For sale: Quality alt-azimuth mount and accessories.

anat · Post by **anat** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:50 am

Sorry for the messy background

Thanks Arief for lending me the Astroslew for testing. The mount is very stable even when loaded with an 11-kg scope on one arm. Short arms make CG fall within pier legs, resulting in incredible stability. The mount is VERY SMOOOOTH.

Astroslew stands above other competitors in the aspect that it can handle scopes with large weight difference on both arms. There must be someone wanting to mount a small wide-field scope and a light-bucket scope, like me.

My sincere comments

1) The friction for both axes is still too low for a large scope.
2) I experienced vibration. I think it is mainly due to my thin mounting plate. I will need to check if the vibration is caused by the mount or pier after changing my mounting plate.
3) One arm has M6 threads and the other arm has M8 threads. It may be better to use M8 threads to follow the Tak standard.

Through the discussion with Liu Ming, he is improving the issue. Once done, it will be perfect, IMHO.

Thanks,
Anat

denebman · Post by **denebman** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 2:49 pm

Thanks for your feedback, I will follow up with a new batch of astroslew mount (maybe in May) that virtually elminates above mentioned problems. The new one will use US made high grade aluminium alloy and big teflon friction surface, this time before it is released I will test it fully.

After testing it for quite some time, I think I have forgotten to remind the users that the mount will be better balanced at 45 degree elevation. Usuable power for manual tracking (e.g. for Mewlon 210) is around 200X or less. If your scope is ligher and shorter, the power can be pushed a bit higher.

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 2:54 pm

Will the new batch be priced the same? Are there any in stock now? Tempted to get a G&G alt-az mount for my C8 ...

Post by **VinSnr** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 2:58 pm

jermng wrote:Will the new batch be priced the same? Are there any in stock now? Tempted to get a G&G alt-az mount for my C8 ...

I already place an order with him....

I believe in his quality although I have not seen the item yet

denebman · Post by **denebman** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:51 pm

Dear singastroians, the new one is CNC machined from a solid block of aluminium alloy. The production cost is higher than the older one. Please feel free to let me know your compliments and complains.

I will try my best to make the price more reasonable.

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:13 pm

There must be someone wanting to mount a small wide-field scope and a light-bucket scope, like me.

Yep!... there's a photo shown in my equipment database. The Astroslew works well in handling both the Mewlon 210 & WO ZSFD 80mm together.

anat · Post by **anat** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 10:16 pm

Tonight, I tested the Astroslew by viewing the Saturn at 465x. It is usable at the very high power!!! I notice minor shaking due to wind. The settling time for my setup (after modifying the mounting plate) is about 4-5 sec which is acceptable for me, considering the light-weighted mount and pier. The 6" refractor was fixed on one arm with two 5-kg counterweights on the other arm. I expect that the settling time will be lower if the counterweights are removed.

I needed to re-balance the scope when pointing close to the zenith because my barlow and eyepiece cause a moment. To solve this problem in my 80mm scope + microstar, I place a small counterweight at the bottom of my dewshield to generate a moment counteracting the moment caused by the eyepiece and barlow. This will solve balance issues no matter what altitude the scope is pointing

Thanks,
Anat

Canopus Lim · Post by **Canopus Lim** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:37 pm

Yes, my microstar deluxe face the same problem for the zenith. I have not placed any weights like what u did, maybe next time I can try.

anat · Post by **anat** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 7:29 am

Canopus Lim · Post by **Canopus Lim** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 2:14 pm

Thanks for the picture.