GrampaMoose
member
Reged: 04/07/10
Loc: The Woods & Waters Of Michigan
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5219995 - 05/13/12 10:27 AM
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Can you remove the mount from the tripod and install it on a surveyors tripod (5/8 x 16) ???
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OldManInHawaii
member
Reged: 03/12/12
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: GrampaMoose]
#5221205 - 05/14/12 12:59 AM
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G Moose,
I’m also interested in hearing Manny’s reply to your question but in the meantime let me give you some related info about the ES TI mount.
-The mount has a female 3/8” threaded female socket which mates with the top end of the vertical shaft for the spreader plate/eyepiece holder.
-The vertical shaft for the spreader plate/eyepiece holder is ½” O.D. and reduces to a 3/8” threaded male section at the top end which ties into the bottom underside of the mount.
-A 3/8” X ½” shoulder bushing is placed at the change of shaft diameter to allow tightening/fastening of the mount to the tripod.
-The tripod legs are 1-1/2” O.D. chrome steel legs.
-The pair of bracket ears for each tripod leg is approximately 1-1/4” apart.
**************
Other comments:
This is my first alt-azimuth mount and I can only compare it to the dual fork equatorial mount of my 25 year old Meade 8” SCT, so the following comments should be taken with a grain of salt.
-The ES TI tripod is much shorter than my Meade scope, and finding any overhead object, e.g., Mars was inconvenient to say the least. Of course, a 90-degree RA finderscope would have helped a lot.
-With the tripod legs fully extended & viewing Saturn at 143X, the ES TI mount seems to vibrate more than my old Meade scope mount. Touching the fine focuser on my ES 102ED APO scope & touching the slow motion knobs on the mount makes the image bounce around. My Meade scope also bounces around when using its cruder slow motion controls and focusing, but the vibrations seem to dampen out quicker. I have not tried to weigh down the ES TI mount.
-I really like the slow motion controls on the ES TI mount because they are much better than that on my old Meade scope.
-I'm thinking about the possibility of mounting the ES TI mount on my Meade tripod by using steel angle at each leg bracket (crazy idea).
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munchmeister
super member
Reged: 04/04/12
Loc: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5224244 - 05/15/12 10:01 PM
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M2 et al: Any thoughts on how this compares to the Vixen Porta II? I'm in the market for an alt az for my newly acquired Orion 120mm ST. Any recommendations?
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OldManInHawaii
member
Reged: 03/12/12
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: munchmeister]
#5225159 - 05/16/12 01:32 PM
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I recall reading some criticism of the Porta II's tripod being vibration prone, and that the Vixen Star Guy was an improvement. The specs of the Star Guy (operating height, load capacity, weight) seem similar to the ES I but at $100 more.
I was curious why you want an alt-az mount since your scope came w/ an Orion Astroview EQ mount.
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desertlens
sage
Reged: 12/06/10
Loc: 36°N 105°W
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: OldManInHawaii]
#5225329 - 05/16/12 03:14 PM
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I can confirm that the Porta II with the original legs is vibration prone. The StarGuy version has legs of a stiffer box-form like the AT Voyager (much better). Anti-vibration pads make a huge difference in both cases. I feel an ES in my future. I've been hoping for steel legs.
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Manny Myles
Postmaster
Reged: 11/29/05
Loc: Far South of the flyover city ...
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: desertlens]
#5225669 - 05/16/12 06:28 PM
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Tonight I will be able to finally get the mount out under clear skies.
I have some mods to make then get cleaned up and the scope is already locked and loaded for the evening.
m2
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munchmeister
super member
Reged: 04/04/12
Loc: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: OldManInHawaii]
#5225951 - 05/16/12 10:20 PM
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Quote:
I recall reading some criticism of the Porta II's tripod being vibration prone, and that the Vixen Star Guy was an improvement. The specs of the Star Guy (operating height, load capacity, weight) seem similar to the ES I but at $100 more.
I was curious why you want an alt-az mount since your scope came w/ an Orion Astroview EQ mount.
I've been buying ala carte. First, a CG-4 mount, motorized, ST-4. Then the Orion 120mm 'fractor OTA. In my case, I'd like the ease of panning around with this Orion 120. Might even get binoviewers but not till I've enjoyed that Q70 32 in my signature. You can go swimming in that thing. But the CG-4 is bulky and since it has the motors installed, the slo mo controls are not usable. I've also considered the Desert Sky DSV-1 which I could put onto a Slik CF camera tripod I have. No slo mo controls but reviewing all that is on the web/CN about those slo mo stalks, they sound fracture prone. I just want to enjoy swimming around with that f/5 refractor. 
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Gary Riley
super member
Reged: 12/01/11
Loc: White Bluff, TN
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5227309 - 05/17/12 07:26 PM
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Hey Manny,
Interested in how well the Twilight I does with your scope. I have a Celestron Omni XLT 102mm f/10 refractor OTA that I'm wondering if this mount and tripod will work well for it. My scope with finder and one of my Hyperion eyepieces puts the weight to almost 13 lbs.
