Quote:
Originally Posted by Somnium
i will put my 1.5 cents worth to say that i have been extremely impressed with my Paramount MX. the integration the TSX, protrack and T-Point mean that the pointing accuracy is unbelievable. tracking is also fantastic, and from what i understand, the rough polar alignment routine is really quick and accurate.
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I use TSX a lot with my EQ6, I can imagine that any Paramount mount would really shine using it, being made for it and all!
Quote:
Originally Posted by codemonkey
The only one of those I've used is an EQ8 and I wouldn't recommend it to you . It's not bad per se, but it's not in the same league as the other mounts you've listed. Consider it a "big EQ6." Basically I think the EQ8 is a good choice if you're happy for that chinese build quality and need to support a bigger payload than the EQ6 will support, but don't want to spend much, or any more than the EQ8 costs.
If you need to support a big payload, the Mesu 200 might be worth a look. An interesting friction drive mount that could support "a motorbike with a sidecar" as I saw someone recently say.
I've given up on my EQ6 and will be ordering an Avalon Linear some time in the near future. I'd love a 10 Micron or an Astrophysics, but alas the budget won't stretch quite that far.
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Shiraz gets amazing results with his EQ8, not exactly the most portable of mounts however
I had heard of the Mesu 200 but I always assumed (hadn't ever looked it up) that is was a Takahashi mount, very interesting design, not one that I had heard of before. It doesn't look like there is anything of it but it appears like it could work well, guess I'll have to do a little digging.
I hadn't heard of the Avalon Linear but it looks pretty good, apparently has better PE than both AP and Bisque at 5-6", could be a winner!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bassnut
Well thats an interesting list.
I dont hear much about the EQ8, Lees comment is interesting...
ASA DDM, some reviews on the net are good, but I wouldnt trust them, some members here (and others) have horror stories on support and build quality generally.
Paramount MyT. That would be my pick. I have a PME, a trouble free work horse. As Aidan says, SB has been around for a long time and software integration is best of class.
10 micron is interesting, havent heard of them. On a bit of googling looks pretty good, do you want to be 1st test bunny in OZ?, your risk.
Yes, direct drive and output encoders are the ducks guts, itelescope has several CDK Ascension 200hrs and love them, but they are US$24k odd, a bit more than the others you mention.
Unless you want flawless remote non-guided imageing, direct drive and output encoders are a bit over the top IMO.
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With the ASA, most of the poorer reviews that I have read about them seem to be back from ~2012 when the mount was a lot newer. Unlike Bisque, I know their documentation is HORRIBLE or just non-existant where most of the information comes from the forums. They are releasing a new DDM 60 sometime within the next 2 months, it was announced later last year but there hasn't been any updates on that of late. If I was to go down the ASA path it would be after the release of the new one, see whether the current one falls in price
Many of the ASA Vs 10Micron threads that I have read most seem to say that 10Micron is better because its products have been around longer but I think ASA just had some teething issues in their early days (a few years ago). I must admit, I do like the idea of not having to worry about guide stars or high level thin cloud causing all kinds of guider tracking errors
