What's the biggest scope you've mounted on a tripod?

[Commanderfish]

What's the biggest scope you've mounted and used on an EQ or Alt Az mount and tripod (i.e. not a dobsonian)?

Here's what I did last night and it worked rather well - a 10" Newt and a 6" Achro frac

On the left is my new Orion Optics UK VX10, and the little scope on the right is an Altair Starwave 152!

Edited May 9, 2017 by Commanderfish
Added pic

[xtreemchaos]

a  Bresser ar150l and ed80 on a eq6, carryed them ok if it wasn't windy.  charl. ps been look for a photo of them setup, but it was a longtime ago back when we had gas camera and thay must of all evapourated . some cracking setup posted, well done guys...  

Edited May 9, 2017 by xtreemchaos
added ps

[John]

The Istar 6" F/12 was probably the largest (longest) that I've set up. Well over 100 lbs total weight !

 

[Stu]

Orion Optics VX12L f6. Quite big, on an AYODigi II mount. The eyepiece was a little high!!

[Moonshane]

Depends what you mean by big. My 6" f11 is very long but slim and light.

[Stu]

Forgot these ones.

20kg 150mm Vixen f9, with either a Tak or a C8 Edge on AZEQ6. A bit like a rocket launcher when skewing to target.

[mikeDnight]

A mere midget compared to some of the above, but my Takahashi FS152's hefty construction demanded a strong mount (EQ6 minimum). It soon moved to a Losmandy G11.

Mike 

 

 

[Commanderfish]

18 minutes ago, Stu said:

Orion Optics VX12L f6. Quite big, on an AYODigi II mount. The eyepiece was a little high!!

Do you still have this Stu?  I want to get a VX12 (1200ml) and was assuming it would need a dob base but maybe not...

 

[Commanderfish]

Those of you with the long scopes (pretty much all of you), how are you finding the vibration damping? 

I'm finding that the VX10 is taking significantly longer to damp than the AR152, so it's distracting at higher mags, but i have also noticed that there is no felt between the tube and the rings, so I might try adding some.  Anyone else have tips for reducing damping times?

Edited May 9, 2017 by Commanderfish

[Mark at Beaufort]

The heaviest Scope that I put on my old SkyTee 1 mount was a Meade AR6 Achro. It worked ok.

[Peter Drew]

12" F6 on Vixen Super Polaris EQ.   

[ollypenrice]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

A mere midget compared to some of the above, but my Takahashi FS152's hefty construction demanded a strong mount (EQ6 minimum). It soon moved to a Losmandy G11.

Mike 

 

 

It's very rare that the green eyed God of envy gets her teeth into me but on this occasion...

lly

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Commanderfish said:

Do you still have this Stu?  I want to get a VX12 (1200ml) and was assuming it would need a dob base but maybe not...

 

Long gone I'm afraid.

It was only a temporary measure really, I find the OO tubes are too flimsy to allow a rigid connection so the vibration is quite bad. The f6 is a different beast to the f4 though, it is 1800mm focal length so the twisting moment is much stronger. I bought a dob base fairly soon after getting it.

I think Derek (DRT) still has a 12" f4 used on an AZEQ6 fairly successfully.

I found that the Vixen was quite manageable on the same mount, having tracking means you are not touching the scope other than to focus, and even then I ended up using a motor focuser to avoid touching the scope as far as possible. Worked very well.

[John]

Vibration control with long tubes has always proved challenging for me because my scopes have to remain moveable. The conclusion that I came to with the 6" F/12 Istar was that it really needed an observatory type mounting with a hefty EQ head on a massive cast iron or concrete pillar. Even the 3" steel tubed legs of the Meade Giant Field Tripod plus the EQ6 failed to really hold the thing steady

My other large scope is my Orion Optics 12" F/5.3. The tube is similar to the one in Stu's photo but it's in a super dob mount that was made for me by an SGL member. This brings home the simple efficiency of the dob mount arrangement because I can use the 12" at magnifications of 400-500x (conditions / target allowing) and there is practically no vibration at all, even when focussing. Thank you John Dobson for a great concept and Shane for excellent execution 

 

[Commanderfish]

I completely agree about dob mounts. My VX16 F4 on an Orion UK dob base has no noticeable vibration.  I have been considering whether to shell out the cash for a new OOUK dob base for the VX 10 since the chance of one coming up used seems pretty remote, but I really love having two scopes side by side as you get two different magnifications and FOVs of the same target without having to change eyepieces. Hmm...

Edited May 9, 2017 by Commanderfish

[Moonshane]

No doubt at all, especially with bigger scopes, maybe above 10".

[F15Rules]

7 hours ago, John said:

The Istar 6" F/12 was probably the largest (longest) that I've set up. Well over 100 lbs total weight !

 

Reminds me of Andromeda, my former D&G 5" F15 refractor John..2 metres long and now sitting proudly on Steve's EQ6 and pier??. Rather too much for my then CG5!!

Dave

[John]

1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

Reminds me of Andromeda, my former D&G 5" F15 refractor John..2 metres long and now sitting proudly on Steve's EQ6 and pier??. Rather too much for my then CG5!!

Dave

I remember that scope fondly Dave - a really classical looking refractor

I love this type of scope but they are so and so's to mount if you want the things to be at all portable.

[Chris]

I think this is as big as I've gone tripod mounted - Bresser AR127L f/9.4. Great scope, built like a tank!

Edited May 10, 2017 by Chris Lock

[Peter Drew]

Having a rethink now that piers have crept into the thread, I once custom built a 17" F5 mounted as an alt-az on a self desighned "Giro" type mount with electric drives pirated from a Vixen Polaris mount.  

[John]

Many years ago I used to visit the Widescreen Centre when I was up in London. They used to have a 16" F/4 Orion Optics newtonian in their shop on a really massive equatorial mount. The whole thing was so big that it towered over you when you were standing at the shop counter.

 

[Marki]

I had an Istar Perseus 150mm F10 mounted on my AZ EG6GT. That thing was massive! The mount coped ok, the sheer weight of the scope contributing to the stablity of the set-up. Alas, my back was less happy with having to mount/dismount the scope every session, so I found it got increasinlgy limited use until eventually I sold it. I really miss the views it gave me, but unless I can keep a permanent setup, I reckon 120 - 130mm is about as big as I can go in refractors.

I still hear the siren calls of the 140mm APMs though...

 

[John]

7 minutes ago, Marki said:

....I still hear the siren calls of the 140mm APMs though...

 

I hear those calls too Mark, though I'm trying not to listen too hard !

Those Istars were great scopes even if they were a handful !

Edited May 10, 2017 by John

[Marki]

I've had to remove ABS and various retailler website from my Bookmarks to try to avoid temptation...just about holding out

[DaveS]

Biggest (Though not very) 'scope on a tripod is my 180 Mak on the HEQ5. Not really a test.