New Obsy, New Mount - Looking For Input

[thohem]

Hi there sgl,

Our house will be finished soon so I'm starting to think about the 'my' house

Obsy is already planned, my self designed steel column (30cm diameter) will be ready next week so perhaps I'll change my NEQ6 to a somewhat sturdier mount. Since everything in the obsy will be ready for big gear, I thought of a DDM85, but that's out of reach atm....

So maybe something 'smaller' like a WS250-FS2, Fornax 102 photo or a 10micron GM 1000 hps.

Does someone here have experience with one of those? Especially the fornax has some major advantages, thats why I'm interested in that one in particular.

[nmoushon]

There are several people here that use the 10microns and have nothing but praise for them. The biggest thing though is what scope/equipment are you using? Are you visual or do you image or both? A little bit more info on what you have and what you intend will help other to suggest what you should get.

[thohem]

Oh sorry, i forgot

Purely imaging. Right now I have a carbon 8" f4 and I want to go for maximun 14" newton or 16" RC. A widefield 72/432 is also in use.

For guiding I have MGEN II which also works fine with APT. In summer I'll get myself a Moravian G2-4000 ccd with a set of filters to get rid of my 600Da (which is very nice).

I focus mainly on galaxies right now with nebulas here and there. Depends on mood :]

I'll see how it works with more load on the eq6 in the obsy, but roadmap is something like a dual image setup. I have to spend some time thinking on that though when the obsy is ready. Small steps and first things first

[nmoushon]

I have never heard of the first mount you mentioned. The Fornax 102 and GM1000 are really two completely different mounts. The Fornax 102 has a 90kg load where the GM1000 only has a 25kg. Though I'm thinking the 90kg is total weight and not imaging weight (based on price). Since it looks like a higher end mount Im not sure what the image weight would be. But even then the loads are greatly different. If you are looking eventually get a 14" or 16" of any type of scope the GM1000 would not handle those scopes. The 10microns, in my opinion, are best used for unguided imaging since their encoders and modeling are such high quality. Now this is just my person opinion but I would rather spend money on a mount that has a better load capacity and good tracking that expensive high end encoders if I where doing long FL imaging that a 16" RC would bring. But if I had the extreme budget to image at the FL of a 16" RC unguided that would probably be nothing less than a GM4000, especially if you are wanting exposure lengths that are really long, and I would totally get rid of guiding if I could. But that comes at a high cost. 

Since Im in the US I would normally suggest look at the AP or Paramount series mounts but I know those are hard and expensive to get in Europe. Have you looked at the Mesu200? I also think Mesu is or is coming out with a big sister for the Mesu200 also. Not sure on that one though. 

[thohem]

Thanks for your reply.

The weight limit on the fornax for imaging should be round 50-60kg according to some reviews.

It needs guiding though, but because of the 1:2000 gearbox and the 1:3 downsizing right after the motors, it should run very smooth and all failures should come very slowly so the AG can correct with ease. Well if i had the money to buy a 4k hps then I would rather go for the Asa DirectDriveMount 85....no more gears!

I haven't got anyone near me with a 10micron so perhaps some users can give advice here.

But good to know that it won't suffice for my plans (much much later )

The first mount is a build from teleskop-express in Germany with coop Ucraine...sounds all nice and looks good, but I can't find someone using it

Will look into the Mesu, totally forgot about that one! Tyvm

[thohem]

Hmm. Still can't decide. I don't really like the open electronics on the Mesu :/

So another opinion on some mounts??

[Zakalwe]

Hmm. Still can't decide. I don't really like the open electronics on the Mesu :/

So another opinion on some mounts??

It'd probably take about 30 minutes to mount them into a project box, if it was a problem. Or a dab of electrical contact grease or ACF-50 would probably do the same job without the chance of condensation.

Lots of carrying capacity, zero backlash and proven electronics (Planewave use the same SiTech system). I'm not sure if there's another mount at this price point with the same carrying capacity and accuracy?

[Physopto]

I had a NEQ6 for several years. It was and still is a great mount for the money. I also have a Paramount as yet unused. (Need an obsy). When I sold the NEQ6 I bought an EQ8. Another really good mount, but I found that the sheer weight for using it at star camps was getting just too much for me. It is not quite as portable when you are getting older. So After my better half almost beat me into submission, I relented and bought a GM1000HPS. (In truth it did not take much badgering on my wife's part....).

In short I love the mount. It handles my 23 kgs of scope and electronics boxes without any problems. I have seen a few videos where it has obviously been well overloaded. The tracking is superb. I am still in the testing stages, but so far there has been nothing but awe for its abilities. It is quiet, accurate and I have found this out even without a large number of points in the model. It is very easy to transport, just as was the NEQ6 mount. (Very similar size and weight). It fits into a Peli Case im2600. About the same weight as a 110 amp hour battery. For me it is just about the best investment I have made in astronomy. Time will tell if I am right.

In short I cannot recommend it enough.

Derek