Telescope Reviews: Stellarvue MG mount

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Equipment Discussions >> Mounts

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Scott in NC
Mad Hatter

Reged: 03/05/05

Loc: NC

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3037042 - 04/10/09 09:14 PM

Quote:

Where are they manufactured?

Universal Astronomics is, to the best of my knowledge, a one-man business. Larry Patriarca makes all his mounts in his own shop in Webster, MA.

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Bob P S
member

Reged: 04/04/09

Loc: Jakarta, Indonesia

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Scott in NC]
#3037355 - 04/11/09 12:57 AM

Starlighter,
I would also suggest Universal Astronomics' mount. I have a Unistar basic and I love it.

Before I bought it, I borrowed my friend's TV Panoramic mount for a week, and I picked Unistar over the Panoramic mount for the same reason you mentioned: the Panoramic is diffcult to aim at zenith. Down here in Indonesia (-5 deg lat), the ecliptic is right over head so the the ability to aim the scope at or near zenith without hassle is a main consideration for me.

Service was great. Larry was really helpful with question and everything. When I purchased it, I needed one screw to attach my Starbeam to the TV 85, and he threw in three screw for free even though I told him to charge me the price of the screws. It's just a small and perhaps cheap screw, but that's a great service in my book.

AFAIK, he makes the mount himself in his workshop.

edit: correction, mine is a unistar light.

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GShaffer
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 02/28/09

Loc: Bogart, Ga USA

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3037371 - 04/11/09 01:15 AM

I am sure they are busy.....so I am being patient. But I sent an email days ago about another product and still no reply....

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GShaffer
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 02/28/09

Loc: Bogart, Ga USA

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Scott in NC]
#3037385 - 04/11/09 01:28 AM

on top of that he is a great guy to deal with.....I have one of his millenium parallelagram mounts that I didnt buy from him directly. When I 1st got it I had a question about matching it up to my Oberwerk surveyors tripod and gave him a call.... We wound up spending a good while talking shop about it and he didnt flinch a bit......Just on that alone besides the fact he makes a great product I will give him my future business.....

Quote:

Quote:

Where are they manufactured?

Universal Astronomics is, to the best of my knowledge, a one-man business. Larry Patriarca makes all his mounts in his own shop in Webster, MA.

Post Extras:

Herenomore
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/29/04

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3037807 - 04/11/09 10:20 AM

Quote:

The DM4 lists for $800. Then I'd need a decent tripod. A good wooden one they sell runs $450. Now we're up to $1250 and that doesn't include a saddle plate so I can attach my scopes. Add another $125 for that and I'm up to $1375. Then add whatever they charge for shipping. Plus in California, they now force us to pay sales tax on taxable items purchased out of state. Taxpayers must list all purchases and then pay the sales tax that's in their district. Otherwise, if they ever come and audit you and discover those taxes weren't paid, well, it means penalties. Most people ignore it, but I happen to know someone who purchased a very expensive camera from New York, didn't list it and the store sent California the info so he got snagged. So starting this month, California sales tax where I reside will hit 10%. So add another $137.50. That comes to $1512.50 plus whatever the shipping charge happens to be so lets say it's $50. That means the entire rig will run me $1562.50.

But with a DM-4, you'll never ever be looking for another alt-az again. As Tom Trusock said in his review, it is the best which, like everything else in this hobby, you pay for. Equally true is the fact that quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten. Indeed, if you consider how much $ you've spent on buying and accessorizing mounts which don't come close to the DM-4's performance, you probably could've paid for one by now. Anyway, I've owned mine since June '05 and its performance hasn't diminished a bit. I'm convinced it'll last forever, certainly well past the time my astronomy days are done.

Tom

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Scott in NC
Mad Hatter

Reged: 03/05/05

Loc: NC

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Herenomore]
#3037988 - 04/11/09 12:17 PM

Good advice, Tom.

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Bill Barlow
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 12/03/07

Loc: Overland Park KS

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3038404 - 04/11/09 04:53 PM

I own the UA UniStar Deluxe mount on a heavy duty surveyors tripod and find it to be the best altaz mount I have owned..even better than the Porta mount (which I still use with my SV 102ED). The UA UniStar is very stable, even with a C11 on it, and the atl-az tension controls are easy to adjust once the scope is balanced. You don't need slow motion controls as it is very smooth. It can easily hold a 5" or 6" refractor.

If you don't need that much support, then the basic UniStar on a medium duty surveyors tripod would be a good fit. I would suggest that you vist his website at www.universalastronomics.com, then call Larry at UA and he will tell you what mount/tripod combination will work the best for what type of OTA you want to mount. He really knows his stuff about atlaz mounts and is a top notch guy and will go the extra mile to make sure you are satisfied. Highly recommended!!

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Scott in NC
Mad Hatter

Reged: 03/05/05

Loc: NC

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Bill Barlow]
#3038435 - 04/11/09 05:10 PM

Yeah Bill, I agree. I've talked with Larry at UA before, and he's been very helpful. It's quite a refreshing change from so many of today's stores, where you call to get advice on their product and find you know more about the product they're selling then they do.

