Altair TMS Heavy Duty Universal Dovetail Plate Clamp

[laser_jock99]

One of my EQ6 mounts is the older, black mounts which came with a Vixen only type saddle clamp. I needed to load a 12" Newtonian on this mount, but it is a large scope on 350mm Losmandy plate. There seemed to be several options for new dual clamps for the EQ6 but the best looking and most sustantial was the Altair Astro offering:

http://www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16536&cat=275&page=1

Fitting was easy- just three grub screws to undo on the EQ6. The supplied countersunk screws to attach the new puck to the clamp were way too short and had to be upgraded to longer ones though.

The mount is fairly substanial and well engineered with nice details.

Compared to the Vixen only clamp that was removed you can see it will be more robust & stable in use.

The dual saddle clamp in place with large payload attached.

Despite the cost it seems like a decent enough upgrade for anyone with an older mount that needs to load on both Vixen & Losmandy plates, especially if considering heavier scopes.

[johnrt]

Looks like a good upgrade, a well engineered piece of kit. This is also on my list of things to change on my mount. It really shows the difference in the side by side pic of the 2 saddles.

[emadmoussa]

I'm thinking about getting one.

I'm just torn between the Altair Astro and ADM? Any thoughts?

[ronb]

I got one last year as part of a side by side mount for my C11. I have a lot more confidence in its holding ability than the original CGEM clamp.

For me the only downside is that due to closer manufacturing tolerances the clamp can jam if the clamp screws are turned too far requiring the screws be alternately turned a bit at a time. The upside though is that the clamp remains more parallel to the dovetail.

[laser_jock99]

I'm thinking about getting one.

I'm just torn between the Altair Astro and ADM? Any thoughts?

I suspect they are of similar quality, probably not much between them.

[fireballxl5]

I'm thinking about getting one.

I'm just torn between the Altair Astro and ADM? Any thoughts?

I've got the ADM clamp and, as has been reported elsewhere, it grips like a vice!

Andy

[emadmoussa]

I've got the ADM clamp and, as has been reported elsewhere, it grips like a vice!

Andy

I got one. It does grip like a vice indeed.