A nice small William Optics

Discuss other brands of scopes. If the team sees enough activity we will add a new subforum.
Post Reply
User avatar
mbenjaminz28 Canada
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:42 pm
4
Location: Halifax
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

A nice small William Optics

#1

Post by mbenjaminz28 »


My cool new refractor arrived yesterday, a flt 132! it's blue and beautiful. It has a 3.3" R/P focuser which isn't a feathertouch but it seems well made and quite smooth, I am sure it will handle the weight of my Aluma694 setup just fine. William optics have always been known for their gadgets and the dewcap that has an integrated bahintov mask is no exception, very nice! Comes with a great, heavy duty Losmandy style dovetail with plenty of mounting points, the focuser has their rotolock system which provides a very strong grip, even the dual speed knob side of the focuser has a aluminum threaded cover, not just a plastic push on. I was lamenting the fact that WO and others don't supply hard cases anymore but the soft case is actually pretty decent and nice to look at.
I paid the extra $150 to get the zyglo report for my scope, my thinking was it would guarantee that I get a good one and I was right, this blue beauty has a strehl of 0.977! The new Stellarvue offerings that i was considering (SVX-130t) are now made to a strehl of 0.98-.99 but cost $1300 more?? i am sure they are great but probably not $1300 more great, lol.
It's actually supposed to be mostly clear tonight, hope so!
20191123_094954.jpg
20191123_094920.jpg
20191123_095245.jpg
20191123_095019.jpg
20191123_095121.jpg
William optics flt 132, WO 0.72 reducer, Sbig Aluma U694/FW8G/AO-8a, 36mm LRGB 3nm Ha Oiii Sii, Cem120 non ec, Celestron CGX, Meade 12"F8 ota, Meade 70mm astrograph, Meade 6sn, TSflat2
User avatar
bladekeeper
Inter-Galactic Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 3603
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:39 am
4
Location: Lowell, Arkansas, US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#2

Post by bladekeeper »


A very nice refractor! Congrats! :)
Bryan
Scopes: Apertura AD12 f/5; Celestron C6-R f/8; ES AR127 f/6.4; Stellarvue SV102T f/7; iOptron MC90 f/13.3; Orion ST80A f/5; ES ED80 f/6; Celestron Premium 80 f/11.4; Celestron C80 f/11.4; Unitron Model 142 f/16; Meade NG60 f/10
Mounts: Celestron AVX; Bresser EXOS-2; ES Twilight I; ES Twilight II; iOptron Cube-G; AZ3/wood tripod; Vixen Polaris
Binoculars: Pentax PCF WP II 10×50, Bresser Corvette 10×50, Bresser Hunter 16×50 and 8×40, Garrett Gemini 12×60 LW, Gordon 10×50, Apogee 20×100

Image
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Offline
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: A nice small William Optics

#3

Post by Bigzmey »


It's a beauty, congrats!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
Lady Fraktor Slovakia
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 9860
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:14 pm
4
Location: Slovakia
Status:
Offline

Re: A nice small William Optics

#4

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Enjoy the new telescope :)
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
Image
User avatar
Steveinit
Earth Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:54 am
4
Location: NW Georgia, US
Status:
Offline

Re: A nice small William Optics

#5

Post by Steveinit »


Wow! I am jealous! Congrats on the new kid :)
Gear: Orion XT6 Dobs, Orion ST80, Bushnell 12×50 binos, 4-20×70 spotting scope of unknown origin, and at least one good enough eye.
User avatar
yobbo89 Australia
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2560
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:44 pm
4
Location: australia qld brisbane
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#6

Post by yobbo89 »


very nice!. very reassuring to have a data sheet of the optics test results asell
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .

