From: markdambrosio@...
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] The Awesome 1200
Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 10:29 PM

After being with Chuck, and Roland at the fest, and studying the mount,
i must say that both halves of the head are very compact
pieces,(Amazing engineering!) and i will consider making my own
inexpensive cases from foam lined Rubbermaid cases for them. (Hinged
lid, w/latch) Naturally, they are not suitable to ship the mount in,
but for transportation by car, they will be very suitable, extremely
light (A big plus) Will protect the mount adequately from any
damage/dings, and will save much dinero. Also one for the pier base.
For the pier tube, and legs, and pier rods, i will make naugahyde cases
with nylon strap handles/velcro closures. Total cost should be under
$100, and will be quite effective. I did this with the HGM-200 with
great results, and IMO the HGM is a much more bulky, oddly
shaped,unwieldy mount. K-mart, Wal-mart, and a few others carry cases
like this. Sometimes in the auto, or Garden section. Mark


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I had a chance to see Ray Gralak's new goto 1200 mount this past

night. Most impressive in some respects, a little disappointing in
others. Supporting a small 5-inch f/8 refractor, why did it have a high
frequency dampening problem? I suspect the thin walled, hollow pier to

the culprit. I have the same problem with my own QMD 1200, vintage 1997.
Anyone have any thougths on fixing this problem? Not that the mount

stiff in the wind, but the vibration is noticeable during any focus

Hi John,

I noticed when taking down my setup that the rings were not tightened very
tight at all. Perhaps that was the cause? Anyone else notice this kind
of vibration when tapping their OTA? The vibration stopped within a

How long should it take?

adjustment or slight tap on the telescope tube assembly. Clutch knobs
would also end up behind motor housings. I guess with goto this

matter much. Why such a big microphone for speech recognition?

a wireless mic be awesome?

I would be definitely interested in a wireless mic. I had no idea that
the recommended Shure microphone would be so big. (8" long by about 1"
diameter). It is very well built, though.

The other issue I had with DSV was that with a red plexiglass screen
on my notebook the control panel and text is very hard to read (because
of the colors). Is there a way to change the application's default colors?

On the positive side, the tracking and pointing accuracy were top notch.
Ray had no problem finding and centering objects. Two minute unassisted
exposures yielded sharp, round stars. Great improvements in the DC

motors vs. the DC steppers. I have always seen stepper bounce in my

At 693x Saturn wasn't even budging even the slightest amount. No vibration
at all. But, is there a way with the hand controller to slew to any of the
planets??

none noticed here. The machine work is excellent, but the paint chips

easily.

What do you mean, "chips too easily"???!!! Where did you see a paint chip
come off? Or, are you speaking from experience with your 1200 QMD?

And here's the latest from Ray using the new 1200. About as good as it
gets.

Thanks, John!

-Ray

http://www.gralak.com/Astro/M33-2.htm

ciao,

John Gleason, dvj@...
http://home.earthlink.net/~dvj/


----------

From: markdambrosio@...
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] The Awesome 1200
Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 10:29 PM

After being with Chuck, and Roland at the fest, and studying the

i must say that both halves of the head are very compact
pieces,(Amazing engineering!) and i will consider making my own
inexpensive cases from foam lined Rubbermaid cases for them. (Hinged
lid, w/latch) Naturally, they are not suitable to ship the mount in,
but for transportation by car, they will be very suitable, extremely
light (A big plus) Will protect the mount adequately from any
damage/dings, and will save much dinero. Also one for the pier base.
For the pier tube, and legs, and pier rods, i will make naugahyde

with nylon strap handles/velcro closures. Total cost should be under
$100, and will be quite effective. I did this with the HGM-200 with
great results, and IMO the HGM is a much more bulky, oddly
shaped,unwieldy mount. K-mart, Wal-mart, and a few others carry cases
like this. Sometimes in the auto, or Garden section. Mark

------------------------------------------------------------------------

eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/ap-gto
http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications

------------------------------------------------------------------------

eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/ap-gto
http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications

------------------------------------------------------------------------

eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/ap-gto
http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications

I had a chance to see Ray Gralak's new goto 1200 mount this past

night. Most impressive in some respects, a little disappointing in
others. Supporting a small 5-inch f/8 refractor, why did it have a high
frequency dampening problem? I suspect the thin walled, hollow pier to

the culprit. I have the same problem with my own QMD 1200, vintage 1997.
Anyone have any thougths on fixing this problem? Not that the mount

stiff in the wind, but the vibration is noticeable during any focus

Hi John,

I noticed when taking down my setup that the rings were not tightened very
tight at all. Perhaps that was the cause? Anyone else notice this kind
of vibration when tapping their OTA? The vibration stopped within a

How long should it take?

adjustment or slight tap on the telescope tube assembly. Clutch knobs
would also end up behind motor housings. I guess with goto this

matter much. Why such a big microphone for speech recognition?

a wireless mic be awesome?

I would be definitely interested in a wireless mic. I had no idea that
the recommended Shure microphone would be so big. (8" long by about 1"
diameter). It is very well built, though.

The other issue I had with DSV was that with a red plexiglass screen
on my notebook the control panel and text is very hard to read (because
of the colors). Is there a way to change the application's default colors?

On the positive side, the tracking and pointing accuracy were top notch.
Ray had no problem finding and centering objects. Two minute unassisted
exposures yielded sharp, round stars. Great improvements in the DC

motors vs. the DC steppers. I have always seen stepper bounce in my

At 693x Saturn wasn't even budging even the slightest amount. No vibration
at all. But, is there a way with the hand controller to slew to any of the
planets??

none noticed here. The machine work is excellent, but the paint chips

easily.

What do you mean, "chips too easily"???!!! Where did you see a paint chip
come off? Or, are you speaking from experience with your 1200 QMD?

And here's the latest from Ray using the new 1200. About as good as it
gets.

Thanks, John!

-Ray

http://www.gralak.com/Astro/M33-2.htm

ciao,

John Gleason, dvj@...
http://home.earthlink.net/~dvj/


----------

From: markdambrosio@...
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] The Awesome 1200
Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 10:29 PM

After being with Chuck, and Roland at the fest, and studying the

i must say that both halves of the head are very compact
pieces,(Amazing engineering!) and i will consider making my own
inexpensive cases from foam lined Rubbermaid cases for them. (Hinged
lid, w/latch) Naturally, they are not suitable to ship the mount in,
but for transportation by car, they will be very suitable, extremely
light (A big plus) Will protect the mount adequately from any
damage/dings, and will save much dinero. Also one for the pier base.
For the pier tube, and legs, and pier rods, i will make naugahyde

with nylon strap handles/velcro closures. Total cost should be under
$100, and will be quite effective. I did this with the HGM-200 with
great results, and IMO the HGM is a much more bulky, oddly
shaped,unwieldy mount. K-mart, Wal-mart, and a few others carry cases
like this. Sometimes in the auto, or Garden section. Mark

------------------------------------------------------------------------

eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/ap-gto
http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications

------------------------------------------------------------------------

eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/ap-gto
http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications

------------------------------------------------------------------------

eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/ap-gto
http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications