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Best Mount for Imaging (£5k-£6k Budget)


ribuck

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Right, sorry about that.....need more sleep.....

The picture is 30 minutes, not 20. As mentioned, its far from perfect, but not bad for out of the box :)

Per, at this point there was 5-7 stars in the model I think, now it has 18, but I am going to clear it and do it all again once I have the GPS and final counterweight.

Cheers

Tim

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I'm blaming mine on a mid-life crisis and I've earned it and I'm sticking to my story............ :)

Plus, it's a lot cheaper in the long run than running off with a younger woman as seems to be the norm, so the wife will probably be grateful..................probably....... :s

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I'm 53. If we count 40 as the average age in which to have a mid-life crisis, I'd say it is an expensive venture. If I attribute my excesses to mid-life crisis I can count getting a helicopter pilot license, obtaining two somewhat unnecessarily extravagant VWs and a rather large stack of astronomical equipment. So if you're 30 now and an ASA already, there is no end to what you will have stashed in your garage in another ten to fifteen years when the [removed word] hits the fan ;)

/per

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This has been a fascinating thread, even though my mid-life crisis hasn't taken hold just yet and cannot justify a swanky new mount to go in my swanky new observatory.

One thing that has struck me is there looks to be quite a number of worhty mounts to choose from in this price bracket, probably more so than in the NEQ6 ballpark.

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Hi Mike, I agree in previous years the jump up from an EQ6 class mount to something more professional was huge with limited choices in the middle. In the last few years, that gap has most definitely been filled and some of the mounts covering that middle ground are a work of art.
In particular, for me it's nice to see other manufacturers like 10 micron / ASA / Mesu stealing some of the market share from the likes of AP / Paramount etc, and at the same time coming up with new innovation at prices nearly half that of the competition can only be good for the Astronomy World.
Rich.
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Hi All,

After years of dreaming about a pro-level GEM, of research, reading reviews and any other pieces of information I could lay my hands on I decided in Jan 2012 to go for the old AP 1200GTO, finally being lured away by the 'simpler' mechanics and overall set-up than was offered by ASA's DDM85.

Then of course it was replaced with the 1600GTO, and although it has been a major update, I agree it still does not offer the same level of tech out of the box as the ASA's or 10 microns, but provision for encoders is there (a bit on the pricey side), new software suite in the form of APCC is due any day and a great new polar alignment scope (RAPAS).

Mainly I love the fact that I can use it with just the hand controller and 12v battery, perfect for me as it wont be living in an observatory for a least the next year, maybe two.

It also works great when 'locally' remotely controlled via LAN to USB extender, and was 'portable' enough to lug in and out the few times the clouds cleared, breaking in to 2 manageable pieces.

As the uncooperative weather has only allowed two brief ventures outside, I'll not comment on its performance, which I am sure is as good as advertised (besides I don't yet even have a large enough scope to adequately test it). But in terms of usability, and the 'just works' effect, I was blown away. (That's saying nothing of the build quality and sheer gorgeousness of it, which is a subjective quality some could argue is shared by all the top-end mounts)

Shipping to Czech direct from AP was under $1000 (including mount, weights, pier and other accessories), but import duty of 20% was the killer to an otherwise competitive pricing I thought when compared to ASA, although still a couple of grand over the originally stated budget...

Just my tuppence worth...

Zak

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Tim,

Like your style, maybe i can justify my mount by promising not run off with a younger woman....

you could try it if you like hospital food :laugh:

i do hope my old NJP is not listening to all this talk of new mounts and decides to go into retirement

Steve

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I'm sure your NJP is a long way off from retirement.

For me, with my Heq5 Pro, i had so many frustrations fighting with guiding, some days it seemed to work and other it was just all over the place, so I decided that a want a mount where i don't need to guide, hence now starting to look at what's out there, but i think i'm pretty set on the GM1000HPS, as i think it really hit's the sweet spot of price vs performance compared to other mounts.

The only other mount that might make me rethink the 10 micron is the mythical EQ7 or EQ8 or what ever skywatcher calls their next mount upgrade, as it supposed to have 50kg load, with dual encoder / direct drive, and if they can get it to perform well and at a good price then i'll might be tempted at giving it a look.

Will be interesting to see if anything is announced at AstroFest.

Rich.

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I wouldn't put too much trust in China for mounts of that calibre... NEQ6 may be a good work-horse, but consider the price level and take into account that they are very spread out in terms of quality, then consider if you want them up in the 5k range. Another two cents ;)

/per

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ribuck,

I don't think you should sign off the Mesu just yet. I don't own one myself, but I have followed the discussions and experience shared between users during some time, as I seriously consider to get one. Per said that you should take it off the list if you want a remotely controlled mount. This is not quite true anymore, as it is now available with SITECH controller instead of the Argo Navis/StellarCat combo (see http://www.teleskop-...r-Zuladung.html). With this controller, it is fully ASCOM compatible.

I think Ollie's and Yves' experience with the Mesu show that you can go unguided with half-hour subs and FL of 2.4 metre.

/Thommy

No, we guide via OAG.

I love Per's mid life crisis posts!! Where does that leave me? I'm having an old age crisis in that, soon to be sixty (I know, I don't look it, you thought I was 36) I know what I need but have no way of affording it!

Olly

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Olly,

You look fabulously young and, to your merit, have a very young mind. Mark hooked up nicely with you and I got him for my 30th birthday (missed by two days) so he is a mere 23. As for mid-life crisis, I really didn't have one. I just spent money like there was one ;)

I am a true believer in excesses that nobody notice, which is why I drive a €160,000 VW that most people think is an over-grown Passat but in reality is the base on which they based the Bentley Continental, and I'm not the one to tell them otherwise (hint: they're dirt cheap if don't buy them new). On a side note, after a long wait I finally turned three Monique paintings in for framing yesterday - they'll look fabulous when they're done, please tell her that.

Rich,

you should order in late February and take delivery in May ;) Apparently they have an unprecedented backlog situation, and 10Micron obviously do not subscribe to the "get-them-out-the-door-fast" principle that most other manufacturers make their motto in order to get the fast cash.

I had -20°C last night and had to set the slew rate down a bit as the grease got stiffer or something and the mount reported that I should check the power supply. Not a real problem, I know, and not a show stopper. I guess it's mostly the strict monitoring of motor parameters in the firmware, but nonetheless irritating. Ran a new model tonight and tweaked the polar alignment down to 2'06", and the mount reports expected RMS pointing error of 6.7 arc-seconds. ;) Should do the job!

All the best,

Per

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awwww man! With that kind of pointing error my stars are going to be off by 6 or 7 pixels........... :D

Rich, have a word with Ian King. As I understand it, these mounts are hard to come by, you might have to wait. But he does have one left..........

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Olly, i'm still reviewing mount options in the £5k-6k max price bracket, and in the thread in noticed that you hld the mesu 200 in high regard, so had a few questions for you.

Firstly, i noticed that the pointing accuracy is measured in ArcMinutes (2.5') i think, whilst other mounts in comparison seem to be measured in ArcSeconds. How do you find the pointing accuracy, and how is the pointing model controlled ?

I didn't see any mention of any encoders on the mount, so if you release the clutches, do you loose all your configuration and then have to do a full polar alignment / pointing model again ?

Just want to make sure i review all the options properly.

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