and i will be ordering a heavy duty mount from losmandy sometime next month, i dont see myself putting the 12" on there with the lightweight tripod.

One more thing, the meade SCT OTA bare weighs around 36lbs. add in the dovetail, and imaging equipment, and dew shield and im just over 50lbs, i know this is pushing the limit, but im so excited to get in to a losmandy mount.

Hi Jim!

Im the prospective buyer, im really appreciative of the care youre putting in to this sale, seriously.

. I Just deforked my Meade LX200 12" and its on a losmandy dovetail i got from losmandy directly.

?

With this OTA my primary targets are planetary, and there is no real guiding used during those imaging sessions. I do want to try and experiment doing DSO, and for that, i would absolutely be using an off axis guider. I have a couple to choose from. That will be reduced using a vintage starizona SCT reducer corrector ive inherited. Also this is the high end of my weights . I will also be using it with a 102mm explore scientific for most of my real DSO work.

?

so,?

?

12" mostly for planeraty, no reducer used

12" for DSO experimental imaging using a Starlight Express Active optics system i also inherited, this would be reduced by .63

?

102mm refractor for more serious dso imaging

?

8 inch C8 with a reducer for most of my SCT deep space imaging.?

?

THanks!

Francisco

?

?

How well a mount can be guided is complicated and almost all of the factors are beyond the mount itself.? Mount mechanicals, autoguider app tuning and configuration, primary imaging camera pixel size to guide camera pixel size ratio, guide scope mounting stability, guide scope camera stability, seeing air stability, cable configuration, wind, power stability etc., etc. all contribute to guided PE.? Any and all of this and more can and will screw up a night of imaging.??

?

People like to blame the mount and there are some that are a little better than others.? But most of the time the alleged "bad" mount is just a victim of who owns it and the environment in it is used in.? ?

?

--

?

?

?

Thanks Joe and Chip.? I average around 0.8 to 0.9 arc-seconds RMS using a 200mm FL guide scope and ASI120mm camera in the city with a 25 pound imaging setup.? I rarely get any better than 0.75.? I don't recall what I get at a Bortle 4 or 2 site.? I am not sure this is typical of the G11G or just my mount.? I don't want the buyer to get a mount that will not meet their expectations.

?

------------------------
Jim W
Phoenix, AZ. USA

Losmandy G11G w/ L6, NINA 3.0 / ASTAP, ASI2600MC Pro, Sky-Watcher Scopes, Canon L Lenses.

Jim,

?

The stated imaging payload of the G11G is 60 pounds.? Many people with heavier and longer scopes are imaging on a G11G with good results.? My friend is imagining with a 10" f/8 Newt that is well over 65 pounds with good results.?

?

I routinely load the 20+ year old G11G mount with over 60 pounds and image with it.? My guiding is very good, still well under 0.5" PE.? I normally image with the bespoke Parallax / AstroTech130mm f/6 SDT which has an oversized steel tube and 3.7" focuser and a Losmandy Side-By-Side saddle plate with ADM ALT/AZ aiming device and Meade LX200 10" f/6.3 SCT with 3" Moonlite focuser etc. etc.? this is a very heavy payload.??

?

I think the buyer should not have a problem imaging with a G11G and 50 pounds of payload.?

?

--

?

?

?

Is the G11G 60 pound spec for visual?? I usually use 2/3 or 3/4 of the stated load capacity for the imaging spec.

------------------------
Jim W
Phoenix, AZ. USA

Losmandy G11G w/ L6, NINA 3.0 / ASTAP, ASI2600MC Pro, Sky-Watcher Scopes, Canon L Lenses.

How about changing the battery in the Gemini2 box??

?

joe

Hello Jim,

?

It is my belief that yes you will be pushing the mount, the G11G,? you could be taxing the G11T also though not as bad.? I'm assuming that there is a dew shield involved too.? Either mount you will need the FHD tripod or one of those tripiers.? Stability starts at ground level, always.?? Also I'm assuming the scope is on a Losmandy bar, my opinion a cradle would be better but surely put you over the top.? Guiding should also be done with an OAG or ONAG, my opinion too.

?

That was at F10,? at F6.3 you should be better.

?

I had a C14 with a Homeyer cradle and a G11T, but I was visual and planetary.? That was three years ago, don't have the scope and my Neighbor has the mount.

?

Joe

I have a prospective buyer for my G11G w/ LW tripod.? They know that the tripod will have to be upgraded to the heavy-duty tripod.? They plan to do DSO and planetary imaging with a 12” Meade SCT. ?Likely with and without a 0.63x FR/FF.? The F.L. of the scope at f/10 is 3048mm and at f/6.3 is 1,920mm.? They estimate the total weight of the imaging setup to be 50 pounds.

?

My questions are…?

• Is 50 pounds pushing to limits of the G11G w/ Heavy Duty Tripod for imaging?
• Is a F.L. of 3,048 or 1,920 pushing the limits of the G11G w/ Heavy Duty Tripod for imaging?
• Would they be better off with a G11T?

------------------------
Jim W
Phoenix, AZ. USA

Losmandy G11G w/ L6, ZWO AM5N, NINA 3.0 / ASTAP, ASI2600MC Pro / ASI533MM Pro, Sky-Watcher Scopes, Canon L Lenses....etc

I wonder if this could be what is causing my jerky RA guiding.? Thinking that loose clutches might be the problem, I tightened them down pretty tight.

Our weather degraded significantly since I last wrote.? In fact the blizzard Friday shut down like 150 miles of the interstate.? It has been cloudy and now we have an artic blast headed this way so our normal 5 below is going to 20 below this week.? That's without windchill.??

When the weather cooperates, the first thing I am going to do is remove the RA extension and see what I get.

