[Ian Robinson]

Yep .... it's a very good deal on the Atlux, too bad it comes with Starbook and not SS2000PC which from what I heard was a great system. Rumour has it the chap who was coding the SS2000PC at Vixen left the company.

I'll still procastinating (it's a lot of money !!!) but plan on biting the bullet in the next week or two , it might come down to coin flip Atlux or CGE.

I know of a 2nd hand SS2000PC that is for sale complete with goto drives (which I don't need but might fit my old CG5 , maybe).

How do you find the Vixen Atlux duralum tripod ? .... is it robust and good at rapidly dampening vibrations (caused by the breeze or little bumps (like changing eps)) ?

I am very impressed with the tracking precision for the Atlux in shown in the link .... thanks , that was interesting , bit worried about the Starbook bugs mentioned and the solidness of the Altux tripod.


BTW sources I've seen say :
capacity less cweight for a CGE is 42 pounds load (65 pounds incl cweight)
capacity less cweight for an Atlux is 45 pounds load (75 pounds incl cweight)(have Vixen beefed it up a tad maybe in the new version ???)
Not a big difference , but it might mean better tracking with the piggybacked guidescope or a camera with a fat telephoto.

Another question : relates to autoguiding the Atlux .... if I can get my hands onto a Orion TS autoguider or a secondhand Meade autoguider (on the cheap via Ebay maybe) will these work with an Atlux Starbook setup ?
Is autoguiding overkill if PEC will get me tracking precision better than 4 arc seconds ?

Will take a bit of getting used to not using setting circles ....

I have to visit a darker site for my astrophotography as I have a neighbour who keeps his outside back light on perpetually (one of those horrible compact fluorescent globes)and so my backyard is too brightly lit up , he refuses to turn the light off. (The local council wont do anything). From what I have read , moving a CGE around will build up my muscles ..... !!