I save money for this beauty, and for the carbon tripod!
10Micron
Started by
MAURITS
, Feb 19 2011 05:30 PM
301 replies to this topic
#76
MAURITS
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topic starter
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Mercury-Atlas
Posted 12 March 2011 - 05:28 PM
Man I love this black mount a lot
I save money for this beauty, and for the carbon tripod!
I save money for this beauty, and for the carbon tripod!
#77
SPACEMAN
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Ranger 4
Posted 12 March 2011 - 06:20 PM
Hello,
i would not go for the Carbon Tripod if i where you..., Carbon is really stiff, and if it cracks, it crack and you equipment is on the floor..., what are you planning to put on the mount?
i would not go for the Carbon Tripod if i where you..., Carbon is really stiff, and if it cracks, it crack and you equipment is on the floor..., what are you planning to put on the mount?
#78
HowardK
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Surveyor 1
Posted 12 March 2011 - 07:10 PM
Hi
No backlash...thats just great....i got to have one of these mounts!!!!,
No backlash...thats just great....i got to have one of these mounts!!!!,
#79
HowardK
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Surveyor 1
Posted 12 March 2011 - 07:16 PM
Spaceman
There is no way i can see that a carbon tripod will split........what made you say that?
There is no way i can see that a carbon tripod will split........what made you say that?
#80
MAURITS
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topic starter
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Mercury-Atlas
Posted 13 March 2011 - 03:34 AM
Spaceman, I plan to buy a Tec APO 160 FL in the near feature!
The carbon centaurus tripod seems to be strong and very well made!
The carbon centaurus tripod seems to be strong and very well made!
#81
SPACEMAN
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Posted 01 May 2012 - 10:56 AM
Putting back an old post:
I will be ordering a 10 Micron 2000GM HPS with in a week!
I will be ordering a 10 Micron 2000GM HPS with in a week!
#82
HowardK
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Posted 01 May 2012 - 01:24 PM
Excellent news fr you
Please let us know how the mount works out...
I'm very sure it will be just fantastic
Please keep us posted with phts if possible
Please let us know how the mount works out...
I'm very sure it will be just fantastic
Please keep us posted with phts if possible
#83
zakky2k
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Lift Off
Posted 16 June 2012 - 07:08 AM
Hi All, any updates regarding the GM1000 HPS?
#84
jsteinberg48
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Vostok 1
Posted 17 June 2012 - 12:29 AM
Alpine Astro represents them in the U.S. They look nice but I have not used one.
#85
wz2
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Most Boring Astronomer...
Posted 17 June 2012 - 09:22 AM
Setup is very easy and fast.
I do not have the optional polar scope, because it is not needed. I use it's Polar Alignment routine. I choose the "3 Stars Alignment" routine and I get within 1 arcmin of the Pole, normally. With that, I can image for 5 min UNguideded at 980mm focal length (TEC140).
You can of course use as many stars (up to 25) as you want to refine the Polar Alignment. So, you can practically get a perfect polar alignment.
Moreover, the software will calculate the Orthogonality error between the main imaging scope and the guidescope, and correct for it.
By using the athmospheric pressure, temperature, and altitude, it will also correct for athmospheric refraction.
You can imagine what kind of guiding you can get with these mounts. (usually I have errors of 0.03-0.05 pixels with a 3 star alignment routine, so I don't even need to guide)
The keypad also has a T-Point like software in it. You can build a pointing model and save it internally.
Interesting, so it has software similar to T-Point. Does it have anything similar to Bisque's Pro-Track as well? Also, can you elaborate on the comment about correcting for atmospheric refraction.
Thanks! Chris
#86
Tonk
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Cosmos
Posted 17 February 2013 - 02:32 PM
My 10Micron 1000 HPS arrives on Tuesday from Ian King Imaging. I'll post back on my impressions once the observatory is finished in April.
Note that this mount does not have provision for a polar scope. I'm hoping that PA is as easy as the T-Point like routine provided by the Losmandy Gemini which I'ved used for 9 years with great success. IKI says its pretty much the same on the HPS.
