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Yup, another 'fractor convert here- First light with an Equinox 100mm


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I recently discussed buying a refractor. I was thinking modded ST80 (which I purchased) and eventually an Skywatcher Equinox 100 to both use with a future quark chromo with some added accessories needed on both. Well I saw an opportunity on the Skywatcher and jumped on it. But first, a recap. 

As a first scope last year, I bought a 200mm F4.9 Newtonian on an EQ5.. Ol' reliable is a capable performer and had it out many nights. I liken it to being great at everything but not an expert at any one task. This convenience comes at a cost- its massive size and cumbersomeness on the supplied mount with awkward viewing angles. The views were nice but I craved something more sharp. Needless to say I still love the newt. But over the year I noticed another trend. If I wanted to go outside for observing, I had to make a night out of it and be completely sure it was going to be worth my time, weather wise.

I live in an apartment built like a square prison. The walk through the hallway to the elevator is a long one, then down a few floors, and another decent walk to the car in the parkade through locked doors with a scan card. A typical night out goes something along the lines of this.

Grab mount (EQ5) and carry it to the car.

Grab tube rings and eyepiece case and carry it to the car.

Grab OTA and carry it to the car.

I had to leave the counterweights in the car permanently to save another trip. Total loading time: 20 mins and I'm sweating.

Now to observing site (15 mins for in town, an hour to outside of town dark site). Repeat the process unloading but now 4 trips with the weights. Now set up time including collimation (15-20mins). If I want to image some day, I have both a table and the imaging gear which will both add another trip each pushing the times longer. 

When I go to the dark site, the telescope OTA and mount take up the entire back seat, everything else taking up the trunk. This is problematic when we sleep over at my gf parent's farm and need our blankets and bags. We have very limited space. Needless to say, I wanted more time observing. Shaving minutes anywhere I can.

Enter the Equinox. 

I took a gamble with a preowned purchase for an incredible deal. It was so good I was worried about the optics (half the price only two years old).  But I simply couldn't afford a high quality refractor with a good focuser at full price. An Equinox 100mm is $1385 new. Ouch. After tons of conversation and pictures of the optics, I went with it. 

I got the scope on Monday, just after the lunar eclipse ugh! Literally the scope sat in the post office for an entire day on the Friday in town but I didn't get priority shipping and I missed an incredible viewing opportunity with the frac. 

Speaking of the eclipse, I had the newt out which was great, until totality in the umbra. It was so dark it was hard to see any details! It in a minor way tarnished the night but regardless it was spectacular sky conditions and I was thankful I got to witness such an amazing show. 

On Tuesday I anxiously took out the new Equinox. In a word, STUNNING. The build quality was such a nice treat, it everything I want in an expensive telescope. The views quashed any lingering qualms I may have had on the optics. It was exactly what I hope for, and exponentially better than what I expected to get.  I can never turn back. 

I didn't get the supplied CNC rings or dovetail which was part of the discount. The lower quality rings he did send were adjustable worked just as well. The dovetail I took off the newt, 8 inch orion standard DT. I had to do some tweaking, and mount some black foam cut to be customized to be placed underneath the rings in between the DT and rings to make a more secure fit. Otherwise ring movement would loosen the connection dramatically. With the customized foam spacers it became a set up I was comfortable using.

I have never seen big or bright stars so nice. I finally know what concentric rings are which looked perfectly uniform, and racking in and out of focus on stars is a real treat. The dancing colors are captivating. My gf, a staunch critic who doesn't care much about my hobby which no doubt is taxing and annoying for her because of my obsession with it, was thoroughly impressed with the views. 

On the moon, she literally said "Wow, this is amazingly sharp, you should sell your big one (reference to the newt)" and was captivated with the bright stars as well as me. I was SOLD on the refractor hype. 

It was 3D and resolved perfectly in all eyepeices. I can't wait to take this out to the dark site.The moon looked like it was truly floating in space with no chromatic aberration, even with a 2 x barlow and 10mm eyepiece, probably due to the longer focal length and ratio. This is at the max I can use with the future quark chromo at f9, and I will likely want a reducer. 

