which manual Alt-Az mount

[el ement]

 

        I,m  looking to use two refractors for Lunar/planetary viewing and wondered what alt-az  mount would suit best. I,ve already got a spare sturdy tripod with a 3/8 bolt.

     I do,nt know the total weight but the scopes would be in the range of 60-130mm + diagonals and eye piece objectives.

 

   thanks,

    Tony

[mikeDnight]

You didn't mention budget, so...

[John]

I think we need a little more on the actual scopes you are considering. There is a huge range in length and weight between 60mm and 130mm refractors and one might require a completely different class of mount from another.

The scopes in this photo, for example range, between a 102mm F/6.5 and a 130mm F/9.2 and their mounting requirements are quite different:

 

[Space Hopper]

TS in the Fatherland have a good selection.

The Giro Ercole is a good choice

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p4202_GIRO-ERCOLE-Altazimuth-Mount-for-Telescopes-up-to-15-kg.html

 

Also this from AOK Swiss : the AYO ii

This is more 'configurable' and has the potential to add things like encoders for eg.

http://www.aokswiss.ch/ayo/main_ayo.html

[RT65CB-SWL]

Tele-Optic Giro mkll or mklll...

<--- mine is the mkll.

 

For a 'lightweight' OTA you can 'just about' get away with a photo/camera ballhead...

[DirkSteele]

As John said, mounting requirements can vary dramatically even on scopes with similar apertures.

However +1 for the Ercole.  My review:

http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2015/05/03/tele-optic-giro-ercole-alt-az-mount-review/

Shown here with 115 f/7 triplet and 105 f/6.2 triplet.

[Louis D]

I have the DSV-2B for my AT72ED and 127 Mak:

However, for what you want to mount, I would recommend the DSV-3.  Be aware that wait times for Raul's mounts can be lengthy, but they are highly customizeable.

Make sure your heavy duty tripod is rated for at least 45 pounds since the DSV-3 mount itself weighs 12 1/2 pounds unloaded.  Add two 10 to 20 pound telescopes, 2" diagonals, and heavy eyepieces or binoviewers, and you're up to 40+ pounds in a hurry.

 

[el ement]

     thanks to you all for your suggestions .I didn,t realise that there is such choice.

  I,m sorry that I should have specified which scopes I may use.

   Williams FLT 132

   Tak 60

   Vixen 102 ED

    With the distance from the axis point to the clamp being identical  ,does that pose a problem with balance if using a 60mm  at one side and the 132 at the other.

    I haven,t had a chance yet to check each mount out,that have been suggested and I now realise that the prices will be quite varied and eye watering.

    Tony

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, el ement said:

With the distance from the axis point to the clamp being identical  ,does that pose a problem with balance if using a 60mm  at one side and the 132 at the other.

Most quality dual alt-az mounts don't really care if they are completely unloaded on one side.  Just make sure your tripod legs are spread wide enough keep the center of gravity well within their footprint to avoid tippiness of the whole rig.

[Paul73]

The humble Sky Tee II might seem a little agricultural compared to the beautifully engineered examples discussed thus far. But..... it’ll take a lot of weight and has great slo mo controls and is relatively low cost.

Worth a ?.

Paul 

[Paul73]

5 hours ago, John said:

 

Show off! ???

Only joking. A very tidy collection.

Paul

[el ement]

        Some of the mounts are not available but even so there is a good choice. I was impressed with the  DSV-3 but with delivery ,import tax and VAT probably not much short of £1000 ,its out of my league.

       Has anyone got any experience of the Altair Sabre. It looks solid plus a counter balance arm/weight is available.

       thanks,

        Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mikeDnight]

Attached are three pics of the AZ4, which is a good, lightweight altazimuth, but will only carry one scope at a time. Then there's the superb Hercules Helix altazimuth fork mount, seriously solid unlike many other fork mounts on the market. Can only currently be found second-hand. Another great Altaz mount is the Vixen Polaris mount, which can be changed from Altaz to equatorial as the mood takes you. Again, can only be found second-hand. 

 

 

 

[John]

Having owned quite a lot of alt-az mounts, inclding a Sabre II, Giro II, Ercole, AZ-4 and a couple of Skytee II's, I've currently settled on a Skytee II which has done the best job of carrying my range of refractors from the 100mm to the 130mm triplet pictured above. My 70mm gets it's own little ultra-light alt-az though

[JG777]

AYO II with encoders, though you might not want the encoder version and save a pile of cash. The bottom section can be removed to reveal a 3/8 thread. I often remove the bottom half and mount on a Report 112 tripod and use an 80mm frac.  

[Bender]

I still have the original Ayo Traveler mount, worked like a dream with my ED100. For anything bigger the Ayo II would be perfect

 

[Louis D]

Aside from the DSV mounts, none of the other alt-az mounts seem to have axis locks.  How well do these various mounts hold position when you pull a 2+ pound eyepiece like the 17mm ES-92 out of the focuser to put another eyepiece in the focuser?  Besides wanting two scopes mounted simultaneously, it was for this reason I upgraded from the DSV-1 mount to the DSV-2B mount.  The DSV-1 would not hold position under these conditions no matter how tightly the tension was cranked down because it does not have axis locks.  I can live without slow motion controls, but I can't live without axis locks.  I've read that the DiscMounts DM6 is probably the most resistant to imbalance as alt-az mounts go, but it only holds one scope at a time.

[Stu]

@Louis D the Ercole has an alt axis lock. It has a standard clutch for this axis, then a larger clamp on the top which locks the axis completely when you need to change eyepieces.

[iPeace]

It just doesn't get any sweeter than this...

[BGazing]

On 23/02/2019 at 00:07, iPeace said:

It just doesn't get any sweeter than this...

Ha, what is that thing on top of your photo coupling, you have some adapter to Losmandy mount? Trying to figure out what gives.

I managed to find (hopefully a plate which converts top of Berlebach UNI EQ5 plate into plate for Celestron Evo. I know that one can switch plates on top of UNI tripods, but would be even sweeter if there are some adapter plates, saves time and gives more flexibility...

[John]

On 22/02/2019 at 15:28, Louis D said:

Aside from the DSV mounts, none of the other alt-az mounts seem to have axis locks.  How well do these various mounts hold position when you pull a 2+ pound eyepiece like the 17mm ES-92 out of the focuser to put another eyepiece in the focuser?  Besides wanting two scopes mounted simultaneously, it was for this reason I upgraded from the DSV-1 mount to the DSV-2B mount.  The DSV-1 would not hold position under these conditions no matter how tightly the tension was cranked down because it does not have axis locks.  I can live without slow motion controls, but I can't live without axis locks.  I've read that the DiscMounts DM6 is probably the most resistant to imbalance as alt-az mounts go, but it only holds one scope at a time.

The Skytee II has axis locks. My heaviest eyepieces are the Ethos 21 and Nagler 31 and the mount copes with those going in and out and being swapped for lighter eyepieces pretty well.

[iPeace]

1 hour ago, BGazing said:

Ha, what is that thing on top of your photo coupling, you have some adapter to Losmandy mount? Trying to figure out what gives.

That's actually an integral part of the AZ8 head.

[BGazing]

2 hours ago, iPeace said:

That's actually an integral part of the AZ8 head.

Man, it really looks like some MOMA sculpture.