Ercole Mount and tripod

[Commanderfish]

Hi everyone,

I've been looking for a grab and go mount.  This will ideally be for both observing at home (when I can't be bothered aligning an EQ Goto) as well as for holidays in the UK (Cornwall mostly), where we'll be driving but boot space will be limited due to other luggage.  This means I am not constrained to airline weight limits, but I do need to keep the size down.   My ED80/Manfrotto/Redsnapper is a perfect air travel set, but obviously who wouldn't take a bit more aperture than 80mm for visual where possible.  

I decided that this means on an Alt-Az with no Go-to.   Besides, I miss star-hopping.  I put serious thought into getting a shorter scope for travelling to go with a smaller mount (e.g. ST102 & AZ3, or ST120 & AZ4), but ideally this new mount would be for use with my existing scopes - ES ED80 (F6, 4.5kg), ES ED127 (F7.5, 8.5kg), C9.25, 11kg (weights include accessories).  

After several evenings research and consulting Oracle Stu (aka Big Sumerian), I've decided to go a different route from buying a new scope and mount - stick with the existing scopes and  buy a more portable mount. 

In conclusion I've ordered the Ercole Giro mount.  This can carry two OTAs side by side, up to 15kgs each (or 18kgs, depending on which website you read)!  Alternatively it can mount an OTA of up to 10Kgs without a second scope or counterweight.  Miraculously, the mount is less than 4kgs and is not as bulky as an EQ, particularly as it is a fairly flat shape in comparison. 

This means I can mount the ED80 as a 4 degree finderscope/widefield scope alongside the ED127 (this pair is as much as I can pack for holiday - if I am lucky), or at home I can mount the ED127 alongside the C9.25 which will give me a combination of fields as wide as 2.22 degrees on the ED127 with magnifications as high as x600 (yes I know that's unusable - mostly ;)) on the C9.25.  In each case the pair of scopes counterbalance each other removing any need for counterweights.  The ED80 or even the ED127 could each be mounted solo without a counterweight.

A question for anyone that owns an Ercole:  what is the diameter of the base?  I am planning on using it on the tripod from my AVX mount (2" steel tubular legs).   I do know that the thread size matches - 3/8" on both units.  This tripod has a wide base but there is a hole in the middle which is 60mm wide. Will it sit astride this?  I know people have mounted the Ercole on a CG5 tripod without issue, but I'm not at all sure that the AVX tripod is identical.   Any help appreciated!

 

[Commanderfish]

Can anyone recommend a pier extension for the Ercole mount?  This would be to go on top of my AVX tripod which has a 60mm hole in the centre which looks like it's designed to take a pier.   I'm expecting that my ES ED127 (F7.5) will bang into the legs without one at some point - or has anyone used the AVX or CG5 tripod with the Ercole and found that a pier extension isn't particularly necessary with a 90 cm frac (inc diagonal, dew shield retracted)?