Back on the giro

[Moonshane]

I have missed the giro mount I previously had and really like the way it moves. I also liked the pier I had with it as although the AZ4 was great on the tripod (now sold the head to retain the tripod), it frustrated me a little that sometimes the scope hit the tripod when moving around.

I have in mind mainly a dual set up with my 6" f5 newt for white light and my soon to arrive Lunt 50 50 for Ha observing.

Luckily another SGL member was selling a Giro III and yet another a HEQ5 pier. I put the two together and here's the result.

I may possibly need the pier extension for the Lunt but hopefully not.

The advantage of this sort of mount and a short focal length scope is that even with a standard garden chair you can access all elevations of the eyepiece from the seat - nice and comfy.

The fact that this set-up matches my incoming Lunt 50 colour scheme is another bonus!

I should say that it balances much better with my 6"f5 than it does with my 130mm f5 so maybe smaller newts will be a struggle with this mount.

I'll be using the giro with the tripod for even quicker set up at work for solar sessions there.

I'd recommend this mount highly but the giro head I sold is also excellent and in some ways easier to maintain balance given the better tensioning on the AZ4.

Here's some pics of just the 6" newt for now.

[Stu]

Very nice looking setup Shane. I do like a Giro, I have the Ercole now for the extra load capacity but fundamentally they are all just great, convenient mounts to use.

The pier looks really great too. I think it would be too low for me but it seems to work well with the newt. As you say, you can always pick up an extension if needed.

When do you expect the Lunt to arrive?

Enjoy!

Stu

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[Moonshane]

hi Stu

hopefully the lunts will be available from late July. my breath is bated.

[Stu]

Presumably you've got an order on somewhere? That money must be burning a hole in your pocket!!

Will look lovely with the giro and pier, you couldn't have picked the colours any better!

[nightfisher]

Good stuff the AZ mounts, looks nice, nothing worse than waiting for kit to get in stock.............when did you sneak the 6"f5 newt 

[wookie1965]

hi Stu

hopefully the lunts will be available from late July. my breath is bated.

Will you bring it to the P2P or just your Dob Shane.

[Moonshane]

Presumably you've got an order on somewhere? That money must be burning a hole in your pocket!!

Will look lovely with the giro and pier, you couldn't have picked the colours any better!

it's with FLO and yes, it's getting hotter in the pocket area. in fact I am continuing to sell stuff as I keep spending a bit - bought the giro and pier plus a 40mm TV widefield in the last week! nothing else though now until I buy the Lunt. (in theory).

I'll be bringing the 6"f5 and the Lunt to PSP for people to have a look.

The 6" f5 was bought off my neighbour as he was not using it.

it's actually my old scope.

[John]

The Giro type mounts are very nice - like the red colour scheme

I used to put a counterweight on the other side of mine when I used the 10" F/4.8 newtonian on it but it does not seem to need one for the ED120 refractor. 

Getting the tube balance right fore and aft seems to be important with this type of mount.

[Moonshane]

totally agree John

balance is critical but I suppose that's one of the prices of very easy smooth bearings. this mount has quite a few cosmetic scratches on it but the price reflected this. not really too mithered about this sort of thing if it means I get what I need at lower prices (and obviously no optical damage where appropriate).

[Stu]

The Giro type mounts are very nice - like the red colour scheme

I used to put a counterweight on the other side of mine when I used the 10" F/4.8 newtonian on it but it does not seem to need one for the ED120 refractor.

Getting the tube balance right fore and aft seems to be important with this type of mount.

Agreed there John. One problem with any of these mount is with a big, heavy eyepiece which sticks out a long way, the balance changes as you move towards the zenith. Infact it's not possible to completely balance it without a weight on the underside at the front which is something I will look at. Having good clutches and tensioning helps though.

Stu

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[Moonshane]

yeah I 'discovered' this too Stu and will be researching a solution myself. possibly a felt lined magnet.

[John]

To help with fore and aft balance I've put a slightly over-long dovetail bar on my ED120 refractor. I can then easily just slide the tube up or down a little without having to loosen the tube rings when I want to use an eyepiece with a significantly different weight. 

[Plantins]

How do the Giro mounts compare to the Altair Astro Sabre mount? They both seem pretty similar.

