Mount options under $20G

[muletopia (Chris)]

Bart
My recent post in beginners photography of the Heilx has many faults in the image. but the stars are round from a stack of 20 10 minute subs with the aid of PHD2.
I get all the messages from the Sitech groupsio, the Mesu discussions are ovewhelmingly resolved as user problems.A very few have been mount problems which were mainly fixed by the user with guidance by Mr Mesu by phone.
An aside, when I checked this afternoon or cows were in their place
Chris

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by gregbradley

.....

I personally would not be a beta tester for newest and latest. Reliability and performance is what you want. Round stars night after night. Your attention then goes onto object selection, framing, processing not how do you get round stars.


Greg.

Ditto to that.

Wasting time during nights with all too rare clear and steady skies, taming the mount, rather than mining excellent data, is an exercise in frustration.

[loc46south (Geoffrey)]

I have recently installed a L350 PlaneWave - I can not fault it. I use it with a AGiDK 12.5 Telescope and a STXL6303 camera for Differential Photometery on the TESS Project. It will give sub pixel tracking without a guide camera over transit periods of 4 to 5 hours.

[Camissa (Ecki)]

I have two AP Mach2 mounts and could not be more pleased with their performance. They just work and are totally carefree.

When you get to choose between Software Bisque, 10Micron and Astro-Physics, it is more a question of personal taste, availability and the brand your favourite dealer is carrying. They all do a great job.

Clear Skies,
Ecki

[PRejto (Peter)]

You asked about cross talk in Paramounts.... I have two mounts and both at times have exhibited this to a minor degree. It is not difficult to address at all. The Paramounts have near zero backlash in declination. However, if you use the backlash tool in PHD2 you will notice something odd. As you tighten up the plungers (which adjust the firmness of the worm on the ring gear) the tool will tell you that backlash is increasing, and that is patently absurd. In fact what the tool is measuring is stiction, and stiction is the root of the problem that generates cross talk. Cross talk is a reaction in RA when dec moves. The solution is counterintuitive; you reduce pressure on the dec worm to the point where the crosstalk disappears.

Paramounts are great mounts and the integration with TheSkyX is great. Crosstalk is not a problem worth worrying about!

Peter

[Bart]

Thank you everyone, some great advice here. Wait time for the AP might be my undoing, especially if I can get a MyT or second hand MX or something when I'm ready to go.