Scopetech mounts

[Carl Au]

 

Scope tech mounts have been around for a little while now, what do we think of them. They look a little an AZ 4 with slo-mo. Is it just me, but they do look very expensive for what they are. Are they really that well engineered to justify the price tag of £375?

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

[johninderby]

There is a thread on them.

 

[Second Time Around]

I'm very pleased with my Mount Zero.  It's very light, making it excellent for grab 'n go. It's also stable and it settles extremely quickly, even at high power.

Being able to move it by hand in both axes without unlocking anything is certainly convenient.

I also like that the arm can be put on either side of the mount, and that there's lots of adjustment angles to help balance the mount and to stop the tube hitting the mount at the zenith.

The slow motions are very precise, but there is a little backlash, especially on the altitude. 

I have found one problem, but this is probably down to disability as my hands and fingers don't work properly.  I found it extremely difficult to release the mount from my photo tripod.  I solved this by buying a Berlebach 2 series Report tripod that has an upward spring-loaded attachment screw (see below attached to my Solarquest mount).

Anyone else had this problem with either this mount or others, or is it just down to my hands?

 

[Trentend]

Mine arrived today. Very good first impressions. Solid, quality bit of kit (should be for the price!) but also lightweight shaving a couple of KG over my M2 mount. Only criticism about the set up so far are the skywatcher slow motion controls fitted:

a) they keep slipping off (is there a better fitting I can attach to the end so they’re more secure)

b) the plastic handles are a little on the sharp side so not particularly comfortable to use

Any thoughts much appreciated.

[osbourne one-nil]

Mine is fantastic. It's much more stable, lighter and smaller than my Porta II and it's held my Mewlon 180 rock-solid while that scope was waiting for its new mount. It now holds my dinky little 130PDS and the only problem is the size of the tube restricts movement very low or towards the zenith, but other than that it's a perfect match and vibrations damp down in less than 1 second. 

Highly recommended!

 

PS - my slow-mo controls keep slipping off too so I might cut a notch to allow the cables' screw to grip into. 

Edited March 31, 2021 by osbourne one-nil

[JeremyS]

Love ‘em