Rowan AZ100 Mount Owners Thread

[HollyHound]

1 minute ago, John said:

Currently I can move all my scopes / mounts around the garden a short, level, distance in one piece.

Indeed, that is certainly doable with the Uni 28/AZ100 combo and either StellaLyra CC6 or StellMira 80mm, each of which are about 7/8kg with eyepieces... not both together, but then that's an unusual use case for me.

Bizarrely, almost the quickest setup rig I have now is the 10" dob... it lives beside the back door at the end of a corridor (so away from most of the house heating)... take the tube off, set to one side, carry the base out onto the patio then carry and fit the tube... barely takes 2mins. Quicker than carrying the AZ100 rig out and then mounting the scope. That surprised me, as I'd shied away from dobs thinking they were cumbersome 🤣 I guess they would be going any great distance though... horses for courses 🤔

[JeremyS]

13 minutes ago, John said:

Yes, I'm happy to make two carries to setup mount / tripod then the scope and similarly when bringing it in. When setup though I do like to be able to move the whole rig a few paces here and there during a session just to make the most of my clear patches of sky here. I would prefer not to have to dismount the scope to do this. Currently I can move all my scopes / mounts around the garden a short, level, distance in one piece. I've owned a couple of setups where that was not possible and this became the main reason that I moved those on.

 

 

Now, I did shift my Berlebach Planet + AZ100 + 3.8 kg counterweight + Tak TSA combo about 2ft across the patio. Won’t be doing that again in a hurry 😬

[HollyHound]

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

I can lift the AZ100 on the Planet from my garage about 15 m to the patio. there is a gate to go though, which takes a bit of care. However, I just worry a bit about strain on lower back (mainly due to awkward movement rather that weight) hence why I want to try the marginally lighter Uni 28. I thought about the Uni 18 to save another kg, but the 28 is better height/stability with fracs.

That makes sense, it's not the absolute weight, more the potential for doing oneself an injury in the process.

Last summer I got a terrible bout of what I thought was RSI in my right hand, and as I work a lot of the day in app development you get careful about these things (different keyboards, mice, chairs etc). My hand was not able to work properly for about 5 weeks, even had it in a support for a while. Eventually I figured that it was strain from lifting and setting up the Uni 28 and SkyTee, as I'd been carrying it awkwardly from the office and loaded my right hand unnecessarily due to unbalanced load. I now carry things out with much greater care and haven't had an issue since August.

It's the reason I got the Report, as I realised it's half the weight of the Uni 28 and even with Mak (at the time it was the C5), the combined weight is easily managed without any undue strain, so if I do pick it up quickly and take it outside there is less danger of strain 👍

Age is a wonderful thing... not 😬

[John]

9 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Indeed, that is certainly doable with the Uni 28/AZ100 combo and either StellaLyra CC6 or StellMira 80mm, each of which are about 7/8kg with eyepieces... not both together, but then that's an unusual use case for me.

Bizarrely, almost the quickest setup rig I have now is the 10" dob... it lives beside the back door at the end of a corridor (so away from most of the house heating)... take the tube off, set to one side, carry the base out onto the patio then carry and fit the tube... barely takes 2mins. Quicker than carrying the AZ100 rig out and then mounting the scope. That surprised me, as I'd shied away from dobs thinking they were cumbersome 🤣 I guess they would be going any great distance though... horses for courses 🤔

Not too bizzarre. My 12 inch dob is as quick to setup as any of my refractors.

 

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

That makes sense, it's not the absolute weight, more the potential for doing oneself an injury in the process.

Last summer I got a terrible bout of what I thought was RSI in my right hand, and as I work a lot of the day in app development you get careful about these things (different keyboards, mice, chairs etc). My hand was not able to work properly for about 5 weeks, even had it in a support for a while. Eventually I figured that it was strain from lifting and setting up the Uni 28 and SkyTee, as I'd been carrying it awkwardly from the office and loaded my right hand unnecessarily due to unbalanced load. I now carry things out with much greater care and haven't had an issue since August.

