Choosing between 4" ED Refractors for visual

[Ratlet]

1 minute ago, Elp said:

I don't see how you can, finding targets pretty much straight away and you can spend more time observing, the initial PA time is worth it.

Might just be my experience of the az GTi.  It seems to get lost quite quickly and after large slews. Had fairly minimal luck with that.  I've only really used the gem28 for imaging so far and plate solve.  It's a brilliant mount, but I've not really used it for visual (I tend to set up the imaging rig when doing visual, but haven't done a lot of imaging recently).

Have you used it much for visual?

I quite fancy a skytee and could probably stretch to the mount but I believe it's an M10 thread but my 1.75" tripod has a 3/8" photo bolt on it rather than being eq5 style with M10 bolt.

[Elp]

Maybe used the gem28 for visual around 3 times as it's normally being used for imaging duties. The goto and tracking is far more reliable than the azgti. I can't see DSO here very well at all (bortle 7) but the gotos are reliable enough to get them into FOV with a medium ish focal length scope (haven't tried the C6 at 1500mm for DSO, planetary works fine). For even quicker viewing I use a flip diagonal, goto and plate solve via the camera then flip to view, benefit is I can also take a quick image if needed like this. I only use total manual alt az whilst another rig is imaging away as it takes time to find objects, wouldn't be an issue if you had time or the weather cooperated more, but here you need to be quick.

Edited February 22 by Elp

[Elp]

38 minutes ago, quasar117 said:

I will be going for a Skytee2 mount. 

From what I've read about it it's a fine choice.

[jock1958]

55 minutes ago, quasar117 said:

I will be going for a Skytee2 mount. 

Wise choice IMO 👍

[Sunshine]

How long will it take for your 102 ti arrive? congratulations, you’ll be very happy with it.

[quasar117]

On 23/02/2024 at 23:15, Sunshine said:

How long will it take for your 102 ti arrive? congratulations, you’ll be very happy with it.

Think it's 10-15 days until it's back in stock on FLO but hopefully not much after that.

[quasar117]

Are there any other suitable mounts for the Starfield apart from the Skytee2 and giro type mounts that are sub £400?

 

I'm pretty certain I would be become frustrated with the AZ4 with the balance and stiction issues, so will be ruling that out aswell.

APZ and Cubo are out of budget. 

Only other I can think of that might handle it is the Vixen Porta 2?

[Naughty Neal]

I saw a porta 2 clone on Aliexpress the other day for £48.

[quasar117]

2 minutes ago, Naughty Neal said:

I saw a porta 2 clone on Aliexpress the other day for £48.

That's quite incredible if it is indeed just a rebadged version.

[Sunshine]

23 minutes ago, quasar117 said:

Are there any other suitable mounts for the Starfield apart from the Skytee2 and giro type mounts that are sub £400?

 

I'm pretty certain I would be become frustrated with the AZ4 with the balance and stiction issues, so will be ruling that out aswell.

APZ and Cubo are out of budget. 

Only other I can think of that might handle it is the Vixen Porta 2?

Looking at our sponsors website I am attracted to these two mounts, both seem to have a load capacity that would handle the 102 at roughly 12-13lbs with accesories. Wait a min, looking at the images I realize these are the exact same mounts just rebranded lol. If you were willing to smother the grenade and blow your budget, the AZ75 would be on a different level all together. A buy once, cry once type of mount.

Edited February 25 by Sunshine

[Naughty Neal]

No not a rebadged porta but a clone based on the porta design. The 45 degree mount arm was adjustable to allow possible zenith use.

[quasar117]

16 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Looking at our sponsors website I am attracted to these two mounts, both seem to have a load capacity that would handle the 102 at roughly 12-13lbs with accesories. Wait a min, looking at the images I realize these are the exact same mounts just rebranded lol. If you were willing to smother the grenade and blow your budget, the AZ75 would be on a different level all together. A buy once, cry once type of mount.

Always wondered if QC is any better on the Stellalyra. I would imagine not, though probably just luck of the draw.

There's a used AZ75 for £650 (I think) on ABS. Not sure if could justify a brand new one. Does the AZ75 have slomo controls? 

[Ratlet]

Svbony have a new mount out, the sv225 which is also on AliExpress.  Not much worse on its performance though and it weighs in at £130.

 

Edit: worse should say word, not much word on its performance.

