Skytee II plus Berlebach UNI 28 Tripod: How steady ?

[CraigT82]

There's a lot to be said for seated observing! I'm considering getting myself one of the Berlebach observing chairs. Though using a newt I'm not sure it'll have enough height. I think with your fracs the chair would be much more useful. 

The planet is a superb piece of kit, not cheap by any means but I see it as an investment rather than a purchase... its the only tripod you'll ever need (especially as you can get different heads for different mounts separately).

[John]

4 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

There's a lot to be said for seated observing! I'm considering getting myself one of the Berlebach observing chairs. Though using a newt I'm not sure it'll have enough height. I think with your fracs the chair would be much more useful. 

The planet is a superb piece of kit, not cheap by any means but I see it as an investment rather than a purchase... its the only tripod you'll ever need (especially as you can get different heads for different mounts separately).

Is your Berlebach the Planet Craig ?.

Of course I've seen your setup a couple of times but I can't recall looking in detail at your tripod.

[CraigT82]

Hi John, yes I have the planet, you're welcome to borrow mine to see if you get on with it, I'll have a look at the BAS meeting dates and see when the next meeting I can make it to is and bring it along.  Mine has the EQ6 mounting plate but the skytee goes on fine with a homemade adaptor.

[spaceboy]

On ‎11‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 00:28, John said:

A quick update on this thread.

I've managed to pick up a nice Skytee II fitted with ADM clamps on both sides and a nice, solid 6" pillar extension. So part one of the plan is in place

I used it tonight on my current hardwood tripod with the ED120 on board. It worked very well and did not need any counterweights unlike my Giro II which needs them to get smooth and steady movement.

For the big APM / LZOS refractor I'm going to need a heavier duty tripod as I originally thought - the tube is both heavier and much longer than the ED120. I would prefer to get the tripod "right first time" so I am now thinking of the Berlebach Planet rather than the Uni 28. The planet is only a few lbs heavier and seems to have a much higher max capacity than the Uni 28 although it's not as tall. The pillar extension that I got with the mount should still put the Planet tripod head plus pillar at 55 inches high and with the Skytee II on top thats about 63 inches to centre of the dovetail clamp.

The price difference between the Uni 18 and the Planet is around £130 but if the Planet is the right solution thats not a problem.

The Planet looks a more substantial tripod from the photos. Has anyone compared one with a Uni 28 ?

Thanks

FLO have had a Berlebach Planet tripod in the clearance section a couple times. I think it was £325 ??? but it was for an EQ6. I'm sure with a little fettling a Skytee could be made to fit so it may be worth keeping an eye on FLOS clearance section for another to come up as it would offer a superb saving and tick all your boxes for a rock solid mount.

[John]

Thanks for the further responses folks - sorry that I did not respond earlier.

I'm still torn between the Planet and the Uni 28. I want to get the altitude axis of the mount to around 60 inches / 1.5 meters and I could do that with the Planet at full extension with a short pillar adapter (which I already have) and the Skytee II on top of that. The weight would be around 18kg in total before the scope goes on. With the Uni 28 I could achieve my target height without the pillar in use and the overall weight of mount and tripod would be 14kg. The legs of the Uni 28 would not need to be fully extended.

I'll be using the 2 clamp version of the tripod in each instance.

Thanks for the offer of trying yours Craig - if I can't make my mind up I'll get in touch

 

[spaceboy]

TBH though John I think it is always going to be a hard call to notice any differences in tripods effect on set ups unless you have identical rigs sat next to each other. I say that because I've had EQ6 mounts upon concrete piers extending down 2" in the ground amongst a ton of ballast and they are not free from vibrations. Well dampened vibrations I admit but none the less not completely immune. I don't know what it is about large long fraks but they just seem to amplify any twist of the focuser knob even on mounts that are more than capable of supporting the net weight. I wonder if a nice motor focuser would be a better investment long term for you ? I know you have plenty scopes but you'd really only need it for the APM. I couldn't get on with either of the two I had but then I only had the SW budget version. I believe there are far better out there that would probably make for an all round better experience.

[John]

Thanks for the thoughtful post

My current tripod is pretty good but not up to the APM 130 F/9.25 so I've got to get something steadier. I can see that the UNI 28 would give me some left over £'s for a motor focuser if needed. It would need to be compatible with a Feathertouch focuser though, which might prove expensive !

