New Alt/Az mount.

[JeremyS]

It’s an amazingly detailed 32 page manual. Describes all the various screw sizes etc. Pity others are not as complete. Wish I understood it all, though!
 

Interesting to see the “straight through” refractors 

[HollyHound]

10 minutes ago, John said:

According to the spec the tube is aluminum. Must be pretty thick stuff ?

An 80mm F/10 doublet is not going to have thick glass elements so much of the weight must be elsewhere. Does it have solid gold baffles ?

The rack and pinion focuser is very substantial and I guess the tube must be quite thick I suppose 🤔 I’ve not actually looked too closely down the tube, to see how many baffles it has, but yes maybe they’re made of lead 🤣

[johninderby]

Just weighed the parts.

Focuser - 1.45kg

Tube rings & dovetail - 1.4kg

Tube with objective and dewshield - 1.6kg

Finder & Diagonal - 1kg.

So about 5.5kg without eyepiece.

Tube is 3mm thick aluminium.

[HollyHound]

37 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

It’s an amazingly detailed 32 page manual. Describes all the various screw sizes etc. Pity others are not as complete. Wish I understood it all, though!
 

Interesting to see the “straight through” refractors 

Yes, amazing manual. I tried Google Translate on it, but was too large apparently 😬

Direct link to the manual PDF:

https://scopetown.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/8735b375f33950827dba0092deb8b3a7.pdf

Interestingly, the manual has a lot of QR codes dotted throughout and each one opens a different video with detailed walk throughs of the various functions, technical details and configuration of the mount 👍

Edited June 29, 2020 by HollyHound

[HollyHound]

23 hours ago, HollyHound said:

Just need to be patient now for the delivery from @FLO 😀

I have delivery confirmation for tomorrow... weathers not too good (of course), but at least I can try it out on the Uni 28 and SW 1.75" steel tripod (neither of which are particularly lightweight but quite solid) and see how it fares with long refractor and small SCT 🤞

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

I have delivery confirmation for tomorrow... weathers not too good (of course), but at least I can try it out on the Uni 28 and SW 1.75" steel tripod (neither of which are particularly lightweight but quite solid) and see how it fares with long refractor and small SCT 🤞

Pics please 🙂

exciting times!

[HollyHound]

Well it arrived super quickly from @FLO, thanks guys 😊

It feels light but very rigid and all seems to move smoothly in the hand. 

Just some quick unboxed photos for now. Intend to set it up on the Uni 28 later today sometime, check it out and take a couple more photos...

Good to see a quick start in English too, and interesting to see that they actually do a QA check and lubricate the gears before shipment 👍

Edited July 1, 2020 by HollyHound

[HollyHound]

Got the new mount setup on the Berlebach Uni 28 (using the M10 to 3/8” adaptor). The mount assembles, adjusts and folds into a compact flat bundle very quickly and easily.

I spent an hour testing this terrestrially with the StellaMira 80mm f/10.

I’ve set the arm on the left side (as viewed from behind, so as to be consistent with my iOptron AZ Mount Pro), but it can be configured either way at any angle. I’ve gone for about 50 degrees (from vertical) to allow viewing from the horizon to about 80 degrees altitude easily. However, it is possible to adjust the arm angle even whilst fully loaded with my scope on board, as long as done carefully.

It is not provided with any slow motion knobs or cables, so these must be purchased separately. Fortunately, I had both long and short cables, and after some testing with both, settled on the long set. This positions the controls nearby the focuser knob of my scope and easily operated whilst viewing. Good to see that the controls stay in position as altitude and/or azimuth are adjusted, so are always to hand.

As per the quick start guide (and presumably the manual, which is in Japanese of course), it is important (and very easy) to balance the scope, to ensure that the slow motion controls can be used properly.

Seemingly the trick is to tighten the clutches until just firm enough to allow the slow motion controls to operate in all directions (altitude needs to be a little tighter but not overtightened). The clutches are very easy to tighten or loosen at any time.

Once this is done, the scope can be moved around very easily and smoothly (even with a single finger) and at any time the slow motion controls can be used to fine tune or track an object. It is not necessary to touch the clutches at any time to swap between free motion or slow motion controls (unlike some other mounts).

Viewing some trees in the distance and using an 8mm (for 100x), I was very easily able to move freely around, move with slow motion controls and focus. During these operations the view remains very steady. 

Tapping the end of the scope hard, produces a maximum 1 second wobble, which then stops dead. Just touching the controls or focuser, barely registers any movement in the view. This is a really steady mount, especially given that I was using a fairly long (800mm) and heavy scope (6kg). By comparison, my AZ5 will wobble for 2 or 3 seconds when tapped and there is some movement when focussing. 

I will be trying this with my extension column, so as to allow viewing right to the zenith, and see if this degrades the stability at all...

Overall, it is superbly made, really light, utterly smooth to move freely and/or with slow motion controls and easily adjusted.

