HollyHound

50 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

Ah ok.  So the option:

”AZ100 + Encoders”

is only for users that already own another nexus dsc?

That's correct... or in my case, I'm buying with the encoders, even though I don't (yet) have either Nexus, so that I'm "future proofed". It is my intention to get one or the other sometime soon. The reason to buy with the encoders, is that to have them fitted later means returning to Rowan, which will likely take some time and presumably there may be a fitting charge. If you never plan on needing the encoders, then by all means get without.

Just now, Robindonne said:

Yes thanks.  I was directed a bit to that thread last week.   I might have read over it, but i cant find if the version with just encoders will work when planning to use skysafari for example. They offer the encoders, but where are they connected to when not having a nexus?

I think you will need either the Nexus DSC or the Nexus II for that... both have WiFi, but the Nexus II doesn't have any user interface... that's how I read it 🤔 

22 minutes ago, lifeonmars said:

Hi just have a look at this cloudy nights link Robindonne this might help 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/708353-rowan-astronomy-az100-arrived/page-7#entry10705402 think its post 158 think I will be pulling the trigger soon on one of these!

I was reading only reading that post late last night... Having read that the motor upgrade kit will be a user install and will allow tracking, even when just being used without a Nexus and/or SkySafari, I have ordered an AZ100 with encoders, 2x Dual Saddle, Pan/Tilt Handle (don't tell @johninderby🤣), Counterweight bar & Nexus shelf (just in case I want to add that later) 👍

So looks like I'll be wanting to join this owners club very soon too 🤞

7 hours ago, Dean Hale said:

Very happy chap today. Actually dithered quite a bit whether to buy the StellaMira 80mm (crayford focuser) or an alternative however circumstances deemed the StellaMira as the one to be. Ooh it's lovely. Plus a few other bits - Scopetech Zero, ADM clamp and a Baader finder shoe. Thanks to the contributors on the various posts at SGL as to suggestions for appropriate mounts and clamps.

Welcome to StellaMira/ScopeTech heaven 😀

44 minutes ago, Dean Hale said:

I've replaced the screw clamp with an ADM clamp. Loosed the nuts slightly as it was so stiff it just would not move in any direction. However it mentions potential damage when mounting the scope and appropriate guidance to avoid mishaps. I've added two images which show a gap similar to the instructional warning image. This is without a telescope being mounted. The gap seems to be a uniform and not out of kilter. Is this normal? Hopefully just overthinking this. But thought best to check.

No 2. I've mounted the Scopetech onto a Skywatcher 3/8 stainless steel tripod. This just uses a 3/8 screw direct to the base of the mount and the slow motion is hit and miss (perfectly fine when not mounted to the tripod) - the best i can explain is i can't quite get it to fully tighten. If i use the mount extension it's fine - however i don't trust using this.

It's best to double check with this mount, as you've done... I can confirm that the gap you're seeing is normal (as long as it's uniform, which it appears to be). See the photo of mine for comparison. Given the warning in the manual, what I do is to keep it tightened at all times... not so tight that it's being forced, but finger tight then a tiny bit more. I find this means that whenever I mount or dismount a scope, the potential for that issue they mention goes away. It also gives (for me) just about the right amount of tightness to make free movement possible as well as allowing the slow motion controls to work well too. Apart from checking it's not become loose, I rarely touch the tightness knob during usage.

What is essential is balance... for the slow controls to work properly the scope must be in balance (or as close as possible), otherwise it will travel one way (up or down) but not the other. Sometimes if it's close enough, tightening the control knob a little tiny bit more can give enough "bite" to allow it to overcome any slight imbalance.

The Azimuth isn't quite as critical, but I tend to keep that finger tight and a bit more too, as it gives the same controllability.

You do really need to have the mounting bolt in the base nice and tight, otherwise (as you've found) that when the azimuth control knob is tightened enough to give authority for the slow motion control, it could easily overcome the base friction and undo the mount. I think that's what you're describing 🤔

It's a superb mount, and more robust that the instructions indicate, but just don't let the control knobs get too loose with a scope onboard, I think is the only thing to remember, so just keep them tightened, but not overly so 👍

I'm also using an ADM clamp too, works very well, particularly when it comes to adjusting for balance quickly.

55 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

Heinously expensive!

