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Old 22-06-2013, 12:47 AM
DJT (David)
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Now I get the whole mount thing

Have spent tonight breaking an AP 900 in, polar aligned in the obsy, applying PEM, not that it needed much, etc. Bit of a jump from the HEQ5.never quite realised exactly how much of a jump till I started messing around with unguided subs

Attached is a 15 minute unguided exposure..

They really are rather good these mounts..
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (900 sec zuben star test iso 100 ap900.JPG)
96.3 KB208 views

Last edited by DJT; 22-06-2013 at 05:10 AM.
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  #2  
Old 22-06-2013, 12:42 PM
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jjjnettie (Jeanette)
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Good to hear.
I'm looking forward to my upgrade as well.
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Old 22-06-2013, 02:54 PM
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Marke (Mark)
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Congratulations dont you just love how precise and fuss free an AP mount is
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Old 22-06-2013, 09:38 PM
DJT (David)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marke View Post
Congratulations dont you just love how precise and fuss free an AP mount is
..this is straight out of the box, after a few pre me detours.. Grin like a big Cheshire Cat.
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Old 23-06-2013, 01:21 AM
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strongmanmike (Michael)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DJT View Post
..this is straight out of the box, after a few pre me detours.. Grin like a big Cheshire Cat.
Great news! Seeing a guide star hardly move when going unguided can be highly arousing huh?

Mike
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Old 23-06-2013, 08:00 AM
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Congratulations on the new mount David. They are a solid mount, and the on-line support from AP themselves (via the GTO forum) is excellent.

What focal length was your 15 minute exposure taken at?

Chris
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Old 23-06-2013, 08:04 AM
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Larryp (Laurie)
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I love AP mounts, and wish I could afford another one. Years ago, I had a 400 series mount, and could regularly do 10 minute unguided exposures with it.
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Old 23-06-2013, 08:55 AM
DJT (David)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisM View Post
Congratulations on the new mount David. They are a solid mount, and the on-line support from AP themselves (via the GTO forum) is excellent.

What focal length was your 15 minute exposure taken at?

Chris
Cheers Chris
FL was 900 so no big deal, I also got to 20 mins with just a bit of elongation coming in.

I find the forum is indeed excellent. AP people are all over it. Very impressed.
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Old 23-06-2013, 09:07 AM
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Marke (Mark)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DJT View Post

I find the forum is indeed excellent. AP people are all over it. Very impressed.
Support is absolutely second to none but you will most likely never have a problem they are
bullet proof which is why I often scratch my head over the popularity of more expensive competitor If the dollar doesn't dive to much I would like to get a AP 1100 as a second mount.
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  #10  
Old 25-06-2013, 06:00 AM
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Geoff45 (Geoff)
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Nothing beats an AP mount.
Geoff
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Old 25-06-2013, 06:58 PM
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Peter Ward
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Yep.

I seem to recall that my asbestos suit got a serious workout for suggesting that an (albeit expensive) precision mount makes a serious difference ....

That said, AP make, well, probably the highest quality astronomy-hardware bar none.

Enjoy!
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Old 29-06-2013, 10:10 AM
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Impressive.

AP are definitely at the top of the ladder. Roland Christen is a genius.

Greg.
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Old 29-06-2013, 10:33 AM
DJT (David)
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Indeed. Only 9 years and 49 weeks till the starfire arrives...

Sadly the mount is not being used due to inclement weather. I have written a formal letter of complaint to the skywatcher people ( or is it Synta? ) objecting to the rain dance gadget they clearly installed with the EQ8 encoders when they were shipped.
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Old 30-06-2013, 04:33 PM
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Logieberra (Logan)
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I was torn between the AP Mach1GTO, 900GTO and MX at my time of purchase.

The retirement of the 900GTO line put me off (now replaced by 1100GTO) and the portable Mach1GTO (arguably THE mount in its weight class - thanks for the tour Mark she's a gem) unfortunately felt more like my earlier, black Losmandy G11 than a major observatory mount upgrade, so I opted for the MX.

I'm not a fan of serial connections and ASCOM. SB run with USB these days and we'll see full WIFI control of the MX and ME2 in the near future. The tech and software side of things does appeal to me.

Something to consider when comparing AP and SB mounts: their design origin. The AP900/1200 is the design of Mr Rob Miller and has been around for many, many years (exact date unknown, though it looks like AP were selling the 900-style mount in June 1996 so approx. 17-20 years ago? http://www.astro-physics.com/index.h...ducts/products). The MX has been around for what, approx. 3 years this August?

Do a bit of digging and you'll discover that Mr Miller teamed up with SB on the MX (oh, and on ME which seems to work OK.) From a review of Mr Miller's line of tripods:

http://www.astromart.com/articles/ar...article_id=824
Rob Miller isn't someone who dropped in new with no prior experience. He had a significant hand in the design and build of the Astro-Physics AP1200 and then the AP900. He also had a lot to do with the Bisque Paramount. His name is whispered legend for some of us old-timers. After all, to be associated with these two legendary companies and their highly sought after mounts is nothing short of remarkable.

Can't go wrong with either company, IMHO

Last edited by Logieberra; 30-06-2013 at 05:19 PM.
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Old 30-06-2013, 10:13 PM
DJT (David)
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Hi Logan

With you on the MX and ME thing. I have never used them but the images that people put up using them are superb.

The thing is though, I discounted those beautiful red machines really early on because I personally felt that with the AP, it would be a sure thing that it would work out of the box, and being a ludite, I wouldnt be getting stressed out with the software aspects. Horses for courses in this case. You are right though..they are both excellent in their own right.

I like to be physically engaged with the imaging process. I love being in the shob, watching the subs drop in. So the AP works well for me (at least I hope it does..pending clear skies..) how long that will last for I dont know, but I put a lot of effort into building the shob and I want to spend time in it, tinkering.

Last edited by DJT; 30-06-2013 at 10:22 PM. Reason: crap grammer..
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Old 02-07-2013, 12:11 AM
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Logieberra (Logan)
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Either way, with the info I supplied above - we're all from the same family
Hi cousin
No doubt, your AP3600GTO is big daddy!
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Old 02-07-2013, 02:07 PM
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I'm not aware of Rob Miller claiming to have designed the Paramount MX.

He does claim to have designed the Paramount ME.
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