My Takahashi FS128 Refractor .......

[Kunama]

Here is my 'New to Me' almost mint condition Takahashi FS128 F8.1 @ 1040mm Fluorite Apochromat
The previous owners especially Steve B. and Ian&Melinda took very good care of this beautiful fluorite refractor and can rest assured it will be well cared for.

I bought it from Ian and to my great surprise upon getting it home, my wife decided she would reimburse me the cost of it as a 30th wedding anniversary present :thanx: .
(That means I am not allowed to sell it either ...:question: )

The scope came with an equally impressively dimensioned super strong roadcase.
In fact it was too big and to fit into the car for future travel needed to be put on a diet (some amputation in fact was needed).
Originally 1310mm x 410mm x 350mm, I set to work and drilled out a thousand rivets to separate it into single components.
After 10 hours of work here it is at a rather more svelte 1200mm x 300mm x 340mm and now fits beautifully into its spot in the car.

[Kunama]

The plan for the scope is Baader ClickLock visual back + Zeiss Prism diagonal + Denk II + XFs& Panoptics

Still waiting for the next batch of Zeiss prisms to be finished and sent out....

Really hanging out for 'First Light'

[FlashDrive]

I'll bet you are :thumbsup: ... I would to ...

Col .... :D

[RickS]

Congrats, Matt! You're a lucky guy.

[Kunama]

Cheers guys, Col I have your old GSO Alt Az here, do you think it will hold 10 kg?????

[DavidTrap]

Very nice! She's gotta be a keeper (and the wife too!)

I'm imaging at the moment with her little sister - FS-102.

DT

[Larryp]

Nice acquisition Matt!

[MortonH]

Very, very nice :)

[Kunama]

The roadcase mid surgery, lid still had to be cut down to 1200 x 300.
There are actually 320 rivets in the case, total of case rebuild $25 for rivets and $50 for replacement riveting pliers.

Getting the foam inserts tomorrow.

[strongmanmike]

Niiice pick up Matt :thumbsup: Martin Pugh used to use one of those :)

Mike

[LewisM]

Hmmmm, a slightly dishevelled garage, and he has the hide to give me lip about my (previous) garage....

Love the scope though. Trade ya for an FSQ106ED? :D

[issdaol]

Hi Matt,

Congratulations on you new Scope. Another Tak by coincidence I see :-)

I would be very interest in hearing your opinion on how you think this compares to your prior TSA120.

My son is using my TSA120 so I don't get much use of that at the moment.

I have a Baader solar wedge which needs a APO to sit on so I am in the market for another APO.

I am able to get one of these FS128's at a very good prices but I read in some reviews that the TSA120 and TOA130 outperform these older units by a noticeable amount.

If you think the performance is not that different then I might be able to save myself a few $$$

Cheers

[Kunama]

Hi Phil,
To be honest I haven't looked through this one yet, judging by the cloud cover, it won't happen overnight either .......... but it will happen :lol:

The previous times I used an FS128 was too long ago to fairly compare to the Teaser120. If the weather clears I might have to bring it over to try on your mount. I am still without a suitable mount. Trying to decide and waiting for a couple of quotes.

Cheers,

[casstony]

I read a review which concluded that there was negligible difference in visual performance between the 120 triplet and 128 doublet.
Ian is also getting a 120 so it'll be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on these two scopes.

[issdaol]

I say we all put them together side by side and see for ourselves one night :-)

Give me 6-8 months and I will offer my property as the testing site. Entry price is Scope & Mounts and other needed bits and a nice Shiraz to share later :-)

[cometcatcher]

Nice. A 5 inch APO would be my dream scope.

[FlashDrive]

Nah ... not steady enough ..... it'll hold it ... but you'll get ' shake ' when you manual focus ..... and if it's a ' big ' refractor your putting on it .... won't reach the Zenith .... tube will hit top of tripod before vertical.

Col......

[LewisM]

Agreed. It's a shake-o-matic worse luck. The CHinese copy Takahashi, and they couldn't even get that right :)

Once you get focus it's OK... kinda... I still canot believe you sold the T Rex Matt!!!

I still have a lovely GPD2.... well, not for much longer seeing someone wishes to buy it it seems.

[Allan]

I just got home from IISAC where I got to check out Hugh's astro set up. That TSA-120 is one beautiful telescope. His image of the Carina Nebula is one of the best photos I have ever seen.

The visual performance of the FS scopes are legendary, and I would be interested to hear your comparison between them.

[Kunama]

Finally got to use the FS128 today :astron: , set it up with the Baader 2" Clicklock Hershel Prism and a Panoptic 27mm. Even with the clouds flying by it was excellent viewing. Great detail on the sunspots and and surface granulation. Certainly in this guise it is a match for the TSA120 but nighttime use will be the true test.

Finally got around to cutting in the foam for the case as well:
The case holds the OTA, Clamshell tube holder and the 14" Robin Casady Dovetail bar just perfectly. Thankfully the case also has wheels

[issdaol]

Fantastic :-) Cant wait to hear your thoughts on the night use. Although the latest report is rain on the weekend for Canberra so we all know who is to blame :P

[Kunama]

Finally got to use the FS128 last night. Having not looked through one for about 10 years, I was very impressed.
I think the difference between the FS128 and the TSA120 'in-focus' view is so small it is not worth mentioning. 'Out of focus' pattern show the predictable purplish tinge but I have never known anyone who prefers to view the heavens out of focus, so the difference is inconsequential.

The sharpness and contrast seem to my 57 year old eyes to be on par with the TSA120. I only viewed M42, Mars, Omega Cent.
I viewed it initially 'warm' straight from house to outside, then checked it every 5 minutes till at 25 minutes the view was the same as at 20 minutes and had settled nicely. I think it cools down in nearly half the time of the TSA.

Can't really tell if the extra 8mm aperture makes a 'real' difference without having the 2 scopes side by side.

All in all very happy with the scope. :D

[Daniel Mounsey]

Kunama,
That's a wonderful instrument.
Best wishes,
DoctorD

[Kunama]

Hey Daniel,
Thanks, looking forward to many happy nights together with it :D

I saw your comparison thread got pulled, shame really as there are so many interested in the results. If you do get around to doing a write-up please let me know,
Matt

[Allan]

One of the best CN posts was Daniel's 4" APO Hyper Shootout. I have read it many times now and it continues to entertain me.

[LewisM]

Good stuff Matt.

I usually align the mount for the FSQ106 when the scope is still not acclimatised. Even then, the intra and extra focal patterns are astounding and sharp! NO colour whatsoever, What an instrument Tak makes. I thought my FL102S was brilliant (which it still is), but the FSQ blows it away.

Just waiting on my extender from Peter Tan to arrive. Then I will have a visual instrument, as well as an f/5 astrograph and an f/3.64 hyper-astrograph :)