Agreed, however I have a feeling that they will likely become more expensive still if other recent prices rises are applied to TeleVue too 🤞

Hence my reasoning for getting the 21 now 😬

57 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

Now that I have an 8" CC as my main high mag scope, with an FL of 2436mm, the Ethos 17mm is very useful as it produces about x150. Otherwise my closest choices were x116 and x187.

Sounds like it will be ideal for this. I haven’t tried either of my Ethos in my CC6 or Mak yet, but interested to see how they perform 👍

10 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

I find it similar in use to a Delos but wider. It’s the same weight as the APM 20 which is about my comfortable limit. I does sit very nicely above my 13e and when I get a chance for some real usage... well. I think it was a good choice with my telescope and my other eyepieces. 

Just had a look on Astronomy Tools... the Nagler 22mm has the same magnification and exit pupil as the Ethos 21, with only a slightly smaller FoV, so I think it fills the same role and I bet is a gorgeous view👍

I still have and love my Pentax XW30, which is significantly lighter and will remain in use with my other scopes, such as my StellaMira 80mm or StellaLyra 6”. Bizarrely it has exactly the same FoV as the Ethos 21, but of course with lower magnification and larger exit pupil (too large for the f/5 dob).

33 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

There will be some happy people out there as you will be moving on some fine optics. 

The APM is a superb eyepiece and I’ll be glad for someone else to get enormous viewing pleasure from it 👍

I will be doing a comparison first, as I’m curious how close they are to each other in performance, particularly near the edge.

18 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

That does look good. Here’s my version of it 🤣

I’ve had a Nagler 13mm, it was a lovely eyepiece...only moved it on because at the time I wasn’t getting on with 82 degree FoV. I bet the view from that 22mm is lovely 👍

Ok, the Ethos 21 is a big eyepiece... I knew that when ordering, but still a big old lump when seen for real 😮

Hopefully should give superb wide field views in the dob though 🤞

9 hours ago, Littleguy80 said:

In terms of real world performance, my 9mm Ortho (BGO) shows 4 cores in Stephan’s quintet. The 10mm Delos is a shade behind the Ortho but will still show the same 4 cores. I was never able to see the Quintet with the APM. 100 degree eyepieces are great, my 20mm APM is a keeper, but they are a compromise. I’ve not tried an Ethos but suspect that even they sit behind the Delos. To make your decision it’s really a question of what you value most and what you’re prepared to sacrifice in your observing...and bank balance

Based on a single observing sessions last week, I found that the Ethos 13 matched my Delos 14 (and XW 14) in terms of ability to resolve Trapezium E and F stars.

I would put the Ethos and Delos as pretty much equal in resolving ability, contrast and lack of either astigmatism or field curvature, certainly in my coma corrected f/5 dob.

Where they do differ is immersion... with the Delos, the field edge is visible, but with the Ethos, it isn’t of course and so it really does feel like you’re “floating in space” 😀

On 20/02/2021 at 19:43, Don Pensack said:

I love the 14mm Delos, and almost bought one.  But I loved the 14mm Morpheus more.  Both are quite usable with glasses.

I use a coma corrector on my 12.5", so it's f/5.75 and has a fairly flat focal plane, so I don't see any issues with the 14mm Morpheus,

Some people with much shorter focal lengths who do not use a coma corrector have had issues with FC in the 14mm.

As I read people's remarks, the dividing line appears to be about 1200mm, with longer focal lengths giving it great reviews.

I’d agree with that Don 👍

I’ve tested the Morpheus 14, XW14, Delos 14 and DeLite 13 in both an 80mm f/10 refractor (focal length 800mm) and 10” f/5 dob with ParaCorr 2 (focal length 1460mm).

Field curvature was very noticeable with the Morpheus and slightly more so with the XW,  but not visible with the other two, when used in the refractor.

Field curvature was (barely) noticeable with the Morpheus, again slightly more so with the XW, and not visible with the other two, when used in the dob.

I’ve just bought and tested (once) an Ethos 13 in the dob, and no field curvature is visible at all.

I find coma very noticeable with all these eyepieces if the ParaCorr is not used, so that stays in the dob for all sessions, but I’m aware some don’t find it objectionable.

