Show off your Alt-Azimuth mounts

[Coco]

In for a penny...   Orbit Wedge no longer in production.

 

[Space Hopper]

Revisiting this excellent thread for an update.....

Looking at my images on page 1 made me realise they were 3 years old and the scopes there ( C8 Edge & WO FLT132) have both been honourably discharged.

I still have the DM-6 and 'the Panther' and a few months ago decided to put together a lightweight grab & go setup to use with my 4" refractor.

Enter the Discmounts DM-4. Basically its a scaled down version of its bigger brother but uses 4" discs instead of 6" on its alt-az axis.

Its so much lighter than the DM-6 and i use it with my existing Gitzo carbon 'photo tripod' which is an outstanding bit of kit in its own right.

It easily handles my 105mm refractor, and is my ideal grab and go.  Although its do-able i have no plans to fit any encoders into it, as i already have that option on the bigger DM-6.

Some photo's.....🙂

   

Comparison with the DM-6.

I'm pretty sure i'm the only user with BOTH a DM-6 and a DM-4 in the UK, and there are not many DM-6 owners either.

   

With scopes...

   

Two more...

Edited July 3, 2020 by Space Hopper

[John]

We really need a Discmount vendor in the UK

[bsdsgl84]

7 hours ago, John said:

We really need a Discmount vendor in the UK

I understand the benefits of having choices, but if I had still owned my old DM6, I would have sold it on the day I got my new Rowan AZ100 - without hesitation.., 

Best.., 

bsdsgl84 

 

[John]

9 minutes ago, bsdsgl84 said:

I understand the benefits of having choices, but if I had still owned my old DM6, I would have sold it on the day I got my new Rowan AZ100 - without hesitation.., 

Best.., 

bsdsgl84 

 

I know the AZ100's are very good - I have used a couple of them

I read so many good things about the Discmounts (particularly the DM6) elsewhere that I thought it would be good to have that option here in the UK alongside the AZ100.

 

 

 

[Helen]

16 hours ago, Ags said:

Berlebach Castor:

TS AZT6 for travel compared to the Castor:

AZ GTi with very cheap counterweights:

Hmmmmm... I have three mounts and only one tripod 😕

It's a very nice tripod though 😎

I love my report 😍

Helen

[bsdsgl84]

43 minutes ago, John said:

I know the AZ100's are very good - I have used a couple of them

I read so many good things about the Discmounts (particularly the DM6) elsewhere that I thought it would be good to have that option here in the UK alongside the AZ100.

Personally..,  (and this is my own opinion) I always felt the DM6 to be over-hyped and overpriced for what it actually is, does and how its packaged. 

I ended up with one of Larry Patriarca's last UniStar Deluxe mounts after the DM6 and I could not be happier - well until the Rowan AZ100, of course 😉

Best.., 

bsdsgl84

 

 

 

[John]

7 minutes ago, bsdsgl84 said:

Personally..,  (and this is my own opinion) I always felt the DM6 to be over-hyped and overpriced for what it actually is, does and how its packaged. 

I ended up with one of Larry Patriarca's last UniStar Deluxe mounts after the DM6 and I could not be happier - well until the Rowan AZ100, of course 😉

Best.., 

bsdsgl84

 

 

 

I'll cross it off my list then

 

[Coco]

8 hours ago, bsdsgl84 said:

Personally..,  (and this is my own opinion) I always felt the DM6 to be over-hyped and overpriced for what it actually is, does and how its packaged. 

I ended up with one of Larry Patriarca's last UniStar Deluxe mounts after the DM6 and I could not be happier - well until the Rowan AZ100, of course 😉

Best.., 

bsdsgl84

 

 

 

Agreed,  $800 for $200 worth of materials you can gather on Ebay, I think I'll make one and catalogue the cost.

[DirkSteele]

19 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

Revisiting this excellent thread for an update.....

Looking at my images on page 1 made me realise they were 3 years old and the scopes there ( C8 Edge & WO FLT132) have both been honourably discharged.

I still have the DM-6 and 'the Panther' and a few months ago decided to put together a lightweight grab & go setup to use with my 4" refractor.

Enter the Discmounts DM-4. Basically its a scaled down version of its bigger brother but uses 4" discs instead of 6" on its alt-az axis.

Its so much lighter than the DM-6 and i use it with my existing Gitzo carbon 'photo tripod' which is an outstanding bit of kit in its own right.

It easily handles my 105mm refractor, and is my ideal grab and go.  Although its do-able i have no plans to fit any encoders into it, as i already have that option on the bigger DM-6.

Some photo's.....🙂

   

Comparison with the DM-6.

I'm pretty sure i'm the only user with BOTH a DM-6 and a DM-4 in the UK, and there are not many DM-6 owners either.

   

With scopes...

   

Two more...

That looks great. May I ask where you purchased the pillar extension?

 

I agree with John, a retailer in the UK needs to become a distributor for the DiscMounts.

[Space Hopper]

@DirkSteele Matthew : both the extensions were purchased from DiscMounts with the respective mounts (5 years apart!)

                      They are $225 / $200 options. 

@Coco  Guy : fine if you have the machines and know how. I'm afraid i don't.

@bsdsgl84 make no mistake, had the AZ100 come along in 2014, i'd have been right up there in the queue for one.

