skytee 2 mount

[nightfisher]

I have been rumbling around with this idea for a very long time, not one to rush into a decision, but lately i have been finding my beloved TAL 100 felt a little "undermounted" on the superb AZ4 and wanting to "rationalize" some of my gear, so i sold my AZ and tripod, then picked up a nice used Skytee 2 AZ, this will live on my CG5 2" tripod, and has the benefit of manual drives to both axis, the mount has an upgrade saddle on the end puck but awful standard one on top, if i find i need to mount 2 scopes at a time (unlikely) then this saddle will get an upgrade.

I feel i will get on rather well with this set up, here are a few pics of the combo, i put the little Vixen on the top puck just to try it

[John]

Very nice Jules

[AndyH]

Yup. That looks the part.

Much heavier than your AZ4 setup??

[philj]

Much more substantial Jules, nice one

[Stu]

Nice to see you getting sorted Jules. Looks like a very nice mount and hopefully will make using your TAL much more enjoyable.

I'll be interested to hear if you end up using the slo mo controls. I never did when I had a Vixen Porta, always just grabbed the scope :-)

Enjoy.

Stu

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mark at Beaufort]

I had the original SkyTee but I really enjoy my SkyTee 2. Like you Jules I have a ADM saddle on the end puck but I think I will upgrade the top one at some stage. I tried to find a CG5 tripod without success so I bought a Berlebach which I really like. I wish Skywatcher would make a smaller extension pillar the 16" makes the Berlebach a bit unstable.

At the moment my heaviest combination is the 180mm Mak/Cass on the ADM saddle and a 80mm Achro (acting as a finderscope) on the top. The slow motion extension cables make it easy to view the Moon and Planets at high mag.

[damnut]

Hi Jules,

Great setup, love these az mounts. I  have a skytee I on an az4 tubular legs with a 127mm and 120mm, and a skytee II on an ae pillar as below. Puck in the middle, so a meade 152mm petzval, st120 (finder and grab & go) and a 150mm mak...

[nightfisher]

Damian, nice set up, lots of scope hanging on that mount

[John]

I'd like to see some more heavy duty alt-azimuth mounts on the market. I'm struggling to find something suitable for my 6" F/12 refractor which does not cost a fortune and there is a definite gap above the Skytee II / Giro Ercole. Currently the next step up seems to be the APM Maxload at £820 or so or the KK T-Rex at £1,800   

[nightfisher]

I'd like to see some more heavy duty alt-azimuth mounts on the market. I'm struggling to find something suitable for my 6" F/12 refractor which does not cost a fortune and there is a definite gap above the Skytee II / Giro Ercole. Currently the next step up seems to be the APM Maxload at £820 or so or the KK T-Rex at £1,800 

John, i know im banging on about this, but i still feel a chat with a local fabrication company with a handful of drawings and maybe some pictures to show what your wanting to do could come up with a top result for less money than you might think

[John]

John, i know im banging on about this, but i still feel a chat with a local fabrication company with a handful of drawings and maybe some pictures to show what your wanting to do could come up with a top result for less money than you might think

Thats how I'm thinking now Jules. I know of someone who had a couple of massive fork mounts made up for 8" refractors. They were scaled up versions of the Tele Vue Gibraltar and the one that Skys the Limit offered until recently. I'm waiting for some further info and photos of these mounts and I will then approach some companies.

[damnut]

Chaps,

I had this skytee II from a colleague, he  used to have a 10"snt  on one side of it, Have you ever had ago putting the big frac on this mount??. The 152mm Bresser is no light weight too.

Have you had a chat with Graham from astrotec???. Can pass on contact details if required.

[Moonshane]

it's not the weight but the length that's the issue.

[damnut]

16" pier extension going on the ae mount this week...That would give some clearance

[John]

.....Have you had a chat with Graham from astrotec???. Can pass on contact details if required.

I'll give him a call when I've got some proper plans drawn up. He made an excellent EQ6 adapter for me a little while ago

[damnut]

I'll send him this thread John. He has a traders slot on our local EMS forum. If it can be made he's your man.!!

[nightfisher]

A little update on the skytee 2, having bought it used, it came with a standard naff saddle on one side, i really see why this part gets so much criticism, it also had an u[grade saddle, not an ADM but good never the less, i have now fitted a Baader/Vixen saddle replacing the skywatcher and giving this solid mount 2 scope capacity