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I'd go PMX.
I have both PME and PMX mounts and have now spent a bit of time with the PMX. Its a beauty.
I looked at AP900 versus PMX and I decided that the real contest was more PMX and AP1200. AP1200 has a bit more weight capacity, is more expensive, does not come with any software and requires extra software to get the best out of it (not sure if it comes with Pempro but it would need it).
PMX is relatively light weight, ultra modern and totally up to date, can do a rapid quick polar align (AP900 and 1200 probably can do that too),
comes with a lot of software that is worth close to $1000, is very sophisticated and can work very simply or can actually do robotic remote
control like PME can. Oh and it has a really well written and comprehensive manual which is easy to read and apply and is consise and complete. Compare that with a Tak manual (its 2 pages and has one datum in it of use!!).
I would not call it tricky really. But say compared to a Tak NJP yes I suppose it is as it is 2/3rds hardware and 1/3rd software really. But it can be made to be super accurate, low PE, incredible go-to accuracy.
I have never used an AP mount but have an AP scope. Anything Roland Christen produces would be fantastic. He is a perfectionist and has incredibly high standards.
But PMX is very modern and has all the bells and whistles and can go easily from a quick portable setup to sophisticated really accurate permanent setup.
Either would be a dream mount but PMX is better bang for your buck - do the maths on the costs and you'll see the PMX is better value.
PMX has the home feature which is invaluable. That means when homed it goes to a known position so it knows where it is. That means you can have it all aligned and ready to go, then rebalance and shift things around then rehome and it will go-to perfectly straight away. That feature alone is worth getting a PME or PMX it is extremely useful.
It has a very nice joystick unit which is wonderful to use for framing your image. I got round stars every time with relatively little setup (mine is not fully tweaked yet). It works all the time. It is perhaps a tad fussier as it has an onboard USB hub (which you don't have to use but is handy for plugging in filter wheel and guider). If say a power lead pulls out of the filter wheel from that supply point and you are using the USB hub then ihe mount will lose connection also. You then need to reconnect and once or twice that meant rebooting the computer as USB hub problems tend to stick and only repowering seems to reset them.
I'd not hesitate in recommending the PMX. It is rated up to a 14 inch Cassegrain in capacity. That's a lot of future upgrades. I think a 14 inch Cassegrain would be too much for an AP900. AP900 is similar to Tak NJP and that would max around 12 inch. Owners of the mount may know better there. I am sure though Roland Christen would recommend an AP1200 for a 14 inch Cassegrain.
The PMX has a few cool features as well. It is very quiet, very fast slews that are totally accurate, it has a little red light that lights up the Polar Alignment controls so you can see them to adjust them, it has a pleasant little whistle sound when it powers up and a very quiet little musical sound in the background when operating (not like the fax machine chatter of a PME).
The 3 way switch for engaging the gears is also a nice feature.
You get The Sky X pro, T-Point addon, camera add-ons to run with CCDsoft, CCDsoft full version, and PE software. That's a lot of software and is worth around $1000.
I'd give mine a 9 out of 10 with a 1 point deduction for a poorly set spring setting for the gears that I need to adjust yet. Otherwise if the scope is badly misbalanced the gears will slip and the scope will swing around ( 1 clock on the head so far and a near miss on another time).
Still there is a simple adjustment I can do myself which I will do before next using it. I was sent a PDF with detailed instructions on how to do the adjustment. Its not the end of the world.
Greg.
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