Note that this mount does not have provision for a polar scope. I'm hoping that PA is as easy as the T-Point like routine provided by the Losmandy Gemini which I'ved used for 9 years with great success. IKI says its pretty much the same on the HPS.
#87
HowardK
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Posted 17 February 2013 - 06:23 PM
Congrats on the new mount
Do keep us posted
I am most interested in this.
Do keep us posted
I am most interested in this.
#88
David Pavlich
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Transmographied
Posted 17 February 2013 - 10:09 PM
Pretty cool, Tony! I saw one at the AIC a couple years ago. A work of mount art!! Can't wait to read your review.
David
David
#89
Per Frejvall
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In Memoriam
Posted 18 February 2013 - 10:32 AM
Got my GM1000HPS today as a compliment to the GM2000HPS that I already have. This is the future!
Mechanically, they're works of art and the accuracy is stunning. I have never guided my GM2000 and have taken one hour long subs with round stars. I expect the same from the GM1000HPS.
As for modeling the sky, I have written a model maker for 10Micron mounts and it works great. Note that the model is not kept in a PC in the 10Micron world; it is all in the mount controller. Thus, the mount is fully stand-alone when the model has been created (with the aid of a PC, MaximDL, Pinpoint and my ASCOM driver).
I have just thrown a site together with info on the model maker and some other stuff. You can also download the ASCOM driver and a command-line utility from there. http://astro.frejvall.se is the address.
I put an unboxing thread on SGL http://stargazerslou...00hps-unboxing/
Unfortunately, this forum doesn't lend itself to free linking to images from the internet so I cannot post the unboxing here
Full review coming up on SGL eventually. Right now the weather is promised to be cloudy for at least another ten days and I have to go on a trip to the US and Canade for ten days next Monday, so... It'll take a while.
/per
Mechanically, they're works of art and the accuracy is stunning. I have never guided my GM2000 and have taken one hour long subs with round stars. I expect the same from the GM1000HPS.
As for modeling the sky, I have written a model maker for 10Micron mounts and it works great. Note that the model is not kept in a PC in the 10Micron world; it is all in the mount controller. Thus, the mount is fully stand-alone when the model has been created (with the aid of a PC, MaximDL, Pinpoint and my ASCOM driver).
I have just thrown a site together with info on the model maker and some other stuff. You can also download the ASCOM driver and a command-line utility from there. http://astro.frejvall.se is the address.
I put an unboxing thread on SGL http://stargazerslou...00hps-unboxing/
Unfortunately, this forum doesn't lend itself to free linking to images from the internet so I cannot post the unboxing here
Full review coming up on SGL eventually. Right now the weather is promised to be cloudy for at least another ten days and I have to go on a trip to the US and Canade for ten days next Monday, so... It'll take a while.
/per
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#90
Tonk
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Cosmos
Posted 19 February 2013 - 07:36 PM
My GM 1000 HPS has arrived! God is it a work of art!! But its without the base adapter . When thats sorted out by IKI I can get it on its pier for some test runs.
I've run though the 84 page manual tonight and so far the HPS controller seems to operate in a very similar fashion to my Losmany Gemini controller - certainly when it comes to buildin pointing models and polar alignment. So I'm expecting to get familar quickly.
The hand set is wonderfully chunky (unlike the Losmandy hand set) and designed to be operated with thick gloved hands.
Even though its 10 Microns smallest mount in the HPS series - I wouldn't say its "portable" - not without a trolley. Losmandy's GM-8 mount on the other hand is portable. I'm going to keep the latter for a year so see how I get on with both mounts. I've got the HPS to go on a permanent pier that the trailer park I use is allowing me to place next to our trailer (its a posh managed site in the Yorkshire Dales so is relatively safe when it comes to leaving gear out under tarps. If I find I'm still needing to be mobile I keep the GM-8.
Can't say much more at present until the missing bit is acquired and the German plug on the 24V regulated PSU gets changed for a UK one!
