'm not mistaken Televue does this in house. The manufacturer of the AT72EDII is KUO which has a good reputation for quality, but this is where the Televue would still likely have an edge. But I doubt it would make enough of a difference to be noticeable at the eyepiece.

 

 

It is my understanding that TeleVue assembles the scopes in house with Japanese Optics made to their specifications and the mechanical components are US Made.  

 

I recently acquired the AT-72ED IIs little sibling, the AT-70ED.  For my purposes the FK-61 glass is good enough, it's not really a planetary scope and I have an AT-80LE which is a 80mm F/6 FPL-53 Doublet.  

 

I am really liking the size and the build quality of the AT-70ED so I imagine the 72EDll is similar but better.

 

Jon

[Doug Culbertson]

The AT72EDII is my grab and go white light solar scope, and the last telescope that I would sell. This is my second one, and this one’s staying even as I more or less transition out of nighttime astronomy. 

 

 

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[chuckles]

An AT72edii was my first refractor. I loved that scope but sold it somewhere in the shuffle. It’s a really nice for quick looks, travel, or daytime spotting. My only complaint was how back heavy it was, but I was using a super lightweight mount which highlighted the issue. May have to get one of these again.

[Oldfracguy]

An AT72edii was my first refractor. I loved that scope but sold it somewhere in the shuffle. It’s a really nice for quick looks, travel, or daytime spotting. My only complaint was how back heavy it was, but I was using a super lightweight mount which highlighted the issue. May have to get one of these again.

That really becomes a problem when using a 2" diagonal and 2" eyepieces.  That's one of the reasons I like the AT70ED instead of the AT72EDII, although it's not as good optically.  That little mounting foot creates enough space between the OTA and an attached Vixen dovetail rail to slide the scope farther upward in the saddle to balance, even if the dovetail rail is positioned at the bottom, and the focus lock thumbscrew is still accessible.

 

 

 

Even though the AT72EDII has a pair of tube rings, they don't allow for adequate spacing between the OTA and the dovetail rail, and the short Vixen dovetail rail provided isn't long enough to mount the scope where it needs to be for balance fore and aft.  Some type of spacers or risers are needed along with a longer dovetail rail.  I tried mounting an AT72EDII on a SW AZ5 before.  You can see how far back the scope is, and it's way out of balance:

 

 

 

The focuser knobs hit the side of the mount before I could shove the scope far enough up in the saddle to balance.  If a set of risers has been installed that problem would have been solved.

Edited by Oldfracguy, 28 April 2025 - 11:53 AM.

[kmparsons]

That really becomes a problem when using a 2" diagonal and 2" eyepieces.  That's one of the reasons I like the AT70ED instead of the AT72EDII, although it's not as good optically.  That little mounting foot creates enough space between the OTA and an attached Vixen dovetail rail to slide the scope farther upward in the saddle to balance, even if the dovetail rail is positioned at the bottom, and the focus lock thumbscrew is still accessible.

 

101_3484.JPG

 

 

Even though the AT72EDII has a pair of tube rings, they don't allow for adequate spacing between the OTA and the dovetail rail, and the short Vixen dovetail rail provided isn't long enough to mount the scope where it needs to be for balance fore and aft.  Some type of spacers or risers are needed along with a longer dovetail rail.  I tried mounting an AT72EDII on a SW AZ5 before.  You can see how far back the scope is, and it's way out of balance:

 

101_1548.JPG

 

 

The focuser knobs hit the side of the mount before I could shove the scope far enough up in the saddle to balance.  If a set of risers has been installed that problem would have been solved.

Yep, ease of mounting is one of the reasons I am sticking with my AT70ED, even though it uses less premium glass than the AT72EDII. The optics are still very good, and with the lightweight AT 2" dielectric diagonal, it balances very easily and accommodates 2" eyepieces. 

[maniack]

I've found that a longer Svbony dovetail is just fine with the AT72EDII, no risers needed with my mounts.

[Oldfracguy]

I've found that a longer Svbony dovetail is just fine with the AT72EDII, no risers needed with my mounts.

Do you have to rotate the tube such that the focuser axis is at an angle to the horizontal?  I had to rotate the focuser on an AT72EDII about 30° or so in order for the fine focus knob to slide under the saddle with the scope pushed far enough forward to balance.  I have seen pictures of people mounting them with the focuser axis vertical, such as on a SW AZ-GTi mount.

 

One of the cool things about the new Astro-Tech Voyager III is that L-bracket that comes with the mount.  An AT72EDII would fit perfectly on that:

 

https://astronomics....t-az-mount-head

Edited by Oldfracguy, 28 April 2025 - 05:47 PM.

[maniack]

Do you have to rotate the tube such that the focuser axis is at an angle to the horizontal?  I had to rotate the focuser on an AT72EDII about 30° or so in order for the fine focus knob to slide under the saddle with the scope pushed far enough forward to balance.  I have seen pictures of people mounting them with the focuser axis vertical, such as on a SW AZ-GTi mount.

 

One of the cool things about the new Astro-Tech Voyager III is that L-bracket that comes with the mount.  An AT72EDII would fit perfectly on that:

 

https://astronomics....t-az-mount-head

You're right, I do have to rotate the focuser slightly to clear my mount saddles. All of my mounts are configured to have the OTA on the right side, so the single speed knob is the one that gets blocked while the dual-speed knobs are easily accessible.

[rfcooley]

Love mine have had it 2 years. Dress for outreach.

 

                                             

 

RF

 

[BRCoz]

I really like mine. I replaced the dovetail with a red one.  It didn't need it, I just like the red.