HollyHound

Arriving super quick from @FLO, thanks guys 😊

The new ScopeTech Mount Zero 😃

Now need to get it fitted sometime today to the Uni 28 for a test... more information to follow here:

17 minutes ago, John said:

Maybe the Skytee II "tolerances" are loose enough to accept either ?

Here are the two extensions I have:

Skywatcher AZ5 extension pillar (3/8” top and bottom, weighs 0.8kg)

TechoSky(??) extension pillar (top adaptor 3/8”, bottom adaptor M10, weighs 1.2kg).

Actually just tried, and it is possibly to thread the SW 3/8” into the TechnoSky M10 and it was quite solid, so yes perhaps the tolerances are close enough to allow this.

Still not sure I would trust the SW pillar with a heavily loaded SkyTee though.

Out of interest, I’ve been assuming 3/8” and M10 are not compatible... close but not quite... is this assumption correct ?

12 hours ago, John said:

That's the AZ-5 pillar extension isn't it ?

I have that very same pillar (supplied with a number of the SW mounts, mine came with an Avant) and it’s worth noting that it’s thread (top and bottom) is 3/8” rather than M10.

Isn’t the SkyTree an M10 thread ? If so that could make a difference in connection solidity, and might cause that spinning.

I’m also a bit dubious about the solidity of that pillars top mounting plate, as it’s only held on with three small screws, fine for AZ GTI, AZ5, Avant etc, but SkyTee is a heavy mount with fairly high capacity!

I’ve got another extension pillar now (received with the Castor mount I bought recently), that has M10 bass and 3/8” top, and does seem a little better made too. Might be worth checking around for something similar.

Also FWIW, my SkyTee was moderately stiff for the first few hours of use, but it now zooms around very smoothly even under dual scope load... maybe the grease “beds” in 🤔

2 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

For "lunar, planetary and the odd cluster", a 102mm Mak would do the job. Smaller, lighter and much cheaper than a 127 if you just want a little grab and go set up. A tack sharp view up to 200x. Short cool down time (15 mins?). No complaints.

+1 for the Mak 102... this was my first scope and used it quite happily, until I gave it to a family member and upgraded to the Mak 127 😊

I’ve got both the C5 and Mak 127 and love both. 

The C5, as was said earlier, is a really nice scope for grab and go. It’s very light, easily mounted on anything (I have it on an AZ5), and gives a useful 5” of aperture (so excellent for DSOs as well as very decent for lunar and planets). It can take a little while to cool down, but certainly very usable immediately. As the earlier post pointed out, a focal reducer can be used which gives a wider brighter field of view.

The Mak 127 is a bit heavier and takes a bit longer to cool down properly, but gives truly excellent views of the moon and planets. Really good for double stars and good on DSOs too.

Both of these attract dew fairly easily, so a dew shield is really required (also protects the front glass correctors).

There are reviews of both scopes here, from a very experienced reviewer...

http://www.scopeviews.co.uk/CelestronC5XLT.htm
http://www.scopeviews.co.uk/SW127Mak.htm

Good luck with the hunt 😊

Hi,

Welcome to the forum 😊

Cheers

Gary

23 hours ago, HollyHound said:

Just need to be patient now for the delivery from @FLO 😀

I have delivery confirmation for tomorrow... weathers not too good (of course), but at least I can try it out on the Uni 28 and SW 1.75" steel tripod (neither of which are particularly lightweight but quite solid) and see how it fares with long refractor and small SCT 🤞

26 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Got mine today. 😀 I don't think it will take too many hard knocks but, at £17.99 inc. post one cannot complain! 😉

Looks really good and should keep all those eyepieces nice and safe.

I spy a full set of Nirvana ES (4mm, 7mm and 16mm) in there 😁

37 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

It’s an amazingly detailed 32 page manual. Describes all the various screw sizes etc. Pity others are not as complete. Wish I understood it all, though!
 

Interesting to see the “straight through” refractors 

Yes, amazing manual. I tried Google Translate on it, but was too large apparently 😬

Direct link to the manual PDF:

https://scopetown.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/8735b375f33950827dba0092deb8b3a7.pdf

Interestingly, the manual has a lot of QR codes dotted throughout and each one opens a different video with detailed walk throughs of the various functions, technical details and configuration of the mount 👍

10 minutes ago, John said:

According to the spec the tube is aluminum. Must be pretty thick stuff ?

An 80mm F/10 doublet is not going to have thick glass elements so much of the weight must be elsewhere. Does it have solid gold baffles ?

The rack and pinion focuser is very substantial and I guess the tube must be quite thick I suppose 🤔 I’ve not actually looked too closely down the tube, to see how many baffles it has, but yes maybe they’re made of lead 🤣

2 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Built like a tank definately applies to the StellaMira. It’s one solid scope. 🙂

Both wrote the same description at the same time 🤣

3 minutes ago, John said:

Wow ! - I didn't realize that the StellaMira 80mm F/10 was that heavy. My Tak FC100-DL weighs around 4.5kg fully loaded. It's a bit longer though.

