Greetings for York, UK

[mark]

Hi All

Thought I;d quickly introduce myself.

I'm the proud owner of a Perseus 150 f10, which I was able to acquire used at a very (rude to refuse!) reasonable price.

Although I've always had an interest in astronomy, I only bought my first scope (a Celestron 8SE - now gone to a new home) in February 2012, so I'm very much a newb still (and hope always to retain this sense of wonder and awe at all the new things I see and learn). The 8SE was a great scope and really fired my enthusiasm through the first months of observing, but I always felt it wasn't quite what I wanted. I then bought a TAL100RS - this really began my conversion to becoming a refractor fan. For some reason the scope really fit my "mental template" of what a telescope should look like, and I enjoyed the views through it more than I did the 8SE (despite the drop in aperture). I loved the pinsharp stars right across the field, and I found that the colour issue I had read so much about was really not a problem, and barely noticeable except on the brightest object - I actually quite like it! 

Anyway, in addition to the TAL100RS (at f10), I have a TAL125R (f8.9), a Skylight 100mm f13, a Skywatcher Equinox 80mm APO PRO (f6.25) and now my Perseus 150 f10. 

The Istar is so well built that it makes the already robust TAL125 seem like a tinny toy! Loving it so far, and its mounted on my AZEQ6GT  - adequate, but not perfect. I need a finder now - going to have to drill some holes in the tube - not looking forward to that - I assume the baffles are where the screws are (so I can avoid them)? Any suggestions on a good finder to match this fantastic scope gratefully received (was thinking along the lines of a 9x50 raci possibly).

Hope to learn more bout the Istars and how they perform, as well as observing in general from you all. Thanks to UKJohn for the heads up on the scope and this fourm!

Cheers,

Mark

EDIT: Thread title should read "Greetings FROM York etc." - can a kind moderator please change? Otherwise, please accept my apologies for rubbish typing skills

[Mike]

and hope always to retain this sense of wonder and awe at all the new things I see and learn

Mark, I've been observing the night skies since my grandmother bought me a 60mm refractor at 6 years old. When I spend a night out, just last Saturday night, I still experience the same thrill and wonder 44 years later. When the astronomy passion grabs you, it never lets go. Yesterday I got the UPS confirmation that my new iOptron mount has been shipped. With that news I danced around the room like a child, of course no one was there to see it. Point is, that new mount will enhance my observing and imaging experience which gives me just a big a thrill as that 60mm refractor did all those years ago.

It was nice to hear your story. I wish more would tell us theirs. I've always regarded GB as the "motherland" of astronomy (I know Galileo was Italian). No group has advanced astronomy through the ages like GB. After all, you guys produced Sir Patrick Moore the modern day father of amateur astronomy. I buy a copy of the BAA Handbook every year. Actually, looking at their website yesterday I was anticipating becoming a member but still haven't decided at $72 US. Then, an additional $30 for their publication to be snail mailed to me here in the US. I see you're from York but more importantly have you been to Stonehenge?

Mike

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[woaussie]

Mark; You might consider a Telrad finder. I have one on my refractor and the nice part is no hole drilling. You can also get a riser for them so you do not have to get right on top of it. They also have a pulsar kit to have the circles blinking on off while viewing so you can still see the object. You can control the speed of the flash and brightness.
I would think they are available over there you might look into them. Just another idea. Thanks

Bill

[bn1777]

Hi Mark and welcome from down under , nice selection of scopes you have there , definatly a refractor man !and Istar are among the best out there.
Looking forward to first light reports .
Brian

[mark]

Hi all!

Thanks for the telrad suggestion, Bill. I'll look into it. And thanks for the welcome Mike (and for posting the pic - useful to see where to drill if I decide to do that) - oddly enough I;ve never been to Stonehenge, but you should look-up Avebury and Silbury Hill - magnificent sites, equally if not more impressive than Stonehenge! And thanks for the welcome from Aus, Brian (been reading about your Istar build with interest over on another forum).

Had only limited chances to use the 6" Perseus f10 recently, but a recent fantastic wide-field view of the double cluster really stayed in my mind! Lovely sharp stars, and so many of them!

Will post more when I get a chance . By the way, Mike, just wanted to say that the TCR semi-truss 'scopes look really interesting! Good luck with all that! Realised I could get 8 inches of aperture at f12 for the same weight as the perseus 6" f10! Maybe something to bear in mind for the future!

Cheers all and thanks for the warm welcome,

Mark

[Kitch101]

Hello Mark and Welcome !

For a finder to suit the Perseus F10 perfectly you can't do better than a Stellarvue F60M2 RACI, the optics are excellent and they look perfect on the big Istar, same charcoal colour and all. as for mounting, rather than drilling into the OTA, get 2 Skywatcher 160mm rings instead, a nice solid way to mount the finder and a bit of extra weight on the bottom of the scope means you can slide the tube up further. Also a set of brass sliding tubeweights is a great addition.

Here is a picture of my previous setup: (with a Vixen finder which was later replaced with the Stellarvue)

[ukjohn]

Hi Mark,

Sorry I missed your introduction post - especially after recommending this forum !

On my Perseus 6" F/12 tube I had 3 holes in a line already drilled into the tube between the last baffle and the focuser. I've been able to find a Skywatcher / Vixen finder shoe with holes drilled both along and across the tube (ie: a + shaped pattern of holes) and they matched a pair of the holes already in the tube. It was therefore easy to fit the finder shoe so I can use my Orion 8x50 RACI finder on it.

I don't think the 3 holes in the tube are a standard feature though but I was intrigued to see 3 holes in precisely the same positions on the scope that was reviewed in the Sky at Night Magazine in the UK, here is a link:

www.istar-optical.com/sky-at-night-magazine-review.html

The picture of the tube on the 2nd page of the review shows the 3 holes - I do wonder if the optical tube I have is the same one that was used for the review ?.

If you don't have any pre-drilled holes, I guess the tube will drill OK with some sensible precautions such as removing the focuser.

I'm still working on a longer term mounting solution for my scope but I have a cunning plan which I hope will give me a sturdy traditional mount in keeping with the style of the scope.

Cheers,

John