It's the reason I got the Report, as I realised it's half the weight of the Uni 28 and even with Mak (at the time it was the C5), the combined weight is easily managed without any undue strain, so if I do pick it up quickly and take it outside there is less danger of strain 👍

Age is a wonderful thing... not 😬

You raise some important safety points here. Not least about ergonomics of awkward things like tripods ans scopes. I find that it’s harder to orchestrate  manoeuvres in the in the dark, too (wasn’t that a 70s pop group?. 🤔)

Indeed I find my Report a breeze  to handle (wonder if @F15Rules will spot that deft insertion). Trouble is it’s not really up to the FC100 DZ at high mags. I think this might be another justification for a FOA 60 Q 🤔

[johninderby]

Oh my God OMD are still touring. 🙀🙀🙀

Do they use zimmer frames now? 🤔

[Telescope40]

1 hour ago, Stephenstargazer said:

@Telescope40 good report on AZ 100. Many options if you add encoders. If you intend to use SkySafari then you only need a Nexus, but if you have DSC then you have option to use that alone or plus SS. Personally prefer not to depend on phone or tablet. ( In some situations WiFi can become unstable due to other nearby routers on same channel. ). You can use DSC and SS will still track your position though. 

@johninderby mentioned using both motors and slow-motion but I thought that was not possible due to way motors connect by belts?? However can definitely push to and use motors as slipping clutches work without disrupting the encoders. Good thinking Rowan - makes for high-speed go to! Motors will goto with DSC or Safari and you can push to that area of sky instead of waiting I believe. 

I have said motors are not for me but??  However very pleased I went with DSC, it was one reason for choosing this mount 👍

Hello.  I think I've plotted a upgrade route.  As @Stephenstargazer suggests.  Think I'm leaning towards the DSC rather than the Nexus II.   Encoders and DSC next up as I can use the mount in the short / long term  with or with out Skysafari. Can use the mount as a PushTo to locate targets till the motors come along and make the mount a GoTo / tracking system. Plus gives me time to find the finances one way or another. 

Anyone see any flaws in this plan.  I'm sometimes good at missing the obvious. 

John 

[HollyHound]

1 hour ago, John said:

Not too bizzarre. My 12 inch dob is as quick to setup as any of my refractors.

Perhaps I should have said it seemed bizarre to me, having had (false) visions of dobs being cumbersome, when I first started... having said that, some of ones I looked at in books were huge! 🤣

[Stephenstargazer]

37 minutes ago, Telescope40 said:

Anyone see any flaws in this plan.  I'm sometimes good at missing the obvious. 

You seem to have it OK this time! That is how I have mine. Finding is very easy with the DSC and slow motions, or even push to. Just get the offset to zero and it's there. 

[HollyHound]

52 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Do they use zimmer frames now? 🤔

Doubtful... they probably still get a better tune from using synthesizers 🤣

[HollyHound]

43 minutes ago, Telescope40 said:

Anyone see any flaws in this plan.  I'm sometimes good at missing the obvious. 

Sounds very similar to my plan... have the encoders, next is the DSC... seems like a good plan to me 👍

[Telescope40]

2 minutes ago, Stephenstargazer said:

You seem to have it OK this time! That is how I have mine. Finding is very easy with the DSC and slow motions, or even push to. Just get the offset to zero and it's there. 

 

Just now, HollyHound said:

Sounds very similar to my plan... have the encoders, next is the DSC... seems like a good plan to me 👍

Cheers guys.  Starts to look at what can be sold !!!     

[HollyHound]

1 minute ago, Telescope40 said:

Cheers guys.  Starts to look at what can be sold !!! 

Do you really need to keep the kids, if you have any... just saying 🤣

[Telescope40]

1 minute ago, HollyHound said:

Do you really need to keep the kids, if you have any... just saying 🤣

Well.  As the Rowan is looking to turn into an allrounder,  my 2 current SW Goto  mounts may be surplus to my needs.   Whoops.      John 

[Oldfort]

1 hour ago, John said:

Not too bizzarre. My 12 inch dob is as quick to setup as any of my refractors.

 

This discussion is (to my mind) makes a great and realistic contrast to something I read - not sure where, maybe CN - about how easy it was to move a 12" Meade LX200.  Having had, and sold the 10" and then the 8" version, I could not disagree (not with John re a 12"Dob necessarily) more.

When you have different levels and narrow doors to navigate, portabilty becomes essential, unless you have a permanent installation.

I'm now living in a flat and observe from my balcony.  There are no steps to get outside and I have a wide sliding door, and not far to go.  Without that the AZ100 would have been a non-starter.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Oldfort

[Stephenstargazer]

My scopes and mounts are in a (secure) outside store. The observing area is 12yds away but with a low wall between. Always take items out individually - bad enough barking shin let alone breaking something valuable 😕

[Stephenstargazer]

11 minutes ago, Telescope40 said:

my 2 current SW Goto  mounts may be surplus to my needs. 

