Mount musings - ASA DDM60, Mesu, ?

[NickK]

In the planning and permission phase at the moment but.. I'm looking at replacing the EQ6.

Requirements:

• 1 person move - if split that's ok
  
• mobile - mobile 'luggable' (short distance) use and pier use, with a 12V 100Ah battery..
  
• Encoders.
  
• Light-medium - take the Pentax+gear and maybe another at a later date (possibly an RC)
  
• cosmetically approachable or I'll hear about it for the rest of my married life..
  
• attachable to a mac
  

My favourite, in the ideal sense, would the ASA DD60. However I know plenty of people have Mesu and 10Micron.

Thoughts?

[pete_l]

So far as the DDM60 goes. I'm a great fan - at least in theory. I'd love to get one, myself, for observatory use. However I can't get past the feeling that while the operating principle is bang up-to-date, the mechanical design seems great and the benefits it confers are superb .... that the software is still in the "beta" stage.

Even though the mount IS expensive and has been selling for 3 years, users do appear to still be reporting pretty basic flaws with Autoslew. Given that the software seems to be the product of a single individual, that doesn't bode well. All it needs is for the guy to throw in the towel, find something more interesting to spend his time on or even to have an accident / illness and the whole operation could end up very, very exposed.

Maybe I'm being too cautious. But I've done my fair share of being an early adopter (although a 3 y/o product hardly counts as "early" - 3 months, maybe ) and the problems and losses never seem to outweigh the benefits. I know there are plenty of happy users and I keep a close eye on their forum, but so far I'm happy to sit on the sidelines until the software gets sorted out.

[ollypenrice]

ASA earned serious negative points with me by using their customers as Beta testers for three years. Would I ever forgive them and buy from them? I just don't know.

There are two relevant philosophies in engineering, perhaps; avoid complexity and reduce the potential for malfunction or accept complexity because complexity brings control. Tough one. The Mesu belongs to the former camp and the ASA to the latter. If you were to do a test on the lines of 'percentage happy customers' there is no doubt who would be winning after the three year gestation of the ASA.

The other thing is IT dependency. The more expert a person is in IT the more they are certain that IT products can be made stable and reliable. The facts, as it seems to me, are against them! What now causes most roadside breakdowns in cars? (Its a psychological syndrome, I'm sure! I used to ride British motorbikes and the more expert the owners became the more they persuaded themselves that they could make a Triumph Bonneville reliable. It was the riders of Japanese bikes, however, who saw the truth. You cannot make a Triumph Bonneville reliable!)

I don't find guiding a big deal. WIth a good mount it is only limited by the seeing and if the seeing's bad enough to muck up the guiding how good is the data going to be anyway?

Olly

[jjongmans]

I ordered an ASA DDM60PRO myself and I'm still waiting for it to arrive. More and more people are getting very good unguided results with the latest release of AutoSlew (30 min unguided @ 2+ meter fl). You should join the ASA Yahoo group, lots of info there. There is a major revision of AutoSlew coming, not sure when it will be released,

[pete_l]

There is a major revision of AutoSlew coming, not sure when it will be released,

That's encouraging news. ATM my reservations about the software are probably the single biggest concern that's holding me back.

Maybe in about 6 months I'll commit - so long as all the news is good

[syd_malicious]

What now causes most roadside breakdowns in cars?

I'd be astounded if it wasn't flat batteries, flat tyres and running out of petrol; all Have been there pretty much since the start of cars (give or take).

That's why the adverts (AA/RAC) claiming x percentage of breakdowns are fixed at the roadside is an example of pointless statistical posturing.

(I'd go for the ASA everytime)

[NickK]

The main concern everyone has with the ASA DDM60 is the tracking droop. The mount uses electricity to create a magnetic flux to hold and move each axis - no gear to physically stop the axis rotating. The positioning/tracking error appears after the current required to create the flux increases to the maximum of 5A - the result is that the movement/hold cannot be maintained. Quite why would be speculation - everything from balancing, through temperature (effects electromagnet efficiency) and even if the mount has difficulty at the payload sizes people are giving it (remember this is a slow moving mass not a static one).

With the coming major revision - one could suggest there's possible mount changes ahead too.

I have a feeling that this isn't software related.. so lets see.. (Olly - I agree.. even with a degree in software engineering).

[GeoC]

This thread has been dead for a while but I only just found it.

It is true that those of us who bought a DDM60 early on were effectively beta testers. The technology was brand new, and inevitably there were bugs to be ironed out, both software and mechanical. I experienced these bugs first hand. ASA have always been helpful and obliging, and I now have a mount that is upgraded to the latest specifications. Some upgrades I paid for, such as changing from an unpowered to a powered USB hub, but ASA footed the bill for the other changes, and paid for courier service between the UK and Austria. Superb service!

The mount behaves wonderfully. I can switch it on, activate Autoslew and via Cartes du Ciel, slew to my target. The target is always but a handful of pixels from dead centre,

The problems with rising current seem to be solved and my mount draws between 1.0 and 1.5 amps while tracking, and during slews seldom goes above 2.0 amps (I fitted a 10A meter to my power supply to monitor what was going on).

Making a pointing file is automated using the 'Sequence' software, but this does require a copy of Pinpoint. I made my initial pointing file within the free trial period of Pinpoint, but recently bought the package for further use, as there are several features in Sequence which I will always need, such as Local area tracking, analysis of scope flex, hysteresis etc.

The learning curve for new users used to be very steep, and one or two have been known to give up. Autoslew has been vastly improved and is now far less daunting. For example, tuning the direct drive motor parameters used to involve arcane rituals plus a degree in electrical engineering. Autoslew now does it automatically within 2 or 3 minutes.

I hope that Olly Penrice has another chance to test drive an ASA mount. I am sure he will be impressed with what he finds.

[Bukko]

Olly,

if you read this, Please, Please persuade ASA to lend you one for a review in AN or S@N..

Preferably one of the bigger DDM85's. It's on my "retirement" list and I so need a good independent review done by someone who knows what they are doing...

Gordon.

[GeoC]

I am bumping this up.... No response from Olly yet?