Old TheSky TCS mount

[kho207bob]

Hi all,

I work at a university in Brisbane, and we've found an old motorised mount with TheSky TCS labelled on it in the shed. I suspect it is a predecessor model of Paramount mounts. Interestingly it still has an asset tag with US Government/NASA printed on it, but no one is too sure how we got our hands on it. We couldn't find any software for it, but it does still move and the RA rotates automatically (don't know if it is actually at sidereal rate, but I suspect so).

Now my question is, would this be the sort of thing anyone would be interested in inheriting, or does it sound like it should be going straight to the skip? We're at the end of year cleaning stage and if it's not worth donating then I'll dispose of it before Christmas.

[kho207bob]

Oops, forgot to post photos...

http://i61.tinypic.com/ic2vl1.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/98a843.jpg

[marc4darkskies]

That's a Paramount GT-1100S by the looks and looking a bit the worse for wear. It will be worth a few dollars - don't take it to the tip!

Cheers, Marcus

[frolinmod]

It's a Paramount GT-1100S mount that appears to have been "retrofitted" in some manner, possibly to an early revision MKS-4000 board set. If it works mechanically and electronically, is likely still worth about $6000. Even if the electronics are shot, if the mechanical parts still work, it's worth at least $4000-$5000.

I owned one of these for 10 years. It can shlep around a C14 with ease or a Meade 16 with a little less ease.

Oops, I see a problem. The original Losmandy D dovetail saddle appears to have been replaced with a steel plate that has no dovetail saddle at all. The original would have looked like the attached. The RA worm cover is also missing. That's a strange 48V power cord as well (easily replaced).

[bert]

Not mks4000... Pretty sure mks4000 has usb. It would be interesting to know if it has the stepper motors of the gt1100, or the servo motors of the later models.

[marc4darkskies]

The GT-1100 was at the back. I think you'll find the S variant has RA in the "proper" place (google images)

[frolinmod]

It could also be an MKS-3200 board. I think early revision MKS-4000 boards had a USB port under the same access panel as the fuses.

[kho207bob]

Thanks for all the replies folks. The strange 48V cable is a temporary one I built with spare parts floating around in my lab.

Now that I know it's not a good idea to throw away, can anyone suggest what to do with it? Is it worth listing in classified?

[frolinmod]

Does the mount successfully home after you quickly double tap on the joystick button? If it successfully homes, then after it finishes homing, can you then slew the mount around with the joystick? If there is no counterweight shaft included, note that it's different than the one included with the ME. Same size, but different threads if I recall correctly. I had some custom made from 416 stainless steel several years ago, but I sold 'em all off along with the mount itself.

[kho207bob]

Yes it homes (took ages to figure out the right timing of the double click) and joystick moves it in all four direction. So I assume the mechanical components still work.

[frolinmod]

The value just went up. :D

This may be a perfectly good observatory class mount for someone. It's way too heavy and sharp edged for field use, but well suited to an observatory.

Note that the current version of TheSkyX still supports this mount (unlike the older GT-1100 without the "S" suffix which is only supported by TheSky5 and TheSky6 which are now obsolete.)

With this mount in hand, you can obtain licenses for TheSkyX Professional, Camera Add On to TheSkyX and Tpoint Add On to TheSkyX for a US$300 transfer fee. Can't beat that deal!

[kho207bob]

Thanks frolinmod, I'll put up an entry in classified (now that I have 5 posts I should be able to!).

Being a public entity I'll donate or trade with something useful for us to a good home rather than selling it which will involve way too much paperwork.

[julianh72]

I'm in Brisbane - I'll be happy to pick it up and dispose of it for you.

(Nudge, nudge, wink, wink!)

I won't even charge you cartage, and I'll happily pay any dump fees as well!

;)

[kho207bob]

Thanks again for everyone's input. I've posted an entry in classified to try and trade this mount with something that may be of use to us.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=127784