Telescope Reviews: Very small mount

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Equipment Discussions >> Mounts

Pages: 1

orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Very small mount
#5467808 - 10/13/12 07:06 AM

I'm looking at getting a very small mount so that I can take wide field photos. The Teegul Sky Patrol is too rich for my blood. Ditto for the TOAST-Pro.

I had a Vixen Polaris before, it was built really well but I think still a bit too large for my needs.

So.. will an EQ-2 / CG-3 mount be worthwhile? does it have a full worm on the declination? (just for giggles I might want to make it GoTo capable, since I already have the motors and I have the GoTo controller).

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5467827 - 10/13/12 07:49 AM

If all you want to do is take widefield pictures, have a look at the new Vixen Polarie.

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: rmollise]
#5467832 - 10/13/12 07:54 AM

A bit embarrassing, but my knowledge of the night sky is limited to the few brightest constellations and M objects. I'd have a pretty hard time finding my way around without GoTo.

Hence I want something that can be GoTo-ized, but smaller than a CG-5.

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gdd
sage

Reged: 11/23/05

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5467904 - 10/13/12 09:18 AM

The Vixen GP2 is the smallest GOTO mount I have found. It weighs 9.4 pounds and has a capacity of 20 pounds. OPT has it. I think that is smaller than a CG-5.

Gale

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MikeBOKC
Post Laureate

Reged: 05/10/10

Loc: Oklahoma City, OK

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5467911 - 10/13/12 09:23 AM

You might investigate the new Smart EQ from ioptron -- full go to for about $400, light and portable, but with a correspondingly light maximum load of about 9-10 pounds.

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5467913 - 10/13/12 09:24 AM

Quote:

A bit embarrassing, but my knowledge of the night sky is limited to the few brightest constellations and M objects. I'd have a pretty hard time finding my way around without GoTo.

Hence I want something that can be GoTo-ized, but smaller than a CG-5.

I would look at the new, small iOptron mount, then...but...

Do you really need go-to for widefield imaging? It is pretty much "point in the general direction."

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: rmollise]
#5467924 - 10/13/12 09:32 AM

I want to go as long as 300mm..

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gdd
sage

Reged: 11/23/05

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5468111 - 10/13/12 11:23 AM

You want to image at 300mm without GOTO?

I take a picture at 50mm which is pretty sure to find the object. Then adjust the mount until I get a picture with the object centered. Then move up to the 300mm.

Gale

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Patrick
Postmaster

Reged: 05/16/03

Loc: Franklin, Ohio

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5469068 - 10/13/12 11:06 PM

Quote:

I want to go as long as 300mm..

At 300mm you will want a half way decent mount with fairly good PE numbers. The EQ2 could probably hold the weight of a 300mm lens, but I suspect it would not be accurate enough for exposures longer than 30-60 seconds without auto guiding. Were you planning on autoguiding? I don't believe an EQ2 mount can be autoguided. You might take a look at the Celestron CG-4 mount, but again, it doesn't have goto or can't be autoguided.

The Vixen GP2 is probably still your best bet, but it's on the expensive side when you throw in a goto setup for it. That mount has relatively good PE numbers and with the HAL130 tripod it's quite portable, more so than a CG5 which has a pretty hefty tripod.

Your only other option would be an Astrotrac setup.

Patrick

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: Patrick]
#5469137 - 10/14/12 12:00 AM

I have a Littlefoot Elegance Photo GoTo controller. It's ridiculously expensive if bolted to one of these very small mounts, but I already have it for my AP QMD mount, and I have extra motors, so the cost of adding GoTo and autoguiding to just about any mount is just the cost of my time.

I had a Great Polaris and a Polaris, these are still not my idea of "very small mount" - I'm looking for something that can be placed in carryon luggage along with a 300mm lens or a 70mm ED refractor.

Those Mizar GEM's from Japan kind of fit my bill. Just darn hard to find..

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core
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 02/23/08

Loc: Mostly in Norman, OK

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5469208 - 10/14/12 01:19 AM

A couple of random comments:

* Polarie, I believe there's custom adapters out of HK/JP that allow for higher loading, but I'd wager putting an 70ED with imaging equipment may be unrealistic. Probably more in the ballpark of a dSLR with a 180mm ED. My experience with the Polarie is with lenses in the 85mm range.

