UK 'astronomer' spots another 'Nova'...

[TakMan]

...Nova Hitch mount that is!

Yep, Christmas   came early this morning to the office via USPS and 'FedEx man'.

Apart from a few lightly bruised corners, the parcel appears to have survived it's journey from 'place of birth' - Half Hitch Telescope based in Austin, Texas.  www.halfhitchtelescope.com

Away with work tonight, so unboxing pics and set-up will have to wait 'til the weekend - thankfully the wife is having her hair done on Saturday, so I'll have plenty of time to ponder and play.... and the weather looks decent as well!

Mount was purchased 'off plans' way back in September.... 2012, with Charles offering early adopters a fantastic discounted deal - it was either take the plunge on a style of alt/az mount that I had coveted for years, but unable to afford... or miss the boat again and regret the opportunity to buy a finely engineered, hand built mount....

But today, finally, after an extended development and testing period (Charles is a stickler for details), my TSA-102s that's been sitting in it's case for over a year (and possibly future purchases.... TEC140 / 8-9.25" Celestron Edge HD, wife permitting that is...!?), have a mount fit enough to carry them - the William Optics EZ-Touch and Manfrotto tripod having been side-lined to 'binocular territory' long ago.

This one has the works: complete with slow-motion controls (fitted as standard) and in addition, 8192 step encoders (with simple SkyCommander for now... looking at future BlueTooth/WiFi adapters as well + iPad running SkySafari 4), plus the 'mechanicals' for tracking (self contained control/power hand unit to follow once final testing is sorted).

From speaking with Charles, this is the only one coming to the UK and possibly Europe... so I'll have to make the effort to attend a star party or two so that you can see one in the flesh!

Some teasers for now, more to follow....

Damian

[Moonshane]

looks nice but at the risk of sounding thick, can you reach the zenith with anything less than a very short, thin scope?

[TakMan]

Good point Moonshane - something that was discussed at length during development!

That ultimately depends upon the thickness of the OTA and that of the tripod - the awaiting Berlebach Planet (thanks FLO), does have a wide top, so perhaps a few degrees away from 'straight up'... we'll see on Saturday!

The mount though was specifically designed for refractors and smaller/shorter tube SCT's and the like.

But, as a fellow Dob user, I personally don't much worry about observing in the 'Dob Hole', preferring to wait whilst my target has moved a few degrees over.... yes, that means not observing through the thinnest part of the atmosphere, but in return not having the exasperating experience of trying to manipulate the scope in that region either!

Damian

[Moonshane]

makes sense Damian - and I agree about the dob hole.  It looks a superb mount though and being alt az is more my cup of tea than the average effort on a tripod

[John]

It looks a lovely bit of engineering Damian 

I've read about some of their other models but I've not seen that one before.

I had a good look at one of it's competitors, the T-Rex mount at an astro fair last summer and that was very impressive as well. Unfortunately neither would cope with my Istar 6" F/12 so I did not investigate much further.

[TakMan]

Thanks chaps...

I was drawn to it's functionality and looks (you either love it or hate it I suppose), plus the thought and attention to detail that has gone into the design and build - made for observers by an observer.

Not forgetting the care and quality of engineering from a one man band who has an established reputation of making low volume/high quality gear.... (albeit at his own pace!)

The CNC machining and anodised metalwork, sort of reminds me of my old AstroTrac...

John, you have almost definitely seen one of the Half Hitch Mk I/II/III, Quarter Hitch or Super Half Hitch iterations - all beautiful, svelte, smaller footprint mounts that this new 'Nova' takes a leaf from, see:

[TakMan]

Thankfully 'new astro gear syndrome' didn't strike and I was able to go out with friends on Friday night with the dob after a quick un-boxing of the new mount.

I didn't take the Nova as I wanted some time to acclimatise myself with the 'two axis balancing' that the Nova employs.

Had a play with that on a sunny Saturday instead and took some pictures as well!

So the now SGL customary 'un-boxing' and set-up shots will now appear in a new thread in the 'Mounts' section!

Damian

[Uplooker]

But, as a fellow Dob user, I personally don't much worry about observing in the 'Dob Hole', preferring to wait whilst my target has moved a few degrees over.... yes, that means not observing through the thinnest part of the atmosphere, but in return not having the exasperating experience of trying to manipulate the scope in that region either!

Damian

Hi Damian,

That looks a lovely bit of kit. I am not even going to think or search what the price of that must have been - a one man band, all CNC machined

I do also have to thank you for explaining a term i have seen on occasion - "Dob Hole", it makes perfect sense, thank you again.

I hope you have many happy nights with your new bit of kit.

Ian

[TakMan]

Thanks Ian

I'm pleased I was able to help with the explanation of something - at least now when you're getting really annoyed trying to manipulate your scope in that 'zenith' region, you'll know what words to use (under your breath that is!)

As for price, all I'll say was that without the 'early bird' deal on it I could not have afforded to purchase - plus the deposit went down in September 2012 - so I've had plenty of time to absorb the cost and forget about it.... There's that saying though, 'the quality is remembered long after the price'...... could have had a couple of EQ6-GTs though instead...!   

Thanks again, clear skies...

Damian

[TakMan]

Here she is...