This is what I am hoping. The specs say 1" error after 15-20 minutes. I really want to avoid autoguiding. Good to hear this is real for the higher spec 2000.
I think you might need to go to Astronomers Anonymous - sound like an addiction. I can't aford to get this addiction as I had to plead with wife that after 10 years of sterling service my GM-8 was old and creaky and needed up-grading. Actually I was going to get a PMX but at the Astrofest exhibition 10 days ago in London, I saw and fell in love with the GM 1000 - well it is Italian!
Per - I have your links book marked.
. When thats sorted out by IKI I can get it on its pier for some test runs. I've run though the 84 page manual tonight and so far the HPS controller seems to operate in a very similar fashion to my Losmany Gemini controller - certainly when it comes to buildin pointing models and polar alignment. So I'm expecting to get familar quickly.
The hand set is wonderfully chunky (unlike the Losmandy hand set) and designed to be operated with thick gloved hands.
Even though its 10 Microns smallest mount in the HPS series - I wouldn't say its "portable" - not without a trolley. Losmandy's GM-8 mount on the other hand is portable. I'm going to keep the latter for a year so see how I get on with both mounts. I've got the HPS to go on a permanent pier that the trailer park I use is allowing me to place next to our trailer (its a posh managed site in the Yorkshire Dales so is relatively safe when it comes to leaving gear out under tarps. If I find I'm still needing to be mobile I keep the GM-8.
Can't say much more at present until the missing bit is acquired and the German plug on the 24V regulated PSU gets changed for a UK one!
I have never guided my GM2000 and have taken one hour long subs with round stars. I expect the same from the GM1000HPS
This is what I am hoping. The specs say 1" error after 15-20 minutes. I really want to avoid autoguiding. Good to hear this is real for the higher spec 2000.
Got my GM1000HPS today as a compliment to the GM2000HPS that I already have.
I think you might need to go to Astronomers Anonymous - sound like an addiction. I can't aford to get this addiction as I had to plead with wife that after 10 years of sterling service my GM-8 was old and creaky and needed up-grading. Actually I was going to get a PMX but at the Astrofest exhibition 10 days ago in London, I saw and fell in love with the GM 1000 - well it is Italian!
Per - I have your links book marked.
#91
Per Frejvall
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In Memoriam
Posted 14 March 2013 - 01:45 AM
Short report...
Just like a sudden bolt of lightning the weather has changed from always cloudy to always clear, so I've had some time to get familiar with the 1000.
The only issue I have so far is guiding. Now, that's going to sound like music to the "opponents" of the 10Micron mounts, but I will immediately inform everyone that the mount guides to 0.05" RMS in both axis when using PHD Guiding. It is with MaximDL that the problem arises; it simply won't guide well.
It is probably a settings problem, but I can inform you that I have not yet ironed it out. I got it working once with 10s exposures, 2.5 in agressiveness and a guide factor of 0.25. As soon as CCD Autopilot turned off guiding for dither and the re-enabled it it lost it. And I mean completely.
So I reverted to just tracking directly in Maxim for some tests. Ra will hardly move during calibration despite different settings regarding auto declination, mount set to declination compensation or not, dual axis tracking and what not.
There has to be a way to tame Maxim but so far I have not found it. When I will, and I will, I'll post the results.
So what's the magic with PHD? I have used it extensively and only ever had to change the calibration pulse duration at times - that's all. I whish it was compatible with MaximDL and that the two could be used side by side and in concert.
Anyway, I have confirmed that the pulse-guiding support in my ASCOM driver is and always was OK. That's good.
As for AA, well, yes, that could be an option
Currently looking - but not buying (promise) cool scopes. It's a pity I do not like diffraction spikes
/per
Just like a sudden bolt of lightning the weather has changed from always cloudy to always clear, so I've had some time to get familiar with the 1000.
The only issue I have so far is guiding. Now, that's going to sound like music to the "opponents" of the 10Micron mounts, but I will immediately inform everyone that the mount guides to 0.05" RMS in both axis when using PHD Guiding. It is with MaximDL that the problem arises; it simply won't guide well.
