Space Hopper

With reference to my reply above : https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=198117 I understand you want to buy new, but sometimes theres a bargain to be had. And this one comes with the focuser. Food for thought.

Perhaps the most impressive 'powered' alt-az mount i've seen is the 10 Micron AZ1000 HPS. Theres a video of it somewhere with it carrying a 160mm TEC following a daytime pass of the ISS. And it followed it all the way, bang on track all the way through the zenith. Very impressive. But you are well into 5 figure territory there. When you look at it, the Rowan AZ100 with its modularity, its dual scope capability, encoders, and now motorisation options is perhaps the most compelling mounting option of them all in that price bracket.

Someone in the US has done it and said it was ok. Its over on CN somewhere if you delve through the refractor forum Personally I think it would be pushing it , but with something like a Losmandy HD underneath it, probably ok. The DM-6 has a quoted 40 Lbs capacity. Also a 160mm refractor is a big big scope. And soooo expensive !! For me 140mm's is as big a refractor as I can sensibly manage, and i'm not getting any younger.

I think Paul Leuba has tested plenty more scopes. I find it a fascinating subject. I also remember he tested a TEC140FL 2 or 3 years ago. It tested well, although i don't think it was exceptional, but pretty decent. More than happy with the performance of my own scope and I doubt 55 year old eyes would notice much amiss anyway. More of an issue is the grotty UK sky's and weather i subject my scope to...... EDIT : it was Jeff B not Peleuba over on CN who did that test. My mistake.

If you want to look more in depth at The RA AZ100 i would do so. I think your closest north American dealer would be Deep Space Products. I think they are based in Phoenix, AZ

There is that Louis, and it can be more of a problem with heavy 2" eyepieces. It can also be exacerbated a bit with a long focus tube : mine is 4.5" (115mm) - raking it right out can obviously cause imbalance issues. Getting a good balance to start with is key, and i have always had the altitude friction dialled in quite a bit further than the azimuth, just so it holds its position better. If it does start to move, i've not done my balancing well enough, so just loosen the saddle knobs a bit and move the scope back a cm or so. I also binoview mostly, so only have 2 fairly light 1.25" eyepieces to contend with. Clutches are a useful feature, no doubt,(like on the AZ100) but the DM6 doesn't really need them. Same as it doesn't need counterweights either. For me the best thing about the DM6 is the freedom and simplicity it gives. No CWs, no wires, no motors, and easy panning with the long handle. The Nexus is a joy to use. I can push to an object in seconds, then look at something else on the opposite side of the sky again, in a few seconds. Heres a few piccies.... DM-6 4" scope on board here : 4" and 5.5" scopes side by side on the DM4 / DM6 Heres the DM-4 And with 4" scope doing some solar. I wouldn't dream of putting anything bigger on a DM4. It was just used for easy grab & go, and had no encoders or DSC Current setup. I've since upgraded the Uni tripod you see here to a Planet which is a big improvement. Both the DM-4 and 4" scope you see above have since been sold. Lastly, check out the Rowan AZ100. This was an early model demo-ing at a trade show. The AZ100 is something else, just a beautiful bit of kit, and now has a motorisation option if that appeals. I have an astro buddy with this setup and its very impressive indeed. My DM6 is a 2014 purchase, so i'm pretty attached to it. UK users a few and far between and i like something unusual in this hobby that's a rarity. I don't think i'll be selling it any time soon. The AZ100 is much newer and only been around the last 3 or 4 years. If i was starting from scratch now, i'd opt for the AZ100. Hope that helps Gerry. Clear sky's 🙂

With respect I think anyone who'd spent $18,000 on a scope and it had tested that poorly would be more than upset about it, and have every right to be. But fair play to them,(Sv) i believe the scope was returned and the cost refunded. .....although i'm only about a third of the way through the thread, so there may be more twists and turns.

I would say a 140mm refractor is about the limit of the mount, and thats assuming a Planet type tripod. A bigger refractor would be a no no for me. Its also designed (the DM-6) for SCTs up to 11" I've used an 8" Celestron and that was easy. Remember with a long tubed refractor you'll soon be doing contortions on the floor if you want to observe high up stuff. I would stick to 1000mm focal lengths max. I've never had any issues in the cold. The DM6 is never affected by it. Slewing and manually tracking is easy all of the time. I can manually track Jupiter at 200x quite happily for minutes at a time. It becomes second nature. But I think a TSA120 would be a bit too much for a DM4 and would only consider that if you had a smaller scope 80 - 100mm sort of size. Shout up if you want any photos ? I'll see what i have to give you some idea of setups etc.

