Best goto for skymax 127?

[nightfisher]

What do you guys think would be the best goto mount for a skymax 127 Maksutov, the star discovery AZ goto or the EQ3/2 goto mount, looks like both have slightly wobbly tripods

[Alfian]

Jules, I don't know much about Gotos but the EQ3 Pro Syncscan with a 1.75" steel tripod looks like it would be a good setup but adding that up comes to over £500 and you wind up with an ali' tripod you don't need. A few years ago I saw Ian Morrison demonstrating what I'm pretty sure was a variant of the Ioptron Cube and it was impressive.  I don't know how it would handle the 127 Mak but its a similar price to the Syncscan and has a steel tripod. I don't see Ioptron stuff mentioned much, I don't know whether there is a particular reason for that.

https://www.altairastro.com/ioptron-cube-pro-portable-goto-telescope-mount-with-gps.html

[happy-kat]

Don't you already own the star discovery tripod?

Why not see if that mount head will fit on an eq5 tripod leg set?

Personally I think the star discovery has the best functions  freedom find is great.

Edited June 23, 2017 by happy-kat

[nightfisher]

@Alfian  I cant see me getting the cube mount, looks a bit weak, but thanks for the suggestion 

 

@happy-kat  Yes i have the star discovery, seems a nice mount and is a good match for 102 Maksutov but wonder if it would be quite sturdy enough for a 127 skymax

[Alfian]

Jules, you are welcome to try my 127 Mak on the star discovery to see how stable it would be.

[Starlord19]

I had a skymax 127 on an eq 3-2 and I found it to be a good match. The mount was much more stable than the one that came as standard and handled the scope easily but was still fairly light and easy to carry. I got a celestron c6 sct next and that was too much for the eq3-2 but for the skymax 127 I would give it the thumbs up.

[Geoff Lister]

I have had no problems with the Skymax original mount and tripod. I have also used the OTA on a modified Celestron Skyprodigy 70 mount. By removing the dovetail back-stop peg and slightly cutting-back the dovetail clamp's plastic cowl, I have Starsense and full GOTO. At £200, the 70 is a bargain, if you are prepared to modify the cowl to take larger OTAs.

Geoff

[spaceboy]

I know you had a Skymax 127 in the past and wasn't at all impressed so I'm assuming your asking advice for a fellow enthusiast ??

I've had both a syntrek and synscan az goto skymax127 and found them adequate enough to get you on target and support the 127 MAK. That said they are as with most telescope/ mount deals the basic AZ goto is under mounted so the beefier 5kg load capacity of the star discovery would give a noticeable advantage while retaining the AZ convenience. I think the skymax tends to come on AZ mounts (as does most MAK and SCT designs) due to the configuration of the focuser and fixed dovetail. I did while owning a skymax use it on an EQ5 and found the focuser knob would often get in the way as I inevitably had to rotate the diagonal as the rotation of the RA/DEC came into play. If the scope came with OTA rings then the scope itself could be rotated and the focuser knob would never become an obstacle but as it stands due to the fixed dovetail I would on regular occasion find the diagonal clash with the knob in one way or another. It is doable on an EQ mount but just a consideration as a goto mount will often dictate the orientation of the mount/ota for you. Again addition of OTA rings would resolve any issues. It is also worth considering that MAK are dew magnets and heater bands will more that likely be necessary. My guess is cables hanging here and there can also be less prone to tangling on an AZ mount??

 

[nightfisher]

5 minutes ago, spaceboy said:

I know you had a Skymax 127 in the past and wasn't at all impressed so I'm assuming your asking advice for a fellow enthusiast ??

I've had both a syntrek and synscan az goto skymax127 and found them adequate enough to get you on target and support the 127 MAK. That said they are as with most telescope/ mount deals the basic AZ goto is under mounted so the beefier 5kg load capacity of the star discovery would give a noticeable advantage while retaining the AZ convenience. I think the skymax tends to come on AZ mounts (as does most MAK and SCT designs) due to the configuration of the focuser and fixed dovetail. I did while owning a skymax use it on an EQ5 and found the focuser knob would often get in the way as I inevitably had to rotate the diagonal as the rotation of the RA/DEC came into play. If the scope came with OTA rings then the scope itself could be rotated and the focuser knob would never become an obstacle but as it stands due to the fixed dovetail I would on regular occasion find the diagonal clash with the knob in one way or another. It is doable on an EQ mount but just a consideration as a goto mount will often dictate the orientation of the mount/ota for you. Again addition of OTA rings would resolve any issues. It is also worth considering that MAK are dew magnets and heater bands will more that likely be necessary. My guess is cables hanging here and there can also be less prone to tangling on an AZ mount??

 

This might be for me if i lose the battle with council over the factory floodlights!

You make a very good point regarding EQ goto causing clashes with other parts of the system, i have never needed dew heater, i find a decent dew shield seems to work well unless the the dew point is really bad then its not worth getting a maksutov out.

Yes i have owned the 127 before, but i also had the 150 pro at the same time so the 127 never got used, they are good scopes for Luna and planet

[avtaram]

I use the Celestron Nexstar se goto mount with my 127 mak and omc 140, it has a load capacity of 6kg and is rock steady with any of these scopes.

Avtar

[happy-kat]

Is it in SE 4/5 or SE 6/8 mount, only the latter is much sturdier I gather.

[nightfisher]

29 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Is it in SE 4/5 or SE 6/8 mount, only the latter is much sturdier I gather.

The 6/6 se mount is a bit more sturdy

[happy-kat]

The SE mounts don't have freedom find or manual ability. The skymax 127 weight is within what the discover is listed as having. If you did find it wobbly then given it is a skywatcher it begs the question would the goto head fit on an eq5 tripod leg set.

Whilst I am not suggesting you do this but I know that the discovery mount did carry a 200p telescope for a huge photon collection a few times, obviously completely not ideal or recommended but the mount did it.

Edited June 24, 2017 by happy-kat

[nightfisher]

34 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

The SE mounts don't have freedom find or manual ability. The skymax 127 weight is within what the discover is listed as having. If you did find it wobbly then given it is a skywatcher it begs the question would the goto head fit on an eq5 tripod leg set.

Whilst I am not suggesting you do this but I know that the discovery mount did carry a 200p telescope for a huge photon collection a few times, obviously completely not ideal or recommended but the mount did it.

The Star discovery needs its own tripod head, but it would be possible to mount the whole unit on a pillar to make it more sturdy, i have looked at this idea

[happy-kat]

I think you should just try it, the mount's listed carrying capacity I think is greater than what the 127mm weighs. If you like to sit to observe I imagine the tripod would be stable as it wouldn't be fully extended.

[nightfisher]

16 hours ago, happy-kat said:

I think you should just try it, the mount's listed carrying capacity I think is greater than what the 127mm weighs. If you like to sit to observe I imagine the tripod would be stable as it wouldn't be fully extended.

If the council do what i suspect, then i will get the 127 skymax, and see how it works on the star discovery mount, i may be rather pleased with it, and if i find it to wobbly then i look to other idea`s