wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
New T-Rex
#5492946 - 10/28/12 11:06 AM Attachment (115 downloads)
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
I finally picked up my new T-Rex mount! Very excited about trying it out. Any lingering doubts I had about the purchase,whether or not to get the DM6, etc were quickly vanished the moment I opened up the box. Wow, talk about quality, if not a little heavy!! 22lbs.
A big thanks to Ed (if you are reading this) he was absolutely a Saint after my barrage of questioning. I looked at this mount primarily for SV80ST and my C9.25 Edge HD. Not to mention that it can be put on my existing CGEM tripod! I did not have to get yet another tripod. I can use what I have. The motions on it are a dream. Very smooth. I did get the longer flex handles but did not include them on the pics. Another big relief, I can now change EPs without the need to rebalance the OTA. If it does go a little out of balance, I can just tighten the clutch, change and loosen clutch. The only thing I didn't get was the DSC tray, Sky Commander (or similar) and the bag. Working on it though.
Anyway, because I got a new toy; I won't be able to use it. I did it big time. We have this irritant called Sandy that is ready to barrel down on us and it will be a week before any semblance of sunshine! My fault???
Thanks for looking!
William
Edited by wrz0170 (10/28/12 06:25 PM)
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5492948 - 10/28/12 11:07 AM Attachment (66 downloads)
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Another shot
Edited by wrz0170 (10/28/12 11:09 AM)
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5492954 - 10/28/12 11:11 AM Attachment (51 downloads)
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
SV80ST with the ES 30mm grenade.
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5492956 - 10/28/12 11:13 AM Attachment (55 downloads)
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Finally with my C9.25 Edge HD.
Edited by wrz0170 (10/28/12 11:14 AM)
|
Mkofski
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/19/11
Loc: Greenfield, Indiana, USA
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5492969 - 10/28/12 11:20 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Congrats on the great looking kit! Hope Sandy blows through fast?
|
Manny Myles
Postmaster
Reged: 11/29/05
Loc: Far South of the flyover city ...
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Mkofski]
#5492990 - 10/28/12 11:32 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Looks GREAT, where did you get it from???
m2
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5492995 - 10/28/12 11:40 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
Looks GREAT, where did you get it from???
m2
Thanks! I got it from deepspaceproducts.com Ed is a distributor for T-Rex. Super nice to work with.
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Mkofski]
#5492996 - 10/28/12 11:42 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
Hope Sandy blows through fast?
Me too! Living in the Northeast corridor, we do get the Nor'Easters and the occasional tropical storm remnants however this one worries me a little.
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5493014 - 10/28/12 11:54 AM Attachment (54 downloads)
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Ok, here is the T-Rex with the flexible stalks for the slow motion controls. They are about 21" long and they added a nice touch. It has a thumb screw as opposed to looking all over for an allen wrench to take the stalks off for transport.
|
Agatha
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/04/12
Loc: Minneapolis, MN
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5494997 - 10/29/12 05:09 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Congratulations on a beautiful mount. I also purchased one from Ed at DSP. He is a great guy. I got the white one so it took a little longer but not bad at all. Have fun. It is a beauty! 
Best, Linda B.
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Agatha]
#5496717 - 10/30/12 07:07 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
Congratulations on a beautiful mount. I also purchased one from Ed at DSP. He is a great guy. I got the white one so it took a little longer but not bad at all. Have fun. It is a beauty!
Best, Linda B.
Thank you Linda. I look forward to giving it a go once we see clear skies again. I have it set up in the living room, ready to go. Unfortunately Sandy had different plans for this week. 
My thoughts and prayers to those CNers and anyone who had to go through it.
William
|
Lane
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/19/07
Loc: Frisco, Texas
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5496743 - 10/30/12 07:21 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
FYI - There should be a "rotate" selection in the settings for your camera. You should always set that to "on".
|
Lane
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/19/07
Loc: Frisco, Texas
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Lane]
#5496748 - 10/30/12 07:23 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Nice looking mount. Do you find that those long cables induce any vibration when using your scope at higher power? I know the ones on my old SP mount did.