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Starlighter
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/03/07

Loc: Sunny California

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Bill Barlow]
#3038440 - 04/11/09 05:13 PM

That looks like a totally different surveyor's tripod from the one Stellarvue sells. Just from looking at the photos, the UA surveyor's looks far more stable. The SV version is....well....junk. There. I said it. It's nearly impossible to get the darned apple tray in place and once in place, nearly impossible to remove. The legs are thin aluminum and where they attach at the top is cheap black plastic which I'm sure will flex under a somewhat heavy load.

For the life of me I have no idea why so many of these AZ mounts cost a small fortune. I have a friend who's a machinist and he's looked at some of them from their photos as well as looking at my Portamount and tells me he could pretty much fabricate any of them and charge far less.

Hey! Maybe I should go in with him on manufacturing the best AZ mount for the money!

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Herenomore
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/29/04

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3038533 - 04/11/09 06:08 PM Attachment (66 downloads)

Starlighter:

Pictured below is my SV105 (original TMB/LZOS version) mounted with a Nagler 31T5. About 17.5 lbs with everything up (scope, plate, rings, diagonal, ep). The DM-4 handles it like it wasn't there. To paraphrase Roland Christen, as between a scope and a mount, spend your money on the mount

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Starlighter
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/03/07

Loc: Sunny California

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Herenomore]
#3038662 - 04/11/09 07:35 PM

That is a beautiful mount. The tripod legs don't appear to extend though.

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7331Peg
Sirius Observer

Reged: 09/01/08

Loc: North coast of Oregon

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3039163 - 04/12/09 02:03 AM

No, the legs don't extend. However, Tom Peters sells two different tripod heights, and two different height extensions. Check the DM web site. You won't find a more solid tripod in my opinion. There is a picture on the web site of Tom standing on one.

John

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jouster
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 11/27/05

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3039438 - 04/12/09 09:35 AM

Quote:

Hey! Maybe I should go in with him on manufacturing the best AZ mount for the money!

Seems like that would make sense.

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Starlighter
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/03/07

Loc: Sunny California

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Herenomore]
#3039833 - 04/12/09 01:18 PM

Tom, I doubt I'd get it with the encoders and the computer.

Can you mount a scope going in the other direction on that mount? The reason I ask is, right now with my 6" SCT, I cannot use the Portamount or any mount that's restricted to mounting on the right side. With the 6" SCT OTA, the finders would end up on the bottom. The dovetail is on the left side. So If I mounted it on the DM4, will it slew all the way if I have the scope pointed in the opposite direction of your scope in the photo? I hope I made myself clear on this. That was one reason I went with the MG mont since I was told I could do it.

Oh, one other item. When you slew using the Discmount, do you do it by grabbing the diagonal?

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ngc2289
Post Laureate

Reged: 04/13/05

Loc: Some Where Around The Maypole.

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: rick rian]
#3040312 - 04/12/09 07:07 PM Attachment (51 downloads)

I got a Williams EZ Touch about a month ago and so far I love it. The mount starts and stops very smoothly. I have used the scope at 142X with this mount and no trouble keeping what I was looking at in the field of view.

Edited by ngc2289 (04/12/09 07:08 PM)

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ngc2289
Post Laureate

Reged: 04/13/05

Loc: Some Where Around The Maypole.

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: GShaffer]
#3040364 - 04/12/09 07:49 PM

Yeah I e-mailed a couple questions 1 month ago and never got an answer. So I called and got my questions answered in 2 minutes. So I know what you are talking about GShaffer. Vic is one person down with his office staff and with NEAF getting near he has been tring to finish several projects at once!

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Clive Gibbons
Mostly Harmless

Reged: 05/26/05

Loc: Oort Cloud

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3040709 - 04/13/09 12:07 AM

Quote:

Hey! Maybe I should go in with him on manufacturing the best AZ mount for the money!

That sounds like a plan, Starlighter.

Plus, from what you've experienced recently, I bet you'd have a good idea of how not to upset the customers.

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Starlighter
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/03/07

Loc: Sunny California

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Clive Gibbons]
#3040737 - 04/13/09 12:22 AM

I've always had a motto that I applied to my job. Never do anything that you wouldn't want done to yourself.

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Starlighter
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/03/07

Loc: Sunny California

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: ngc2289]
#3040752 - 04/13/09 12:30 AM

Quote:

I got a Williams EZ Touch about a month ago and so far I love it. The mount starts and stops very smoothly. I have used the scope at 142X with this mount and no trouble keeping what I was looking at in the field of view.

I see you have the second dovetail mount. The dealers here in the US do not carry it. WO sells it on their website for I think $59. Problem is, I do not want to buy from a foreign country. Did you get yours from a dealer in the US or send off to WO in Taiwan for it or did it come with the mount?

A dealer near me was selling that mount for about $428, but they sold out quickly. Also, they didn't they carry the second Vixen style dovetail.

And the dovetail is shaped so I would need to slide the bar in. Problem is, with my SV102ED, bolts protrude near the ends making it impossible to slide on so I'd have to change out the bar. The Orion SkyView AZ dual head mount had the same problem.

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Starlighter
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/03/07

Loc: Sunny California

Re: Stellarvue MG mount new

[Re: Starlighter]
#3040759 - 04/13/09 12:38 AM

It just dawned on me that on the other side where you have your scope mounted, you're using a saddle plate. That's all the WO dealer near me still has in stock. They sold out just about their entire WO inventory by knocking the prices way down.

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