I would try to keep one equatorial, AZ has some drawbacks around zenith even though very user friendly, quicker alignment etc? 

[John]

29 minutes ago, Oldfort said:

This discussion is (to my mind) makes a great and realistic contrast to something I read - not sure where, maybe CN - about how easy it was to move a 12" Meade LX200.  Having had, and sold the 10" and then the 8" version, I could not disagree (not with John re a 12"Dob necessarily) more.

When you have different levels and narrow doors to navigate, portabilty becomes essential, unless you have a permanent installation.

I'm now living in a flat and observe from my balcony.  There are no steps to get outside and I have a wide sliding door, and not far to go.  Without that the AZ100 would have been a non-starter.

My 12 inch dob weighs (all in) about as much as one of the chinese 10 inchers do. Having helped folks set up their 9.25, 10 and 11 inch SCT's I know how heavy those things are 

With the two counterweights needed to handle my 130mm F/9.2 refractor, the AZ100 is too heavy for me I'm afraid 

 

 

 

[Alan White]

On 05/03/2021 at 20:05, Saganite said:

How's this then Dale...

No icon for, Oh that makes me want one even more...... just as well.
Very nice set up Steve, says a lot for the mount and tripod that.

And what a nice ED103s.

[Razvan]

To add my experience: on a Planet tripod, my TSA-120 refractor does not need a counterweight, the setup is rock solid. Rowan's support confirmed that the counterweight is not needed by the mount itself; it's only to prevent the tripod from toppling over, so they were recommending them if using the lighter Uni tripod.

Other than that, the mount is superb and works very well with Nexus DSC (which I've used both standalone and connected to SkySafari on a tablet). I have the encoders as well and will get the motors when they come, but I'm very happy as it is as well, apart from charging the Nexus, I don't need any power source so it's great for multi-day outings.

Razvan

[Telescope40]

6 hours ago, Razvan said:

Other than that, the mount is superb and works very well with Nexus DSC (which I've used both standalone and connected to SkySafari on a tablet). I have the encoders as well and will get the motors when they come, but I'm very happy as it is as well, apart from charging the Nexus, I don't need any power source so it's great for multi-day outings.

Razvan

Hello. Penny has dropped. DOH. Another plus for the Nexus DSC - once charged up, no power required. 👍👍 

John 

[johninderby]

The Nexus-II can be powered by an internal battery as well.

From the manual.

  “Dual power source – internal 3.7V Lithium battery or external 5-9V DC”

[HollyHound]

36 minutes ago, Telescope40 said:

Hello. Penny has dropped. DOH. Another plus for the Nexus DSC - once charged up, no power required. 👍👍 

The same is true for the iOptron AZ Mount Pro... you charge it and it runs for a whole night (perhaps bit less if you slew the mount a lot). It's a really great feature to have in a mount, especially as there are no wires getting tangled up 👍

[Another Drizzle Dweller]

Hi

Battery usage on the Nexus DSC system is quite good. 4% after three hours usage last night.

For the Techies, AstroDevices now have the Nexus DSC PRO. Same form factor and dimensions, but a faster bigger chip / engine. Apparently to support multiple laguages - as per a CN post. According to the Tech Spec it has temperature and humidity monitor (even though the current  battery display has a temperature reading), and the new model supports even more encode ticks. The Nexus DSC is discontinued. They say its the same price. 

My logic in ordering the encoders and Nexus DSC was to future proof the system and cut down on future shipping costs. I can't even remember now how much it all cost 😝 

Regards

Donal

[Stephenstargazer]

13 hours ago, Razvan said:

Rowan's support confirmed that the counterweight is not needed by the mount itself; it's only to prevent the tripod from toppling over, so they were recommending them if using the lighter Uni tripod.

That confirms my experience. The size and spacing of the bearings in the mount suggest it does not need counterbalance to function well. Even on a UNI it will be stable with quite large scopes. My own FC100DF is miles off the limit, some time i'll try the Vixen VC200L.  One point is that the stability of the tripod and mount etc (against tipping) goes up as you extend the legs, but the rigidity (suppression of vibrations) goes down. So for those 'weighing up' which tripod is best for them dont forget the height/spread. If initial cost is an issue then adding weight to a UNI or other tripod might save spending on a counterbalance system. Someday, somebody will discover what scope a Rowan can carry unbalanced and bolted down on a fixed pier - could be scary 🙈 ?

PS these issues of weight combinations matter more to those who carry or move whole set-ups.