I can also use the Equinox for terrestrial views too and the viewing positions are much more tolerable. Closer to the zenith, I will need a mount extension or raise the adjustable legs (which induce more vibration so I don't like doing this). 

Vibration was reduced and the 100mm scope was more stable, not producing image shake with wind gusts like the large OTA of the newt. One night at the dark site last summer, wind gusts were so strong the image danced around violently and rendered the newt useless for over an hour. 

 The nice features of this package are a step up from my old set up in a few areas.

Less cool down time

No collimation (yay!)

A beefy carrying case that means the OTA can go in the trunk an not the back seat (I was afraid of denting the newt in any place but the back seat, even if I purchased the carrying bag)

My mount is a lot happier manually using the cheap fine adjustment knobs (which have cracked under stress of the newt with rings)  moving the lighter OTA

Did I mention it is gorgeous?

I can possibly save myself a single trip to the car with carrying the frac and the eyepiece case

The very next purchase that is desperately needed is the GOTO for the EQ5. The knobs are on their way out, and with tracking I will be able to purchase a powerful powermate for even better views, which I heard fracs handle the magnification really well. (the 4 or 5 x powermate on the moon or sun in white light will be intense I presume)

Long story short: I would recommend this scope to anyone. In fact, I am selling my newt because I can't see myself using it much more compared to the smaller Equinox and I have no space in my room for all of this gear.

The Equinox is more expensive, dramatically more expensive buying it brand new than the newt, so the comparison is flawed. I am comparing apples to oranges here, so take this newbie's review with a grain of salt.  

For the price, you simply cannot beat the newt. A perfect entry level scope, or a very capable imaging unit with an experienced amateur astrophotographer with a large, massive mount like an EQ6 or an Atlas, a mount which I do not have and is not in the budget for a long time as I will be strictly visual. 

There are pros and cons with every scope and set up. Finding the right one for your needs is the primary challenge. I think I found the sweet spot with this set up....for now. 

Cheers thanks for reading! 

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That Equinox looks really good, and it can be a saga getting the scope you want! I replaced a 130mm newt with an ED80 frac and never used it again! Having said that, I'm continually tempted to have an additional scope to serve as light bucket on the EQ5. Perhaps hang on to your 200 for the faint fuzzies and big sessions? Just a thought.

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My gf, a staunch critic who doesn't care much about my hobby which no doubt is taxing and annoying for her because of my obsession with it, was thoroughly impressed with the views. 

On the moon, she literally said "Wow, this is amazingly sharp, you should sell your big one (reference to the newt)" and was captivated with the bright stars as well as me. I was SOLD on the refractor hype. 

There's a lot to be said for keeping the lady in your life happy!  Whilst fully aware of the benefits of more aperture etc, my wife's preference is also for the crispness and "niceness" of refractor images.

Wahahahah Welcome to the dark side :D (And yes, no doubt some wit with a large newt will say it's that dark side cos there aint enough aperture!)

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Happy wife, happy life. :p

Who knows I may end up keeping the newt for sentiment and faint fuzzies once I do purchase a bigger mount. 

Then I would try my hand with imaging with the newt (I would really like to try planetary and  solar in WL with the Baader film).  But that means I will be hoarding it and having it take up space in my room for years until then. Right now my cats like sleeping on the massive box with a blanket wrapped around it.

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I had this exact experience, I can hear the same excitement in your words that I felt looking through my 102ED, a very similar instrument.

Until then, all of my serious observing had taken place through large SCTs and little Maksutovs.... I had been very nearly conditioned to believe that the 'flared' star shapes inherent to obstructed aperture was just how things were.

When the 102ED was mounted up I didn't expect much, I had bought it for imaging and had no expectation that this tiny 4" of glass could offer anything like my hulking C9.25 sitting in the next room.... how wrong I was.

I remember clearly the moment focus was achieved on some random patch of the milky way and I damn near burst into tears, it was just spectacular. The stars were bright gemstones and each one seemed to have a distinct shade of white, blue or orange... at the time, this was revelatory.

I still appreciated the much more satisfying view a bigger SCT could offer on DSOs, but for anything other than faint fuzzies I can't think of a scope I'd rather use than a midsized apochromat.

