AstronomerXI
500+ Head-Fier
I highly recommend Scott/Diane Horstman at Backyard Observatories. They built my 10x12 Roll Off to a treat, warm room, motorized roof, etc. They build all sizes. They can even do ones with partial drop down walls (perfect for that JMI btw). I’ve the DM6 mount for alt az, and it’ll handle up to ONE C11… any more is too much IMO. It was dangerously scary with my TOA130, one reason I sold it and got the AP130 - well the real reason is because I came up after the 10 year wait and HAD to have it).
I had excellent results with my Mountain Instruments MI250, I would run C11 SBS with my Taks or AP130 no problem! Native P/E of just over 2” P/P and smooth. You might look on the used market there? Or plump for the big bucks AP’s; my neighbor had the AP1200 with a Tak Mewlon 300 mounted on it. he specialized in planetary and eclipsing binaries, etc. that was a HUGE scope.
Thanks for the info - much appreciated. I'll keep Backyard Observatories in mind. Wayne Parker's SkyShed company is not far from me (anyone remember Canadian 80's hit-makers Glass Tiger? Wayne's the bass player). Their larger SkyShed Pod domes have my eye. They now only sell the plans for roll-off roof designs, but they manufacture the configurable domes. I'm not that handy, so if I go roll-off I'll look into BO.
So many mount choices now. The Harmonnic drive designs have my eye, but I have to dig into if any can carry really heavy loads. They're a new thing too, so no data on longevity etc. AP's are on the high end of my budget (but on the list), as are 10-Micron, Software Bisque's Paramounts, Warpdrive WD-20, Avalon Instruments, etc.
Those Taks are huge, but drool-worthy!
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