Hello;
I'm in the market for an equatorial mount with at least a 40lbs load (the more the merrier). Naturally I'd prefer it be as inexpensive as possible, but it's for a long focus cassegrain, so it also needs to be quite stable under this load. Unfortunately, the primary mirror alone weighs 23lbs, so I don't think I'll be able to get this one under 40lbs. Among other mounts, I've had my eye on the Orion Atlas and William Optics GT-1. It hit me the other day that the Orion mount looks like a clone of the GT-1 (or vice versa), in much the same style as everyone has cloned the Vixen Great Polaris mount with varying degrees of success. So, my questions are:
1) Is the Orion Atlas mount a clone of the GT-1 (or vice versa)?
2) If so, is one a cheap "made in China" knockoff that is best avoided? Or are they both made in China so it doesn't matter?
3) How do these mounts compare witht he Losmandy G-11? This is the other mount I'm looking at.
Cheers
Mike Connelley
I'm in the market for an equatorial mount with at least a 40lbs load (the more the merrier). Naturally I'd prefer it be as inexpensive as possible, but it's for a long focus cassegrain, so it also needs to be quite stable under this load. Unfortunately, the primary mirror alone weighs 23lbs, so I don't think I'll be able to get this one under 40lbs. Among other mounts, I've had my eye on the Orion Atlas and William Optics GT-1. It hit me the other day that the Orion mount looks like a clone of the GT-1 (or vice versa), in much the same style as everyone has cloned the Vixen Great Polaris mount with varying degrees of success. So, my questions are:
1) Is the Orion Atlas mount a clone of the GT-1 (or vice versa)?
2) If so, is one a cheap "made in China" knockoff that is best avoided? Or are they both made in China so it doesn't matter?
3) How do these mounts compare witht he Losmandy G-11? This is the other mount I'm looking at.
Cheers
Mike Connelley
