Hi all Just joined this group. I'm strongly thinking of buying an AP900 and would like to check people's experiences with the 32kg (70lb) instrument capacity stated on the AP website. I'm thinking in

Thanks Rolando and Philip for the replies. I think the next step may be to enter serious negotiations with the boss. Lovely photographs Philip. Geoff

Negotiations successfully concluded and AP900GTO has been ordered. I looked at a lot of comments on the web and in the end it didn't seem like a hard decision to make. Geoff

A thorough analysis of this is covered in Covington: Astrophotography for the Amateur, Cambridge UP. Although written in the film age, it still has a lot of useful info. As people have mentioned above

I'll probably do a Doh! when I get the answer, but AP has mounts AP600, AP900, AP1200, AP 1600 etc. What is the significance of these numbers? Do they relate to mount weight, instrument weight or are

Good one Rolando! Totally accurate logically, so I will rephrase my question: What do the numbers mean? Geoff

Well, my 900GTO arrived this morning. So did the clouds. It's really impressive seen in real life. Something that photographs just don't convey. Geoff

Or read the manual A small amount of imbalance on the East side of the mount is permissible and is considered by some to be desirable for astrophotography and imaging. It is not really necessary with

Hi Rolando Could you explain your reasoning here? Based on a sample of two, you seem to suggest high aggressiveness and low minimum move when the seeing is good and then to lower the aggressiveness an

No

I may as well add my name to what appears to be a growing list. Purchased AP900GTO in September. Geoff

The poster's original question still awaits an answer. Why use a serial port instead of a USB port? Geoff

My 2009 Toshiba does. Look carefully. They are covered and don't appear as an obvious slot Geoff

There are rules and there are concepts. Understand the concept and the rules become obvious. Take drift alignment for example. There are rules aplenty; if the star drifts north do this, if it drifts s

I have an AP900, two 18 lb counterweights and a recently acquired second hand Plane Wave 12.5" CDK telescope. I was wondering if I will need additional c/weights or if 36 lbs will be enough. Currently

Hi Ron A quick calculation shows that I'll have to get extra counterweights. This is also backed up by Marc having to use 20kg for a similar setup. Thanks Geoff

Thanks Peter I think 2 x 10lbs is the way to go. Geoff

How does APCCget the temperature info? Is this manually entered? Geoff

The plot thickens: there is now an APCC Pro and an APCC Standard. First mention that I am aware of. Geoff

I can use meridian delay to star with the counterweight above the mount and finish with the telescope over the mount. However, if I know that the scope is going to clear the pier, does this offer any