Alt-Az mount

[kniclander]

Anyone got any experience/ views on this mount? I'm looking at it for my ed100. Also thought of the AZ4 but I'm slightly put off that by the lack of slowmo controls. Any other alt-az mounts people can recommend for a 4 inch scope (possibly a longer one than the ed100....)

Triton AZ Neigekopf mit Feingetriebe - mit Fotostativ Anschluss

[Rob_UK_SE]

Looking at the mount I'm thinking it would be good for birdwatching and supporting a fine spotting scope, however, not necessarily up to the task of astronomy and high power magnification. The legs dont appear to have a central plate to lock them together and the adjustable central column would be a big no no as they would introduce excessive vibrations. It looks like a sort of hybrid from the photographic world.

I have an AZ4 and consider it an excellent mount. It is rock solid and the head is extremely smooth. No problems with the lack of slow motion controls so far. It holds my Tele Vue 102 APO scope well and is easily setup in a couple of minutes.

...Just my two pence.

Rob

[kniclander]

Fair points Rob but I only want the mount. I already have a solid tripod:)

how do you move the AZ4 in Alt? do you have to slack it off. move it, tighten it up? The AZ4 seem to be the most popular choice but I can't quite get my head round how it works.

[Rob_UK_SE]

The large dials allow you to essentially control the amount of friction, prior to locking it into a position. I find these work well.

The scope can be moved freely, much like you would a dob. The long handle allows you to move for both declination and right ascension to achieve the exact location intended. The key is getting the balance just right. If the balance is right it will stay held in the position with no problems at all.

However, I'm not sure if they sell just the mount by itself? I know of two versions available, one which is cheaper with aluminium legs rather than steel. In both cases the tripod is part of the package.

If you are looking for slow motion controls another option is Vixen's Porta II. The head on this has slow motion controls and is quite highly regarded. My understanding is that the legs are the element that let this setup down - well, they are not as good as the SkyWatcher anyway.

In both Vixen and SkyWatcher options I would describe the head movement as very smooth. From experience you can get a good slow pan movement on the AZ4 - even at 150x magnification and above when you need to make subtle adjustments.

Rob

[kniclander]

thanks Rob. very helpful.

[Nibor]

I am interested in this mount - seemingly also available at Opticstar:-

Ascension Altazimuth Mount.

It seems that it would be ideal as part of a holiday / travel / "hand baggage" set up with a reasonable photo tripod and a lightweight 80mm short tube refractor.

I like the idea of the slow motion controls as well as the ability to adjust the tension.

So..........has anyone got one and can give some feedback on its capabilities with the above in mind??

Kniclander - did you finally settle on an altaz mount and if so which one?

Any feedback would be most welcome as I am looking to purchase something along these lines in the near future.

Many thanks

[noakesy]

theres is someone selling that type mount with tripod etc on astro/buy and sell

[noakesy]

item number is 53127

[Saleratus]

If you're interested in some premium options, I know these are popular with astronomers in the US:

Takahashi Teegul with Lapides modification--This modification is so popular that it's actually sold in this form by the US distributor, and they come up on Astromart fairly often.

Diskmount--A bit of a brute force approach, but extremely beefed up and stable.

Half Hitch--A newer approach. This mount makes it easy to balance your scope and the actions are much more fluid than the other two. They have several models depending on the scope you want to use.

[Moonshane]

I use a Giro II mount and it's really superb. needed a regrease when I bought it but this is a ten minute job and probably won't be needed again for a long time.

[Nibor]

Thank you for your altaz mount suggestions - I will explore them over the next few days and see which direction to take.

[kniclander]

Kniclander - did you finally settle on an altaz mount and if so which one?

/QUOTE]

not yet - I'm using a manfroto fluid head that's designed for heavy duty video cameras but does the job ok for my 4" refractor - only problem is it cant get above about 75 degrees with it. i don't much like the look of the vixen porta mounts and the az4 and the giros are a bit pricey at the moment.