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Lane]
#5496783 - 10/30/12 07:56 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
Nice looking mount. Do you find that those long cables induce any vibration when using your scope at higher power? I know the ones on my old SP mount did.
Can't answer that just yet. Hopefully soon! If they do, I suppose I can always go back to the regular handles.
|
BKBrown
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/09
Loc: Northern Virginia, USA
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5497017 - 10/30/12 10:28 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
I love the look of this mount but much prefer the more traditional position/orientation for the OTA you provide with your Porta II saddle upgrade...I just don't care to ride "side saddle". So Manny, do think you could work your saddle mod for the T-Rex? Very curious since this could be a big selling point for me. Thanks!
Clear Skies,
Brian
|
EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products
Reged: 05/07/07
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: BKBrown]
#5497219 - 10/31/12 01:52 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
An L-shaped bracket could easily be added to the mount but it could add some flexure or instability with heavier loads (due to the bracket, not the mount). To avoid loosing any of the rigidity that is built into the mount, I would use at least the same 1/2" aluminum for the L-bracket as is used in the mount. The one pictured in the Porta II thread would be a capacity downgrade for the mount which would defeat some of its purpose. The tip-in ADM saddle works quite well, but for a smaller refractor I suppose and L-bracket would work fine. I'm not sure if I wouldn't rather attach my TMB130SS to the side saddle, but a L-bracket could be interesting if done right.
|
Manny Myles
Postmaster
Reged: 11/29/05
Loc: Far South of the flyover city ...
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: BKBrown]
#5497336 - 10/31/12 06:23 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Hi Brian,
In my post asking where this was purchased from was so I could see if the bolt pattern was shown for the mount.
It is shown indirectly and yes I could work something up rather quickly but would need a profile of the face plate shape so the bracket would be as close as possible to the same as the mount.
m2
|
EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products
Reged: 05/07/07
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5497498 - 10/31/12 09:46 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
Hi Brian,
In my post asking where this was purchased from was so I could see if the bolt pattern was shown for the mount.
It is shown indirectly and yes I could work something up rather quickly but would need a profile of the face plate shape so the bracket would be as close as possible to the same as the mount.
m2
The head is approximately 4.25" in diameter. The four holes are 35mm on center. Let me see what you come up with.
|
Lane
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/19/07
Loc: Frisco, Texas
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: EFT]
#5497917 - 10/31/12 03:05 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
My new T-Rex has been ordered. Should we start a club William? 
|
Goodchild
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/31/08
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: BKBrown]
#5498014 - 10/31/12 04:09 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
I love the look of this mount but much prefer the more traditional position/orientation for the OTA you provide with your Porta II saddle upgrade...I just don't care to ride "side saddle". So Manny, do think you could work your saddle mod for the T-Rex? Very curious since this could be a big selling point for me. Thanks!
Clear Skies,
Brian
Ditto. I would like something like you describe for my Voyager mount and Ioptron Mak. A clamping bracket would be nice to hold the mak's dovetail.
|
BKBrown
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/09
Loc: Northern Virginia, USA
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Manny Myles]
#5498359 - 10/31/12 07:55 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
Hi Brian,
In my post asking where this was purchased from was so I could see if the bolt pattern was shown for the mount.
It is shown indirectly and yes I could work something up rather quickly but would need a profile of the face plate shape so the bracket would be as close as possible to the same as the mount.
m2
Kind of wondering if you might be thinking along those lines. Ed recommended 1/2" aluminum, but couldn't this be done with lighter gauge steel to beat flexure and maintain rigidity? It would also be easier to fabricate wouldn't it? I am liking this idea better and better...