* Astrotrac will definitely fit the bill nicely, but it is in the price bracket of the Teegul (once you add up all the parts) - and it's manual. I recently acquired the complete travel system, it has some quirks but handles my FS-60C (@300mm) setup easily, and tracks beautifully unguided.

* Kenko Skymemo-RS in the same price bracket, no experience with it although from the limited reviews I'd like to give it a try (longer tracking than Astrotrac, much better polar scope).

* As for goto, another wild idea is to pack along a small goto mount like the ioptron cube, slew it to target and switch on a laser pointer mounted on it - then move your manual tracking mount to where the GLP is pointed.

* The other Vixen product other than GP2 Photo Guider - Sphinx SXW with the NexSXD control board replacement - Check-in luggage for sure, but don't discount it - I believe that it can be 5lb or more lighter than a CG-5 setup due to the reduced amount of counterweight required.

* How about scouting around for an older Tak Space Boy or P2Z?

* ... go with the Toast-Pro - and give us a nice little review

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: core]
#5469231 - 10/14/12 01:47 AM

I put my old Polaris in check-in a couple times. Not very pleasant, and eats up one's baggage allowance. The original TOAST is actually more interesting than the TOAST Pro, because it had a larger worm wheel and much lower periodic error (Tak EM200 class). No GoTo, ever.

P2Z and Space Boy both have tangent arm declination, so no GoTo, ever. There's actually a Teegul Sky Patrol II on the other site for a pretty reasonable price, but my problem is the lack of a declination worm gear. I want that GoTo as I'm positively incompetent at finding all but the brightest stuff.

And having an alt-az GoTo for pointing isn't good for the baggage allowance, either.

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Patrick
Postmaster

Reged: 05/16/03

Loc: Franklin, Ohio

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5469361 - 10/14/12 07:12 AM

I'm not sure, but I don't think what you want exists. It sounds like you want a full goto mount that can fit in carry on luggage, be capable of carry a 300mm lens, and track accurately enough not to require autoguiding...and cost the same as an EQ3.

I think you will have to compromise somewhere.

Patrick

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: Patrick]
#5469369 - 10/14/12 07:20 AM

I can compromise on the cost of the EQ3.

And the GoTo.

As I mentioned, I will be using my Littlefoot GoTo controller (because I like the interface and I don't want to learn two different interfaces). So all I want is something which can be carried-on - or at least, won't bust more than 50% of check-in baggage allowance - has full 360-degree rotation in declination, and is of good quality.

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Geo.
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/01/08

Loc: Upstate NY

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5469629 - 10/14/12 11:29 AM

A lot of amateur development has been done on the Meade DS2000 mount. These go for around $100. The tripod is junk, but some stiff wood legs will bring it around. I put some short Vixen Polaris fixed height legs on one and it's quite stable.

Google "milapse".

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: Geo.]
#5469693 - 10/14/12 12:11 PM

George, am not sure if the DS2000 can track in EQ mode. Last time I tried EQ mode on my ETX60 (similar mechanics) it failed miserably. Probably only works for high latitudes, not when the fork is almost lying on its side..

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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products

Reged: 05/07/07

Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5469852 - 10/14/12 01:53 PM

I'm not sure if I would bother with anything much smaller than the CG-4. It is fairly small, inexpensive and can be motorized. You might even be able to find a Synscan goto system for it (I tuned one up that had one added to it). The CG-4 is actually not a bad little mount when it comes down to it. The big problem with any GEM mount is that you will need to haul a counterwieght along with you.

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Patrick
Postmaster

Reged: 05/16/03

Loc: Franklin, Ohio

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5470826 - 10/15/12 12:08 AM

If I'm reading This CN Thread correctly, the Little Foot only works with stepper motors. That could be a limiting factor, particularly on small mounts using DC motors. I'm not an electrical person so I can't say with any certainty it won't work, but I'd look into it.

Patrick

Edited by Patrick (10/15/12 12:11 AM)

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: Very small mount new

new

[Re: Patrick]
#5470933 - 10/15/12 02:07 AM

I'm pretty handy with the Littlefoot. I converted my stepper AP600QMD to GoTo with it.

Actually I'm kicking myself for not grabbing the $450 Tak EM-2 that was for sale on the other site on 22 September. That would've been perfect..

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