Jkulin

Here you go ?

Please don't make assumptions, only fools assume, I don't have to explain myself to you.

I'm vegetarian and have been for 36+ years, I don't eat anything that an animal has to give its life for.

Shame on any of you that would kill rather than try and help relocate or wilfully destroy life. Chapeau David for trying?

Problem is that no one knows how the new Mesu will perform, and like all new things will take time to get rid of all the bugs?

Indeed as I have said there were some issues with the 120EC and these were resolved to useable levels with work still in progress, there were a couple of big issues with random slews and spikes in DEC, these were resolved and it's now down to iOptron to get the guiding even tighter which I am sure they will.

Hi Roland, I would seriously doubt that DF have ever had a CEM60EC in for hypertuning, when I looked at your link they just said iOptron, maybe I missed something, and if I have then will stand corrected. I never disabled anything with mine, there was never any need.

I was running my CEM60EC with about 18-19Kgs and it never flinched once, I truly believe that the capacity is as they stated 27Kgs or 60lbs for imaging.

Hi Ahmed, You are reading far too much into past problems with the software of the CEM60 / CEM60-EC and as Olly mentioned these problems were old hat and someone of Olly's skill and knowledge advising that you should look closely at the iOptron would be enough for me. People need to move on, I have spoken to many many people and always do my research and I wouldn't be after buying another one in the future if I was not satisfied. Personally I wouldn't touch an NE6 compared against the iOptron and I had the AZ-EQ6-GT which are similar. I bought the 120EC knowing full well about iOptron using real life purchasers to test their Beta's...not really a big deal because at the end of the day they listen and make amendments, I can't say the same about Skywatcher, do they listen...do they h3ll, if they did they they would have made all of their mounts belt driven without people having to buy a kit and modify them and they would have got rid of the back lash that most people have to mess with to get them to guide properly. And...they would answer their emails, and when I emailed their UK disty's firstly no one replied via email and when I called it was...doooh I don't know, not exactly scientific. The amount swarf inside the SW is not exactly endearing either, that's why people have to either do a Hypertune themselves or send them away to get done, I very much doubt anyone has ever had to send an iOptron away for hypertuning! When users have good, frequently clear skies, issues with guiding are massively reduced, you are in the heart of light pollution and bad skies, so you need something that doesn't need faffing with. I now endeth the sermon!!!??

Yep, for that reason I never used the built in hubs and just use the Pegasus UPB, even with the powered hubs on the 120EC I prefer to still use the UPB The issues were never with the mechanical or build quality, just software, so if you can find a secondhand one then a quick firmware upgrade will bring it up to spec with current models. In fact if a secondhand one came up after my bank balance recovers, then I would buy one for my mobile imaging as they really are quite light.

Morning Ahmed, Thought I'd add in my experiences.. I have had a number of mounts and my last Skywatcher an AZ-EQ6-GT was to me not in the same league, the backlash was awful and for a relatively expensive mount was not the best performing, I never really got tight stars. I bought an iOptron CEM60EC to replace it, WOW is the best way to describe it, my first night using it was a piece of cake, it just worked perfectly and never missed a beat, my RMS error on some nights was below 0.3 depending on the seeing, I loved that mount and wouldn't hesitate to buy another. As for balancing, it is very easy, the reason why it appears to be so critical is because it is so free moving than the SW, with the clutches slackened off it just floats whereas the SW was so much stiffer and therefore appeared to be balanced when in fact it might be miles off. Indeed when the CEM60EC first came out there were loads of moans, none with relation to build quality but due to software, it took them about a year to fix and it is now a true performer and you'll only find good things to say about it. Sadly my one developed a fault and after it went back a couple of times, I was offered the chance to upgrade to the new 120EC, I could have had a brand new replacement 60EC, but the looks and potential performance increase persuaded me to upgrade. Now going back to what I said above, I knew the 60EC had initial problems when first launched and my mate who has a 120EC was having a number of software issues as did @RayD so I purchased with an open mind knowing that they would be resolved. First night in and sure enough the guiding on the 120EC was not impressive, so I applied the Firmware update and suddenly it was excellent. Certainly on par with the 60EC and on clear seeing nights I'm getting around 0.2RMS error. So yeah iOptron do rely on customer feedback for the development of their kit, which can be very frustrating, but they do listen to feedback and work tirelessly to fix, the 120EC hasn't been out in proper distribution yet for more than a year, and the promises of firmware updates in the pipeline are good to hear. iOptron as a company offer superb technical support and have always replied to my emails and are easy to call for support if you have free international calling like I do, otherwise you are reliant on the UK distributor, in my case Ian at Altair whom I received excellent support and service and yes he did answer the phone ? If you have the money Ahmed to its a no brainer decision.

Thanks Steve, unfortunately the Sony A7R3 is an e-mount

Hi Steve, first place I looked at was FLO, but I imagine you have to stock where the demand is and the Sony's are now taking quite a strong hold after claiming to have resolved the star eating firmware. Selling all my Leica and Nikon equipment was a very big switch, but the Sony results sold me for widefield etc.

So is the Red cat a T2 (42mm) fitment? If you have a 48mm T adapter with the e-mount can I ask where you got that from?

