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7 hours ago, JG777 said:

Here's mine, goes anywhere. About 8 kilos I think but for aircraft travel the mount and tripod go in checked baggage the rest with me. 

2018-05-23_09-55-40.jpg

 

 

 

Nice looking mount! Can you provide details please?

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The mount is a Tecnosky Elle v2 which I got from Rupert at Astrograph. This version has 8192 encoders fitted for the Nexus DSC hook up. The mount is really well engineered and solid and also comes apart in minutes by use of Allen key if space is really tight. The DSC tray comes with it but if your not using DSC you can use the mount without the tray with the smaller fixing bolt. Sadly you cannot balance a pint of beer on the tray either, one of those astronomy compromises we all have to make.... 

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7 hours ago, JG777 said:

Here's mine, goes anywhere. About 8 kilos I think but for aircraft travel the mount and tripod go in checked baggage the rest with me. 

2018-05-23_09-55-40.jpg

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Very nice setup! I have the same scope. How do you find balancing the scope given the relatively short dovetail bar? I guess I do load mine up from the diagonal ?

 

F4FC8760-7EDB-4F84-BEDF-BC1C7BD0AD32.jpeg

So am going to try a longer dovetail bar

4E1D9475-C76A-4CCB-99B3-D0C86DC2FFA9.thumb.jpeg.a81223dbf2f106943d11a7517625415a.jpeg

Edited by GavStar
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1 minute ago, GavStar said:

Very nice setup! I have the same scope. How do you find balancing the scope given the relatively short dovetail bar?

Hi Gavin,

I found that I could move the Altair clamp as far forward as possible and then move the scopes dovetail forward to equalise the balance as best possible. In the image you can see the dovetail overhanging but still clamped firmly in the Altair. I also changed the 2 inch diagonal to the 1.25 to help lighten the back end and the result is nicely balanced. Not quite perfect but as best as I can get and better than the 80mm scope. I really like this 72mm as well takes up far less room in the bag and means I can fit my DSLR in there now!

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14 minutes ago, GavStar said:

Very nice setup! I have the same scope. How do you find balancing the scope given the relatively short dovetail bar? I guess I do load mine up from the diagonal ?

 

F4FC8760-7EDB-4F84-BEDF-BC1C7BD0AD32.jpeg

So am going to try a longer dovetail bar

4E1D9475-C76A-4CCB-99B3-D0C86DC2FFA9.thumb.jpeg.a81223dbf2f106943d11a7517625415a.jpeg

That's interesting, looks like a fair bit of weight there with your NV kit. Have you sourced a longer dovetail yet? Will be interested to see some pics when you do. One other thing that slightly helped was locating the RDF further forward onto the clamp ring, might not seem much but all the grams add up!

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Don't think I've posted this one in this thread :icon_scratch:

Tele Vue Ranger 70mm F/6.8 ED + Slick Master Classic tripod. My travel eyepiece set is a 26mm BST Starguider, 21.5-7.2mm zoom, 2.25x Q-Turret Barlow (covers from a touch over a 3 degree TFoV up to 150x) and a UHC filter. Can also take along the Lunt 1.25" wedge which works nicely with this scope. Weight of scope, finder, diagonal, eyepiece and tripod is 4kg in total. A pleasure to use at home as well as away - a real "one hand grab and go" outfit :)

 

tvranger02.JPG

tvranger01.JPG

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1 hour ago, JG777 said:

That's interesting, looks like a fair bit of weight there with your NV kit. Have you sourced a longer dovetail yet? Will be interested to see some pics when you do. One other thing that slightly helped was locating the RDF further forward onto the clamp ring, might not seem much but all the grams add up!

Yes, that’s the pic of my scope with the longer dovetail bar but I only got it this week so have yet to see how well it works...

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My Equinox 80 in SW case.  Eps to be added Vixen LV 10mm, 5mm, 8-24 zoom & a Baader Eudiascopic 35mm. WO RACI diagonal so use as terrestrial spotter possible. 

Pod & mount undecided. But I have decided to budget in weight surcharge for peace of mind in strong packing. 

 

IMG_20180522_144857.jpg

Edited by 25585
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2 minutes ago, GavStar said:

Yes, that’s the pic of my scope with the longer dovetail bar but I only got it this week so have yet to see how well it works...

Oh right, I didn't realise from the angle! Where did you get it? 