The Delos 14 is my most used eyepiece in the dob for DSOs, but as the Ethos is the same quality with a wider FoV, it will likely replace it for most sessions. I have sold the Morpheus and selling the DeLite, but retaining the XW as it fits my XW set and still gives a superb relaxed central field view 😊

6 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

No problem with blatant advertising.🤣🤣🤣

You are brave selling your surplus eyepieces off. I should take a leaf out of your book and do the same, but can never bring myself to do it. Same for telescopes 🤣

 

It's not bravery... my eyepiece case is now going to become two eyepiece cases very shortly, and I have loads that still won't be able to fit in those... so it's a necessary pruning for my own sanity 🤣

I just want to reach for one of two(ish) options now depending on what I'm viewing and the scope 🤣

Have to say though, it's been (and still is) a load of fun trying a variety of eyepieces across a wide range of manufacturers, FoV, type and quality... although admittedly I can't say that I've used a single bad eyepiece, with the possible exception of the one that first came with my first scope... they've all had their moments 👍

22 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Current embodiment of the TeleVue case

That's a lovely selection of eyepieces Jeremy 😀

If you didn't already have a Nagler 16 and needed to keep those Panoptics company, I'd be suggesting looking at the classifieds right now, as someone not a million miles away is finally selling one of their Panoptic 15mm... is this blatant advertising or what 🤣

9 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

you didn’t order a 21 did you 😎

I did... your APM 20 hooked me in, the Ethos 13 last week completely grabbed me and so the triumvirate of 21/13/8 beckons. Now, don't get me wrong, the APM 20 is superb, but I do see astigmatism in the outer edge of field (which I'm learning to use effectively now) and so the Ethos 21 is a logical step, then the 8 when it's back in stock. I'm also hedging against price rises from TeleVue, which I believe will happen quite soon and so the Ethos 21 increase would be an even larger rise as a percentage and make it close to a £1k eyepiece. So call it sensibly thinking ahead 🤔or madness... either works 🤣

It does mean, that after a short period of comparison... your APM 20 will be moving onto a new home with some other deserving home quite soon 👍 Which also offsets the price.... you may also note that I'm (finally) selling off some of the eyepieces I've experimented with and no longer use... you see how I'm trying to justify it to myself here... is it working 🤣

8 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

I got the 4.7 over a year ago before the astronomy drought. Managed to find that telescope house had a 3.7 however it came from Germany. 

Ah yes. I got my Report from Germany before FLO had them in stock. Unfortunately ordering from the EU is now not quite as easy or cost effective 😬

6 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

I don't think I need the extra FOV from 5 down too. Have the XW 5 so just the 3.5 to add. Typically favour 20/13/8 for most things I enjoy at the moment. That could change I guess. 

I'm thinking the same... I'm very happy with my XWs, but since discovering the immense view with the APM 20 and now the Ethos 13, I found 70 degrees just seemed constrained at those focal lengths in the dob. I will get the Ethos 8 as well, so have the set you mention (20/13/8), but use XWs below that and also for my other scopes primarily 😀

1 minute ago, John said:

I had them both at one point. I recently re-bought the Ethos SX 4.7 because I missed having it to use with my 12 inch dob.

The XW's are the choice for my refractors though.

I'm thinking of sticking to the XWs from 10mm down... just need to get the XW5 and that's all covered, but again I can imagine the 4.7 is both visually impressive and also minimises the amount of nudging required tracking something at that high power 👍

1 hour ago, Dantooine said:

Or what I did was get the 4.7 and the 3.7 which are nothing short of amazing 😉

Tricky to find stock for these anywhere, but I imagine the view through these is stunning too 👍

On 21/02/2021 at 12:10, Alma said:

There are pluses and minuses to using a Tri-Pier with the AZ100.   The pluses are:-

• the low centre of gravity compared to a conventional tripod offsets the relatively heavy weight of the AZ100 rather well,
• the footprint is smaller than a conventional tripod, so if like me you’re prone to stumbling over tripod legs this is less of a problem,
• There is plenty of clearance for long refractors,
• there is virtually nil vibration, at least with the scopes I use.

The downsides are :-

• Weight ... 11.7 Kgs vs 11.0 Kgs for a Planet,
•  Handling.  There are lots of twiddly adjustment levers to tighten (6 in total) and three leg adjustment screws to play around with before you can use it,  Berlebachs are SO much nicer in this respect.   Likewise, wood is much nicer to handle than cold steel.
• As Space Hopper points out there is no accessory tray, although you can work around this with a bit of inventiveness, 
• Aesthetics. Self explanatory really.