Slightly off topic, but I have just bought the same camera and was interested in the red cat, where did you manage to find a 48mm T adapter and what back focus are you going to work to when the red cat arrives?

Carbon will cool down far quicker than steel and won't expand as much. Why is is than most if not all of the high end OTA's are either truss designed or carbon or both, but very rarely steel if ever.

As previously a manufacturer of high quality extreme condition waterproof items Steve I have to say lets agree to disagree, my knowledge was gained from working within the industry and taped seams were definitely not cheaper as they were far more labour intensive. Grant maybe using my old cover, but it does not explain the 1/2 pint of water that I had to empty out of my mount whilst in use. I'll leave it at that as we have two totally different opinions.

I know what you are saying Steve but Telegizmo have no excuse for not taping their seams, every single outdoor product clothing or camping company worth their salt should tape them, I've heard so many claims over the years about threads expanding etc. and special waxes and sealants, you can't seal perfectly something that doesn't weld or chemical seal as an overlay of the seam. When a needle enters material this thick it gets hot, very hot, I have had a needle go right through the nail, and bone and come out the other side and there was no blood, lot of pain and swearing and jumping around on one foot but no blood. When heat it applied to plastic materials it shrinks away and makes a bigger hole thus relying on the thread that is smaller than the hole to expand and seal, in my professional past experience it doesn't, it needs to be taped. If there was a magical thread that could chemically bond then why don't all the outdoor clothing manufacturers do that, I suggest that you go into any reputable outdoor clothing company and see if you can find any waterproof garments that aren't taped. I have over £10K's of equipment sitting out on my pier and I certainly am not going to take another risk with just the telegizmo, thus the reason why I use two covers. This i no reflection on any company that sells Telegizmo, it is just a matter of fact, seams need to be welded or taped.

Hi Steve, Sorry was just showing that you were helpful in getting things sorted for me even though you were surprised that the telegizmo leaked..

Hi Jeremy, I used to design and manufacture waterproof equipment for the angling trade and my father was a tailor and he taught me to sew, so I have a particularly keen eye on working with waterproof materials. In my opinion, the material used in the Telegizmo 365 is superb, I particularity like the aluminium reflective lining that should help keep things cool, what I really don't like is the fact that they never taped the seams, they have just sewn them together!?. The material has a superb hydrostatic head and the technical specs appear to be excellent, it maybe that the material will not accept taping, but claiming it to be 100% waterproof can only relate to the material as the seams which to my mind are every bit as important if not more so lets it down. I purchased originally a smaller one in July last year Like this and by the beginning of September it was leaking like a sieve, fortunately after contacting Telegizmo in the US they suggested my contacting FLO for a replacement, which they happily did. When I upgraded my mount and because of the weight of my 10" and camera's I decided to invest in the larger Teelgizmo specifically this one so that over multiple nights I could safely leave my kit out without fear of any water penetration, it is a massive cover, however when I looked inside in bright day light I could still see light at the stitch holes, now some manufacturers argue that the thread they use expands in the wet to close up the seams, sadly in my experience that never proves to be the case or indeed safe practice, as you are relying on water in the first place!!! Testing of this cover in the ice cold Colorado winters and heavy snow is not going to show up how waterproof it is, you need torrential down pours to prove that and the rain we have in the UK does just that. My way to resolve the issue was to buy a large water proof and taped cover from ENS such as This one the material is breathable and more importantly is waterproof, so with the combination of the two covers I hope that I have done my utmost to safely protect my equipment. Sorry for the long winded reply, and just to clarify, FLO collected and replaced the originally cover very speedily, I just feel that the cover is not 100% waterproof as the manufacturers claim.

Yep Kev, Steve @FLO was surprised that it leaked when I sent it back, suggesting that mine was the first, but with half a pint of water that I had to empty out of my mounts guts I wasn't best pleased with Telegizmo. I couldn't trust it without a taped and seamed cover over the top, I ordered the largest one they make so hopefully at £165 it will last unlike its predecessor which Steve replaced for me.

Ahmed, I use a Telegizmo 365 and one of the ENS waterproof breathable covers, having been let down with a Telegizmo 365 before I didn't want to risk £10K+ of equipment sitting under a cover that is not taped. I find it absolutely incredible that telegizmo promote their products without them being heat taped at the seams, I've been involved over many years with the design of waterproof equipment and nobody in their right mind would consider something waterproof without taped seams, I use one because of the material they use and then cover it with the ENS which looks better in the garden and does have taped seams.

I live in a rural village, the 120 weighs 23 Kgs and another 30kgs for the CW Bar and weights, if they are strong enough to lift it then they are welcome to it, I work from home so it is never left unattended.

I leave my mount out all the time secured now with security torx bolts and I use a large Telegizmo 365 cover over not just the mount but also my OTA if planning on a lengthy target, I then cover with one of ENS's waterproof breathable covers for extra protection https://ensoptical.co.uk/index.php?_route_=telescope-covers/tempest-large-long-cover It might seem like over £250 worth of protection, but it save so much time.

Just wondered if there would be support for Sony Cameras?