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11 minutes ago, John said:

Don't think I've posted this one in this thread :icon_scratch:

Tele Vue Ranger 70mm F/6.8 ED + Slick Master Classic tripod. My travel eyepiece set is a 26mm BST Starguider, 21.5-7.2mm zoom, 2.25x Q-Turret Barlow (covers from a touch over a 3 degree TFoV up to 150x) and a UHC filter. Can also take along the Lunt 1.25" wedge which works nicely with this scope. Weight of scope, finder, diagonal, eyepiece and tripod is 4kg in total. A pleasure to use at home as well as away - a real "one hand grab and go" outfit :)

 

tvranger02.JPG

tvranger01.JPG

Very neat and 4 kilos, that's excellent. Forgot to add my lunt 1.25 to the mix thanks for the reminder! 

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36 minutes ago, JG777 said:

Very neat and 4 kilos, that's excellent. Forgot to add my lunt 1.25 to the mix thanks for the reminder! 

Thanks !

The tripod (which is very stable even at 150x) is 2.5kg of that. If I could save 1kg and get similar stability I'd be interested :icon_biggrin:

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1 hour ago, John said:

The tripod (which is very stable even at 150x) is 2.5kg of that. If I could save 1kg and get similar stability I'd be interested :icon_biggrin:

Is that just the tripod, or the panning head as well?

A good carbon job can be had at around 1.3kg. Depends on the desired max height, number of leg sections (more is shorter collapsed length, but marginally less stable), etc.

Your panning head looks pretty lightweight as it is; may not be easy to shed weight there. The Gitzo GH1720QR is a nice option at 460g, rated for 10kg.

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16 minutes ago, iPeace said:

Is that just the tripod, or the panning head as well?

A good carbon job can be had at around 1.3kg. Depends on the desired max height, number of leg sections (more is shorter collapsed length, but marginally less stable), etc.

Your panning head looks pretty lightweight as it is; may not be easy to shed weight there. The Gitzo GH1720QR is a nice option at 460g, rated for 10kg.

Thats the tripod and the panning head Mike.

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7 minutes ago, John said:

Thats the tripod and the panning head Mike.

Doing pretty well in the weight department, then. :smile:

I'll take some exact weights when I get back home and see.

Edited by iPeace
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3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Any suggestions iPeace?

Since I'm very pleased with my Sirui N-3203X - very nice, good value - my first thought for John's case was something from that line. Since his total setup weight is currently 4kg, of which 2.5kg is tripod and head, the optical assembly is pretty close to weightless, so a tripod rated for 15kg should do pretty well. The N-2204X is rated as such, and my local vendor states its own weight as 1.3kg. However...further searching on the interwebs shows the weight a bit more according to Sirui:

http://www.sirui.eu/en/products/tripods/nx-series/

...1.48kg. Not sure what to think at this point.

My own N-3203X is listed there as 1.82kg, but no longer available from my vendor so I can't compare. I can weigh it separately and more accurately when I get back home; perhaps the weights listed by Sirui include the case, etc.

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These are the details of the tripod and head that I am currently using:

http://www.slik.com/PS-MASTER_CLASSIC.html

Looking around, without sacrificing stability, I suspect the best I'm going to be able to do is to save around 500g and at some expense. Not sure that's worth the bother given that the current tripod/head are doing rather well :icon_scratch:

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42 minutes ago, John said:

These are the details of the tripod and head that I am currently using:

http://www.slik.com/PS-MASTER_CLASSIC.html

Looking around, without sacrificing stability, I suspect the best I'm going to be able to do is to save around 500g and at some expense. Not sure that's worth the bother given that the current tripod/head are doing rather well :icon_scratch:

If its just pod & head photo gear, you could buy it when you get to Australia. Plenty of photo shops I expect. Less weight and bulk to take.

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9 hours ago, John said:

Looking around, without sacrificing stability, I suspect the best I'm going to be able to do is to save around 500g and at some expense.

Having done a lot of tedious shopping before I settled on the Sirui, I do concur with this; you've only got slivers left to shave off. Maybe 700g. Unless you'll be walking the length of Oz, you may not notice.

9 hours ago, John said:

Not sure that's worth the bother given that the current tripod/head are doing rather well :icon_scratch:

The only further enticements I see on offer are (marginally) improved stability (perhaps) and (somewhat) smoother operation (the Gitzo head). You'd lose any pride you feel in slumming it without such premium nonsense. :smile:

If it passes the John H. Backyard Test, well...

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Here is my travel setup, pretty much goes everywhere with me. Not sure of the weight as. My travel is mostly land based.

I'm always amazed that a WL Solar, Terrestrial and nocturnal setup all fit into that tiny little flight case. There is a set of BCO's stashed under the 3.2mm Starguider too.

20180525_170104.jpg

20180525_165851.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...
7 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Takahashi FC76 DCU. Splits into two parts (longest is ca 13 inches) which fit into a padded photo bad, which itseld fits into a small backpack (designed for laptop)

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IMG_9223.JPG

Now you just need the Lightweight Feathertouch for it Jeremy ;) 

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