It is probably a settings problem, but I can inform you that I have not yet ironed it out. I got it working once with 10s exposures, 2.5 in agressiveness and a guide factor of 0.25. As soon as CCD Autopilot turned off guiding for dither and the re-enabled it it lost it. And I mean completely.
So I reverted to just tracking directly in Maxim for some tests. Ra will hardly move during calibration despite different settings regarding auto declination, mount set to declination compensation or not, dual axis tracking and what not.
There has to be a way to tame Maxim but so far I have not found it. When I will, and I will, I'll post the results.
So what's the magic with PHD? I have used it extensively and only ever had to change the calibration pulse duration at times - that's all. I whish it was compatible with MaximDL and that the two could be used side by side and in concert.
Anyway, I have confirmed that the pulse-guiding support in my ASCOM driver is and always was OK. That's good.
As for AA, well, yes, that could be an option
Currently looking - but not buying (promise) cool scopes. It's a pity I do not like diffraction spikes
/per
#92
WadeH237
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Voyager 1
Posted 14 March 2013 - 02:34 AM
Poor guiding in Maxim is often a calibration issue. Did the Maxim calibration go smoothly (and produce an 'L' with a nice, 90 degree angle)?
Maxim calibrates by making one, relatively large movement on each axis, and sometimes gets confused about which star it's using for calibration. PHD use many shorter steps during calibration and seems to be a bit more robust.
-Wade
Maxim calibrates by making one, relatively large movement on each axis, and sometimes gets confused about which star it's using for calibration. PHD use many shorter steps during calibration and seems to be a bit more robust.
-Wade
#93
Per Frejvall
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In Memoriam
Posted 14 March 2013 - 12:30 PM
It's total chaos with Maxim. The general feeling is Windows 3.1 but that's just my feeling
Anyway, when Maxim sends a 10s pulseguide command the mount receives it and initiates movement. It does, however, not produce a 10 seconds worth of movement in the mount. When PHD send the exact same command the mount does it. I am now enabling a special trace mode in the firmware in order to log ALL traffic to the mount. I might find that Maxim sends soemthing else to the mount that inhibits the movement, perhaps becaus e of a frirmware bug in the mount or something.
First, however, I'm giving CCDSoft a chance to guide the scope. We'll see what comes out of that.
Now, guiding a 10Micron shouldn't really be necessary, but I have two reasons for this:
1. Confirm my ASCOM driver's pulse-guide functionality
2. Compare a guided image to an unguided
Point 1 is already confirmed. It works like a charm. The ASCOM driver I wrote actually bypasses the firmaware "is pulseguiding" detection and does it with timer instead as I found that to be more robust than screaming at the mount all the time.
Point 2 is a thought I've had recently. I get round stars from a 1-hour unguided exposure with my GM2000HPS, but can the stars be smaller? Not that they were large, but nonetheless, perhaps all unguided imaging, no matter if ASA or 10Micron, can be slightly improved with the aid of very mild guiding? We'll see what comes out of it
/per
Anyway, when Maxim sends a 10s pulseguide command the mount receives it and initiates movement. It does, however, not produce a 10 seconds worth of movement in the mount. When PHD send the exact same command the mount does it. I am now enabling a special trace mode in the firmware in order to log ALL traffic to the mount. I might find that Maxim sends soemthing else to the mount that inhibits the movement, perhaps becaus e of a frirmware bug in the mount or something.
First, however, I'm giving CCDSoft a chance to guide the scope. We'll see what comes out of that.
Now, guiding a 10Micron shouldn't really be necessary, but I have two reasons for this:
1. Confirm my ASCOM driver's pulse-guide functionality
2. Compare a guided image to an unguided
Point 1 is already confirmed. It works like a charm. The ASCOM driver I wrote actually bypasses the firmaware "is pulseguiding" detection and does it with timer instead as I found that to be more robust than screaming at the mount all the time.