Image
User avatar
helicon United States of America
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 584
Online
Posts: 12274
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 1:35 pm
4
Location: Washington
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: A nice small William Optics

#7

Post by helicon »


An excellent new scope you've got there - congratulations!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
User avatar
Michael131313 Mexico
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 966
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 5:39 pm
4
Location: San Jose del Valle , Nayarit, Mexico
Status:
Offline

Re: A nice small William Optics

#8

Post by Michael131313 »


Enjoy the new addition. Like those extra do dads.
ES AR 102 102mm, f/6.5, ES 254mm f/5 DOB, Obie 10x50, GSO SV 30mm, ES 68° 20mm, ES 82° 14mm, 11mm, 8.8 mm, 6.8mm, 4.7mm. Twilight 1 mount.
User avatar
mbenjaminz28 Canada
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:42 pm
4
Location: Halifax
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#9

Post by mbenjaminz28 »


I am out tonight with the 132, thoroughly impressed! i owned a AP 130gt for a short while over the late summer and the Vega star test looks every bit as good in the flt 132.
William optics flt 132, WO 0.72 reducer, Sbig Aluma U694/FW8G/AO-8a, 36mm LRGB 3nm Ha Oiii Sii, Cem120 non ec, Celestron CGX, Meade 12"F8 ota, Meade 70mm astrograph, Meade 6sn, TSflat2
User avatar
DeanD Australia
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 653
Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 7:27 am
4
Location: Adelaide South Australia
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: A nice small William Optics

#10

Post by DeanD »


Looks great: I hope the clouds stay away for you! Manufacturers have really upped their game over the last few years, and I think the fact that some are now publishing their Strehl results is pushing others to improve. I very much doubt that anyone could tell the difference between 0.977 and 0.98-0.99, so I think you have made a wise move; and that gives you $1300 for more goodies!

I spoke with Williams a number of years ago when I was looking to get a better scope than my Megrez 110, which sadly really didn't cut it for image quality once I tried to go above around 100x (a great low-power, wide-field scope though). They suggested their FLT 102 which had just come out at the time (and to their credit they offered to sell it to me at a terrific price), but when I said I was looking for a guaranteed 50x per inch on a good night, and was considering a Tak TSA 102, all they would say was "The FLT 102 optics are very sharp, but we can't match the Tak". It looks like they can now! (Especially if you get their zyglo report to keep them honest!) :)

I like the idea of the bahintov mask in the dust cap too: very cool.

Looking forward to your first light report. Whoops: just crossed with your comment above. More details please! ;)

All the best,

Dean
Telescopes: 12" f5 dob, Celestron CPC800, 150mmf5 Celestron achro, Tak TSA102, TV76, ETX125...
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
User avatar
Thefatkitty Canada
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 4133
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 4:20 pm
4
Location: Ontario, Canada
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#11

Post by Thefatkitty »


Small...:lol: Very nice; good for you! Glad to hear it's a good performer as well. The blue looks so good... :D

Enjoy it and all the best,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
User avatar
mbenjaminz28 Canada
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:42 pm
4
Location: Halifax
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#12

Post by mbenjaminz28 »


The skies actually cooperated most of the night, I was kept busy as I had my Meade 70mm quad setup on the Cem120 with my new Aluma/FW8G that I wanted to try out for the first time along with the 132 mounted on the CGX. I found a couple nice doubles to look at (32 ERI and 38 Gem) great colors using my 8mm Radian. Vega out of focus using the 8mm radian and a 2x powermate only showed the tiniest amount of purple in the outermost diffraction ring, the AP 130gt was very similar and perhaps the flt 132 was a touch better.
My only real issue is the supplied rotolock wasn't up to the task in holding my Aluma/FW8G/AO-8a, I could rock it out pretty easily. It's fine with any diagonal and 2" eyepieces, later today I am going to see if there's any way to adjust the tension on it. If not I will look into the Baader clicklock as I know it will hold my camera gear securely.
William optics flt 132, WO 0.72 reducer, Sbig Aluma U694/FW8G/AO-8a, 36mm LRGB 3nm Ha Oiii Sii, Cem120 non ec, Celestron CGX, Meade 12"F8 ota, Meade 70mm astrograph, Meade 6sn, TSflat2
User avatar
XCalRocketMan United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 507
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 8:09 pm
4
Location: Reisterstown, MD USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#13