I'll be interested to hear how you get on with it

 

It is remarkably heavy, but does feel built like a tank!

I will report back as soon as I get it tested 😊

In case it helps anyone else (and hopefully this is allowed), here's some further information on this mount that I've found...

https://digiborg.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/classical-astronomy-from-japan-mount-zero/

https://digiborg.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/scopetech-mount-zero-2/

https://digiborg.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/scopetech-mount-zero-3-high-magnification-test/

https://digiborg.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/scopetech-mount-zero-4/

Japanese information (via Google translate):

https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&pto=aue&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=ja&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://scopetown.jp/products/zero/&usg=ALkJrhiJ--Q-7oYgnsndJPiJwEg0hPP_qg

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Freflexions.jp%2Ftenref%2Forig%2F2020%2F03%2F25%2F10495%2F

https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&pto=aue&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=http://star-party.jp/wp/%3Fp%3D25091&usg=ALkJrhhcgQIZatXf_bGJqwz13NzDVv2EVg

8 hours ago, John said:

Tube length makes or breaks these lighter mounts so I'll be especially interested on how the Vixen fares.

Don't know why I'm interested - I already have 3 very good alt-az mounts. Must be a bit obsessed with the things !

Ok, after a good deal of research on a number of Japanese sites (translated), I've decided to give this mount a go as a potential replacement for the AZ5. @John I'll also be very interested to see how it fares with the StellaMira 80mm f/10... having a tube length of 800mm and with 2" diagonal, 9x50 RACI finder and a Panaview 38mm eyepiece (my largest) fitted, comes in at 6.2kg (the mount is rated to 7kg), it should be a good test!

Just need to be patient now for the delivery from @FLO 😀

This mount looks very interesting indeed. I wonder if it would be a good (albeit quite pricey) replacement for my AZ5. Some of the articles I've read also show that it can be used right or left handed (which would suit my C5 much better... finder positioning) and also the clamp has M6 and M8 screws at 35mm (which would take the same ADM saddles I have on my SkyTee or indeed others) 🤔

In addition, I did try the StellaMira on the AZ5 and found it prone to some vibration, which I guess must be due to the long tube, as the C5 has no such issue on this mount.

Could you confirm if that is the iOptron Portable TriPier that its shown attached to ?

Not getting one now, but as I have that TriPier, it would be good to know for the future 😊

Thanks

Now here’s a seemingly odd purchase for astro... a small mesh desk pen pot 🤔

However, when I have my Mak or C5 pointing downwards to cool with the visual back open for an hour, this will sit over the end and (hopefully) keep any small insects out (we live on a dairy farm!) 👍

I’m sure there are other solutions, but this was £1.99 on Amazon and should do the job.

2 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

As a stopgap whilst you save up, you could consider a second hand Baader 8-24 zoom, Mark 111 or 1V (there is no difference in optics, only weight). They are based on the Hyperion but I use one in my f5 and have not noticed any abberations. You can cover a large number of focal lengths for little outlay

+1 for this. Very useful zoom eyepiece, which I keep in my grab and go C5. Not very wide view at 24mm, but I found it a great way to learn about different magnifications on varying objects. Fits both 2” and 1.25” and is just so very convenient 👍

11 hours ago, Captain Magenta said:

The reason I’m posting is to suggest you might also consider TV DeLites, I also have a couple of those, see my sig, and I think the DeLite 18.2 is my favourite eyepiece in my whole collection.

I recently picked up the 18.2 and 13 DeLite from the SGL for sale section, and agree that they are superb eyepieces. I’m not using them in anything close to that size/type of scope, but when I did som research before buying, I did see the DeLites being compared to Delos, but smaller/lighter and with 10 degrees less FoV.

I am looking now to extend my set of DeLite eyepieces, as I like then so much.

For your Dob though perhaps Delos are indeed the sweet spot 🤔

16 hours ago, Dantooine said:

Oh dear, I keep telling myself I have too many eyepieces and will fine with my Es 24/68.. and then I see this post. 🥺 that looks so, what’s the word,, perfect. 

Probably wouldn’t help then by saying that the two nights I used my new 24mm Panoptic last week, I had some of the best wide views in both my Mak 127 and StellaMira 👍😬

On 23/06/2020 at 13:33, johninderby said:

A bit too sunny for good photos.🙄

Lovely looking scope and sounds like it performs brilliantly too 😊

Do I spy the 2” to 1.25” adapter from the StellaMira 🤔

Hi Patrick,

Welcome to the SGL forum 😊

Enjoy.

Gary

Hi and welcome to the forum 😊

Cheers

Gary

3 minutes ago, Bobby1970 said:

Always liked the sound of this scope. Been waiting a while for it to arrive due to Covid19 disruption. Looking forwards to some darker nights now. :-). 

 

Was tempted by this very model myself a few months back... enjoy 😀