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Graystar
member
Reged: 04/19/09
Posts: 91
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
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I’m seriously considering an Explorer Scientific 127 ED APO. It weighs 22 lbs with all accessories, and it’s about one meter long. I figured another pound for a Barlow and eyepiece. For my mount I’m considering a MiniTower or the as-of-yet unreleased MiniTower Pro.
The Pro has a capacity of 33 lbs and 2” steel legs, so I know this scope won’t be a problem for it. But it’s 500 bucks more than the MiniTower and heavier. So I was wondering a few things about the MiniTower...
Will there be a problem using a one-meter long refractor on this mount? I’m concerned about the focuser and eyepiece hitting the tripod (with a 25 lbs capacity you’d think they’d provide or offer an extension for a long scope.)
I’ve read some people say that it can’t really handle 25 lbs., and others overloading the mount without trouble. Anyone have the real scoop on that?
I’ve read that the tracking in some samples is stair-steppish...it first moves one axis then the other, which makes it unsuitable for astrophotography (though in another thread I’ve seen one forum member’s great results using this mount.) Is this issue real? Is it just a firmware update or was there also an issue with the motors? (Could mean I have to be careful about the production date of any mount I buy...so I’m wondering.)
I appreciate any info or advice anyone can give me. Thanks.
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Warning! I'm a newbie...I don't know anything!
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StargazerBill
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/27/07
Posts: 521
Loc: Catawba, VA
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IMHO it would be too much. The weight plus the length of the OTA would be a problem. One thing to note regarding the MT is that the tripod footprint is quite small. Compared to most tripods the legs do not spread out as far. I would be concerned about tipping.
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37;23N 80;10W (Jet Stream Alley) 
Vixen ED100sf
Orion ST 120
Orion XT6i
Meade 8" SCT
Sky-Watcher 10" Dob
GSO 42mm Wide Field
Meade 5000 UWA 24, 18, 14, 8.8, 6.7, 4.7mm
Vixen NPL Plossl 30mm, 20mm, 15mm, 10mm
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wsuriano
member
Reged: 11/13/07
Posts: 79
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I agree that this would be too much for the MT. You'll get conflicting views on this though. Some have loaded the MT with weights and OTAs with similar specs and say it works just fine for visual. I personally would not push it, particularly with the tripod sold with the MT.
Whatever you do visually, you are overloading the mount for any astrophotography but the shortest of exposures, and even then, I'd be concerned. I don't know what astrophotos you've looked at, but to really do astrophotography with the MT, you need a wedge and a bearing upgrade. This adds about $650 to the cost of the MT, putting it in CGEM or Atlas territory. Why not bite the bullet and go with one of those? Alternatively, you may want to consider the CG5-ASGT. It's cheaper that the MT, just about as portable and is a capable imaging platform, although once you add a guide scope, cameras, etc. with your scope you'd probably be overloading that mount for astrophotography as well.
The MT Pro would still need a wedge to do any long exposure astrophotography. As I understand it, however, it has the beefier bearings.
All that being said, I have an MT and it is a wonderful, portable mount. It's easy to set up and tracks and does go-tos like a charm. Like any mount, it has its place.
Bill
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Meade 8" LX90 GPS w/wedge
Meade 5000 80mm APO
Vixen 5" Newtonian
Orion 120mm f/8.3
Orion ST 80mm
Meade ETX90 PE
CGEM
CG-5 ASGT
iOptron MT
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Graystar
member
Reged: 04/19/09
Posts: 91
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
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So that two votes for being too much scope for the MT! Darn.
I have an Orion SkyView Pro mount now, and I feel it’s a bit too much of a production for me to get out the door. I was hoping to find a mount + scope combo that I could carry in one trip (maybe even one bag.)
Living in NYC, there are actually very few places I can just drive up to and setup. Every parking lot has lights in it. The only dark places are the middle of large fields in the big parks. So I’m hoping to park near a large field and tote my scope and mount (and maybe...dare I dream...my Starbound chair?) in one trip out to the middle of the field. I’ll likely need to park away from the field, and this being NYC I’m not too keen about leaving equipment in the middle of a field while I run back to the car. So that the impetus behind the choice of mount.
And then here’s a pic of an MT with a 127 and an 80!
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=lxd55&Number=3248072&Forum=f41&Words=%2Bioptron%20%2Bminitower&Searchpage=0&Limit=100&Main=3247959
I’m so confused!
This thread has an image taking with the MiniTower...
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=lxd55&Number=3028207&Forum=,,,f41,,,&Words=%2Bioptron%20%2B%20minitower&Searchpage=3&Limit=100&Main=3020202
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Warning! I'm a newbie...I don't know anything!
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Wes James
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 3459
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The owner of Trapezium Telescopes regularly utilizes a Burgess 127/8 scope on his- as well as a 4" f/15 Jaegers. Now his Jaegers, he runs with a 6lb. weight on the eyepiece end of the tube- to offset the balance of the OTA and allow it to clear the tripod legs... for a total OTA weight of about 31 lbs- and then 20 lbs of counterweight on the other side of the mount to balance it! That's a total weight on the mount of 51 lbs, minus eyepieces. No sound of motor strain in 2 hours of tracking a target. That's not too bad. Of course, this is with his Tinkman roller bearing upgrade. I do believe, however- this was mounted on an Atlas tripod. You might want to contact him and talk to him.
There are also some people using the modded MT with a Wedge- now available (mfr= ADM) for astrophotography with wonderful results. You might want to check his blog- and the Yahoo iOptron MT forum for further info.
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Wes
Atlantic Beach, FL
Some bino’s from Miyauchi 5x32 Binon's up through Garrett 20x110 Signature's,
Some telescopes from a Stellarvue 80mm NHNG up through a couple of 8” reflectors…
And a wonderful 4.25" Delmarva Shiefspiegler!
Some good friends, made here on C/N.
Oh- several cats and a wonderful wife!
Anyone want a cat???? :-O
"When your work speaks for itself- Don't Interrupt" -Gamble Rogers
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wsuriano
member
Reged: 11/13/07
Posts: 79
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Thanks for the link to the photo. That is an impressive image. Keep in mind it was taken with a C8 XLT, Hyperstar3 and a QHY8. The poster mentioned that he could only take up to 56 second sub frames. Still, I'm impressed with the results even given that limitation. It's amazing what Hyperstar3 can do. I certainly don't want you to get the sense that I'm bashing the MT. I love mine, but I have other mounts to handle heavier loads and long duration imaging.
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Meade 8" LX90 GPS w/wedge
Meade 5000 80mm APO
Vixen 5" Newtonian
Orion 120mm f/8.3
Orion ST 80mm
Meade ETX90 PE
CGEM
CG-5 ASGT
iOptron MT
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Graystar
member
Reged: 04/19/09
Posts: 91
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
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Quote:
I certainly don't want you to get the sense that I'm bashing the MT.
Oh I don't think that at all. Dr Benway's MT was worked over by Trapezium, and I think he also had the bearing replaced, so it's not quite the MT I'd get from iOptron. And that C8 with Hyperstar could very well be up to 10 lbs lighter than the ES127 I want to mount. So I'm definitely not expecting to be able to produce images like that. I just know that each person gives his response from his own perspective and experience. I'm just trying to tease out the commonalities across the reports to try to objectively determine if the combination will work for me.
I believe the 56 sec time limit was due to the rotation of the frame. A wedge would fix that, but I don't know if Trapezium is making them any more. It any case, visual observing is my concern at the moment so I'm not going to worry about it.
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Warning! I'm a newbie...I don't know anything!
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