To be honest if I was starting from scratch I’d choose a Berlebach Planet over the Tri-Pier for the AZ100, but for those who already own a Tri-Pier I would say try it first; it works and works very well with the AZ100.

Thanks for the pros and cons, very helpful 🙂

I'm fortunate that I have both the Uni 28 (EQ5 head) and Tri Pier, so it was really more of a question of getting started and given I have the adaptor for the Tri Pier, it might have been easier to use that. However, I have found that Rowan do sell an EQ5 adaptor, so I will probably get that and use the Uni 28, then it leaves the Tri Pier free for its main role of carrying the AZ Mount Pro.

The planet is an option down the road, but none of my (current) scopes are particularly heavy, so the Uni 28 should be ok for now 🤞

Just one small thing regarding the Tri Pier... I have found that leaving its centre column setup in the right location and not locking/unlocking the rings around that, that I can just undo the three leg knobs, fold them inwards and then leave the Tri Pier standing in the corner of the room (it takes very little space). When I go outside, I can quickly kick the three legs out, tighten the bolts and it's all ready to go at the correct height... so my setup is almost as quick as the Uni 28... however, I agree the Uni 28 feels more elegant and is a little quicker... also that tray is so useful.

I find (like you) that the Tri Pier is almost like a solid mounted pier once setup... it just doesn't move at all.

Cheers

Gary

15 minutes ago, omo said:

@HollyHound Yes the APM 20 was my first foray into 100 degrees, but the 13 kind of seduced my eyeball and the 8 followed

Same here... I’ve also put a 2” adaptor on the Ethos 13 for convenience and used it with my ES 2x focal extender, to good effect, so should get away without needing the 6 and 10 👍

5 minutes ago, omo said:

Trying to dodge that bullet, have the 8 and 13, keep trying to convince myself the 20HDC is good enough

I have the APM 20 ADC, bought recently and it’s due to this that decided to go down the 100 degree route at long last... as my most used focal length was 14mm, the Ethos 13 made sense, and fits into that set of 8, 13, 21.

However, and being hyper critical here... I was able to see astigmatism in the outer part of the field in the APM 20, whereas none was visible at all in the Ethos 13. It may be the shorter focal length, but I’m convinced enough to replace the APM with the Ethos 21, and then add the Ethos 8 as soon as I can 👍

I should add that the APM 20 is a superb eyepiece and of course is significantly lighter, but as these will be used in my counterweighted dob mostly, the extra weight isn’t an issue.

I will of course do a comparison when I can 🤞

On 17/02/2021 at 22:01, Alma said:I have mine on an iOptron Tri-Pier which I already owned and just added the EQ6 adapter.  I thought about getting another top plate for my UNI18 for the AZ100 but I’m very happy with the Tri-pier and I think it’s a good match especially with heavier scopes.  The Tri-pier is a little heavier than a Planet but it has lots of clearance for long refractors and I quite like the fact that you can adjust the pier settings for height.

 

Thank you so much for posting this... I’m considering the AZ100 and was wondering how to mount it. Although I have a Uni 28, it has an EQ5 head, so was going to have to get an adaptor plate. However, I also have the iOptron Tri Pier and as luck would have it, the very same EQ6 adaptor you have, which I purchased last year and forgot about 😬. So I’m actually good to go without spending any more on mount adaptors 👍

24 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

The 8?

Higher... The 8 was out of stock and according to TeleVue and other respected sources, a good "minimal" set of Ethos is either 6, 10, 17 or 8, 13, 21... well I have the 13 and couldn't get the 8 (yet) so.... 🤔😬

Just now, Dantooine said:

I’m not sure how many owners there are  on sgl but I love mine. Manual only for me. It takes my 200 pds with ease and I swing it around like a garden howitzer. 

Sounds very much like a well engineered version of the SkyTee that I used to have, and from what I can gather has slow motion controls too (which I need). The advantages of the AZ100 would the integration of encoders and ability to use my existing Uni 28 (with adaptor). However, I believe the AZ8 can also have the same encoders too, will need to check into that.

It does look a solid bit of kit... also need to check availability... I think Rother Valley sell it, but whether they have stock of course 🤔

I will research my options, but they both look very capable and good to hear yours handles your 200pds, as I have been thinking of mounting my 10" Bresser OTA on this mount too (it's within the weight limit), which would give me options beyond the dob base (assuming I fitted it with encoders/DSC).

Cheers

Gary