Clear Skies,
Brian
|
BKBrown
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/09
Loc: Northern Virginia, USA
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: EFT]
#5498394 - 10/31/12 08:18 PM Attachment (17 downloads)
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
An L-shaped bracket could easily be added to the mount but it could add some flexure or instability with heavier loads (due to the bracket, not the mount). To avoid loosing any of the rigidity that is built into the mount, I would use at least the same 1/2" aluminum for the L-bracket as is used in the mount. The one pictured in the Porta II thread would be a capacity downgrade for the mount which would defeat some of its purpose. The tip-in ADM saddle works quite well, but for a smaller refractor I suppose and L-bracket would work fine. I'm not sure if I wouldn't rather attach my TMB130SS to the side saddle, but a L-bracket could be interesting if done right.
I totally understand where you are coming from Ed. You and I have discussed the T-Rex before (still looking for the electric drive motors!) and I plan to pick one up before too long. As far as mounting an OTA, I feel more comfortable with a conventional saddle vs a side saddle arrangement...might just be my quirk. But if Manny designed an aftermarket upgrade, I would certainly like to see it take advantage of the T-Rex load capacity. Personally, I would want to be able to use my C925, TEC 140, and SW100ED/WO66SD Zenithstar combo on board, and I often piggyback the WO on the TEC. I should think this would be less than optimal on the T-Rex in its normal configuration, I think I would find it awkward at any rate. With the L-bracket mod I would also want to use an ADM dual saddle or ADM Losmandy "D" style saddle on board...
Clear Skies,
Brian
Edited by BKBrown (10/31/12 08:20 PM)
|
EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products
Reged: 05/07/07
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: BKBrown]
#5498716 - 10/31/12 11:43 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
One nice thing about the aluminum is that I think it could probably be done without the bottom support that was used on the smaller mount if you didn't make it too long. There are also issues between aluminum and steel that could be troublesome.
I would not be very comfortable with something as wide as the C9.25 on the L-bracket. That think that would be pushing it. The TEC 140 might be OK and the smaller refractors would be fine. I have actually set the T-REX up with a C8 closest to the mount and a WO110FLT piggybacked on that (further from the mount) and felt that was OK. Probably more stable would be if you could mount the dovetail for the second scope on the side of the SCT though. I have also stacked a TMB130SS and a LUNT60PT side by side on the T-REX for solar use.
|
wrz0170
sage
Reged: 03/08/12
Loc: Bethlehem, Pa
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: Lane]
#5498923 - 11/01/12 05:18 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
My new T-Rex has been ordered. Should we start a club William?
Sweet! Definitely post when you get it. Did you get the standard base for the CGEM ?
|
BKBrown
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/09
Loc: Northern Virginia, USA
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: EFT]
#5499489 - 11/01/12 03:09 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
If push came to shove, I could forgo the C925 in favor of the refractors...I use them far more often.
Clear Skies,
Brian
|
Manny Myles
Postmaster
Reged: 11/29/05
Loc: Far South of the flyover city ...
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: EFT]
#5501452 - 11/02/12 07:41 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Thanks for them numbers Ed, seems like one of my Voyager brackets would bolt on, might look funny with the smaller face plate but would have to make a real one to fit like I'd prefer.
m2
|
Lane
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/19/07
Loc: Frisco, Texas
|
Re: New T-Rex
[Re: wrz0170]
#5503293 - 11/04/12 01:18 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
Quote:
My new T-Rex has been ordered. Should we start a club William?
Sweet! Definitely post when you get it. Did you get the standard base for the CGEM ?
I did indeed. I ordered the standard (CGEM type) tripod too, even though I have a CGEM tripod and the pier extension already. I did it because those tripods are hard to come by and if mine ever breaks it would be nice to have a backup. And the price was reasonable.
Should get it delivered before the middle of the month.
I emailed JMI about a train-n-track for this mount. They responded that it could definitely be done but they needed someone to send them a T-Rex mount. I am not willing to do that with such an expensive mount. I wish the guy building these would get with JMI and work that out. Those motors are super quiet and much nicer to use than manual slow-mo. I have them on my AT Voyager now and they work great.
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
