ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

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lordhaw
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ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#1

Post by lordhaw »


Does anyone have any experience with this mount? While the Twilight I is more likely to be better suited to my C102 I do like the way the head is situated which makes higher altitude viewing easier without banging against the tripod legs. I'm looking to replace an older AZ3 mount that's seen better days.
William.

Telescopes - 203mm (8") F/5.9 Skywatcher Dob, 102mm F/9.8 Celestron C102-HD refractor
Eyepieces - Agena SWA 70 deg 38mm, Agena SWA 70 deg 26mm, Celestron Luminos 82 deg 15mm, Celestron X-Cel LX 60 deg 12mm, 9mm, ES 82 deg 8.8mm, Orion 55 deg Edge-On 6mm
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helicon United States of America
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Re: ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#2

Post by helicon »


Sounds like a good reason for an upgrade. I am unfamiliar with the Twilight Nano but love my Twilight II which supports my AR152.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Ozman
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Re: ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#3

Post by Ozman »


The mount is VERY light weight. The Twilight I will support a lot more weight. I would not consider the Nano mount for any 4" scope. It would be OK for a small 70mm refractor or a 90mm Mak, I would draw the line at an 80mm f/5 refractor, but for anything larger I wouldn't consider it.
AD12, 8" LX200ACF, 120 Skywatcher, ES 102CF APO, AR102, ST100, 90mm Mak, ST80, 60ETX
Oberwerk BT-82XL-ED, 25x100s, 15x70s, 8x56s, Kasai 2.3x40s, Celestron AVX, CG4, SLT, LCM
lordhaw
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Re: ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#4

Post by lordhaw »


Ozman wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 12:40 am The mount is VERY light weight. The Twilight I will support a lot more weight. I would not consider the Nano mount for any 4" scope. It would be OK for a small 70mm refractor or a 90mm Mak, I would draw the line at an 80mm f/5 refractor, but for anything larger I wouldn't consider it.
Hmmm...I was rather afraid of that. The tripod itself looked a bit thin legged and I suspected it wouldn't handle it. But thought I would ask anyway.

Thanks!
William.

Telescopes - 203mm (8") F/5.9 Skywatcher Dob, 102mm F/9.8 Celestron C102-HD refractor
Eyepieces - Agena SWA 70 deg 38mm, Agena SWA 70 deg 26mm, Celestron Luminos 82 deg 15mm, Celestron X-Cel LX 60 deg 12mm, 9mm, ES 82 deg 8.8mm, Orion 55 deg Edge-On 6mm
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pakarinen United States of America
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Re: ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#5

Post by pakarinen »


Not to take things too far off topic, but have you considered an AZ 5? You can buy the head alone and then pick your tripod AFAIK. My TW 1 is about at its limit with my ST 120 on it IMO, but maybe a a TW 1 would be better for your 100.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
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AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
lordhaw
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Re: ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#6

Post by lordhaw »


pakarinen wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 6:49 pm Not to take things too far off topic, but have you considered an AZ 5? You can buy the head alone and then pick your tripod AFAIK. My TW 1 is about at its limit with my ST 120 on it IMO, but maybe a a TW 1 would be better for your 100.
Not off topic, I have considered an AZ5 as well. They changed the design of it I see, it used to be the same design as the Orion Versago II with the offset head like the Twilight Nano. The C102 isn't particularly heavy but it is long. My AZ3 doesn't handle it well past a certain point (it starts to drift backwards) unless I shift it forward in the rings which seems to balance it better. But the AZ3 was bought used and it's got some issues I haven't been able to resolve so replacing it might be best.
William.

Telescopes - 203mm (8") F/5.9 Skywatcher Dob, 102mm F/9.8 Celestron C102-HD refractor
Eyepieces - Agena SWA 70 deg 38mm, Agena SWA 70 deg 26mm, Celestron Luminos 82 deg 15mm, Celestron X-Cel LX 60 deg 12mm, 9mm, ES 82 deg 8.8mm, Orion 55 deg Edge-On 6mm
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#7

Post by Bigzmey »


Twilight I would be a better choice. You know that you can change the arm position on Twilight I from vertical to angled and also from left to right?
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: ES Twilight Nano Alt-AZ mount

#8

Post by lordhaw »


Bigzmey wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:50 pm Twilight I would be a better choice. You know that you can change the arm position on Twilight I from vertical to angled and also from left to right?
Nope, did not know that. That is very good info actually. That really helps with the decision.
William.

Telescopes - 203mm (8") F/5.9 Skywatcher Dob, 102mm F/9.8 Celestron C102-HD refractor
Eyepieces - Agena SWA 70 deg 38mm, Agena SWA 70 deg 26mm, Celestron Luminos 82 deg 15mm, Celestron X-Cel LX 60 deg 12mm, 9mm, ES 82 deg 8.8mm, Orion 55 deg Edge-On 6mm
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