Universal Optics Microstar Alt-Az Mount

[Neon]

After much deliberation, reading reviews and scouring the net for a new tripod head to replace the old one on my heavy tripod I finally bit the bullet and purchased a Universal Optics Microstar from SCS Astro.

After a couple of emails with Keiron I ordered the mount along with a couple of 90mm Orion scope rings and two days later (and on a clear night!) I got my hands on them and quickly assembled everything. From opening the box to sticking on my tripod too about 5 minutes, and 10 minutes later I was outside and looking for Uranus (which I still can't find).

My 80mm Sentinel on the Microstar Standard mount (picture taken from my phone).

First impressions were excellent. My old tripod head made observing a bit of a chore, since it was mostly a case of moving it jerkily until my target was in sight and then tightening it up so it wouldn't move. Whilst that not a huge hindrance to observing, it does mean that you spend as much time thinking about getting the mount straight as you do looking at the stars. Not anymore. Now although the first night was a far better experience it wasn't as goodas it could have been. In my haste to get outside I hadn't balanced the mount properly, so I still needed to tighten the altitude adjuster to keep the image in sight once positioned.

Having said that it was a world apart from my old tripod head. It was smoother and far more stable than I'd thought it would be, giving me increased freedom of movement. I could now reach the zenith, without having to shorten one of my tripod legs, again making the evenings observing more enjoyable.

Next day I took time to get my scope balanced on the mount. As the model I purchased was the standard model you need to affix the rings to the rectangular steel mounting bracket built into the Microstar. Clearly it's been made to support larger scopes than mine so I had to put both rings at one end of the bracket in order to get the scope to balance. Like this, observing became even easier and even smoother! Over the weekend I took it to Cambridge and a friend and I did a spot of observing, mostly concentrating on the moon.

A better view of my Microstar Standard. Note the scope rings at the far end of the mounting bracket to get proper balance for my scope.

Once properly balanced I could aim the scope with my thumb and forefinger on the mounting bracket, and even tentatively spin it around 360 degrees. I'm guessing that most of my kit weighs in about about 3.5 - 4kg (scope, rings, 2" diagonal, red dot and 8mm Hyperion) and the Microstar handles it with ease. I'm betting it could easily take another 2kg without effecting the stability, which means my next scope can be almost double the weight of this one.

Unfortunately there are some trade-offs between the old tripod head and the Microstar. Firstly, it's obviously bigger and more cumbersome than the old head taking away some of the transportability of the setup. Moving the scope and tripod is now harder, due to the increased weight and lower maneuverability. Secondly because the rings are bolted directly to the mounting bracket you can't easily swap optical device without using a spanner. My tripod head came with a vixen-type mount that allowed me to change from scope to binoculars easily. Whilst on the subject of binoculars, it's worth noting that they also cannot be mounted without an additional bracket. Finally balance might be an issue if you switch from a 2" UWA eyepiece, to a little 9mm Plossl, but I used the unbalanced scope on the first night without much problem.

Having said all that, I am still very impressed with the Microstar. It's done all I want and more, and is easily the best piece of astronomy kit I've purchased except for my scope, and did so without breaking the bank. Other similar tripod heads I was looking at would have cost me in the region of £210 to get a similar setup, but the Microstar and tube rings came in at just shy of £140 inc P&P.

So if you are looking for a decent alt-az mount to stick on your tripod, I thoroughly recommend the Microstar as a top quality piece of equipment.

Mark