58 replies to this topic

[bobhen]

You are asking for a secondary mount that is more portable than an AP 800. I think that is a somewhat of big ask for a 6" F12 refractor. Even an alt/az mount and the tripod would have to be rather robust with the long tube of a 6" F12 refractor.

 

You might want to take a look at the alt/az mounts from aokSwiss, like the robust AYOmaster II with a load capacity of 25-30kg or possibly the less robust AYOdigi II. HERE is a link.

 

The photo is from their website and shows a long focal length refractor on one of their alt/az mounts.

 

Bob

 

 

 

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[Richard Low]

You are asking for a secondary mount that is more portable than an AP 800. I think that is a somewhat of big ask for a 6" F12 refractor. Even an alt/az mount and the tripod would have to be rather robust with the long tube of a 6" F12 refractor.

 

You might want to take a look at the alt/az mounts from aokSwiss, like the robust AYOmaster II with a load capacity of 25-30kg or possibly the less robust AYOdigi II. HERE is a link.

 

The photo is from their website and shows a long focal length refractor on one of their alt/az mounts.

 

Bob

 

Thank you Bob. I had been looking for a tracking mount that I had almost forgotten about AYOmaster II, which can take payload of 25kg on 1 side without counterweight, and more importantly, it is recommended for OTA up to 2000mm long. Thank you.

[photoracer18]

There are some classic mounts that would handle it like any Schaefer from the AT-8 to the AT-12 and they can be found mostly on the West Coast. I used to have a fully restored AT-9 which had a payload of around 75 kg but I sold it on a request to Mark in FL once I acquired my AP900QMD. Unfortunately A-P only sold the AP900QMD and the similar older AP900HDA for a few years prior to the year 2000 before the re-engineered GTO go-to versions came out. Another mount would be the old Celestron CI-700. I used to have one that carried my Meade 152 ED/APO F9 and 2 other 4-4.5" APOs to star parties in the Wash. DC area during the time I worked for Gary at Hands ON Optics.

One other mount I have in storage started life as a Meade DS-16 carrying one of their 16" Newts. But Barry Griner of D&G commissioned someone to rebuild it to carry a Jaegers 6" F15 he built for a customer. It was originally on a trailer. It has a Byers 11.3" Starmaster RA drive powered by a large stepper and controlled with a Byers controller in which they grafted the DS-16's original Meade tangent arm DEC drive into the electronics. Technically Mark in FL has first dibs on it but that request happened at least 8 years ago so I don't know if he still wants it. Also I have not seen the wood crate with the controller and cables in a while. It currently resides in a big shed  at my astro location on a farm near me. Also had a Meade Magellan I kit for the mount to add push-to encoders and gearing to it. Should be in the same crate. I can also convert the mount to an original AC drive unit using another Byers Starmaster RA drive I have. I sometimes repair old AC drive correctors and I have several working ones in my collection. This is in case I can't find the original electronics but it should be in the same shed. But like CHASLX200 I don't do crating but I used to know people who did. Here are some photos I took years ago where it is stored.

[Richard Low]

There are some classic mounts that would handle it like any Schaefer from the AT-8 to the AT-12 and they can be found mostly on the West Coast. I used to have a fully restored AT-9 which had a payload of around 75 kg but I sold it on a request to Mark in FL once I acquired my AP900QMD. Unfortunately A-P only sold the AP900QMD and the similar older AP900HDA for a few years prior to the year 2000 before the re-engineered GTO go-to versions came out. Another mount would be the old Celestron CI-700. I used to have one that carried my Meade 152 ED/APO F9 and 2 other 4-4.5" APOs to star parties in the Wash. DC area during the time I worked for Gary at Hands ON Optics.

One other mount I have in storage started life as a Meade DS-16 carrying one of their 16" Newts. But Barry Griner of D&G commissioned someone to rebuild it to carry a Jaegers 6" F15 he built for a customer. It was originally on a trailer. It has a Byers 11.3" Starmaster RA drive powered by a large stepper and controlled with a Byers controller in which they grafted the DS-16's original Meade tangent arm DEC drive into the electronics. Technically Mark in FL has first dibs on it but that request happened at least 8 years ago so I don't know if he still wants it. Also I have not seen the wood crate with the controller and cables in a while. It currently resides in a big shed  at my astro location on a farm near me. Also had a Meade Magellan I kit for the mount to add push-to encoders and gearing to it. Should be in the same crate. I can also convert the mount to an original AC drive unit using another Byers Starmaster RA drive I have. I sometimes repair old AC drive correctors and I have several working ones in my collection. This is in case I can't find the original electronics but it should be in the same shed. But like CHASLX200 I don't do crating but I used to know people who did. Here are some photos I took years ago where it is stored. DS16B.jpg DS16C.jpg

 

Thank you for your feedback. Those are really impressive mounts you mentioned. For my AP 6" f/12, I think the GEM that work best would be AP800 or AP900. I like it that the AP folks are reliable and agreed to repair and service a >30yo AP800 for me. However the AP800 seller has become non-responsive for now, so I may have to consider other options moving forward. 

[Richard Low]

The AP 6" f/12 OTA does not have any AP identifier mark or label. Personally I prefer not to have the AP scope being incognito, as per the current trend. I requested to buy AP decal from the AP folks but that was not available for Super Planetary 6" f/12 and others in this series. Does anyone have spare AP decals ?

Edited by Richard Low, 17 May 2025 - 09:16 AM.

[starman876]

The AP 6" f/12 OTA does not have any AP identifier mark or label. Personally I prefer not to have the AP scope being incognito, as per the current trend. I requested to buy AP decal from the AP folks but that was not available for Super Planetary 6" f/12 and others in this series. Does anyone have spare AP decals ?

did you ask for just a label with Astro Physics on it?

[ccwemyss]

Their decals don't say Astro-Physics. They just say the model, like STARFIRE 110 GTX.

 

If you want it to say Astro-Physics, you need to do what I did with my 6"f9: buy one of their newer focusers and get a machinist to make an adapter to mount it on the tube.

 

If you want a decal to say 6-inch Superplanetary, then you'll need to have something custom printed. 

 

Chip W.

[Richard Low]

did you ask for just a label with Astro Physics on it?

Yes i asked to buy Astro-Physics decal. Reply was "We do not have any decals for the 6” f/12 scope." So it looks like i will need to custom make some decals. It isn't like TV or Tak where I received extra decals

[Richard Low]

Their decals don't say Astro-Physics. They just say the model, like STARFIRE 110 GTX.

 

If you want it to say Astro-Physics, you need to do what I did with my 6"f9: buy one of their newer focusers and get a machinist to make an adapter to mount it on the tube.

 

If you want a decal to say 6-inch Superplanetary, then you'll need to have something custom printed. 

 

Chip W.

 

Thanks Chip. Yes I've read that some replaced to the AP focuser. I will try out the original focuser first and decide later if I want to replace it. Any replacement focuser will need a special adapter to be bolted onto the 7 inch OD of the OTA tube.