Is it worth bidding on this for the mount?

[Penguin]

Could I put a bigger scope on this mount? I currently have a TAL-1 on a manual mount but I would really like to take long exposures so I need a motorised mount. I think this scope on ebay is another TAL-1.

TAL 120mm Reflector Telescope on eBay (end time 07-Mar-11 19:09:42 GMT)

I thought if I bought this and then sold my current scope, could I later get a 6 or even 8 inch tube and use this mount on it?

I know the TALs are solidly built so I am hoping this mount will be able to cope if I later buy a bigger OTA. What do you guys think?

--- Penguin

[stardad]

http://stargazerslounge.com/heads-up/132945-tal-ebay-worth-punt-beginner.html

[AndyH]

Hi Penguin.

First off, sorry for highjacking your previous thread. Got carried away in the excitment.

As you say, this is a Tal 1M. There is no doubt that it is a heavier duty one than the manual mount as sometimes supplied with the Tal 1 and 100R/100RS. Tal themselves rate the load capacity as 10kg. Could it carry more than a Tal 1? Yes. For a while Tal offered their 150 F5 newt with this mount. The 200K was also supplied with this mount too. According to users, this was on the edge, weight wise, as an older fully kitted out 200K weighs 'tween 10-11kg.

Bear in mind that this mount needs a mains power source to run the motor. If you wanted to run it off a 12V battery you'd need an invertor or get one of these, Teleskop online Shop , TMB, APO , Dobson , Professionelle Teleskope, Kuppeln , Teleskopabdeckungen , Teleskope , Ferngläser , Teleskope online kaufen , APM Telescopes - Verkauf Beratung Herstellung TAL 12 Volt RA Motorsteuerung

As well as being able to run it off a battery, it also corrects the speed of the motor to the correct star and moon speed, rather than the standard sun speed.

This Finnish bloke gets nice results off his newer, heavier duty, Tal mount(MT-3S) Jorma Mntyln DX-aiheinen kotisivu

I still think the best of Tal's mounts is the one supplied with the 2M. I have one and also have the newer MT-3S and much prefer the former. It is a big heavy mount and can carry 20kg well.

So the 1M mount is undoubtedly a step up from the manual one and should be able to handle a heavier scope. Could it handle a short 8" tube? Whilst I've never had my hands on one of these mounts, going by reports, it may just be okay for visual use, but it is pushing it to the limit.

Hope this helps a bit.

Cheers,

Andy.

[AndyH]

Anyone here on sgl get it ?

£92 is a good price.

Andy.

[Penguin]

I put a half-hearted bid in, thinking I could pick it up on my way to a customer. I didn't get it.

--- Penguin.