Berlebach tripod for an Altair 102F11 refractor

[pez_espada]

Hello there,

I am putting together an AZ mount for a Altair 102F11 refractor that is enough stable for the OTA (100cm long OTA, 120 with extended dew shield) yet somehow portable since I will be using it from the roof of and old building with narrow stairways and flies, and a small elevator.

As I have mentioned in other thread here I have in mind to purchase the Giro Ercole plus some tripod, and I think the German wooden Berlebach would be a nice match for  the Ercole and the 102F11. I have been recommended  that for such relatively long OTA the taller the tripod is, the best choice it would be and I agree, since I would like to have a comfortable viewing experience. I need to decide between three Berlebach tripods and would like to have your experienced recommendation/opinion  among these following tripods:

1. Astro Tripod Report 372  (only 3 Kg): height 82-141 cm,  18Kgs payload plus double clamping for better damping and possibly a pillar extension (full column) http://tinyurl.com/z4g68kj
2. Astro Tripod Report 472  (3.4 Kg):      height 93-164 cm,  15Kgs payload plus double clamping for better damping and possibly a pillar extension (half column) http://tinyurl.com/z9nr9t8
3. Astro tripod UNI 28         (9 Kg):         height 100-163 cm, 50Kg payload plus double clamping for better damping and possibly a pillar extension (full column) http://tinyurl.com/js6bzqf

I anticipate that the Uni 28 would be obviously the most stable but I wonder if is worthy the extra weight and less portability, the hassle to take it to the roof and the extra room to store it in a small flat compared with the other twos? Or the TS102F11 really needs the rigidity and extra damping characteristics of the Uni28? Can a Report and the Ercole manage to make a stable and smooth mount for the F11 refractor?

I like to observe double stars and planetary so I will be pushing the magnification of the telescope. I don't want to go with a GEM just yet.  But perhaps in the future, so the tripod should be able to accommodate a GEM like and EQ5 or something in this kind too.

Please I would greatly appreciate your inputs,

Cheers from Barcelona

[Anderscn]

Get the Planet! 

I have long fracs as well, and I have been around Uni 18 and 28 until I landed with the Planet. Miles ahead in the damping apartment, especially with long scopes like your 102mm f/11.

BR,

Anders

[pez_espada]

3 hours ago, Anderscn said:

Get the Planet! 

I have long fracs as well, and I have been around Uni 18 and 28 until I landed with the Planet. Miles ahead in the damping apartment, especially with long scopes like your 102mm f/11.

BR,

Anders

Hi Anders, 

I have looked at the Planet and I am sure it is rock solid (it's rated as to have a payload of 120+ Kgs), how do you feel about its weight at 11 Kgs?

Carlos

 

 

[Steve Ward]

I use a Planet with my HEQ5Pro , absolutely top notch tripod .

Weight-wise ... I carry my mount , tripod and 'scopes all together as one unit with no difficulty , even with the Mak180Pro up top ... 

[pez_espada]

14 hours ago, Anderscn said:

Get the Planet! 

I have long fracs as well, and I have been around Uni 18 and 28 until I landed with the Planet. Miles ahead in the damping apartment, especially with long scopes like your 102mm f/11.

BR,

Anders

Anders, I'd love the idea of the Planet but I am still undecided. Another disadvantage I see on the Planet (besides its weight) is that at 136cm of max height it is probably not tall enough for the long OTA of the 102F11. On the other hand, the Uni28 is 163cm tall on its max height. I would hate that after all the extra cash, hassle and weight the Planet involves I need to ride the frac on a column pillar to get the eyepiece at a comfortable position. Since you have long fracs what's your experience on this?

Cheers,

Carlos

[Paul73]

I have the Uni 24C. It is very simple, a decent max hight, rock solid with good damping and the massively cleaver click lock system for holding the legs solidly at preset angles. I have a SkyTee on mine. So you may want to check that the lower Ecrole pivot point gives enough clearance of the tripod's base plate. Also, I have never used this with a long frac.

Well worth the investment!

Paul

 

 

[Anderscn]

10 hours ago, pez_espada said:

Anders, I'd love the idea of the Planet but I am still undecided. Another disadvantage I see on the Planet (besides its weight) is that at 136cm of max height it is probably not tall enough for the long OTA of the 102F11. On the other hand, the Uni28 is 163cm tall on its max height. I would hate that after all the extra cash, hassle and weight the Planet involves I need to ride the frac on a column pillar to get the eyepiece at a comfortable position. Since you have long fracs what's your experience on this?

Cheers,

Carlos

My solution is the SW HEQ5 16" extension column. It not only provides more clearence when pointing close to zenith, but also alows  the legs of the Planet to be less extended, which adds further to the stability. You can see my set up in the "show us your refractor" thread, page 49. I understnd you reluctance to go with the extra weight. But my experience is that it just takes a little more to tame long fracs. The flipside of coin of getting a reatively cheap long achro versus  a shorter more expensive ED/APO.

