Rob Miller come and say hello...

[Space Bat]

Just thought I would post this as a beacon for Rob

Anyway he has started his own company and is getting up and running - so we could see something better than his previous creations such as the paramount ME

Some people may not be aware that Rob has been the designer and inventor of some of the most advanced and technically proficient mounts of their class.

Chris

[narrowbandpaul]

the paramount ME is made by the Bisque brothers, no?

[Space Bat]

Rob used to work for/with them

[dweller25]

I had one of Rob's scopes in the mid 80's, very nice kit.

What is the name/website of the new company ??

[David Galvin]

When you say 'Rob Miller' I assume that we are talking about Rob Miller, founder of Astro Supplies, Luton. If so I remember him very well. He and Peter Drew (founder of Bedford Astronomical Supplies) produced top quality scopes in the late 70's and 80's. Peter frequents this very forum too.

[Space Bat]

One and the same - he moved to the states and worked his magic on scopes for AP such as the 1200 and Software Bisque with the paramount..

He has started Catamount Systems so early days.....

Catamount Systems

I recommended the site (SGL) and posted hime the link of the site for him to check out - so hopefully he will stop by at some stage when he is free and perhaps catch up with some old friends.

Mods: I hope me posting about rob's new venture and link to his site as requested doesn't break any rules (supplier rules) if so please advise and will ammend.

PS: your kind words am sure will bring a broad smile to his face

Chris

Edited March 25, 2010 by Space Bat

[ringz]

I bought my C8 from him in the early 80's. Who knew he'd go on to such great things.

--

Martyn

[PortableAstronomer]

I bought my first scope from him back in the 80's, when he was working under the name of AstroSystems. When I upgraded my scope a couple of years later he offered to drive over and personally deliver it to the house, and part exchange my old scope. Had amazing service from him back then. Good to hear he's going strong.

[Astro_Baby]

And heres one of his scopes on ebay 10 inch Astro Systems telescope on large German driven on eBay (end time 30-Mar-10 20:23:50 BST)

Its a beautiful looking bit of kit but if I bought it I'd not live long enough to use it

[chrisastro]

I just joined stargazers lounge today because I happened on this thread. Do check out the archives of Rob Millers new web site at:

Archives

I was delighted to see the early pictures in the section Genesis of 900 & 1200 Mount Series circa 1989.

I am fortunate to own an Astro Promotions PM1 mount (Luton, UK) made by Rob Miller which is practically identical to the early Astro Physics mounts. The GEM is alive and well 20 years on and used by me for astrophotography.

The archive photographs in the catamount web site show an incredible array of machining accomplishments over the decades. You can't help but wonder who else owns some of these early wonders.

Rob also has a listing on astromart right now promoting paramount ME accessories.

Thanks for posting the thread,

Chris

[darditti]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I have just seen this, and the link to the Catamount site is fascinating.

I had heard that Miller designed the Paramount, but I didn't realise he was also responsible for the prototypes of the AP mounts, which are quite different in design. That's really nice to know, because I always assumed they were American, whereas they actually come from good old Luton! Since I've got a 900 and a 1200 just down the road from there, it feels like they have come home!

I also recognised the tripod in the pictures of the custom C11 Schmidt camera. I've got that in my shed! (Or one identical. It has no telescope on it now.) I never knew where it came from, but when I got it, it had been adapted to an AE of Harpenden mounting.

The only thing is, the way he has programmed the pictures on to the site means you can't look at them for long enough, if you are interested in the engineering details, as they keep scrolling through annoyingly.

Clearly he has chosen the name for the new company to put people in mind of the Paramount without infringing what must be Bisque's copyright. It's curious that a man with such accomplishments has remained for so long "in the shadows".

David Arditti

[VaguelyAmused]

Hi All,

Sorry to revive a really old thread, but I wonder if anyone maybe archived the Catamount site before it went down? I have what is almost certainly a Rob Miller designed mount, and it sounds like the Catamount site had some really interesting history and pictures. A moment of painful nostalga when I clicked the link and found it was dead

Its similar in design to the Astro Promotions PM1 but quite a bit bigger. Picture below and there are a few more on my recent "Nerd Shed Observatory Build" thread.

Thanks all
Chris

[Mognet]

Looks like most of the site was copied by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Not all of it is there though but might be worth a look

https://web.archive.org/web/20110201223601/http://catamountsystems.com/

[CCD-Freak]

These mounts resemble yours......I don't have any information about them.  I just saved the images since they looked interesting.