Question for Tak FC100 & AZ GTi owners

[A McEwan]

Hi,

 

I have seen a few pictures of Tak FC100 scopes on the Skywatcher AZ GTi mount, and with a heavy duty tripod it is reported as being fine. I'm in the process of putting this kit together (just waiting for a tripod adapter to arrive) but am wondering... what do people with such a setup use to mount the scope to the dovetail? I'm currently using a Takahashi cradle, but it's a heavy bit of kit. Does anyone use a different mounting option to reduce weight/bulk?

 

Ant     

[Stardust1]

The Takahashi Cradle weighs 800 grams. You could use tube rings. There are a few vendors who sell tube rings with 95mm diameters. I’m not sure how much weight  savings would that be.

[John]

I use an Altair 250mm Vixen type DT bar bolted direct to my Tak clamp for my Tak FC100-DL. It seems solid and a good solution.

 

[A McEwan]

Thanks. It's really for reducing weight - or, is that necessary with the AZ-GTi? Was hoping some people using this combo would chime in?  I currently use the Tak clamshell for my AZ4 and GP, but it is heavy. It contributes a lot to the overall weight of the setup.

 

Ant

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by A McEwan

[happy-kat]

How much does your tak with accessories weigh without any mounting adaptor?

[A McEwan]

6 hours ago, happy-kat said:

How much does your tak with accessories weigh without any mounting adaptor?

Equipped with my usual diagonal, 13mm Nagler and mounting ring + dovetail bar = a hair under 4kg.

As above, sans ring = a hair under 3kg.

 

[Highburymark]

The AZGTI happily copes with the FC100s. I use mine with the Tak cradle and it’s fine. Rings would be lighter - some owners have 95mm Parallax rings I think.

[A McEwan]

1 hour ago, Highburymark said:

The AZGTI happily copes with the FC100s. I use mine with the Tak cradle and it’s fine. Rings would be lighter - some owners have 95mm Parallax rings I think.

This is good news! It's just the mount looks so...little! Still can't wait to try it out!

 

[happy-kat]

Àfter reading another post don't skimp on reading the manual, there's a way to ensure the mount stays done up.

[Stardust1]

Here is Sky-90 on the AZ-GTi. First impression, the mount can handle the Sky-90 well. The Sky-90 uses the same clamshell as the FC-100D. The whole scope setup, is just over 4kg.

[A McEwan]

On 30/07/2019 at 15:58, Stardust1 said:

Here is Sky-90 on the AZ-GTi. First impression, the mount can handle the Sky-90 well. The Sky-90 uses the same clamshell as the FC-100D. The whole scope setup, is just over 4kg.

Awesome - thanks!   

 

[Stardust1]

Thank you!

 

Mind you, I have used the AZ-GTi for an hour or so outside. The weather has been terrible since I got the AZ-GTi. What I have noticed is that there is some backlash in the DEC. Not sure if degrades the Go-To accuracy.

 

Stu, has written a nice how to fix the backlash tutorial. I need to test first the mount a few times under the stars before pursuing to open the mount. I haven't heard from the vendor if one tries to fix the backlash voids the warranty.

 

In the SkyWatcher SynScan app there is a backlash compensation feature. Not sure if this helps. Would love to hear if somebody has played with this feature to reduce the backlash.

 

So far I like the mount. If it tracks the planets and the moon without glitch then I would be very happy. The GoTo will be a big bonus. I try to relative the price performance in this case, the price of the AZ-GTi is comparable to one Tele Vue Delite eyepiece. In my book the mount is a bargain.

[Stardust1]

Would like to give an update regarding the AZ-GTi.

The first sample of the AZ-GTi that I tried for a few nights had issues with tracking and goto. The mount wouldn't track an object more than a minute of three in the FOV of 0.5 degrees. The goto was also off. I tried one star, two star, three star alignment, without success. 

I sent the mount back to the vendor for a replacement. As I was advised by the vendor that opening the mount would void the warranty. The new mount works excellent. It tracks an object more then 10 minutes in the FOV of 0.5 degrees. The object would then just move maybe 1/3 or so, or less in the FOV. The goto works excellent as well. Not 100%, but close enough, depending on the object in the sky.

Overall I'm very pleased with the AZ-GTi mount. The mount is a winner in combination with a small light scope.

[Helen]

I've got mine in parallax rings and use a standard vixen dovetail.  I also use a telrad which is currently attached to a ring via another vixen dovetail and an ADM small vixen dovetail holder (like the ones used for piggy-backing a guide scope.  Seems to work well 🙂   

I'm actually not that impressed with the finish on the parallax rings, given their price, and I think the WO rings would be nicer and cheaper 😉 

The Tak 100 and azgti is a nice combination.  

Helen