The one exception would be the 150mm Rumak I recently acquired... it's a fearsome planetary scope and once it's cooled down the star shapes are far superior to the standard Maksutovs I've used. If you find yourself wanting a bit more aperture in a compact package, Altair sell a really nice version of this scope.

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Interested. I have not really heard anything on the Rumak besides it being a variant of a Mak Cass if I'm not mistaken? Prior to the 100mm, I was looking at the 180 mak which the word Rumak came up in a review I was reading, I believe. I opted against the 180, but it appeals quite a bit to me. Now you have possibly relit that candle.

*adds it to the infinite astronomy want list (the black hole of funds)

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An exciting read, yes totally agree, everything just looks right in a frac :) I've managed to get round the lack of aperture a little bit by moving to a 5" f9.4 achromat, a very good compromise if you have the mount for it, it's big! The ED100 is a cracking portable scope, a great choice, enjoy!

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Interested. I have not really heard anything on the Rumak besides it being a variant of a Mak Cass if I'm not mistaken? Prior to the 100mm, I was looking at the 180 mak which the word Rumak came up in a review I was reading, I believe. I opted against the 180, but it appeals quite a bit to me. Now you have possibly relit that candle.

*adds it to the infinite astronomy want list (the black hole of funds)

Well I've been considering writing an OTA review for it on here but I've spent most of the late summer trying to get to grips with imaging so the time just hasn't been there.

The Rumak design has one excellent advantage over traditional Maksutovs; it decouples the curvature of the secondary from the curvature of the corrector plate. 

With a typical Gregorian Mak, there is literally no mathematical way to eliminate field curvature without either adding more optics to the chain or rewriting natural law. This holds no matter the size of the Mak, which is one of the reasons the otherwise compact and excellent design is not well-favoured in larger apertures (weight being another).

The upshot is that with the freedom to control both surfaces, the Rumak has a flat field, and I do mean flat; it's flatter than any of my refractors. In use this means a refractor-like starfield, albeit with the dark fringing on bright stars you get from any obstructed aperture. For planetary and double-stars it's brilliant, and globular clusters are generally within reach too. Nebulae and really faint fuzzies are not the domain of any Maksutov design.

The only trouble is you need to leave it outside for at least half an hour before you try to view anything... the view before it's reached thermal equilibrium is really shockingly bad.

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Well I've been considering writing an OTA review for it on here but I've spent most of the late summer trying to get to grips with imaging so the time just hasn't been there.

The Rumak design has one excellent advantage over traditional Maksutovs; it decouples the curvature of the secondary from the curvature of the corrector plate. 

With a typical Gregorian Mak, there is literally no mathematical way to eliminate field curvature without either adding more optics to the chain or rewriting natural law. This holds no matter the size of the Mak, which is one of the reasons the otherwise compact and excellent design is not well-favoured in larger apertures (weight being another).

The upshot is that with the freedom to control both surfaces, the Rumak has a flat field, and I do mean flat; it's flatter than any of my refractors. In use this means a refractor-like starfield, albeit with the dark fringing on bright stars you get from any obstructed aperture. For planetary and double-stars it's brilliant, and globular clusters are generally within reach too. Nebulae and really faint fuzzies are not the domain of any Maksutov design.

The only trouble is you need to leave it outside for at least half an hour before you try to view anything... the view before it's reached thermal equilibrium is really shockingly bad.

Although you have basically described the basic appeals here, I think the amateur astronomy community needs a thorough review on that design. Consider it a public service haha. There more time you spend using it, the better the review as you work out issues with the conditions and design.

 I needed a frac for all my immediate  solar aspirations I obsess about. But I fully plan on buying the mak design (was thinking 180, now possible the 150 Rumak) with another tripod (probably an EQ6) to use visually while imaging because of that long cool down down time. The mak design generally needs an expensive aftermarket focuser with SCT adapter, dew shield and dew heater typically IMO.  That means $2000 for the 180 OTA alone, with an EQ6, we are approaching $5000. Too rich for my blood at the moment. After the solar stuff, a Mak is on the buy list. Maybe I'll stick with a 150. 

Looking it up, I wouldn't even know where to BUY a Rumak, only one online store pulled up in Canada Astro Buy and Sell not sure if the ad is even still valid.  More info (and first hand experiences using it over time) are very useful to the buyers trying hard to carefully spend their money where it counts. 