Point 2 is a thought I've had recently. I get round stars from a 1-hour unguided exposure with my GM2000HPS, but can the stars be smaller? Not that they were large, but nonetheless, perhaps all unguided imaging, no matter if ASA or 10Micron, can be slightly improved with the aid of very mild guiding? We'll see what comes out of it
/per
#94
Tapio
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Voyager 1
Posted 28 March 2013 - 03:51 AM
Just got through this thread.
My 50th birthday is nearing and I'm considering how to please myself.
A new mount would be nice and so far my options are Mesu-Mount, Losmandy (G11), AP (Mach-1) and this 10Micron is the the dark horse in my list.
So would be nice to hear real experience (Tonk and Per ?).
My 50th birthday is nearing and I'm considering how to please myself.
A new mount would be nice and so far my options are Mesu-Mount, Losmandy (G11), AP (Mach-1) and this 10Micron is the the dark horse in my list.
So would be nice to hear real experience (Tonk and Per ?).
#95
Lagonda
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Explorer 1
Posted 04 April 2013 - 02:46 AM
We have GM 4000. I must say it is great looking mount, but...
Counterweight suppose to be stainless steel but we have a lot of rust on them. We payed software upgrade approx. 300 US dollars. The red light on the hand controller is gone.
After only 2-3 years of use.
Maybe it's "a bad piece" of production, but nevertheless. The mount is to expensive to have two, three problems like that. And we have to tell them to put park/unpark option somewhere "closer" in the menu because it was buried deep in the menu (it was not very easy to find it).
Counterweight suppose to be stainless steel but we have a lot of rust on them. We payed software upgrade approx. 300 US dollars. The red light on the hand controller is gone.
After only 2-3 years of use.
Maybe it's "a bad piece" of production, but nevertheless. The mount is to expensive to have two, three problems like that. And we have to tell them to put park/unpark option somewhere "closer" in the menu because it was buried deep in the menu (it was not very easy to find it).
#96
Per Frejvall
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In Memoriam
Posted 05 April 2013 - 03:40 PM
Well, I, for one, is very pleased with both my 10Micron mounts. I think the HPS versions are the ones to get, though, because of the absolute encoders. The QCI may be fine mounts mechanically but lack the encoders.
The longest sub I have gone for was a one hour at FL 1000mm. I ran six of them and lost one due to a gust and one due to clouds. A single sub crop can be seen at http://filer.frejvall.se/Hour.png
The GM2000 is now loaned to a friend and I have the GM1000 on the balcony pier. It's good too
/per
The longest sub I have gone for was a one hour at FL 1000mm. I ran six of them and lost one due to a gust and one due to clouds. A single sub crop can be seen at http://filer.frejvall.se/Hour.png
The GM2000 is now loaned to a friend and I have the GM1000 on the balcony pier. It's good too
/per
#97
Per Frejvall
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In Memoriam
Posted 05 April 2013 - 03:45 PM
Note: the one hour sub was, of course, unguided. I have never guided a 10Micron mount...
/per
/per
#98
Mike X.
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Viking 1
Posted 05 April 2013 - 05:03 PM
Fantastic mount , just saw it on the shop today 
#99
orlyandico
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Cosmos
Posted 06 April 2013 - 12:15 AM
Do these mounts have absolute encoders? and what is the tick count?
#100
Per Frejvall
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In Memoriam
Posted 06 April 2013 - 01:19 AM
The QCI ones do not have absolute encoder but the newer HPS series (High Precision and Speed) do. They are somewhere over 10 million ticks per rev.
In addition, they have retained the motor encoders present in the QCI series and use both in the control loops.
You can leave it pointing in any direction, power it off and come back a week later. It still knows where it's pointing after power on. No homing, no adjustments, no worries.
/per
In addition, they have retained the motor encoders present in the QCI series and use both in the control loops.
You can leave it pointing in any direction, power it off and come back a week later. It still knows where it's pointing after power on. No homing, no adjustments, no worries.
/per
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