I've no need to hurry this so I can think on it some more

[Stu]

4 minutes ago, John said:

Thanks for the thoughtful post

My current tripod is pretty good but not up to the APM 130 F/9.25 so I've got to get something steadier. I can see that the UNI 28 would give me some left over £'s for a motor focuser if needed. It would need to be compatible with a Feathertouch focuser though, which might prove expensive !

I've no need to hurry this so I can think on it some more

Do you not still have the Meade Giant tripod John? That was the ultimate in stability in my experience. Not as beautiful as a Berlebach obviously  

[John]

56 minutes ago, Stu said:

Do you not still have the Meade Giant tripod John? That was the ultimate in stability in my experience. Not as beautiful as a Berlebach obviously  

I let the Meade GF tripod go Stu. It was immensely stable and tall but it was also immensely heavy - around 25 kg.

 

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, John said:

I let the Meade GF tripod go Stu. It was immensely stable and tall but it was also immensely heavy - around 25 kg.

 

Yes, I did the same, sold mine when I sold the Vixen. Ideal if you can leave them in place, almost as a pier replacement but not good for having to move around.

[StarryEyed]

I always use a seat and recommend a draftsmans chair. Actually mine is really old and fully raised gets my head to the same height as when I am standing. Helps keeping your back an neck straight too. Cant begin to tell you how good it feels just leaning forward slightly to the eyepiece or leaning back to look up. It will revolutionise your observing. I promise.

I got a thought that mine is twenty years old.

[nightfisher]

Another vote for sitting and observing, i am sort of on the look out for a skytee 2 to mount on a heavy wood pier in the garden and will be set up for sitting with the Ed120...........if i still worked in engineering i would turn up a heavy Giro clone, im sure a company could knock these out for little money on a CNC

[John]

51 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

Another vote for sitting and observing, i am sort of on the look out for a skytee 2 to mount on a heavy wood pier in the garden and will be set up for sitting with the Ed120...........if i still worked in engineering i would turn up a heavy Giro clone, im sure a company could knock these out for little money on a CNC

I used to have a heavy duty Giro clone made by a UK engineering company. It wasn't any less expensive than a Giro though which makes me think that they require accurate and carefull machining if they are to work well:

 

 

[spaceboy]

I think it's to do more with material costs and the amount of effort it takes to turn a billet into a hollow chamber. Aluminium isn't cheap after all and when you consider what lumps each of the parts started out as it all soon mounts up (forgive the pun) The bearing arms are going to have to be stainless steel (again not cheap or easy to work with) to 1) cope with loads 2) remain corrosion free so as to not interfere with movement. Then there is the whole bespoke / niche nature of it all, as giro mounts aren't sold by the bucket load. Most metals are sold by length 3-6mtrs at a time so it's not like you can just buy enough to knock off one or two. Then there is all the tooling and everything that would need to be set up for a production run. CNC run machines are not simple plug and play devices and require a lot of calculations to be programmed. Most people who know how to do this aren't cheap to employ. At the end of all this you may well have some finished articles cluttering the store room shelves for several months waiting for sales. Pricing may also be high to try and make back initial costs to get out of the red and then at a later date promotions can be offered to get items out of the door quicker.

[John]

A quick update on this thread.

I went for the Berlebach Uni 28 in the end. It was delivered today (thanks FLO ) and I'm very impressed by it. This is the 2- leg clamp version and by using the 140mm pillar that came with my Skytee II I can have the mount dovetail at around 170cm high with the tripod legs only half extended. It seems very, very stable

Just looking for a clear sky to test it with the 130mm frac - not a chance tonight !

[StarryEyed]

Bet it looks good?

[nightfisher]

On 1/20/2017 at 17:47, John said:

I used to have a heavy duty Giro clone made by a UK engineering company. It wasn't any less expensive than a Giro though which makes me think that they require accurate and carefull machining if they are to work well:

 

 

Is the mount in the pic the Bray tablet John?, i still dont know what i am going to do for an Alt Az mount, some one on here is talking about getting some Hercules helix clones made up so i will wait to see how this progress`s and if its no go then will look for a used Skytee 2