That's the beautiful aspect of telescopes, each design is different and better for different uses/targets. Like a handyman's toolbox, you need the right tool for the specific job. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself to reduce the cognitive dissonance of how I should allocate my funds in my life between life goals and telescope gear. 

:)

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An exciting read, yes totally agree, everything just looks right in a frac :) I've managed to get round the lack of aperture a little bit by moving to a 5" f9.4 achromat, a very good compromise if you have the mount for it, it's big! The ED100 is a cracking portable scope, a great choice, enjoy!

I like long focal length achromats. I finally figured out where my tube rings came from. It was an Antares 105mm refractor!! No wonder the rings do not fit well on my set up, I need another dovetail that is NOT sold separately. Maybe some day I will buy one of those. This telescope looks like an awesome buy. Antares 105mm Spirit of Unitron, focal length 1000 - 1500mm

 http://www.antaresoptical.com/vixen-spec-ota.htm 

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Although you have basically described the basic appeals here, I think the amateur astronomy community needs a thorough review on that design. Consider it a public service haha. There more time you spend using it, the better the review as you work out issues with the conditions and design.

I might have to do this to be honest.... I think I'm one of the only regular-ish reviewers that has had one of these. A short review would be:

Good points:

  • Sharpest non-refractor I can imagine besides a Tak or something; diffraction fringing is textbook
  • Perfectly flat field from edge to edge, no coma or curvature whatsoever
  • Interacts well with 2" accessories, has an SCT back adapter
  • Very clear focus achievement with dual-speed focus knob

Bad points:

  • I've yet to find a focal reducer that can match it
  • The bundled finderscope is really quite poor
  • The two-speed focuser is a bit odd on my example, and with the slower-speed dial in place it feels a bit 'coggy' rather than smooth, I suspect due to interaction between the central pin and a ring of ball bearings. It's easier to focus for visual use with the second knob removed, but for imaging the second knob remains useful.
  • Minor mirror shift when focusing. Yes, sadly this happens with these, it isn't a big deal at all, but it is present.

 I needed a frac for all my immediate  solar aspirations I obsess about. But I fully plan on buying the mak design (was thinking 180, now possible the 150 Rumak) with another tripod (probably an EQ6) to use visually while imaging because of that long cool down down time. The mak design generally needs an expensive aftermarket focuser with SCT adapter, dew shield and dew heater typically IMO.  That means $2000 for the 180 OTA alone, with an EQ6, we are approaching $5000. Too rich for my blood at the moment. After the solar stuff, a Mak is on the buy list. Maybe I'll stick with a 150. 

What puts me off larger Maks is the focal length advancing to F/15.... that is just insane for me. I don't like going above F/10 personally, the Rumak pushes me to f/12 but I can deal with that as more of the field is usable. F/15 is like trying to spot a grain of sugar through a drinking straw.

Looking it up, I wouldn't even know where to BUY a Rumak, only one online store pulled up in Canada Astro Buy and Sell not sure if the ad is even still valid.  More info (and first hand experiences using it over time) are very useful to the buyers trying hard to carefully spend their money where it counts. 

In the UK they are sold by Altair Astro, I have no idea where else you might find one. 'Rumak' is a shorthand nonstandard description, try '150/1800 Maksutov' as that is the optical recipe.

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I recently discussed buying a refractor. I was thinking modded ST80 (which I purchased) and eventually an Skywatcher Equinox 100 to both use with a future quark chromo with some added accessories needed on both. Well I saw an opportunity on the Skywatcher and jumped on it. But first, a recap. 

As a first scope last year, I bought a 200mm F4.9 Newtonian on an EQ5.. Ol' reliable is a capable performer and had it out many nights. I liken it to being great at everything but not an expert at any one task. This convenience comes at a cost- its massive size and cumbersomeness on the supplied mount with awkward viewing angles. The views were nice but I craved something more sharp. Needless to say I still love the newt. But over the year I noticed another trend. If I wanted to go outside for observing, I had to make a night out of it and be completely sure it was going to be worth my time, weather wise.

