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Jesus Munoz
sage
Reged: 03/09/07
Loc: Querétaro, México
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AP900 upgrade question
#5604839 - 01/04/13 01:44 PM
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Hi,
I'm planning to buy an AP900 QMD. Is it possible to upgrade from QMD to GTO?
Thanks
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gillmj24
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/06/05
Loc: PA
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: Jesus Munoz]
#5604938 - 01/04/13 02:39 PM
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No.
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mgwhittle
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/24/11
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: gillmj24]
#5605031 - 01/04/13 03:29 PM
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If you go to the AP website there is a page in there (can't find it right now....but I've seen it recently) that explains why it is not an upgrade option. IIRC it is because of a change in the drive motors and the QMD cannot be retrofitted to the new servo motors without machining work that would make it cost more than just buying a new GTO.
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Jesus Munoz
sage
Reged: 03/09/07
Loc: Querétaro, México
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: mgwhittle]
#5605065 - 01/04/13 03:50 PM
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Bad news. I'll check the Astro-physics page. Thanks!
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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/10/09
Loc: Singapore
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: Jesus Munoz]
#5605924 - 01/05/13 01:51 AM
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you can do a GoTo conversion with the Boxdoerfer, FS2, Littlefoot, or SiTech systems.
here is my AP600QMD conversion
http://orlygoingthirty.blogspot.sg/2012/08/astro-physics-600e-qmd-go-to-conve...
i was planning to buy a 900QMD (they go below $4K) and convert it to GoTo as well... but the thing is the old QMD mounts don't have the quality of the new GTO mounts. My QMD has quite a bit of declination stiction which makes guiding not trouble-free.
also for comparison.. my AP600E QMD has a periodic error of around 11" peak-to-peak, and according to some folks on the AP-UG yahoo group, some old AP900 QMDs had PE in the 30" range, albeit smooth.
by comparison, the Mach1 I ended up getting has 2.5" of periodic error. And that's before periodic error correction.
so the new GTO mounts are really much more than just a GoTo version of the QMD mounts. They have numerous mechanical improvements that aren't immediately obvious.
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Tom and Beth
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/08/07
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: Jesus Munoz]
#5605938 - 01/05/13 02:10 AM
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Quote:
Bad news. I'll check the Astro-physics page. Thanks!
If you're a visual observer, these QMDs are a solid mount that can be picked up for less than half the GOTO versions sell for. My 1200 is about 20 years old, yet any tech help is a phone call away.
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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/10/09
Loc: Singapore
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: Tom and Beth]
#5606082 - 01/05/13 07:32 AM
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That's a very good point. For visual the QMD mounts are great and you won't notice any declination guiding issues.
Further - I realized that if visual is all you want, converting to GoTo is not the best option. It would be better to just buy an Argo Navis for the mount. I did try a JMI computer, and didn't like the experience. But Argo Navis is the best. And in retrospect, I should have gone for it.
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Jesus Munoz
sage
Reged: 03/09/07
Loc: Querétaro, México
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: orlyandico]
#5607291 - 01/05/13 08:58 PM
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Thanks for your answers Orlyandico, Tom and Beth. I'm an astrophotographer now using a Takahashi EM-200 Temma 2 and a Tak FS-102 (excellent setup BTW), but I want more payload capacity because I'm planning to experiment taking nightsky images with an Orion XT-10. Very interesting point about the periodic error orlyandico.
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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/10/09
Loc: Singapore
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Re: AP900 upgrade question
[Re: Jesus Munoz]
#5607549 - 01/05/13 11:38 PM
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in my experience.. knowing you already have an EM200 and based ony my AP600E QMD.. you should probably go for an NJP/JPZ. or an AP900GTO. There is one for $6K on the mart right now! (but it is a GTO CP1, not the current CP3 - I don't think that should be an issue)
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