Posts Made By: Jay Gamble

Steve,

I'll offer my perspective as a GM-8 and G-11 owner to your specific question. I have a Tak FC100 and FS152, but once had an AP130 doublet which is similar in weight/size to the FS128.

IMHO, the GM-8 is not stable enough for a 5" refractor for my tastes. But there are trade-offs to consider. If you must travel frequently to dark sites, the GM-8 is a lot less mount to handle all the time. You may compromise then on stability. If you observe primarily from your backyard as I do (nice dark skies), the G-11 offers a dramatic difference in stability for a 5" refractor.

RE: Tak mounts. Know that you are paying for precision drive gear machining and low PE for imaging in Tak mounts. Since your concern is load capacity related for visual use, either the Losmandy G-11 or the Celestron CGE as mentioned will suffice nicely. Put your savings into EPs and 2" diagonal.

Attached is a picture of a G-11 on my home-made wheeley bars with pneumatic tires that rolls very easily anywhere. It is always set-up. The driveway has index marks so that it is 95% aligned when parked. The tires are from Grainger's catalog, and the frame is channel iron. Less than $100 in it, and far superior to "wheeley bars" which I had previously owned.

My $.02 for your consideration.

Jay

Steve,

My take on your question, a M210 vs. FS-128 re: aperture. I owned a M210 for a year when I also had a 5" AP 130. I used them side-by-side many times on separate mounts.

IMO, there is some gain in the M210 vs. a 5" refractor, but it wasn't enough for me. If you said you had a FS102 instead of a FS-128, I would tell you differently, a nice compliment to each other. (I have a FC-100.) You might ask "why?" as the light gathering ability as a function of area in the M210 is over 100% more than the FS-128. IMHO, its because an 8" M210 is just barely "there" as a DSO aperture.

From my perspective, if you plan to keep your FS-128, and you want more DSO detail, consider a 10" if you have the mount for it. FWIW, my aperture now is with a FS-152 & a C14, but I still use the FC-100. Why? Because it uses a lot less mount (and time), and both will be a consideration if you go to 10".

#1 plus of the M210 for me: ease & pleasure of use - light weight, compact, good finder, no corrector plate, OK on small mounts: EM-10, GM-8 or alt-az, fast cool-down, 8" is a versatile "one scope" aperture, and zenith viewing with the M210 is enjoyable. No collimation issues, but don't drop the hex wrench.

#2 plus: good planetary & lunar performance, but you already have a FS-128.

My $.02 FWIW,

Jay

Tough question, but my $.02 based on my Tak ownership experiences and taking your basic premise, "the scope must be portable," as a driving (no pun) consideration.

IMHO, the "under 35-40 lbs" for the scope alone might seem semi-portable by many after you add in the mounting requirements, etc. You aren't traveling very light. Will you go to the handling effort time and time again?

Visual only: Mewlon 180 or Mewlon 210, 7"-8" aperture, very light weight, very light mounting needs, compact, travels well, collimates well, versatile size.

Imaging primary & visual secondary: probably TOA-130, but I'm slumming along OK with a FC100 and its f/5.9 reducer.

Tak scopes owned today: FS152, FC100, FC60. Other brands: C14

Formerly owned and gonna get again one day: M210 after selling something, but none of the above...go figure, can't have just one scope... ;-))

You probably won't be disappointed in these binoculars. They are very good IMHO. I've used mine ~7x since receiving them in August and am very pleased with them.

I have a pair of Nikon 12x50 SEs for comparison, and they fare well... not selling either pair. Stars seem sharp in the AP for ~75-80% of the FOV.

Monday night I was viewing comet Swan with both the AP 15x70s and a TMB 115 w/ a TMB 40mm Paragon (20x). The binocular views were quite nice and equally as enjoyable.

For lots of quantitative info, see Ed Z's reviews and data on CN. For enjoyment, just get a pair. I use a Bogen 3221W tripod and lightweight fluid head, works nice.

You might consider adding these 3-4 "near-required" SCT dew survival tools, and you'll probably have the whole night available for your enjoyment.

1.) dew shield (many choices available)

2.) controller unit & heater strip (see DewBuster, Kendrick, AstroZap)

3.) deep cycle battery & trickle charger (use a separate power source from your mount)

4.) small hair dryer (optional, use on low setting, ~2' away)

Set the dew controller on the lowest setting that keeps the corrector clear. This will vary on different nights. You'll learn to "feel" the RH in the air, and have a sense of how high to start out. On the wettest nights, the transparency can be so-so anyway and observing is negatively affected.

Pay attention to the first signs of the corrector fogging. You can often put the objective cover on, turn the heat up, and in ~5 minutes the objective will be clear again. I do this more than using a hair dryer (inc. last night).

I've used the above with a C-8, a C-9.25 and now with a C-14 which has a big corrector and will dew over quickly without the above standard equipment.

HTH...

Jay

Jason,

There are a couple of reasonably priced options for you to have a "new" tube.

1.) Call Art or Fred at TNR and inquire about purchasing a new tube. Sometimes they have them in stock and they are around ~$135 +/- IIRC + shipping.

2.) Check with a quality auto body shop for a quote for a new paint job. There are a lot of paint guys doing excellent work including custom work and work on high end cars. Look for someone who will get it right, then:

a. Unscrew the lens cell and focuser. Take them the tube only.

b. Request that they mask off the threads on both ends.

c. Request that they completely mask the opening. No spray inside the tube.

3.) You also have one other option for your "bad tube." That is to have the tube cut-down by about 40mm (NSV length) at a machine shop. Cut the focuser end, you have room behind the last baffle, and have them rethread the end.

Then, get it re-painted at the auto body shop. With a little more in-focus travel, you can dump the Tak 1.25" ocular adapter which I detest, install the CAA, install the Tak 2" compression ring visual back, and use a 2" diagonal with 1.25" adapter and have most all of your eyepieces come to focus.

If your FS-102's optics are fine, spend a few dollars to get the tube looking new, and then buy a CASE for it. The FS-102 is a fine scope.

My $.02 on how I would approach the problem,

Jay

I have shipped many items overseas, and will consider it for most items I sell (not a C-14, obviously).

In my view, overseas shipping MUST be on YOUR TERMS since you are RESPONSIBLE as the seller for the shipment getting to the buyer by the method chosen for delivery of the goods.

If you are to protect yourself and have a good transaction in the end, then making a good shipping choice at the outset is important. If the buyer is unwilling to agree to your shipping terms, then politely refuse the sale.

1.) Ship only by Global Priority Air Mail or courier service. Anything else is a 4-6 weeks delivery.

You can research Global Mail on the USPS site in ~3 minutes. Typically, about $10.00 for a 2 lb package and $40.00 for 10 lb package IIRC.

My experience is that I can ship to Europe or Australia and have it arrive faster than shipping to Canada every time. This could be a customs delay.

2.) For insurance (if available, depending on the service) and for customs declarations, declare the used fair market value, i.e., the selling price of your used item. Forget a gift declaration.

If you agree to a slow boat shipping method, after about 3-4 weeks of waiting, the buyer may become impatient and it gets awkward just waiting and hoping for it to show up. I've done it this way before, and won't do it again.

My $.02