Fork altenative to ME?

[rogerg]

OK, so I know this is just day-dreaming for now, but ..

Eventually I will have money to buy a new telescope, upgrade my aging 12" LX200. And I hope it'll be something like a 14" RCOS. But something I've always struggled with accepting is having to use a GEM like the Paramount ME. I prefer fork - no meridian flip, easier cable management, equally good balance.

So if one was to buy a premium OTA and they wanted to put it on a premium mount, but not a GEM, is there any option???

Roger.

[netwolf]

Mathis Instruments in the US. http://www.mathis-instruments.com/
The are famous for the MI-250 which is sold by Mountain Instruments.

They have a Fork version MI-500F, MI-750F, MI-1000F etc. They could possibly make a custom one for you. But these are not cheap.
Each one has a GEQ version and a Fork version. The F signifies fork. The MI-500F is about 12000USD.

But then you have to add a Goto system, on the MI-250 you can use the Gemini system. But for these larger mounts it looks like you get the Bisque goto system, I assume this is similar to the Paramount goto system. The BISQUE TCS electronics are 4400USD. The dont list a price for it but do mention you can also get the Astrophysics GTO system.

Regards
Fahim

[rogerg]

Ahh, of course. Nice mounts :thumbsup:

The price of the 250 isn't so extreme, with GoTo seems directly comparable to the ME (around that US$15,000 mark). Interesting.

Roger.

[renormalised]

Hey Roger, if you're going to be getting a 14" RCOS, you might as well go the whole hog and get it with the fork mount that they supply for the scopes.

[netwolf]

Roger, I think you mean the 500, the 250 as far as i know only comes in the GEQ model. I have not seen a fork version of the 250. But I guess its possible. Mountain instruments have licensed the 250 model from Mathis, and I have not seen a Fork version mentioned on there website. The 500 has a 180lb carying capacity which is close is 30lb more than the Paramount. You can also get the same control system as the Paramount for it. If you like fork arm mounts then you may also consider this one that is owned and reviewed by Dietmar a IIS memeber.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=44,461,0,0,1,0
But the downside to this is the Euro price tag.

There is also the Chronos mount sold by OPT in the US.
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=10305&kw=chronos&st=2
I have not seen any reviews of this mount, so unsure how well it actually performs.

But I think the Parmount maybe the best option, as its widely used for remote observatories. Which would imply that meridian flip is not much of a issue and also cable management is possible.

Regards
Fahim