Anyone heard of PMX shipments yet?

[pmrid (Peter)]

Originally Posted by rat156

Well according to Craig Weatherwax from OPT I'm now #1 in the queue. I paid today with the $A at 1.09, all except for the shipping.

Now the wait...

Cheers
Stuart

Well, I'm puzzled. I paid in full back in March in a SG/NG special deal courtesy of Mr. Weatherwax and have been repeatedly addvised by OPT that I am in position #5. Good luck tp you for being accelerated up the queue, but it rather begs the question what the advantage was of paying for this mount over 5 months ago.
Peter.

[gregbradley]

I simply placed an order with OPT with no money down as was advertised on their site.

I haven't heard anything back about when. I was told first shipment but I doubt that will happen.

I am in no rush so if its Christmas time when it ships that is fine with me.

Greg.

[rat156]

Originally Posted by pmrid

Well, I'm puzzled. I paid in full back in March in a SG/NG special deal courtesy of Mr. Weatherwax and have been repeatedly addvised by OPT that I am in position #5. Good luck tp you for being accelerated up the queue, but it rather begs the question what the advantage was of paying for this mount over 5 months ago.
Peter.

I can't speak for Craig, but I also ordered ages ago, pretty much as soon as it was announced. I paid later as they didn't require payment up front. According to the email I got from Craig, they shipped their first five units last week or so.

Cheers
Stuart

[cventer]

Anyone notice the price has gone up ? MX is now $9000

What interested me more was this text now at the bottom

"To receive a mount from the initial production run (and while supplies last) you can purchase the Paramount MX Robotic Telescope Mount $4,000.00 Deposit, or, optionally, if you wish to deposit the entire purchase price for the Paramount MX, please order the Paramount MX Robotic Telescope Mount $9,000.00 product instead. Many have requested the "full deposit option" since international exchange rates make this advantageous."

Seems to imply they have not filled the first production quota with orders yet.

I also ordered one of Rob Miller's tripods for mine in matching paramount colors.

[Mighty_oz (Marcus)]

Well if they haven't sold all those first ed mounts then Where's mine ! Or in fact yours or yours ?????
I've already paid for mine and had nothing back so far
Hmm bad news i think, i just looked at the Soft Bisque MX page and it used to say "now shipping" Except that has now gone !
Nor have i seen or heard of anyone else getting theirs yet except that first one !
It all sounds a little fishy to me unless No-One in the USA or Cananda ordered one and that can't be possible.
Anyone in Oz got a tracking number yet to see if it's actually left ?

Marcus

[pmrid (Peter)]

I think OPT are doing their best to keep the pressure on SB. I had this email from Craig yesterday:

"Since you areone of the first 5 I would imagine they will ship your mount to us within thenext 5-7 days ( I will try to have them ship the first one to us, so we can defer any additional shipping time)....with 3 days transit it should be here within 10 days. I appreciate your patience in this matter. I think it is admirable that that Bisque wants to get it right as opposed to right now!

Quote Bisque:

“ We are trying our best to get 2 out a day with all of the extensive testing that we are doing it has taken us a little more time then we predicted. Now that we are shipping I was going to try to start shipping one MX per dayfor Oceanside for the first five.”

I must say that sound as though shipping has commenced or is within a day or two of commencing.

Peter

[Mighty_oz (Marcus)]

Well considering that they announced that on July 15th they had shipped #1 out the door , i think that almost a month later for #2 to go out is a bit slow
Maybe as is posted on their forums a bit of feedback to the customer would be in order lol.
Anyways glad to hear that your mount will be shipped soonish. Eagerly await your posts and pics on it when u get it.

Marcus.

[pluck]

Slightly off-topic, but of possible interest to anyone following this thread currently considering a mount in this class, I draw your attention to Astro-Physics who are advertising immediate availability of Mach1 GTO mounts from their latest production run. As someone who has worked with and owns a Paramount ME, I must say that the Mach1 has outstanding performance.

They are also almost $3000 less expensive.

