Wondering if anyone is aware of a suitable, and available, AZ mount for a 10" f4.7 OTA. I'm preferably looking for something as light weight as possible and with slow motion control ability. I'm also not afraid to overload the mount by a few kilos, I've done that before on other mounts with no issues.
I have one and it carries weight well, will accept most standard 20mm shaft counterweights as well. A bit stiff when i got mine, some simple adjustments made it smooth. Also known as the SkyTee II i believe. Just buy the head unit, it will sit on any EQ5 type tripod. The Astroshop sells EQ5 tripods.
The Mercedes Benz of AZ push to mounts, with great capacity but more expensive. Has etched setting circles and there is an encoder system available as well. Price is for head only, you will need a tripod for it.
I'm looking for something similar to the TS AZ5. Does it accept manual slow motion control cables?
Well maybe if you can source SkyTee accessories. Mine came with just the dual knobs on each axis, but they are removable and have the standard cable attachment end.
Well maybe if you can source SkyTee accessories. Mine came with just the dual knobs on each axis, but they are removable and have the standard cable attachment end.
If they have standard cable attachment ends, then I'm guessing they should accept any generic standard slow motion control cables like the ones in the attached photo. Sorry for the many questions, but this was one thing I didn't find any information on when researching this mount.
Yes, a T-Rex would be ideal. However, one will need to be very patient waiting for a second hand one to come onto the market as these are no longer available new.
They are so good I doubt I will ever sell mine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MortonH
You'll need a serious tripod as well as a strong alt-az head for a 10" Newt. A T-Rex might be the way to go.
Sky-Tee - had one, sold it. Good for 2 scopes side-by-side e.g. 4" refractors, but a 250mm Newt will be pushing the friendship too far. Simple bush bearings with friction. No slow motions and clutches are effective but crude. No encoders so a push-to setup is not possible.
Discmount DM4/DM6 - A lot better than a SkyTee. The DM4 is inadequate for what you want but a DM6 will easily take a 130mm refractor, C11 or 250mm f/6 Newt just fine. And encoders are available. Side-by-side not possible, and no drives or manual slow motions. Huge oversize bush bearings with friction. Low-res encoders (6k steps) are a factory fitted option, not possible afterwards.
Losmandy AZ8 - as Glen suggested its the benchmark to compare the rest. It's a lot stiffer than a SkyTee, and it has axes that run very free in ball races plus worm drives (both axes) and superb clutches that do what they should. The downside is that if not properly adjusted the worms will be loose and chatter, or too stiff, so you'd better be reasonably mechanically aware and have a set of allen-keys handy. High resolution encoders (311,000 steps/rev) are available from Astro Devices.
AYO mounts - like the SkyTee, with encoders built in (factory fitted) which means you're stuck with low-res ones.
NOTE: With all of these mounts a lot depends on the tripod underneath.
With a SkyTee, the usual Skywatcher tripod is quite simply inadequate and you will need to step up to a surveyors tripod (head to Bunnings).
For the Dismount DM4/DM6 or AYO the tripod is up to you; importing one from DiscMounts is costly; alternatives are a Berlebach Planet or GeOptik Hercules, either will cost well north of $1k.
For the AZ8 Losmandy can supply their LW tripod, its a pretty good one and a bargain.
However.. a Wild-Heerbrugge military theodolite tripod is both stiffer than all the above, and taller (1.8m) which is useful if you have a refractor. look for these on eBay, they do come up occasionally.
FWIW I currently have an AZ8 on a Wild-Heerbrugge tripod and am adding the encoders and a Nexus II (for a push-to setup) and considering motorising it.
I would agree with Wavy that the standard tripod that comes with the SkyTee II, aka AZ5, if ordered as a package, is inadequate for your purposes. If you just purchase the head unit, which you can from Teleskop-Express, you can then sit it on your choice of tripods. I use an EQ5 tripod that i picked up from the Astroshop and it works fine with my APO and Edge HD 8 ( not at the same time). I tend to use my Orion Astro binos on the opposite side from the scope, and that makes a great finder scope. The weight maybe an issue with your newt, do you know how much it weighs, it is maybe more than 13kg. The AZ5 also benefits from a tear down, clean and regrease with SynLube, this makes the teflon bearings run much smoother without binding.
Another point to consider with newts is focuser position. Extensions favoured for refractors are not required for newts obviously, unless your trying to improve leg clearance.
BTW most any slo-motion control cables can be used on the AZ5, it has a 6mm shaft These would do:
I'm seriously considering the Skytee, it might not be the sturdiest mount available, but I want something light weight and don't want to spend too much on a mount for a relatively cheap 10" ota. I've found examples of other astronomers mounting a 10" on a Skytee with no serious problems.
Also I'm thinking of putting it on a wooden tripod. Just wondering if it will need counterweights and how accessible the slow motion controls are?
I have skytee2 and had to replace the saddles with ADM ones as the ones that came with were loose even after tigtenng them. I bought at low price with the knowledge it had issues as it was imported used From uK and had some damage that caused play in alt movement as well as a bend on the az worm this was ok as the other side of the az worm was fine and could be turne from there.
If you follow the uk and us forums you will see common theme of people needing to replace saddles etc. if you got a good mount new and made the upgrades it's a very capable mount. One other point there is no easy way to mount encoders to use a DSC, you'd need a custom encoder mount.
I would suggest th AZ8 is far far better mount. There is skytee2 with some mods for sale on eBay in Perth it's been there for a while, may not be there now. Note skywatcher and there local distributors were of no help in getting parts for this as they dont sell it in Aus.
I'd say it would be under-mounted. Its doable but I'm not sure its a good idea and it will need (1) a very solid tripod and (2) counterweight or a second scope, or it will fall over sideways.