I live in an apartment built like a square prison. The walk through the hallway to the elevator is a long one, then down a few floors, and another decent walk to the car in the parkade through locked doors with a scan card. A typical night out goes something along the lines of this.

Grab mount (EQ5) and carry it to the car.

Grab tube rings and eyepiece case and carry it to the car.

Grab OTA and carry it to the car.

I had to leave the counterweights in the car permanently to save another trip. Total loading time: 20 mins and I'm sweating.

Now to observing site (15 mins for in town, an hour to outside of town dark site). Repeat the process unloading but now 4 trips with the weights. Now set up time including collimation (15-20mins). If I want to image some day, I have both a table and the imaging gear which will both add another trip each pushing the times longer. 

When I go to the dark site, the telescope OTA and mount take up the entire back seat, everything else taking up the trunk. This is problematic when we sleep over at my gf parent's farm and need our blankets and bags. We have very limited space. Needless to say, I wanted more time observing. Shaving minutes anywhere I can.

Enter the Equinox. 

I took a gamble with a preowned purchase for an incredible deal. It was so good I was worried about the optics (half the price only two years old).  But I simply couldn't afford a high quality refractor with a good focuser at full price. An Equinox 100mm is $1385 new. Ouch. After tons of conversation and pictures of the optics, I went with it. 

I got the scope on Monday, just after the lunar eclipse ugh! Literally the scope sat in the post office for an entire day on the Friday in town but I didn't get priority shipping and I missed an incredible viewing opportunity with the frac. 

Speaking of the eclipse, I had the newt out which was great, until totality in the umbra. It was so dark it was hard to see any details! It in a minor way tarnished the night but regardless it was spectacular sky conditions and I was thankful I got to witness such an amazing show. 

On Tuesday I anxiously took out the new Equinox. In a word, STUNNING. The build quality was such a nice treat, it everything I want in an expensive telescope. The views quashed any lingering qualms I may have had on the optics. It was exactly what I hope for, and exponentially better than what I expected to get.  I can never turn back. 

I didn't get the supplied CNC rings or dovetail which was part of the discount. The lower quality rings he did send were adjustable worked just as well. The dovetail I took off the newt, 8 inch orion standard DT. I had to do some tweaking, and mount some black foam cut to be customized to be placed underneath the rings in between the DT and rings to make a more secure fit. Otherwise ring movement would loosen the connection dramatically. With the customized foam spacers it became a set up I was comfortable using.

I have never seen big or bright stars so nice. I finally know what concentric rings are which looked perfectly uniform, and racking in and out of focus on stars is a real treat. The dancing colors are captivating. My gf, a staunch critic who doesn't care much about my hobby which no doubt is taxing and annoying for her because of my obsession with it, was thoroughly impressed with the views. 

On the moon, she literally said "Wow, this is amazingly sharp, you should sell your big one (reference to the newt)" and was captivated with the bright stars as well as me. I was SOLD on the refractor hype. 

It was 3D and resolved perfectly in all eyepeices. I can't wait to take this out to the dark site.The moon looked like it was truly floating in space with no chromatic aberration, even with a 2 x barlow and 10mm eyepiece, probably due to the longer focal length and ratio. This is at the max I can use with the future quark chromo at f9, and I will likely want a reducer. 

I can also use the Equinox for terrestrial views too and the viewing positions are much more tolerable. Closer to the zenith, I will need a mount extension or raise the adjustable legs (which induce more vibration so I don't like doing this). 

Vibration was reduced and the 100mm scope was more stable, not producing image shake with wind gusts like the large OTA of the newt. One night at the dark site last summer, wind gusts were so strong the image danced around violently and rendered the newt useless for over an hour. 

 The nice features of this package are a step up from my old set up in a few areas.

Less cool down time

No collimation (yay!)

A beefy carrying case that means the OTA can go in the trunk an not the back seat (I was afraid of denting the newt in any place but the back seat, even if I purchased the carrying bag)

My mount is a lot happier manually using the cheap fine adjustment knobs (which have cracked under stress of the newt with rings)  moving the lighter OTA

Did I mention it is gorgeous?