Paul

Originally Posted by cventer

Anyone notice the price has gone up ? MX is now $9000

What interested me more was this text now at the bottom

"To receive a mount from the initial production run (and while supplies last) you can purchase the Paramount MX Robotic Telescope Mount $4,000.00 Deposit, or, optionally, if you wish to deposit the entire purchase price for the Paramount MX, please order the Paramount MX Robotic Telescope Mount $9,000.00 product instead. Many have requested the "full deposit option" since international exchange rates make this advantageous."

Seems to imply they have not filled the first production quota with orders yet.

I also ordered one of Rob Miller's tripods for mine in matching paramount colors.

[pmrid (Peter)]

Originally Posted by pluck

As someone who has worked with and owns a Paramount ME, I must say that the Mach1 has outstanding performance.

They are also almost $3000 less expensive.

Paul

They're a lovely mount alright - but their capacity is less than half of the PMX. According to AP, it can carry approximately 45 lb. (20 kg) scope and accessories compared with 45Kgs for the PMX. I think that makes it worth the $3K gap.
Peter

[cventer]

Paul you might be misleading people believing these are the same class of mount.

the MX is more like an AP900 than a Mach 1 GTO

MX has 40 kg payload vs 20.5 stated for Mach 1.

No doubt its a fine instrument but probbaly more like a VERY upmarket G-11 than alternative to MX.

Bearing in mind this opinion is comming from someone who has seen neither mount though and just going of internet specs.

Originally Posted by pluck

Slightly off-topic, but of possible interest to anyone following this thread currently considering a mount in this class, I draw your attention to Astro-Physics who are advertising immediate availability of Mach1 GTO mounts from their latest production run. As someone who has worked with and owns a Paramount ME, I must say that the Mach1 has outstanding performance.

They are also almost $3000 less expensive.

Paul

[gregbradley]

I think an AP1200 is more the competitor for the PMX.

They both have great advantages. But if the PMX is half as good as the PME then I think it would be better than the AP1200. Basically more sophisticated integration with software. The image past the meridian feature of the AP1200 was most appealling to me. But the PMX does 2 hours past the meridian which is better than what the PME does (or at least I think so).

The PMX is considerably cheaper than the AP1200. In fact that is the most obvious thing about the PMX. It represents incredible value and bang for your buck. All its competitors are way more expensive and then they throw in a bunch of expensive software.

I think the AP900 is probably a bit lesser in most respects to the PMX and the AP1200 probably higher in payload.The AP1200 is about $10,000 but then that does not include a dovetail or counterweights. These are expensive. Nor does it include expensive software like the SkyX, T-Point, Precision PE etc. So PMX probably fits in between AP900 and AP1200 with neither being an exact competitor.

Lets face it either PMX or AP would be awesome. AP MAch 1 though is light weight in load capability and in a different class and really can't be compared for this reason.

You could probably run a 14 inch scope easily with the PMX perhaps even a Planewave CDK17. Yet to be seen in practice though. AP1200 should handle a CDK17 easily.

Greg.

[pluck]

Originally Posted by cventer

Paul you might be misleading people believing these are the same class of mount.

the MX is more like an AP900 than a Mach 1 GTO

MX has 40 kg payload vs 20.5 stated for Mach 1.

No doubt its a fine instrument but probbaly more like a VERY upmarket G-11 than alternative to MX.

Bearing in mind this opinion is comming from someone who has seen neither mount though and just going of internet specs.

I disagree. My view on suitability is from the angle that many who are following this thread are entertaining the thought of a high end mount for sub-130 mm class refractors. I own and use both a both a Paramount ME and and AP Mach1, and can attest with some confidence the suitability of the Mach1 for the vast majority of current an popular refractors and a fairly large sample of small astrographs. I would clearly not mount a CDK 17 on a Mach1, but I equally would probably not mount one on a Paramount MX either. (Truth is that if you can afford a CDK 17, you buy a Paramount ME or equivalent to go with it)

Just to clarify my original post - those contemplating the PMX as a portable mount for their 120mm refractor should know that there are very suitable alternatives, particularly if delivery schedule and price is an important consideration.