Post by XCalRocketMan »


Congrats on the new scope. I have the WO GT102 and am very happy with it. Post those images - waiting to see !
Scopes Celestron EdgeHD-11; William Optics GT102; William Optics ZS61; Criterion Dynamax-8 SCT
Mounts AP1100GTO mount w/APCCpro; iOptron iEQ30 Pro; Criterion Dynamax-8 SCT
Lenses Hyperstar-III; Celestron 0.7x FR; WO Flat/Reducer 0.8x
Guiding Celestron OAG w/ASI174mm mini; WO 50mm; Orion ST80
Cameras and Filters ZWO2600mm Pro w/Optolong 3nm NB and RGB; ZWOASI1600mm Pro (ZWO LRGB and Astrodon Ha-5nm, Oiii-3nm, Sii-5nm), QHY10, Canon 50D; ASI174mm mini; ASI462MC; ASI120MC
Misc Moonlite focuser on Edge - Feather-Touch focuser on GT102; ZWO EAF on ZS61; ZWO 2" and 31mm FWs; Kendrick Dew System, Temp-est Fans
Software NINA; PHD; APT; BYE; PI; APP; PSP; Registax; FireCapture; SharpCap
Blog at: SkyAndRockets
User avatar
mbenjaminz28 Canada
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:42 pm
4
Location: Halifax
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#14

Post by mbenjaminz28 »


Just received my 0.72 reducer, I hated paying for it but you only cry once (per expensive purchase) but I must say it's impressive to say the least. For my camera set up it was really the only choice, my aluma camera with filter wheel and adapter puts me at 57mm back focus, pretty much every other reducer out there is made for 55mm. This reducer requires 63.3mm for my flt132 which gives me plenty of room. It uses a hefty collar with very fine threads that has a mm scale, make your adjustment and lock it in! It threads into the focuser with a big M92 thread, zero chance of it working it's way loose.
WOreducer.jpg
Attachments
WO.72_1.jpg
WO.72.jpg
William optics flt 132, WO 0.72 reducer, Sbig Aluma U694/FW8G/AO-8a, 36mm LRGB 3nm Ha Oiii Sii, Cem120 non ec, Celestron CGX, Meade 12"F8 ota, Meade 70mm astrograph, Meade 6sn, TSflat2
User avatar
mbenjaminz28 Canada
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:42 pm
4
Location: Halifax
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#15

Post by mbenjaminz28 »


Tonight's setup, hopefully will finish off M33.
Attachments
20191221_135134 (1).jpg
William optics flt 132, WO 0.72 reducer, Sbig Aluma U694/FW8G/AO-8a, 36mm LRGB 3nm Ha Oiii Sii, Cem120 non ec, Celestron CGX, Meade 12"F8 ota, Meade 70mm astrograph, Meade 6sn, TSflat2
User avatar
Micke187 Sweden
Jupiter Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:06 pm
4
Location: Sweden
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: A nice small William Optics

#16

Post by Micke187 »


Looking nice! Im not jealous at all i swear!! :shock:
Will be very interesting on your result with the new tube!
TS-optics photoline 115mm triplet + 1.0x flattener
Guiding: qhy5lll APM 50mm guidescope
Main camera: ASI1600MM pro +Starlight xpress filterwheel (Ha,OIII, SII ,LRGB baader filter)
Mount: heq5 Rowan mod
Zwo EAF focuser
Programs: APT, DSS, PIxinsight, Nebulosity3, Phd2, CDC Eqmod
User avatar
helicon United States of America
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 584
Online
Posts: 12274
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 1:35 pm
4
Location: Washington
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: A nice small William Optics

#17

Post by helicon »


Very cool new addition!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Other telescopes”