It only weighs a kilogram or so more than the Uni28, in my book not enough to sacrifice the huge stability advantage of Planet. Remember to get it with double clamps on the legs (whichever Berlebach you buy).

BR,

Anders

[pez_espada]

41 minutes ago, Anderscn said:

My solution is the SW HEQ5 16" extension column. It not only provides more clearence when pointing close to zenith, but also alows  the legs of the Planet to be less extended, which adds further to the stability. You can see my set up in the "show us your refractor" thread, page 49. I understnd you reluctance to go with the extra weight. But my experience is that it just takes a little more to tame long fracs. The flipside of coin of getting a reatively cheap long achro versus  a shorter more expensive ED/APO.

It only weighs a kilogram or so more than the Uni28, in my book not enough to sacrifice the huge stability advantage of Planet. Remember to get it with double clamps on the legs (whichever Berlebach you buy).

BR,

Anders

Wow this is a nice scope and mount you got there! I'd bet the views are lovely. My scope is in comparison a humble 4" F11, so if the Planet plus the 16" column works for you it should be rock solid for my frac. This would be good since I want to do double star and planetary with a simple AZ head such as the Ercole (similar to the Sabre you seem to own). I guess that the extra clamps is the way to go, I've read somewhere that they add some 1-2 Kgs to the setup (?). How much does weight the extension column?

My only worry left is that I need to take the whole set up to the roof of an old building with narrow stairs and flies and a tiny elevator. The mount had to be dismantled  and stored in my flat (where the free space is at premium) between observing sessions too.

[Anderscn]

Hi,

The column is 5 kg. And the Sabre mount is not enough for this scope, for sure and I have ordered something bigger already.

However, this setup works exellently with my 4" f/12 and 5" f/12 refractors that I also enjoy using.

For seeing in my garden, I have to manoeuvre my gear from my basement storage up through a winding stairway, which requires some planning and caution - maybe not much different from your situation.

Enjoy your scope! 

BR

Anders

[spaceboy]

I have the UNI-28 which is sold with refractor owners in mind. The tripod is pretty high when fully extended and is easily above my eye line at 5' 10". Although as with any tripod it is advised to use some sort of extension to avoid the ota clashing with the legs but it is not essential requirement by any means. As you will see in this picture I have a 12" extension and the tripod legs are not extended. This gives me a comfortable seated height to use the ED120 on EQ5 no matter where in the sky the scope is pointing. If I used the scope with my GIRO mount there is no real need for an extension as the tripod alone extends plenty to use at a comfortable seated height. I also use my 200P which with the use of a 4" extension, again to avoid hitting the tripod legs which allows me to stand comfortably looking at zenith only requiring the tripod to be extended a couple of marks (assume inches) on the legs.

Berlebach tripods really are an example of quality craftsmanship and a significant improvement over steel tripods but they do come at a price and so you have to see it more as a long term investment. I believe different heads are available so it is possible to swap out a HEQ5 head for an EQ6 etc at a later date if the need ever arose but I'm guessing again this would not be cheap but none the less shows the flexibility of the tripod in the long term.

[pez_espada]

Finally I went the way of the Uni 28 with a single set of clamps. This is my 102 F11 refractor riding a Giro Ercole on top of the Berlebach tripod. You add some ES68-24mm + ES68-16mm + BCO 10mm and 6mm eyepieces, stir up and I hope I get a nice double star and planetary piece of kit. Looking forward to trying it tonight as it seems it will be clear(ish) around here!

 

Thanks everyone for all the advice!

[iPeace]

3 hours ago, pez_espada said:

Finally I went the way of the Uni 28 with a single set of clamps. This is my 102 F11 refractor riding a Giro Ercole on top of the Berlebach tripod. You add some ES68-24mm + ES68-16mm + BCO 10mm and 6mm eyepieces, stir up and I hope I get a nice double star and planetary piece of kit. Looking forward to trying it tonight as it seems it will be clear(ish) around here!

 

Thanks everyone for all the advice!

Very, VERY nice.

[Stu]

Luvverly!  

[John]

Thats a great looking setup. Should perform excellently too !

[spaceboy]

That scope sure does look the part perched up on that UNI28  You may want to consider one of these at some point https://www.berlebach.de/?bereich=details&id=170&sprache=english to save all the faffing spreading the legs equally.

[CraigT82]

That's a beautiful set up! You're home looks interesting too  

 

[pez_espada]

23 hours ago, spaceboy said:

That scope sure does look the part perched up on that UNI28  You may want to consider one of these at some point https://www.berlebach.de/?bereich=details&id=170&sprache=english to save all the faffing spreading the legs equally.

Yeah I have one spread stopper on  a  waiting order as they are currently out of stock at telescope service.