Gemini G42

Cheers guys

Any report I've read on this mount has only had good things to say about it. The fact that it can be easily controlled by a PC would get around any shortcomings in the hand controller I would think. If I get a bit of time today I'll do a side by side comparison with the CGE Pro and post it here.

Michael - Thanks for your offer to pop down for a look at your mount, I'd be delighted to :)I'm in Celbridge so only up the road from you more or less. I'll PM you.

That PE curve you uploaded there is exceptional. I assumed when I looked at it that it was post PEC as it seems to be even better then the manufacturers stated PE.

The big winner for this mount for me right now is the reported customer service. By all accounts it's excellent. I've been through the Losmandy merry-go-round with a duff G11 recently and that's dragged on for 5 months now. Finally I'm getting my money back. So support is a biggie with me.

Damien

From what I've seen of Michael's G41, you could do alot worse, its a grand mount.

Folks

the mount is probably the most critical part of an astronomical setup. Even if you're just using binoculars!

Certainly, for astrophotography, the mount will determine how successfully (or not) you'll achieve your goals. Of course, next up are the OTA and the imager. But stick a top end imager to a top quality APO and put it on (even) a reasonable mount and your images will be so-so. Take an average OTA, average imager and a top end mount and you'll get good images. Of course, if you get top end gear all through, all you need to do is fight the weather.

Its a hard decision - there's the cost, the quality, the support, the upgrade-ability, the physical size and weight, the warranty, the resale value plus a bunch more stuff to consider.

But personally, my first step into astrophotograhpy was to decide what my goals were. When I had that pretty much done and dusted, the purchasing decisions were easy. Getting the money together was another thing - but I knew what I *needed* to achieve my goals. Note - not *wanted*... 4 or 5 years after starting down that road, I'm achieving my goals and I know there's a lot more I can do - with my existing setup. I've not spent any significant money on gear since I got the mount/OTA/Imager.

So I'd recommend really working hard at figuring out your goals first - that took me at least a year by the way. Then the puchases will be easy decisions.

And don't be disheartened at the money end - there are bargains to be had - including high end mounts. You just have to be vigilant and probably a bit lucky.

Dave

Cheers Dave,

From talking to people on CN that's very much the advice I've been getting there. When I bought the G11 I pretty much jumped on it without thinking a lot about it. Now that's going back I've decided to carry on with my EQ6 Pro and my WO110/C9.25 and learn more about autoguiding and how its requirements change over differing focal lengths along with the fun of trying to shoot through the light pollution successfully (filters vs exposure times etc...).

In the meantime I'm going to be researching a mount with a view to buying sometime early in the new year if I think I'm in a position to - that is, I have that cash and I have figured out what it is I'm trying to achieve and therefore what I need.

I notice you're the Dave of astroshack, are you still based in Celbridge?

Also meant to ask Dave...

What were the criteria you decided upon when you went to but your mount? I see you ended up with an AP1200 - nice!!

You said it took a year to figure out what you wanted - curious about that process.

Yes - Celbridge Observatory is still going strong You must pop over.

One of the interesting parts of my year-long process was actually spent researching the imager/OTA combo. It was tricky enough figuring out the general seeing here then matching an both the imager and the OTA. I knew I needed as big a scope as I could afford so it was either the C14 or the Meade 16". The CCD chip then became pretty much a no-brainer (pixel size and reolution matched to the seeing). Then I knew that the mount really had to be either and AP1200 or a Paramount ME. Luckily, I got the email from AP telling me I could order. So I went ahead. At this point I still only had the C8 and a Meade DSI. That particular combo looked a bit daft but I was able to learn how to control the mount and hone my skills on the imaging side.

One important point re the mount - with the C8/DSI combo, I recall being able to image for 6 minutes with *no* trailing. With the C14 and the Proline 1001E, I can usually manage at least two minutes - I'm sure I could double that with tweaking etc. There's also a new software (possibly hardware) upgrade to the AP1200 that will hopefully allow up to 30 mins unguided imaging.

Think about that - no guide scope required, no second camera, no complex software interaction, no flexure issues - so much stuff goes away. Along with the cost of it all. I thought about that carefully - the cost of the extra guiding equipment, increased compexity etc and figured the additional price of the AP1200 was well worth it. Of course, there were many other (founded) reasons for AP. And if you join the AP user group, you'll see that.

Now, I'm sure the Paramount is equally good. There are many in use in robotic observatories and they do really well. I'd also concur with the reviews of Gemini - I've Michael's (mount) and its well built, supported and sure, it does what it says on the tin.

As regards J65, I'm still learning and still pushing the envelope and getting into more complex eareas of study. And I'm sure it will keep me occupied for many more years. But the old aperture fever is creeping in yet again... But there does come a point when you realise that we live in a cloudy damp environment - spending a 6 figure sum on astro gear seems a bit too much. So factoring in a new site (and they *are* for sale) becomes another consideration.

Do the research, ask here on the forums and CN etc and most of all - take your time. Don't rush it.

And do pop over for a peek at the observatory.
Dave