I've had one of these mounts for a couple of years, and I like it quite a bit. It is the perfect size for a 5" refractor or so, in my opinion. The movements are pretty smooth, but not quite as smooth as a really high quality dob. Even so, it really does make for a nice grab and go mount. I've also put my 8" mak on it with very good results. Tracking is reasonable even at 250x. Drawbacks? Just like a dob, it has a "hole" near the zenith; indeed, the hole is a bit larger than the hole of a good dob because the scope can hit the tripod, so you are limited in altitude as well as azimuth. Maybe if you had it on a pier instead of a tripod it would be better. It's also quite expensive for an alt-az mount...you could pick up a nice used G-11 for about the same price. But, hey, nothing is perfect.
Mark
----- Original Message ----
From: Richard Crisp <rdcrisp@earthlink.net>
To: The Astronomy Connection <sf-bay-tac@seds.org>
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 7:12:25 AM
Subject: Re: [TAC] kind of a cool mount
it may not be so hot for imaging but it looks like a fine mount for a grab
and go visual setup with a moderate sized SCT or refractor.
being able to not use counterweights is a plus for a grab and go mount.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michelle Stone" <litebkt@gmail.com>
To: "The Astronomy Connection" <sf-bay-tac@seds.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 2:43 PM
Subject: Re: [TAC] kind of a cool mount
It does look to solve some of the quirks you have to deal with on a GEM.
Michelle
On 3/29/06, Rich N <rnapo@znet.com> wrote:
> Subject: [TAC] kind of a cool mount
>
>
> http://discmounts.com/
>
> Greg LaFlamme had one of these up at Montebello on Saturday night. It
> really looks nice. It is an interesting concept too.
>
>
> >From what I've heard they work well.
>
> Rich
>
>
>
Received on Fri Mar 31 09:15:34 2006