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18 years 1 month ago #34005 by dmcdona
Replied by dmcdona on topic Re: Telescope Mounts
Joanna (and other budding astrophotographers) - whilst you need deep pockets for the high-end mounts, you will not be disappointed with them. But it depends on what you want to do.

As an analogy, if you want a 4x4 to do real off-road stuff, you can get the real mccoy and not be disappointed or you can get one of the wannabe 4x4's and call the AA when you get stuck in 8 inches of mud :D

Unless you understand that by saving money you are compromising, you will be disappointed with a low to mid-range mount if astrophotography is your goal.

That said, there are bargains to be had out there. Astromart has a good selection of pre-owned premium mounts for reasonable prices. And don't forget, because of their quality, a 10 year old AP will WILL perform. Just like a 10 year old Rolls Royce.

AP are now selling the Mach 1. Initial indications are superb PE as good as its bigger brothers. The Gemini mount a a real good performer at a great price and now that Michael O'Connel has one, we can get the inside track.

Mountain instruments also have a very good reputation as do the high end Takahashi mounts. Paramounts (not just the ME) are solid and reliable.

There is a choice to make and I know its not easy is you don't have loads of lolly. If the top end mounts are out of the question, go for a mid range mount that has a proven track record (still on sale after 5+ years) and a large user-base for tips, tricks and tech support plus engineering fixes (better gears, better tracking etc).

HTH

Dave

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18 years 1 month ago #34009 by dave_lillis
Replied by dave_lillis on topic Re: Telescope Mounts
Hi Joanna,
Are you going to be doing any imaging with this setup, if so what type of imaging??.

Dave L. on facebook , See my images in flickr
Chairman. Shannonside Astronomy Club (Limerick)

Carrying around my 20" obsession is going to kill me,
but what a way to go. :)
+ 12"LX200, MK67, Meade2045, 4"refractor

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18 years 1 month ago #34013 by DaveGrennan
Replied by DaveGrennan on topic Re: Telescope Mounts
Joanna,

Anything I have read about the meade budget equatorials has been worse than awful. The one that springs to mind immediately is a review on cloudynights.com

www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=616

I mean I know the guy is comparing to a G11, but just read what he has to say about the meade mount. The guy hadI've read other reports of the meade lxd's and i've yet to come across one who rates the mounts at all. Maybe I just read the wrong reviews!

Regards and Clear Skies,

Dave.
J41 - Raheny Observatory.
www.webtreatz.com
Equipment List here

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18 years 1 month ago #34016 by jmcc5
Replied by jmcc5 on topic Re: Telescope Mounts
i read the link about the review of the meade lxd75. i also found a review of celestrons cg5 mount www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=824 and this review doesn't appear to be much better. I also found another review of the meade lxd75 www.cloudynights.com/documents/lxd75.pdf which appears to be in favour of the mount. as this stage with all the information and help i'm getting i fell i'm even further away from picking something.basically i'm looking for a scope that can be used both manually and goto and that can be used for astrophotography (i'm not looking for hubble quality images), doesn't need a degree to operate and doesn't need a massive loan :?

Joanna
Cork Astronomy Club

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18 years 1 month ago #34017 by TrevorDurity
Replied by TrevorDurity on topic Re: Telescope Mounts
Hi Joanna,

That's actually a review of the older CG5 non-goto mount. the newer ones are far far better with a massively upgraded tripod with 2 inch diameter steel legs. There were lots of problems with the older mount. These improvements were the reason I went with the CG5-ASGT rather than the LXD75.

I think the newer version is generally seen as superior to the lxd mounts. By the way, I don't think Meade sell their mounts separately to the OTA.

Cheers,

Trev

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18 years 1 month ago #34018 by jmcc5
Replied by jmcc5 on topic Re: Telescope Mounts
thanks Trevor. I'm actually looking for a complete set, mount and scope so it doesn't matter if the mount isn't sold seperately

Joanna
Cork Astronomy Club

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