Thanks for checking in.

Tom

?

?

So?? What happened?? Did you find the issue?? Keep us posted.??

?

--

?

?

?

On Fri, Feb 7, 2025 at 08:41 PM, <avishekaiyar@...> wrote:

Hello All?

?

I am a brand new user of Losmandy mounts. My past experience with GEMs has been limited to the iOptron SGP and the Vixen GPDX.?

?

I recently acquired a Celestron Losmandy G11.?

?

I tried to counterbalance my setup today and had a clarification about the RA axis.?

?

No matter how much I tighten the RA clutch knob I am unable to fully lock the RA axis movement (and I really tightened the clutch). The Dec axis is fine....I am able to fully lock down that axis when I tighten the Dec clutch.?

?

Is this normal ? As an example when I deliberately throw the RA axis off balance by moving the 11lb counterweight all the way towards the end of the shaft, the mount easily rotates about the RA axis even when fully tightened down.?

?

This has definitely not been my experience on the other gems I have used...

?

Would appreciate any advice.?

?

Sincerely?

?

Avi?

?

Do you recall the scene in Star Wars when Luke is introduced the his father's lightsaber?? The core of the Losmandy mount design is a lot like that lightsaber.? The G11 and GM8 were designed in a more civilized age, from a more elegant time.??

?

When the G11 was designed we used to be able to see the sky and learned how to navigate it.? Everyone learned the night sky and used the Thomas Bros. Map book of the sky called Sky Atlas 2000.? There were no GOTO "blasters" there was only personal knowledge and the skill needed to PUSH-TO your chosen object.? The original Losmandy Digital Drive simply moved the RA axis in sync with the local system and galaxy and you pushed the scope to your destination.?

?

To do this you needed a well designed, finely tuned machine and the mount needed to be well balanced with the scope in the saddle.? We ran the clutches fully or almost fully open / loose and used a finger or two to push the telescope tube to the desire object using personal knowledge and skill.? There was no need to lock the axis, this was simply unnecessary.?

?

With the advent or the Gemini and GOTO becoming the more widely used method of observation people with less skill could navigate the night sky once the learned some simple skills to align the mount with the night sky.? The advent of the GOTO computer brought many new observers to the hobby and the lack of knowledge caused a lot of frustration among the novices.? Those who couldn't or wouldn't adapt and invest the the time to learn these small skills usually left the hobby.??

?

There is no reason to cinch down the clutches on a Losmandy mount for GOTO or imaging use, none.? The only catch is the mount has to be in good mechanical condition (well adjusted, clean and lubed), the payload balanced in the saddle on 3 axis and you can not have any cable snags.? If your Losmandy mount meets these simple conditions it will guide very well, easily sub 0.5" error with only modestly snugged clutches.??

?

--

?

?

?

Are you using the same cord when switching power supplies? Short might be in cord.

?

The LittleFuse 452-454 (Fuse F1) is just to the right of the power connectors but would not short the power supply on failure.

?

If your power cord has an automotive lighter plug , some have a fuse located in the metal tip but again this wouldn't cause a short.

?

I really think the cord is the prime suspect as the F1 fuse would prevent a shorted board from killing the power supply

?

Good Luck

Brian

On Sun, Feb 9, 2025 at 12:24 AM, <avishekaiyar@...> wrote:

I just separated the RA and Dec axes and disassemble the RA assembly (remove spacer, wavy washer, 3 piece thrust bearing and finally the RA shaft).?

?

Everything checks out. The clutch pad looks in a really good condition too.?

?

If I had to really nit pick, I would say that the wavy washer has lost a lot of its waviness. :)?

?

But after reading some of the other comments, I sort of see the point. With the Dec axis removed, the RA movements are pretty "locked" when the RA clutch is tightened (I made sure not to over tighten....I tightened it and let go as soon as I felt some resistance ). So I think it's ok.?

?

I also saw in one of the Losmandy balancing videos, Brian Valente also mentioning that the Dec axis is a lot "freer" compared to RA..I felt the exact same way so I guess it's all design intent.?

?

Hi Avi,

?

The locks never absolutely grip things down without movement. There is still a little play if you turn them hard enough. So the scope will move a bit if you bump into it or if it is very unbalanced or starts to drag a cable. I gave up on the wavy washer and balance RA by cranking ALT down to 0 (but careful you don't tip over if trying that). You could try new discs anyway or try the Michael Herman high friction discs, as Derek mentioned). Getting enough stiction for a night's operation should not be a hard thing.

?

Good luck.

?

John

--

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Losmandy G11G2 on pier; refurbed Losmandy G11 with OnStep controller; SkyShed design roll-off observatory; ZWO ASI2600MM-P; ZWO ASI071MC; Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 ED with field flattener; Celestron C925 Edge HD with 0.7XFR, William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO; PHD2, NINA, Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight user

Hi Derek,?

?

That makes sense.?

?

Thanks for pointing that out?

?

Avi?

Dear John?

?

I just separated the RA and Dec axes and disassemble the RA assembly (remove spacer, wavy washer, 3 piece thrust bearing and finally the RA shaft).?

?

Everything checks out. The clutch pad looks in a really good condition too.?

?

If I had to really nit pick, I would say that the wavy washer has lost a lot of its waviness. :)?

?

But after reading some of the other comments, I sort of see the point. With the Dec axis removed, the RA movements are pretty "locked" when the RA clutch is tightened (I made sure not to over tighten....I tightened it and let go as soon as I felt some resistance ). So I think it's ok.?

?

I also saw in one of the Losmandy balancing videos, Brian Valente also mentioning that the Dec axis is a lot "freer" compared to RA..I felt the exact same way so I guess it's all design intent.?

?

Thanks.

?

Avi?