I can possibly save myself a single trip to the car with carrying the frac and the eyepiece case

The very next purchase that is desperately needed is the GOTO for the EQ5. The knobs are on their way out, and with tracking I will be able to purchase a powerful powermate for even better views, which I heard fracs handle the magnification really well. (the 4 or 5 x powermate on the moon or sun in white light will be intense I presume)

Long story short: I would recommend this scope to anyone. In fact, I am selling my newt because I can't see myself using it much more compared to the smaller Equinox and I have no space in my room for all of this gear.

The Equinox is more expensive, dramatically more expensive buying it brand new than the newt, so the comparison is flawed. I am comparing apples to oranges here, so take this newbie's review with a grain of salt.  

For the price, you simply cannot beat the newt. A perfect entry level scope, or a very capable imaging unit with an experienced amateur astrophotographer with a large, massive mount like an EQ6 or an Atlas, a mount which I do not have and is not in the budget for a long time as I will be strictly visual. 

There are pros and cons with every scope and set up. Finding the right one for your needs is the primary challenge. I think I found the sweet spot with this set up....for now. 

Cheers thanks for reading!

What a lovely passionate review of your experiences, it seems you've really been bitten by the refractor bug. It made me feel like going out and buying a 4" refractor myself, but that would be silly as I already have one.

I think your refractor will see some action over the coming winter months, especially as youve found it to be a much more user friendly arrangement compared to your previous scope.

Due to your current situation, having to transport your equipment like you do, i hope you dont mind me suggesting that you think about simplifying your setup still further.

I use my own 4" on an equatorial mainly but there are many times when I just want to nip out for a few minutes or feel like sweeping around at low power. Heavy mounts can be off putting, so I also use a simple, light weight altazimuth. I can carry the whole mount with scope attached with one arm and that can be a real blessing at times.

It's so tempting to go for a sturdy heavy mount or even to be lured towards large apertures again, but then you end up back where you started. Keep it simple and you'll grow to love your scope more each time you use it.

Attached is an image of my lightweight grab and go. It's cheap and cheerful but ideal for hunting fuzzies or a quick look at the moon etc.

Mike.post-41880-0-14625400-1443996448_thumb.j

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That set up looks amazing. Nice Tak, some day ill have a couple im sure. 

And to be honest you hit a strong point just recently made a bit more clear to me.

The recent frac thread made me realize just how many people mount them on an Altazimuth not GE mounts. This would shave down enormous amounts of time.

What is a solid, recommended AltAz mount for a 13 pound frac plus diagonale/eypiece?

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That set up looks amazing. Nice Tak, some day ill have a couple im sure. 

And to be honest you hit a strong point just recently made a bit more clear to me.

The recent frac thread made me realize just how many people mount them on an Altazimuth not GE mounts. This would shave down enormous amounts of time.

What is a solid, recommended AltAz mount for a 13 pound frac plus diagonale/eypiece?

The Skywatcher AZ-4 that Mike uses is pretty good. I use a Giro mount as you saw in the photos I posted of my refractors, which works well.

There are others such as the Ayo (Swiss made) or the William Optics Eztouch and the Orion (USA) Versago II (same as the AZ-4).

Quite a bit of choice these days :smiley:

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The AZ4 is an ok mount, its certainly more solid with less vibration than the Porta mounts or their clones but it lacks slow motion controls. I was never entirely happy with the Gibraltar mount from TeleVue as it too wasnt solid enough.

The most solid Altaz I ever had was a Hercules Helix Altazimuth Fork on an EQ6 tripod. It was buttery smooth and would damp down in less than two seconds. I used it to carry my Equinox 120.post-41880-0-13000600-1444032653_thumb.jpost-41880-0-88964900-1444032718_thumb.jpost-41880-0-04756500-1444032788_thumb.j

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I used to have a Hercules as well Mike - exactly the same setup as you have !

You don't see too many of them in the UK.

I was trying to use it with a 152mm F/8 Meade AR6 and, while the mount was smooth, the overall setup was not quite solid enough for my liking. I agree with you on the Tele Vue Gibraltar though - it looked great but struggled with my ED120 on it. More like Surtsey than Gibraltar at times !.

I guess TV designed them for their 4" short tube refractors. I know they do a special Gibraltar for their 127mm though. Must be beefed up in other ways than just the wider forks.

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