@jetstream Are you in the US ? Tom Peters is a gent and a pleasure to deal with. I've had both and still use my DM-6 as my main alt-az option (with encoders / Nexus DSC) Its a treat to use and on something like a Planet or Losmandy HD tripod, a very stable setup indeed. Of course, we now have the Rowan AZ100 (UK based) which is every bit as nice and can even be motorised if you wish. It also has a dual scope option. I think they are both beautiful mounts, but like most things today, rather expensive.......

Exactly. A siloing of discussions ? 😆 Thats just nonsense.

I'd perhaps throw a few other scopes into the mix How about something like a 180mm SW Maksutov ? Maks are good at double star viewing with a small CO. Double the aperture you have and close to that 3 metre focal length in a fairly compact tube. And you should be able to pick up a good used one for your budget.

You have the 'Yard cannon' !! 😀 I'm sure you'll benefit from a Binoviewer, certainly for Lunar and planetary observing. If you are on 'Cloudy nights' they have a dedicated 'Bino-viewer dedicated forum, and there is a ton of stuff on there, with loads of expert advice. (I've asked before on here for this : a dedicated forum for binoviewers, as well as splitting up 'Scopes / whole setups' in to smaller, better organised groups, like refractors, reflectors, cats & casses etc, but my request was just ignored without logical explanation 😒) I can recommend the Baader Planetarium viewers. Excellent all round, a very flexible T2 system, and very well designed gpc,s to take care of your focusing requirements, as well as correct for bino induced aberations.

Another APM Superzoom user here. I've enjoyed observing with it, and its definitely a keeper. The magnification range i get is roughly 65x - 125x so quite a useful range for a lot of targets. It works well with the Powermate x2 as well. Its great on lunar. I've also used in for white light solar in a HW but had to use it in 1.25" mode as it would have fouled the ND filter otherwise, but it just focused ok.

I could see snow ❄️ but no sign of our evil twin 😃

Yes, good call. They are the same. Nice eyepieces.

Yes, I'm with Mark here. I bino-view nearly all the time, and just have the one scope now a 140mm refractor. Comfort when viewing is the main reason, and i also enjoy rich field viewing natively with a pair of 24mm Panoptics. If you can get hold of the Baader Max 2, do so. They are a really nice unit with the T2 compatibility. Also (and this is often overlooked imo) the eyepiece holders on the Max 2 are just excellent and set the benchmark. Beautifully designed clicklock holders and diopter adjusters and nicer than the ones on the Mk 5 that I use. Regarding eyepieces, check out APMs 65º flat field series. I have the 15mm, and they are really nice and great value as well. https://www.apm-telescopes.net/en/apm-ultra-flat-field-15mm-eyepiece-65-fov

All good here, reading, liking and commenting on post. 👍🏼

Nice read @SuburbanMak and congratulations on acquiring such a nice little scope. A nice refractor, mounted alt-az on a Berlebach : what a great combination 😀

Apologies if it seems i'm spending your € for you !! 😉 I'm good at that. Over here we have quite a thriving second hand market. So you can save some money that way. A lot of my eyepieces are used, and there are some bargains to be had if you shop around.

If you look at TS in Deutschland they have probably the same scope with a different name. Probably better for you to shop in the Eurozone than here.

Good point. I didn't know they had an ultra short version.

@Apprentice 1. ✅ 2. Ensure you order the 1.7x gpc for the Max 2 (rather than the old Max 1) I believe its the same one as the Mk 5 bino uses : it screws into the back of the viewer rather than the diagonal. Also to confuse you further, the 1.7gpc is actually closer to 1.5x in reality. Don't worry too much about that though. 3. The Clicklock needs to thread onto the end of the focuser drawtube, whatever size that may be. The one you link to is an SCT fit. If you order one just specify your scope and they'll get you the correct fit. 4 ✅ The new Baader nosepiece is ideal, if rather pricey and a little short in length.

Yes, thats correct. The Max 2 i think is about 26mm clear aperture so it will work optimally with rich field 1.25" eyepieces.

Yes it will. T2 standard fit. Regarding removable tubes for binoviewing in focus, not many scopes will offer this feature. But if the scope is optimised for imaging it should have a decent amount of in focus to allow a bino to focus with a 1.7x gpc (or even the 1.25x) in place. @Apprentice for low power, no i don't use a gpc. For eg, looking at the double cluster. I get about 40x mag with the 24mm

Yes, agreed. A 2" nose is a must, and ideally a Baader Clicklock to hold it securely.