Losmandy G-11 Mount

The mount shown here was purchased in May of 2003 after reading reviews and browsing through internet email groups.  This mount seemed to be something that I could afford, but would also provide a step up into the serious-mount category.  Many other mounts appeared to be highly respected, but considerably more expensive.  The aluminum motor covers and clutch knobs were added at the time of purchase.  The polar alignment scope is an excellent alignment aid.

The Meade 10" OTA came off the old forks fairly easily and was mounted on the Losmandy DM-10 dovetail plate.  I am in the process of adjusting the worm mesh to the worm gear in an attempt to minimize tracking errors (see below).  Although the total package is heavier than the old LX-50, it breaks up into more even pieces and so lifting a 30-35 lbs OTA on to the G-11 is easier than the 60+ lbs that had to be lifted over my head onto the old Meade mount.

A Pelican 1620 case is used for transporting the mount head, while the tripod legs go in a padded nylon sports bag.  Smaller Pelican cases are used for various camera, power supply and electronic components.  Everything is powered by a marine deep-cycle battery (group 24, 110 Ah) and a TrippLite inverter.

Tracking errors - Initial tests suggest that periodic errors are about  8 arcseconds peak-to-peak(±4 arcsec).