Basically, my AZ5 will very likely be going up for sale soon, as this will replace it for grab and go, and may even become my primary mount now for the StellaMira 😃 It’s much more refined too than my SkyTee, although that has dual saddles, so still very useful.

Its only real downside so far, is that it’s not cheap 😬

Would be good to get some more comparisons against other lightweight mounts. I believe a few more will be under test soon 🤞

Some photos as promised.

Cheers

Gary

Edited July 1, 2020 by HollyHound

[John]

Looks great

I wonder how it would perform with a lighter weight tripod that you might use for travel. The Uni 28 is pretty hefty !

Was your AZ-5 on the Uni 28 when you compared the damping times ?. Tripods can make a substantial difference to a mounts performance.

 

 

[JeremyS]

Looking good, @HollyHound 

Tempting!

🙂

One q: in the pics it looks like the flexible control on the az axis passes quite close to the OTA. Does it touch? And is it possible to adjust so that there is more clearance?

 

[HollyHound]

4 minutes ago, John said:

Looks great

I wonder how it would perform with a lighter weight tripod that you might use for travel. The Uni 28 is pretty hefty !

Was your AZ-5 on the Uni 28 when you compared the damping times ?. Tripods can make a substantial difference to a mounts performance.

I'm glad you said that, as I'm thinking myself now that the Uni 28 is indeed a hefty beast (9kg I think). You're right, my last test with the AZ5 and StellaMira was on a SW 1.75" steel tripod, so that could also explain the longer wobble time. I will re-test the AZ5 on the Uni 28 as soon as I can and compare directly for a full and fair comparison.

The smoothness and ease of control on this mount are much better though, not having to keep locking and unlocking the (small) clutches to use the slow motion controls for tracking is worth it alone 👍

I am now thinking that what this would pair beautifully with, is one of these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/sightron-japan-carbon-fiber-tripod.html, however I don't know too much about this (apart from one very positive review) and it's mega money, which I can't justify right now... perhaps a Xmas present to myself 🤔😁

[HollyHound]

7 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Looking good, @HollyHound 

Tempting!

🙂

One q: in the pics it looks like the flexible control on the az axis passes quite close to the OTA. Does it touch? And is it possible to adjust so that there is more clearance?

 

It is lovely, I'm very happy with it so far 😀

It only touches as I approach the 80 degrees towards zenith. At all other times it is clear of the OTA and importantly, both controls move with the mount, so they always stay in the same relative position to the OTA as it rotates in azimuth.

Worth noting, that the angle of the azimuth control would likely be different when operating with the arm in the "right" position (as per the AZ5). This is also covered here.... https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&pto=aue&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=http://star-party.jp/wp/%3Fp%3D25117&usg=ALkJrhgbJE1YBucDyi0UEbDGkAgxRDGnlg

[Stu]

18 minutes ago, John said:

Looks great

I wonder how it would perform with a lighter weight tripod that you might use for travel. The Uni 28 is pretty hefty !

Was your AZ-5 on the Uni 28 when you compared the damping times ?. Tripods can make a substantial difference to a mounts performance.

 

 

I’ll try it on my Gitzo John, see how it goes on that.

[John]

In some ways this is what a smaller sibling of the T-Rex mount might have looked like

1 minute ago, Stu said:

I’ll try it on my Gitzo John, see how it goes on that.

Do you have an AZ-5 to compare it with on the same tripod ?

Or an Ayo Vamo Traveler ?

 

[Stu]

Just now, John said:

In some ways this is what a smaller sibling of the T-Rex mount might have looked like

Do you have an AZ-5 to compare it with on the same tripod ?

 

Unfortunately not John.

[HollyHound]

Some more photos, this time with the 18cm extension column. This allows me to view to the zenith with the StellaMira 👍

Some tap testing, indicates a (very) slight increase in wobble time in this configuration, perhaps an extra half second at most. Focus, movement and slow motion are all steady though.

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by HollyHound

[dweller25]

Great report @HollyHound

I have a similar weight refractor so things are looking good 😀

Where did you get the the M10 to 3/8” adaptor from please ?
 

[HollyHound]

2 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Great report @HollyHound

I have a similar weight refractor so things are looking good 😀

Where did you get the the M10 to 3/8” adaptor from please ?
 

Thanks 😀

This is the one I'm using... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/astro-essentials-3-8-photo-adapter-for-heq5-az5-tripod.html

Cheers

[John]

6 minutes ago, Stu said:

Unfortunately not John.

OK, thanks.

I'm just think that a £380 mount head really ought to be better than a £140 one when compared with the same load on the same tripod. If the AZ-5 managed 2-3 seconds on the 1.75 steel tripod against 1 second for this new mount on a £360 Berlebach Uni then the AZ-5 is not doing too badly

 

[Stu]

12 minutes ago, John said:

OK, thanks.

