Mike Clemens
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/26/05
Posts: 3046
Loc: Wasilla, Alaska 61N
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Is that a tilt in saddle, Robert? And do you cradle the tube one personed and tilt it in from that little bitty ladder?
Mike
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abysmal clock of despair
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MacRoberts
sage
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 327
Loc: Redlands, CA
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Hi, all-
At the other end of the spectrum, here's my lowly Gibralter/G5 setup, maxed out with SkyTour and FocusMate. 41 lbs. out the door in a few minutes, and voila - simplicity itself!
No doubt a DM-6 or suitable GEM is in my future, but I was able to make this mount work better with judicious maintenance, tightened bolts and screws, and a tear-down/rebuild. No vibration to speak of below about 200X, and the FocusMate takes care of any focusing jigglies.
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Jim
"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also." Genesis 1:16
NP-127, TV-85
Naglers, Pentax XWs
Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX
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Robert Provin
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/14/06
Posts: 565
Loc: Northridge, California
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Quote:
I love it, Robert. I just posted the AP180 f/9 in the "Scopes I admire but will never own" category. I remember you had a HGM200 before the Titan. The Titan looks plenty big how do you like it compared with the 200?
Mike Clemens
Hi Mike,
The Titan is smaller (more compact) and lighter than the GM200 (by about 20-25 lbs.) The load capacity of the GM200 was listed as 150 lbs. while the Titan is at 100 lbs. Given all this, I find that the Titan is not quite up to the stability of the GM200, especially with the 180EDT and its long tube. However, given the lighter weight and smaller configuraton (it fits in much smaller boxes) and the fact that I always travel to my observing site, I am more than happy to give up a small amount of stability. The Titan really is a solid mount, but the GM200 was better.
Best,
Robert
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Robert W. Provin
Dept. of Geography
California State University
Northridge, CA 91330-8249
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Robert Provin
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/14/06
Posts: 565
Loc: Northridge, California
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Quote:
Is that a tilt in saddle, Robert? And do you cradle the tube one personed and tilt it in from that little bitty ladder?
Mike
Hello again Mike!
The saddle is a dovetail bar that connects to the mating piece on top of the DEC axis. I always mount the saddle first, then put the tube in the saddle. Hoisting the tube that high is a two person operation (me and my gal) and is never a problem since she always goes with me when I'm out scopin'. I know, having an AP 180EDT and a gal who is always happy to go stargazing is more than I deserve!
Best,
Robert
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Robert W. Provin
Dept. of Geography
California State University
Northridge, CA 91330-8249
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KurtCasby
member
Reged: 12/12/04
Posts: 75
Loc: Minnesota, USA
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Quote:
Hi, all-
At the other end of the spectrum, here's my lowly Gibralter/G5 setup, maxed out with SkyTour and FocusMate. 41 lbs. out the door in a few minutes, and voila - simplicity itself!
No doubt a DM-6 or suitable GEM is in my future, but I was able to make this mount work better with judicious maintenance, tightened bolts and screws, and a tear-down/rebuild. No vibration to speak of below about 200X, and the FocusMate takes care of any focusing jigglies.
Hey Jim,
Nothing lowly at all about your set-up! I have spent some of my most enjoyable and memorable 'astro' evenings sitting at the eyepiece of a 4 or 5 inch TV on a Walnut Gibraltar (or G5).
When you did the tear-down/rebuild did you make any modifications? I ask because I found that if I put a stainless fender washer, a stainless lock washer, and a stainless nut up into the tripod head's casting and tightened it pretty good, followed by installing the usual 'nut' assembly it improved my set-up a lot with the G5/NP127. If you carry the whole assembly out at one time (as it sound like you do) this works great. If you take the mount off the tripod each night, it makes it a lot more work!
Clear Skies,
Kurt
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60mm SolarMax,
25" Obsession,
47 in between.
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Happy-Idiot
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/06/06
Posts: 1791
Loc: 3rd Rock
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A modified cheap alternative to a Hercules Mount. I have it atop a Heavy Duty tripod.
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Brian
A small scope that gets used often is a better investment than a big scope that stays in the closet.
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MacRoberts
sage
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 327
Loc: Redlands, CA
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Hey yourself, Kurt!
Quote:
. . . I found that if I put a stainless fender washer, a stainless lock washer, and a stainless nut up into the tripod head's casting and tightened it pretty good, followed by installing the usual 'nut' assembly it improved my set-up a lot with the G5/NP127.
You are so right, the tightness (stiffness) of the tripod/head connection is crucial. I have just been tightening the bejeezus out of the OEM nut and washer assembly to obtain the desired stiffness, not an easy task given the small spaces involved. The pic below shows the *huge* alum washer - was this supplied with your mount? I ask because I'm pretty sure I don't have enough of the mount bolt threads left after attaching the plastic vaned nut to accomodate the washers and nut you use. Let me know, would you? And yes, I do leave everything setup and ready for the next chance . . .
BTW, I use the lid remover remnant you see in the pic to help me tighten as much as possible. No real modifications beyond plastic washers to allow tighter connections with the accessory tray/tripod stiffener.
Quote:
I have spent some of my most enjoyable and memorable 'astro' evenings sitting at the eyepiece of a 4 or 5 inch TV on a Walnut Gibraltar (or G5).