PS - I actually think it's more misleading to suggest that a MX could "run a 14 inch scope easily" or be a viable mount for a Planewave CDK 17 without actually having seen or used one yet. Yet, to be fair to Greg, he does caveat this statement with "yet to be seen in practice"

All in good faith.



Paul

[gregbradley]

Certainly for 120-130mm refractors an AP Mach 1 would be awesome.

Roland though would be the first to tell you (I have seen him advise others) that the Mach 1 would not be suitable for much larger than that.
But then he is probably quite conservative.

True the PMX has yet to prove itself and I would not suggest buying one for a super heavy scope. I was more making the point its weight capacity is closer to that of the AP1200 (not quite). MY CDK17 is thrown around effortlessly by a PME so hence the comment about the PMX may handle a CDK17 (you never know your luck) but I am sure Bisque would not recommend that. An AP1200 though I think would handle a CDK17.
Hell, I used to run a 12.5 inch RCOS on a Tak NJP and it worked OK. Not ideal though for the overmount your scope approach.

Greg.

[pluck]

Cheers Greg.

I hear you. My mind harks back to a 12.5" Newtonian I had mounted on a Meade Research Series mount in the mid eighties. The Mach1's thrust surface is bigger than that mount, and it is twice as sturdy.

The demands of CCD imaging have certainly changed the requirements for mounts over the years. Which is why I find it slightly troublesome to see raw weight carrying capacity still quoted in forums as the primary consideration for comparing one mount to another. Like me, I'm sure you can appreciate that.

Paul

Originally Posted by gregbradley

Certainly for 120-130mm refractors an AP Mach 1 would be awesome.

Roland though would be the first to tell you (I have seen him advise others) that the Mach 1 would not be suitable for much larger than that.
But then he is probably quite conservative.

True the PMX has yet to prove itself and I would not suggest buying one for a super heavy scope. I was more making the point its weight capacity is closer to that of the AP1200 (not quite). MY CDK17 is thrown around effortlessly by a PME so hence the comment about the PMX may handle a CDK17 (you never know your luck) but I am sure Bisque would not recommend that. An AP1200 though I think would handle a CDK17.
Hell, I used to run a 12.5 inch RCOS on a Tak NJP and it worked OK. Not ideal though for the overmount your scope approach.

Greg.

[Marke (Mark)]

[QUOTE=gregbradley]Certainly for 120-130mm refractors an AP Mach 1 would be awesome.

Roland though would be the first to tell you (I have seen him advise others) that the Mach 1 would not be suitable for much larger than that.
But then he is probably quite conservative.

Actually to quote AP
"Ideal instruments include: Astro-Physics and similar fast refractors up to our 160 mm f7.5 StarFire EDF, 8-11" SCTs, 6-8" Maks or any scopes of a similar size." for the Mach1 and these are conservative - its a bigger mount
than most realise.

[gregbradley]

There you go. From the horses mouth. AP gear is awesome.

Greg.

[frolinmod]

People on the Software Bisque Paramouont MX support forum over at the Software Bisque website are now reporting actual delivery having taken place today as well as shipping notices with tracking that specify delivery as scheduled within days from now. So it looks like things are finally happening.

[pmrid (Peter)]

OPT advise that my mount has been shipped to them by Bisque and they expect to on-ship it to me on the 15th.
We are go for launch and counting.
Peter

[Mighty_oz (Marcus)]

I'm really GLAD for u that it's finally on it's way.
But 5 days to get there when it's only 1,049 miles away or 17hrs by road via google maps is really slow, i can only hope that they shipp it to Oz Faster ! Otherwise it will be next year before u get it.
Just my impatience talking hehe It's going to be really good to see all the photo's and writeups that will soon appear.

[frolinmod]

Ahem, no UPS pickups or deliveries here on the weekend (unless you pay big bucks for the privilege) hence OPT won't get it and won't re-ship it during a weekend. They also may not re-ship it the same day they receive it because UPS might deliver it late in the day. UPS are often still doing deliveries quite late in the day. Therefore if they receive it on Friday, they may not re-ship it until Monday. And if they don't get it until Monday, they may not re-ship it until Tuesday. Those pesky weekends and late in the day deliveries really slow things down!