Alt az mount

[883]

Hi,

I’m looking for a good alt/az mount for my new 90 mm refractor.
I love panning the milky way at low power with my naglers and I no more need a motorized mount. I need just a light and trasportable mount but I cannot find the one good for me. The perfect one would be the stellarvue M2 but it is not available in europe. I checked also the possibility of a video head but I’m not sure it will work.

what do you recommend?

thank you

[Space Hopper]

Hi there.

 

I have 3 alt-az mounts myself and consider myself an enthusiast.

But let me show you this first........it may be just what you need

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/scopetech-mount-zero.html

[883]

2 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

Hi there.

 

I have 3 alt-az mounts myself and consider myself an enthusiast.

But let me show you this first........it may be just what you need

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/scopetech-mount-zero.html

Thank you. It seems very similar to the Vamo Traveler mount. That was one of the possibilities.

[Space Hopper]

And 'if you want to push the boat out' further, take a look at this.

If i was to do it all again, and was looking at a premium home grown mount this would be top of my list.

It may be a bit more pricey, but if you were in the future to purchase a bigger scope and maybe have a dual setup in mind this would be ideal.

It works with the latest DSCs with its in built encoders, and they are currently designing a motorised version as an add on. Pretty impressive stuff.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/rowan-az100-alt-az-mount.html

[Space Hopper]

4 minutes ago, 883 said:

Thank you. It seems very similar to the Vamo Traveler mount. That was one of the possibilities.

Indeed. Its virtually identical. And built for travelling with a smallish scope.

It should be ok with a 90mm refractor, assuming its not too long a focal length.

I would advise a decent tripod though.

[883]

2 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

Indeed. Its virtually identical. And built for travelling with a smallish scope.

It should be ok with a 90mm refractor, assuming its not too long a focal length.

I would advise a decent tripod though.

Very interesting, thank you very much for the informations!

[Space Hopper]

This is my own lightweight set up.

Its a US made Discmount DM4, on a carbon fibre Gitzo tripod.

Its an easy carry out with one hand, and sets up in seconds.

It will comfortably carry a 4 inch (105mm in my case ) refractor, and performs really well.

Pure ease of use, no motors, no counterweights, no wires, easy panning around my light polluted sky.

      

Edited December 19, 2020 by Space Hopper

[883]

3 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

This is my own lightweight set up.

Its a US made Discmount DM4, on a carbon fibre Gitzo tripod.

Its an easy carry out with one hand, and sets up in seconds.

It will comfortably carry a 4 inch (105mm in my case ) refractor, and performs really well.

Pure ease of use, no motors, no counterweights, no wires, easy panning around my light polluted sky.

      

Beautiful! Is this mount available in europe? That would be perfect for me.

[Space Hopper]

Its not stocked anywhere as far as i know, and its an import only from Florida USA.

Straightforward enough, but not very cost effective with our weak UK£.

I already have it's bigger brother, the DM6 and purchased the DM4 as a lightweight alternative for grab / go.

Its nice as well sometimes in our hobby to be able to support a small business who makes a pretty bespoke product, rather than buying in to the Chinese mass market.

I also enjoy bird and nature watching and its ideal for that too.

Discmount, Florida below

http://www.discmounts.com

[883]

2 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

Its not stocked anywhere as far as i know, and its an import only from Florida USA.

Straightforward enough, but not very cost effective with our weak UK£.

I already have it's bigger brother, the DM6 and purchased the DM4 as a lightweight alternative for grab / go.

Its nice as well sometimes in our hobby to be able to support a small business who makes a pretty bespoke product, rather than buying in to the Chinese mass market.

I also enjoy bird and nature watching and its ideal for that too.

Discmount, Florida below

http://www.discmounts.com

Thanks!

[John]

I use either a Giro Ercole or a Skytee II mount with my refractors from 100mm to 120mm in aperture.

The Giro Ercole is the lighter of the two (3.8kg for the mount head) but does not have slow motion controls. It easily carries my ED120 F/7.5 refractor so should cope with a 90mm without any problem.

Here is a review of the Ercole by an SGL member:

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

The scope on the mount in the photo below is my Takahashi 100mm F/9:

Edited December 19, 2020 by John

[Doc]

I use my RocketMount most of the time.

 

 

[Doc]

Or my DocMount.

 

 

[883]

25 minutes ago, John said:

I use either a Giro Ercole or a Skytee II mount with my refractors from 100mm to 120mm in aperture.

The Giro Ercole is the lighter of the two (3.8kg for the mount head) but does not have slow motion controls. It easily carries my ED120 F/7.5 refractor so should cope with a 90mm without any problem.

Here is a review of the Ercole by an SGL member:

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

The scope on the mount in the photo below is my Takahashi 100mm F/9:

Hi john, is necessary a counterweight on the other side of the mount even when you are using a relatively light refractor like the DL? I should need one with a 90 mm?

Thanks

[John]

7 minutes ago, 883 said:

Hi john, is necessary a counterweight on the other side of the mount even when you are using a relatively light refractor like the DL? I should need one with a 90 mm?

Thanks

The mount works fine without a counter weight but I have found that adding a small one (that is a 1.8kg weight) gives a smoother azimuth motion.

 

[Carbon]

For a small refractor you can also use a photo ball head in portrait mode.   With a good friction control knob it becomes a good alt-az mount with good fluid motion on both axis.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Carbon

[883]

9 hours ago, John said:

The mount works fine without a counter weight but I have found that adding a small one (that is a 1.8kg weight) gives a smoother azimuth motion.

 

Thank you

[PhilippeStar]

Hi all,

I have used with success a DM4 with extension and Discmount wooden tripod.  The stability of this tripod is great, as It can handle a 130 mm refractor with binoviewer.  This is IMHO the limit of the DM4, however.

I recently acquired an 80 mm triplet and the DM4 is a perfect match.  However I am in search of a more portable tripod for the DM4. 

Many of you are using a Gitzo CF.  My concern with these photo tripod is the setting time.  Simple 3 legs conventional tripods seem to fall in this category.  I certainly attest that it is a problem with my old manfrotto 055.  

Anybody is using a video tripod? These seem much less prone to vibration, since they have 2 rods per legs and they are pretty lightweight too.

Just curious...

Thanks and clear skies!

[johninderby]

The  Berlebach Report tripod is extremely good. Lighter than the bigger UNI series but can support a surprisingly heavy load and great for lack of vibration. There are many versions so you can find one to suit.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/berlebach-tripods/berlebach-report-312-tripod.html

I ise mine for my grab’n’go setup with a 6kg+ scope.

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by johninderby