Me, too. I occasionally have the chance to share it with some local Boy Scouts, and they like it, too!
Clear skies.
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Jim
"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also." Genesis 1:16
NP-127, TV-85
Naglers, Pentax XWs
Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX
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KurtCasby
member
Reged: 12/12/04
Posts: 75
Loc: Minnesota, USA
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Hey Back at Ya, Jim!
The washers and nut I added go up inside the hollowed out tripod head. The attached image sort of shows what I mean (although this is an Ash Gibraltar). The washers and nut I added end up above the bottom surface of the tripod head, so don't take up any of the space used by the standard washer (huge, as you said), and brass-n-plastic nut.
I do tighten the 'internal' nut pretty tight, as well as the standard nut. Hope this helps.
Clear Skies,
Kurt
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60mm SolarMax,
25" Obsession,
47 in between.
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MacRoberts
sage
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 327
Loc: Redlands, CA
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Kurt-
I like what you've done and am going to try it. So it's off to Home Depot for me, gotta go, bye.
Thanks a ton for the tip, Kurt. Clear skies!
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Jim
"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also." Genesis 1:16
NP-127, TV-85
Naglers, Pentax XWs
Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX
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MichaelW
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/03/06
Posts: 1398
Loc: Cartoon City, Nirvana
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The rest of it is here in this thread.
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Michael W
Backyard Astronomer @ Washoe Zephyr: 
Arizona Sky Village: 
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Strgazr27
Scope Junkie
Reged: 10/04/04
Posts: 6012
Loc: StonyHill Observatory
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Now DATS what I'm talkin' about  
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Bobby
StonyHill Observatory
Atlas w EQMOD
Vixen R200SS
Orion ED-80
AT-111
AT66-ED
QHY-8
SSAG
YAHOO TMB 130SS Group
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SamvdHeijden
sage
Reged: 08/17/06
Posts: 380
Loc: The Netherlands
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Kudo's to Michael  . Congratz on that work of art you have there!
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Sam
-Skywatcher 90mm F10 refractor
-Canon Eos 350D + Sigma 17-70 F2.8-4.5 & Canon EF 70-300 IS USM
www.samvanderheijden.com
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Happy-Idiot
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/06/06
Posts: 1791
Loc: 3rd Rock
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WOW! The Mount that ate Nevada! And I see you have one of those Vixen polar alignment scopes on there.
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Brian
A small scope that gets used often is a better investment than a big scope that stays in the closet.
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ttolla
member
Reged: 01/31/06
Posts: 28
Loc: Guilford, CT
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Here's Strgazr27's mount at it's new home.  Thanks Bobby.....it's nice to be back to a go-to 
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TTolla
Guilford, CT
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arowana
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/02/06
Posts: 2724
Loc: Pleasant View,Tennessee
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Very Niceeee!!!
Those CGE's are so sweeeettt!!!!
Congrats!!!
By the way, I like the tri-pod head/peir adapter you got there. Very smart!!!
I will keep that one in mind when I get ready to pier mount mine.
Joey
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Orion 80-ED Refractor
Astro-Tech 66-ED
Atlas EQ-G
Moonlite Focuser's on all scopes
ADM accesories on everything
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ttolla
member
Reged: 01/31/06
Posts: 28
Loc: Guilford, CT
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Quote:
Very Niceeee!!!
Those CGE's are so sweeeettt!!!!
Congrats!!!
By the way, I like the tri-pod head/peir adapter you got there. Very smart!!!
I will keep that one in mind when I get ready to pier mount mine.
Joey
Thanks! The tripod head made the perfect adapter for the pier. It only needed a few .003 shims to make the mount level since I already leveled the pier top with the nuts at the pier base. Actually it was left on the pier from my previous CI700. The leg holes will make a nice place to attach an eyepiece holder or shelf.....someday 
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TTolla
Guilford, CT
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Paul Milligan
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 1225
Loc: 54°12.0' N; 4°25' W
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Mount 1 (Refractor Setup)
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Tak Epsilon 160 / 16 Inch Custom Truss Dob
WO FLT-110 [TEC] APO / WO Megrez 80FD APO
EQ6 Pro / Canon Rebel XTi / QHY5 / GSTAR-EX
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http://www.eyetotheuniverse.com
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Paul Milligan
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 1225
Loc: 54°12.0' N; 4°25' W
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Mount 2 (Reflector Setup)
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Tak Epsilon 160 / 16 Inch Custom Truss Dob
WO FLT-110 [TEC] APO / WO Megrez 80FD APO
EQ6 Pro / Canon Rebel XTi / QHY5 / GSTAR-EX
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http://www.eyetotheuniverse.com
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MichaelW
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/03/06
Posts: 1398
Loc: Cartoon City, Nirvana
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Thanks Bobby, Sam and Happy!
Yep everyone should need a 8" polar alignment scope. 
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Michael W
Backyard Astronomer @ Washoe Zephyr:
Arizona Sky Village:
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jgibson1@emich
sage
Reged: 06/11/06
Posts: 222
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Here are my other two mounts. The first is a Vixen Porta Mount supporting my Orion 80ED. This is the ultimate in “grab and go” scoping . The other mount is another version of an alt-az. It is a Meade Dobsonian mount on which my 12” Lightbridge sits.
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