Good grab and go mount.

I own the Tak EM-1 and EM-10 GEMs, and they take roughly the same time
to set up if you include a crude polar alignment. Their wood tripods are
a cut above the aluminum-legged version used by Celestron, but they're
much heavier and not nearly as portable. I've not seen or used one of
the alt-az mounts like the Gyro, so I can't offer any comparison.

wrote:
Tim Killian wrote:

Set up in the field takes 5-10 minutes. You attach the OTA to the

mount,

plug in the battery pack and hand control, enter the location, date

and

time, and do a two star alignment. One thing I forgot to mention was

the

bracket for mounting the OTA. The tube on my TV85 is smaller than the

90

mm diameter tube on the Celestron OTA that came with the mount, so it


made sense to use the existing bracket with a step-up adapter.

The celestron bracket is a clamshell design where one side is hinged

so

it can open to accept the OTA. A single brass thumbscrew locks the
bracket around the tube, so it's fairly easy to do, even in the dark.

I

made an adapter from a block of delrin to step up the diameter of the


TV85 to 90 mm. You can also buy a slick, ready-made part from Baader
Planetarium:



http://www.alpineastro.com/mounting_...ccessories.htm

It's adaptable to several different OTAs. If your Tak has a tube
diameter greater than 90 mm, you will have to buy the Baader bracket

kit.

wrote:


Tim Killian wrote:


If all you need is a portable mount for visual use, consider buying

a


Celestron Nexstar 80GT for $200. You can sell the OTA on eBay for
$80-$100, and you'll have a decent goto mount for the Tak. I did

this


with a TV85 and it works well.

wrote:



I am looking to know what he best mount for quick look observing

with


my tak sky 90. I am looking for something light and easy to setup

Thanks

"But existing is basically all I do!" - Phillip J. Fry



how long does it take to set up?




this is very intriguing, but how long do the other (non goto) mounts
take to set up?

Tim Killian wrote:
I own the Tak EM-1 and EM-10 GEMs, and they take roughly the same
time
to set up if you include a crude polar alignment. Their wood tripods
are
a cut above the aluminum-legged version used by Celestron, but
they're
much heavier and not nearly as portable. I've not seen or used one of

the alt-az mounts like the Gyro, so I can't offer any comparison.

thanks, I'll consider it.

2 things out of curiosity:

I have heard celestron undermounts their larger OTAs, realisically how
much can it carry if I decide to upgrade scopes.
and 2
how noticable is the tracking compared to the tak mounts?