Gary
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EdTheEdge
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/10/09
Loc: Lomita, CA
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: Gary Riley]
#5351718 - 08/04/12 01:19 PM
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Too bad this thread stalled....
I just got mine yesterday and everything is fine except I did not get any washers, retaining clip or collar. I did get that additional round paperweight. I hope Bresser can send me a set.
Otherwise the mount seems like a perfect fit for my 80mm I used it for birding yesterday and it worked great. Then last night I was able to get in some sucker hole observing and I was quite please with the perfomance and sturdiness using my ED80 and ES8.8mm. It was a tad shakey but settled down rather quickly. I have but did not use antivibration pads. I want to try my 100mm when the clouds clear up. If it'll work with my 100ED I'll be a happy camper.
If Bresser sends me those missing parts that is!
Edited by EdTheEdge (08/04/12 01:28 PM)
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: EdTheEdge]
#5352306 - 08/04/12 09:21 PM
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thinking of getting one of these... very nice Manny
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OldManInHawaii
member
Reged: 03/12/12
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: EdTheEdge]
#5352562 - 08/05/12 01:58 AM Attachment (42 downloads)
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You won't have any problem getting the missing washers & collar from Explore Scientific because their customer support has been excellent. And tightening the mount to the tripod helps to reduce the shakes.
That being said, a little heftier and taller tripod would help to reduce the vibration & make for easier viewing although the price & weight would be more.
I've attached a photo of the ESTWI mount on a tripod for my old Meade 2080 SCT (the ESTWI tripod is also shown for comparison). I made an adapter plate of 3/4" plywood which allows the Meade SCT (in alt-az configuration) or my ESTWI mount to be installed on the old Meade tripod.
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OldManInHawaii
member
Reged: 03/12/12
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: OldManInHawaii]
#5353180 - 08/05/12 01:46 PM Attachment (40 downloads)
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Here's another photo of my ED102 on the ESTW1 & Meade tripod.
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Agatha
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/04/12
Loc: Minneapolis, MN
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: OldManInHawaii]
#5353371 - 08/05/12 03:38 PM
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Looks really nice. Good job on the adapter plate. Using wood is a great idea. Thanks for the inspiration. 
Regards,
Linda B.
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OldManInHawaii
member
Reged: 03/12/12
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: Agatha]
#5353892 - 08/05/12 10:15 PM Attachment (34 downloads)
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Thanks ... am trying to keep this thread alive.
Here's the tripod & wood adapter plate with my Meade 2080 & its spreader bar/plate. My 2080's clock drive works but I rarely use it. And the alt-az configuration is a little easier to use since the finder scope orientation is always at the same relative location rather than at some angle in the equatorial mode. Notice also that I swapped finders between the two scopes since they both use the same size bracket.
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EdTheEdge
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/10/09
Loc: Lomita, CA
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: OldManInHawaii]
#5354677 - 08/06/12 11:45 AM
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Just a note..... I called ES/Bresser this morning and they are sendoing out my missing parts asap!!!!
Thanks ES!
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stevew
Now I've done it
Reged: 03/03/06
Loc: British Columbia Canada
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5355376 - 08/06/12 07:33 PM
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So witch is a better Alt Az mount.
The Versa Go, The ES Twilight 1, or the Vixen Star Guy?
Steve
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: stevew]
#5355541 - 08/06/12 09:40 PM
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Manny, with regards to the adapter plate you have on your alt bearing, what if you use a larger scope, won't that put a strain on the bearing when not in the horizontal position? the CG will be off quite a bit depending on the diameter of the OTA... how do you deal with that?
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Locoman
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/09/09
Loc: Abilene, Kansas
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: stevew]
#5355563 - 08/06/12 09:53 PM
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Quote:
So witch is a better Alt Az mount.
The Versa Go, The ES Twilight 1, or the Vixen Star Guy?
Steve
Which VersaGo are you asking about? The VersaGo with micro motion which is the same as the ES Twilight or the VersaGo "AKA" AZ4. I own the AZ4 and is an excellent mount for a 6" f/5 reflector or smaller. I own the StarGuy and it is an excellent mount for my C6-SCT and my ST120. I don't like using my reflector on the StarGuy. The StarGuy has the very sturdy HAL130SXG tripod and the Porta mount has a proven track record. Damping times with the ST120 and the C6 are minimal. The addition of Manny's mounting bracket and panhandle has made my StarGuy even better. I don't own the ES Twilight so I can't give an opinion about it.
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Starman81
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/06/08
Loc: Metro Detroit, MI, USA
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: Locoman]
#5359264 - 08/09/12 05:53 AM
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Is there a compatible extension tube for this mount? Like this one here for the AT Voyager mount.
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Manny Myles
Postmaster
Reged: 11/29/05
Loc: Far South of the flyover city ...
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Re: ES Twilight I alt az mount
[Re: JoeM101]
#5359349 - 08/09/12 07:48 AM
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So far I have not had to do anything to the mounts I use the bracket on.
The mounts I use it on include the Porta and Voyager and all these come with clutches to dial up or down the tension should I need to.
When I got all 3 of these mounts I have never had to adjust the tension ever, factory set out of the box, some might need to.
Maybe some other owners could speak up.
m2
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