I had a good look at it at last years IAS and was mightily impressed.

It needs counterweights though, and a dual scope setup has never been a requirement for me.

How well will it hand track Jupiter at 200x ? Is it as buttery smooth as the DM6 i wonder....?? (ok i appreciate it has the slow-mo controls. I've found the simple handle does the same thing just as well and easier.)

 

 

[John]

29 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

It needs counterweights though, and a dual scope setup has never been a requirement for me....

 

 

 

Same for me. Glad to have found a T-Rex in the UK earlier this year 

Course, I could have made something better from a Cornflakes box and some sticky backed plastic but I didn't have those available

[surfindogg]

I have Stu's old Vamo which works very nicely but I am tempted by a Zero. Slo mo appeals.

I got some thicker teflon washers for the Vamo and now they have worn in, it seems to work even better for me.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Here's mine...

AOK-AYO & Tele-Optic Giro ll...

 

my 'new baby'... the Universal Astronomics DwarfStar...

 

...with TeleVue Ranger & 13mm Nagler Type 6...

 

...and with my 're-modded' ETX105 & AstroBoot 'unknown' 7-21mm zoom... (oop's! I forgot to extend the tripod legs and remove the end caps and for this image).

Edited July 7, 2020 by Philip R

[sputniksteve]

I'm joining in. 

1) My beautiful 12" Lightbridge dobbie. Alas, I sold this back in 2014 - clear evidence of post cardiac arrest brain damage.

2) My very recent resurrection of an old Tasco whose tripod head shattered decades ago. This lives in a cupboard at my parents' house where I've been shielding for the last 10 weeks. I was determined to get a view with it, and so I did! The mount here is constructed of a pier (a vacuum cleaner tube) attached to a cast iron base (from a garden umbrella) atop a raised platform (kitchen stool), levelled with inserts (two mug mats).

[Highburymark]

I’ve only ever had alt-az mounts.
ETX-105, Celestron Evolution, Giro Mini, Giro Ercole Mini, AZ5, AZGTi, SW Heliofind, Skytee 2, all the manual mounts pictured. Most recent acquisition is the Skytee and very impressed by it - for the money it is excellent. Even the supplied clamps are surprisingly good - though have upgraded main one to ADM to support heavy-ish TV85/solar set up.

[mikeDnight]

My faithful AZ4 and vintage Vixen Polaris mount in Altaz mode.

[John]

4 hours ago, Philip R said:

Here's mine...

AOK-AYO & Tele-Optic Giro ll...

 

my 'new baby'... the Universal Astronomics DwarfStar...

 

...with TeleVue Ranger & 13mm Nagler Type 6...

 

...and with my 're-modded' ETX105 & AstroBoot 'unknown' 7-21mm zoom... (oop's! I forgot to extend the tripod legs and remove the end caps and for this image).

Very nice stuff !

I had a DwarfStar mount for a while when I had my Tele Vue Ranger. Really neat little mount and surprisingly capable 

[John]

More from my past.

1st pic, the Altair Sabre. Very nice to look at and it worked well but the 130mm F/9.2 was too much for it no matter how I adjusted things.

2nd pic, the Tele Optic Giro III. Simple, well made, lightweight and just did it's job without any fuss 

3rd pic the old AZ-3. Has it's faults but can be made to work decently well with a short tube scope on board (C5 in this case). Very light - this set up could be carried with one hand.

4th pic, Slik Master Classic photo tripod with my old TV Ranger on board. A really nice "old school" photo tripod capable of carrying a small astro scope rather well I found.

5th pic, my Tasco 12-TR 60mm on it's fork alt-az mount which I call "mr wobbles" for reasons that became clear to me again when I recently dusted this setup off and used it again.

6th pic AZ-4. Good solid, simple mount for the Vixen ED102SS F/6.5.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Whoops! - following on from my earlier posting, I forgot to include my photo ballhead...

The saddle clamp accepts a Vixen type dovetail bar without any modification too!

Edited July 7, 2020 by Philip R

[paulastro]

This is my Vixen Super Polaris EQ mount configured into its altaz form.  It's a useful mount as it is so easily changed from EQ to altaz and back again whenever you wish.  It's mounted on a 16 inch pillar which is on a Orion Field Tripod - long out of production like the mount.  It gives a sturdy base for the SW 120ED and my 72ED and 80ED when I use them in the observatory. The saddle is 66 1/2 inches off the ground so it's easy to use on objects at  high altitude. I can lower the height by 16 inches by removing the pillar and then by up to another 16 inches by reducing the length of the tripod legs.  I've added a pic of the mount in EQ mode with the 120ED to give some scale.

 

      

 

  

 

 

[John]

Very nice Paul

Does the Vixen GP do that ?

[DirkSteele]

That is great.  Where did you source the 16" pillar from?

[steveex2003]

My motley collection. I am possibly considering moving the AZ5 on in favour of an Ercole Mini perhaps.

Edited August 5, 2020 by steveex2003

[Stu]

1 hour ago, John said:

Very nice Paul

Does the Vixen GP do that ?

I think you can bodge the GP to do it John, by removing the plate that blocks the mount from going beyond a certain point. It is reversible though so no need to permanently mod it. The SP does it without any mods at all.