[John]

How do the Giro mounts compare to the Altair Astro Sabre mount? They both seem pretty similar.

I think the Sabre is basically a copy of the Giro. The Giro's (made by the German company Tele Optic) have been around a lot longer than the Sabre. You can't really patent such a simple design though, I reckon, maybe just aspects of it such as the bearings, friction clamps etc.

The Giro-type mount that I have is another copy which a small British engineering company made a few years back.

[spaceboy]

Looking good there Shane. Have you noticed any difference between the GIRO III and the GIRO II you had ??? I agree with other comments regards these GIRO mounts that they do need to be well balanced on the ALT bearing other wise they can bite you in the *** when your back is turned. I found the best method is a magnetic TAXI sign holder with weights attached, but I would advise against putting any felt on it as it looses it's grabbing power and you don't really want a counter weight dropping off and all the weight transferring to the opposite end.

[Moonshane]

cheers Nick

I see no real difference between II and III to be honest other than colour!

thanks for the taxi sign hint. do you have to put a curve on the plate?

[Solar_observer]

hi Stu

hopefully the lunts will be available from late July. my breath is bated.

emailed lunt usa and they said there starting too ship in July but which part of July,they didn't say. Also said demand is high.

I can't wait.....can you? :-)

[Moonshane]

certainly can't!

[Mark at Beaufort]

Very nice setup Shane. I love Alt/Az mounts and recently upgraded my SkyTee 1 with a SkyTee 2 and a Berlebach tripod.

I was interested that you have placed a wanted advert for a half pillar for a HEQ5. I never thought that one was available just the 16" variety was sold - are you aware of a supplier of this smaller pillar? I sold a 16" HEQ5 pillar at SGL9 because it made my Berlebach tripod unstable but a half pillar could solve that problem.

Anyway I am looking forward to reviews of the Lunt 50 which I hope is available from next month. I have attended 2 solar events in the last 2 weeks and seen some fabulous views through Lunt scopes although non were the Lunt 50.

[Moonshane]

maybe it's my understanding of what a half pillar is Mark!  I am basically after an extension of some kind and perhaps I have got it wrong and what I need is a pillar extension not a half pillar!

that said, there is a EQ6 version which would be OK for me as long as the diameters are the same as I don't use the pegs.

I'll see what surfaces. I wish that I'd bought the one you had now!

[Chris Hopson]

I spoke with a supplier at las, who didn't rate the sabre mount but sold and recommended the ercole. I'm sure they new their stuff, but I can't fault my friends sabre.

Your setup looks nice Shane, I love the giro, and no counter weight.

Chris

[John]

The EQ6 head fitting is not compatible with the HEQ5 but the latter is the same as the EQ5 / CG5 / EQ3-2 / Skytee / Giro / AZ-4 etc. 

The 16" pillar extensions that companies such as the Widescreen Centre sell will fit the latter mounts and there is a shorter EQ6 dedicated pillar for that mount. The N peg is removable from the 16" ones.

There are some small companies in the UK that have produced such pillar extensions to so you may get offered one of those.

[Stu]

The EQ6 tripod (and half pillar) worked well with any of the Giros I've had. I sold my EQ6 tripod thinking the Vixen Duraluminum would replace it, but actually the EQ6 is more compact (shorter) when collapsed down so better for taking away so I'm getting another very soon.

Shane, this is my half pillar, 8" long I believe...

Stu

[Moonshane]

cheers Stu and John

I'll see what comes up.

another advantage I had not considered is that when using the giro vs the AZ4, you are a little further away from the tripod and therefore don't get your legs/seat tangled up with the tripod legs as much.

[spaceboy]

cheers Nick

I see no real difference between II and III to be honest other than colour!

thanks for the taxi sign hint. do you have to put a curve on the plate?

No need to Shane as the magnet http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131106021715 is rated to hold 1.8kg at up to 50mph so despite only 80-90% of the magnet actually making contact on smaller diameter scopes it is still capable of holding 850g of additional counter weight plus its own weight of 278g which is often more than enough to counter even the largest of EP's. The only mod I have had to do is to drill and tap a longer bolt to accommodate more than one weight. This allows me to better vary the weight depending on what scope and ep combination I'm using.