I'm just think that a £380 mount head really ought to be better than a £140 one when compared with the same load on the same tripod. If the AZ-5 managed 2-3 seconds on the 1.75 steel tripod against 1 second for this new mount on a £360 Berlebach Uni then the AZ-5 is not doing too badly

 

True enough. I will be interested to see how I find this one. I had a Vamo Travellerfor a little while but for some reason didn’t click with it. I enjoy Giro style mounts but have found the slow motion controls on the AZ100 very good so it will be interesting to see how I find these.

[HollyHound]

34 minutes ago, John said:

Do you have an AZ-5 to compare it with on the same tripod ?

Ok, in the interest of providing a fair comparison, I have just tested the AZ5 using the exactly the same configuration as for the ScopeTech (that is Uni 28, adaptor and StellaMira)...

Movement is perfectly acceptable, not quite as smooth, but no real issue. However, of course the clutches must be tightened and loosened to swap between free movement and slow motion controls.

Whilst viewing (same 8mm i.e. 100x), operating the focuser or zoom eyepiece control, causes noticeable wobble of the image. Tapping the scope (as before), produces about a two second wobble before returning to steady view.

This is a sample of one, so it would be good to get other user opinions. For me, I'm happy with the stability, ergonomics and ease of control (both free movement and slow motion) 👍

The only additional thing I did note from testing the ScopeTech, is that the altitude clutch does need to be (slightly) tighter than the azimuth clutch to allow slow motion control usage, but even then the free movement is smooth and well damped.

Hope this helps...

Edited July 1, 2020 by HollyHound

[HollyHound]

27 minutes ago, John said:

OK, thanks.

I'm just think that a £380 mount head really ought to be better than a £140 one when compared with the same load on the same tripod. If the AZ-5 managed 2-3 seconds on the 1.75 steel tripod against 1 second for this new mount on a £360 Berlebach Uni then the AZ-5 is not doing too badly

 

Totally agree... the AZ5 is a very good mount and with my C5 on that steel tripod, it is flawless. With the StellaMira, it's still absolutely fine, but the ScopeTech seems better (under my testing). The fact that it is very light and folds, could be invaluable for travelling as you say.

However, you're are right... it's expensive compared to a lot of other mounts, so perhaps not the best value wise 👍

Now I need to save for a carbon fibre tripod, assuming these are the ultimate strength/load/weight combination 😬

Edited July 1, 2020 by HollyHound

[heliumstar]

1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

I'm glad you said that, as I'm thinking myself now that the Uni 28 is indeed a hefty beast (9kg I think). You're right, my last test with the AZ5 and StellaMira was on a SW 1.75" steel tripod, so that could also explain the longer wobble time. I will re-test the AZ5 on the Uni 28 as soon as I can and compare directly for a full and fair comparison.

The smoothness and ease of control on this mount are much better though, not having to keep locking and unlocking the (small) clutches to use the slow motion controls for tracking is worth it alone 👍

I am now thinking that what this would pair beautifully with, is one of these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/sightron-japan-carbon-fiber-tripod.html, however I don't know too much about this (apart from one very positive review) and it's mega money, which I can't justify right now... perhaps a Xmas present to myself 🤔😁

This was on my buy list until I saw it's only 80cm or so in height fully extended.

I received the mount as well but it's sitting in a box for now. Full day of meetings today and feel like squeezed towel so not sure if unpacking today. Yours looks very good though

[johninderby]

The ScopeTech mount does look very nice indeed. 👍🏻

Decided to try my Manfrotto 405 geared head on the Skywatcher 3/8th steel tripod.

With the StellaMira 80 after tapping the diagonal it selltled down in about a second. Doing the same test with the 405 head on the Manfrotto 475 photo tripod took about 1.5 seconds to settle down so the 405 head will stay on the photo tripod as not enough of a difference to give up the convenience of the photo tripod.

Had an AZ5 which was good for a budget mount and worked quite well but felt so crude and imprecise in comparison to the 405 head.  I imagine that’s probably the same with the ScopeTech. 🤔

Edited July 1, 2020 by johninderby

[HollyHound]

Guys,

I have some worrying information to report... despite all the great stuff happening during my testing earlier today, I've just setup with this mount, the StellaMira, Uni 28 again, to take a quick look at the moon, and unfortunately the movement in altitude started to become progressively stiffer and stiffer, even without the clutch being done up particularly tight and the scope in balance. This continued to increase and unfortunately I have to advise that the altitude axis has now locked solid !!

There was a warning in the quick start about ensuring the altitude plate remained level when loading a heavy scope, and I certainly didn't see anything out of level, so I'm really not sure what's going on here.

If I can't fathom anything obvious, then I will unfortunately have to advise @FLO tomorrow for a replacement. I'm hoping this is just a fault, rather than a design flaw 🤞

I will keep you updated...

Gary