Edited February 25 by Ratlet

[bosun21]

5 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Svbony have a new mount out, the sv225 which is also on AliExpress.  Not much worse on its performance though and it weighs in at £130.

Looks okay but I take the 10kg payload with a pinch of salt.

[Moonlit Night]

I don’t know where the idea AZ4’s are sticky! I have owned 3 of them over the years. All of them were without exception buttery smooth. I never experienced any balance issues either. I had a Altair version of the scope you have on one for 3 years, brilliant combination. I know a lot of people strip Skytee mounts down after purchase to remove the glue like grease that they were lubricated (sic) with 

[bosun21]

1 minute ago, Moonlit Night said:

I know a lot of people strip Skytee mounts down after purchase to remove the glue like grease that they were lubricated (sic) with 

I had to do this with my AZ4 due to excessive stiction. It was caked in the same grease. I think it's a lottery of who assembles yours at the factory. Decent enough mount once I rectified the grease issue and replaced it with a quality grease.

[John]

Don't just go on the weight capacity with these mounts (any of them), think of the tube length - that makes more difference to stability than the raw weight of the optical tube. 

 

 

Edited February 25 by John

[Sunshine]

31 minutes ago, quasar117 said:

Always wondered if QC is any better on the Stellalyra. I would imagine not, though probably just luck of the draw.

There's a used AZ75 for £650 (I think) on ABS. Not sure if could justify a brand new one. Does the AZ75 have slomo controls? 

I believe it does not, you won’t miss slomo on a mount like an AZ, my mount (not an AZ) does not have slomo, if the mount is silky smooth and built as well as the az’s are, slomo is not a necessity. I am a firm believer in buying a mount not necessarily for the scope you have, but for the scope you’ll want in the future. We all upgrade, being future proof saves money and heartache, as i said, buy once, cry once. Az mounts are supreme, refined mounts tested by users of SGL, don’t let me pressure you. But of you could find a used one, it will be all ypu need for a long while, maybe for good.

Edited February 25 by Sunshine

[Ratlet]

12 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Looks okay but I take the 10kg payload with a pinch of salt.

Agreed.  Telescope mount designers (especially at the cheaper end) are ferocious optimists.

[Moonlit Night]

7 minutes ago, John said:

Don't just go on the weight capacity with these mounts (any of them), think of the tube length - that makes more difference to stability than the raw weight of the optical tube. 

 

 

This is true.

Starfield (fl7) + AZ4 = 👍

TAL 100RS (fl10) + AZ4 = ☠️

Edited February 25 by Moonlit Night

[Moonlit Night]

Incidentally a 150P goes very nicely on an AZ 4 too, perfect even.

[Mumia]

These skytee mounts are a very good . A nice solution for quickly setting up the set on the balcony. Sometimes I even hang APM 152/1200 on it and it runs without any problems. I only recommend purchasing a long Slow motion cable, it greatly increases the convenience of use. I took mine from an old assembly from the Japanese TOWA achromat. Shown in the 3rd photo.

[Mumia]

I even added electric controls to it, but personally I think I prefer manual control

[quasar117]

24 minutes ago, Moonlit Night said:

I don’t know where the idea AZ4’s are sticky! I have owned 3 of them over the years. All of them were without exception buttery smooth. I never experienced any balance issues either. I had a Altair version of the scope you have on one for 3 years, brilliant combination. I know a lot of people strip Skytee mounts down after purchase to remove the glue like grease that they were lubricated (sic) with 

I can't argue with that, you make a fair claim. In your opinion would it be best to use a 1.25" diagonal and eyepieces with the AZ4  for better balance or would it be okay with a 2" setup?

Also do you think the AZ4 would mount okay on a uni28, I already have the M10 threaded rod. Just wondering if it would if it would seat in the circular cutout of the uni28 or just sit on top of the plate.

 

[John]

11 minutes ago, quasar117 said:

Also do you think the AZ4 would mount okay on a uni28, I already have the M10 threaded rod. Just wondering if it would if it would seat in the circular cutout of the uni28 or just sit on top of the plate.

 

The AZ-4 base will sit on the Uni 28 tripod hub in the same way that it does on the 1.75" steel tripod:

The Skytee II fully inserts into the recess on these tripod tops.

On the topic of the Skytee II, I have used my 130mm F/9.2 triplet refractor on the Skytee II and it has done quite well but not well enough (for my tastes) at the very high powers that this scope is capable of. The tripod is the Uni 28 here:

 

Edited February 25 by John