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what other giro mounts...

emadmoussa

By emadmoussa
in Discussions - Mounts

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John

John

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I have a Skytee II and, with the upgraded dovetail clamp, it's a pretty good mount. It's more than enough for my ED120 refractor and has even coped (just !) with my 6 foot long 6" F/12 refractor that weighs over 30 lbs.

I had a look at the Tele Optic Ercole at an astro fair recently and that looked pretty solid - probably the equal of the Skytee II in load bearing capacity I'd guess.

There are also the Swiss made AYO mounts and the William Optics Ez-Touch (which AYO used to make at one point) which maybe worth a look and the older Giro II's and III's are still worthy alt-az options.

As you start to go heavier duty the costs rise considerably and there are mounts such as the APM Maxload but we are talking around 1,000 Euro's for the mount and then another serious chunk for a tripod capable of carrying it and the scope.

The tripods become the weak link with these setups really - especially if the scope has a long tube and the moment arm force (that amplifies vibrations) builds up.

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AndyH

AndyH

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The Ercole is available in the UK from these folks ............

http://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Products/AGTOERCB

A potential 18kg on either side, is rather tasty.

Regarding what to sit the mount on - Instead of parting with lots of cash for a heafty tripod, perhaps think of a pedestal mount. I use my Tal pillars & an extended height Tal one(for refractors), with most of my mounts, including the AYO-Swiss made William Optics EZ-Touch, I once had. 100% sturdy, does away with any worries about the tripod not being up to the task.

Andy.

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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The Ercole is available in the UK from these folks ............

http://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Products/AGTOERCB

A potential 18kg on either side, is rather tasty.

Regarding what to sit the mount on - Instead of parting with lots of cash for a heafty tripod, perhaps think of a pedestal mount. I use my Tal pillars & an extended height Tal one(for refractors), with most of my mounts, including the AYO-Swiss made William Optics EZ-Touch, I once had. 100% sturdy, does away with any worries about the tripod not being up to the task.

Andy.

Pedestal mount? You mean like a pillar mount...? I have my NEQ6 sitting on one of these, they're great, but jerky to move around especially if you want to take the mount through the kitchen into the garden :)

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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I have a Skytee II and, with the upgraded dovetail clamp, it's a pretty good mount. It's more than enough for my ED120 refractor and has even coped (just !) with my 6 foot long 6" F/12 refractor that weighs over 30 lbs.

I had a look at the Tele Optic Ercole at an astro fair recently and that looked pretty solid - probably the equal of the Skytee II in load bearing capacity I'd guess.

There are also the Swiss made AYO mounts and the William Optics Ez-Touch (which AYO used to make at one point) which maybe worth a look and the older Giro II's and III's are still worthy alt-az options.

As you start to go heavier duty the costs rise considerably and there are mounts such as the APM Maxload but we are talking around 1,000 Euro's for the mount and then another serious chunk for a tripod capable of carrying it and the scope.

The tripods become the weak link with these setups really - especially if the scope has a long tube and the moment arm force (that amplifies vibrations) builds up.

I heard some criticism against the Skytee mounts such as bad Synta oil and fiddly slow motion knobs. My initial thought, if my problem with Explore Scientific reaches a dead end  (worst dealer I ever dealt with by the way) then I'm considering the Skytee. My main goal is using it with my 6" refractor, It's about 11Kg - slightly lighter & shorter than yours, John. Is the tripod the weak link that causes the vibration?

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AndyH

AndyH

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:)

I take a leg off when moving mine out the house.

When I took a look at the cost of Berlebach tripods, a while back, I knew I had made the right decision, regarding using a pedstal/pillar. Yowzer, they're pricey. I've no doubt they're top knotch. 

;)

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John

John

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I've mounted the F/8 version of your scope (so longer and a bit heavier) on a Skytee II set on a CG5 2" steel tripod and a 16" pillar extension (photo below). The mount / tripod / pillar could take it but the clamp on the Skytee II nearly failed so upgrading them to the ADM ones, at least on one side, is a "must" in my book as would using a counter weight on the opposite side. The thick grease issue is actually not a problem with heavy scopes - it actually helps with their balance.

My 6" F/12 refractor is a lot heavier and longer than either your scope or the 152mm F/8 in the photo :shocked:  

On pedestal mounts, something like this but even sturdier I guess ?:

http://www.astrotecuk.co.uk/_wp_generated/wp91db5ed5_0f.jpg

Here is that pic of the Skytee II mounted 152mm F/8 - be aware that we are talking a hefty combination with all this on board - not really "grab and go" any more !. God knows what my 6" F/12 is going to be like when it's properly mounted  :grin:

I've also included a pic of a Skywatcher 6" F/8 on my Ambermille Az-Tech Giro-style mount (alas out of production now) which is another hefty alt-az mount capable of 15kg on each arm or more.

post-118-0-99627600-1379493070_thumb.jpg

post-118-0-51621800-1379493080_thumb.jpg

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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Humm...the Skytee looks good. I still have the Explore Scientific tripod, but I don't think it's standard...I am wondering if a Skytee will fit.

I can see it becomes hefty - I can easily see it left in the garden with a good cover on it. No electronics to worry about  like the NEQ6 :)

Which clamps you mean, John? I totally suck at terminology by the way :D

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John

John

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Which clamps you mean, John? I totally suck at terminology by the way :D

No problem :smiley:

The dovetail clamps that hold the scope to the mount (rather crucial !). The mount has some great design features but the standard clamps seem rather weedy and the thread in one started to strip quite quickly. 

Here is another chap who uses the Skytee to hold a hefty scope (scroll down for pics):

http://neilenglish.net/my-adventures-with-an-istar-asteria-127mm-f12-refractor-part-ii/

The Istar refractors are no lightweights !

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Thanks, John! That makes a lot of sense - in my head they're called saddle plates :D

Yep, the Istar frac is indeed huge. This is comforting to know, now I'm tempted to mount my C11 on a giro as well :)

I thought about that too, but do you really want to spend most of your time nudging the scope because of the long focal length?

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AndyH

AndyH

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As long as the alt/az mount being used is nice n smooth on it's axis, then following targets becomes second nature, at powers of 200x or thereabouts.. At least that's I've found, knudging/pushing a 2000mm FL scope about. You kind of forget that you're doing it.

It's not as nice when you have a lesser quality mount. Then it takes some willpower to stop throwing the mount over the neighbours fence in frustration.

;)

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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As long as the alt/az mount being used is nice n smooth on it's axis, then following targets becomes second nature, at powers of 200x or thereabouts.. At least that's I've found, knudging/pushing a 2000mm FL scope about. You kind of forget that you're doing it.

It's not as nice when you have a lesser quality mount. Then it takes some willpower to stop throwing the mount over the neighbours fence in frustration.

;)

Almost did that when I tried to use the NEQ6 ''manually''...then I realized I wasn't strong enough to throw it across the fence :D

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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Something been bugging me in the past month or two and won't know until I have used my God-knows-where giro mount.

I was thinking if I enjoy using manual mounts - and since I'm not doing any imaging anymore - would be a wise idea just depart with my NEQ6?

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foundaplanet

foundaplanet

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Something been bugging me in the past month or two and won't know until I have used my God-knows-where giro mount.

I was thinking if I enjoy using manual mounts - and since I'm not doing any imaging anymore - would be a wise idea just depart with my NEQ6?

I would say probably so. I have AN EQ6 but with two semi forced exceptions since I have had an AZ4 for the frac and a dob mount for the newt I have not used mine for visual.

I just find visual on the EQ goto like watching tele......Press button, watch channel, get bored, turn over and its the same old thing....not very mentally stimulating. Finding the object myself though however is not at all boring then..:)

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John

John

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This is my impression - haven't used a giro extensively to know for sure. But I can tell I most prefer manually driving. The good thing about the NEQ6 is the auto tracking, it gives me the chance to shove my cold hands in my pockets :D

It does take a while and often a few experiments to find out what does suit you with this hobby. I've owned scopes mounted on driven EQ mounts and a couple fork mounted SCT's too and they have all worked well enough but I just found my most enjoyable observing was done with the simplest mounts in the end.

Everyone will have a different opinion though - just as well we have so many options available these days !

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