Any Losmandy G11 Opinions

[GKS]

Good evening everyone,

I will be adding another telescope (AT130EDT) to my collection which will require a new astrophotography mount.
Does anyone have any opinions on the newer Losmandy G11?
Reviews about the G11 within the last couple of years preferably.
I can find plenty of reviews from 2021 and before.
The most recent reviews I have read state to just use the mount, don't fiddle with it or adjust anything - just use it. This is from recent reviews within the last couple of years.
A lot of older reviews state that adjustments used to be common all of the time.
There's a lot of negative reviews and horror stories about Losmandy. But, I know you hear more of the bad than the good.
There are reviews all over the board about excessive backlash and minimal backlash.
I'm just trying to do my homework before the money plunge for a new mount. They cost a lot more than they did 5 years ago.

Thank you for any information. It will be greatly appreciated.

[Bigzmey]

Welcome to TSS GKS! Any particular reason you are looking at Losmandy vs other mount brands?

[messier 111]

Good evening ,
I can't help.
but I welcome you to TSS.
I am convinced that you will find answers to your questions.

[GKS]

Welcome to TSS GKS! Any particular reason you are looking at Losmandy vs other mount brands?

Losmandy is my first consideration because of how sturdy the mount and tripod, build quality and supposedly how well it guide.
I do have a close 2nd, the Sky Watcher EQ6-R
I have been looking at the Zwo AM5N and waiting on more reviews about the Sky Watcher 150i

My current set up is an Orion Sirus EQ-G with an AT80EDT on it. The Sirius EQ-G has served me well, but I really cannot put a larger telescope on it.

[OzEclipse]

Hi GKS,

Welcome to TSS.

I own a Takahashi EM-200, a Takahashi clone of the EQ6 mount.

I don't own a Losmandy G11, however, a friend of mine, @scribbly brings his G11 to my property regularly for dark sky observing and photography. They are a very capable mounting. His was purchased new in July 2020.

The EQ-AZ-6 is a slightly different design on the polar axis cradle but they are otherwise the same mounting in terms of payload capacity. It won't have a much higher payload limit. For astrophotography, it will carry around 10-15 kg depending how hard you want to push it, visual, maybe 20kg. The Losmandy G11 is rated to about 28-30kg astrophotographic or visual payload. You are getting a much sturdier mounting. High build quality. Two members have and use them, @SkyHiker (Henk) is a long term user of a G11 and @scribbly (Phil) purchased his in July 2020. For extra cost, you can buy a modular kit that allows the RA & Dec axes to be separated making each component of the EQ head much lighter to handle and assemble.

In that price range, the iOptron CEM70 is also very good as are the ZWO strain wave mounts. If you could find a decent condition 2nd hand EM-200 at a reasonable price, they have a very precise drive system but old electronics so connectivity is not as good as the SW EQAZ 6. The attached photo taken with my EM200 is made up of unguided 2 minute subs taken at 1280mm focal length. The bright stars are a little blobby and not round because the object was at a very low altitude during capture and the atmosphere wasn't cooperating. It was a test exposure for a similar low altitude exposure of Comet Tsuchinshan the next morning. None of the subs were thrown out. I can usually use every sub unless the scope is out of balance. The tracking is so good <±5 arc sec PE that I have never bothered to setup any autoguiding.

.


Henk and Phil should see these mentions and chime in with their opinions of the mount. Give them time to respond. Phil is very busy at work at the moment and not engaging here as much as he used to, and Henk has been pretty quiet on forum for some months.

I suspect you would be very happy with a G11.

cheers

Joe

[SkyHiker]

Since last weekend I now have 2 Losmandies. One quick answer about my most favorite part is that the HD foldable tripod is magnificent, as sturdy as a pier, echoed by many Losmandy users.

My first Losmandy was a G11S with 492 controller new for $2500 in 2018 because I balked at the extra costs of the Gemini control system. Instead, I added an OnStep controller. The system performs OK but no more than that. If I get 0.7" RMS I am very happy but usual it is about 1". Of course, BlurXTerminator fixes that type of problem very well but let's ignore that. I can't tell if that performance is due to the G11S or the OnStep system, but I suspect the latter. Cheap stepper motors are just not as good as high torque servos.

The one I just got is from 2015 from an ad on Cloudy Nights for $2100 with Gemini II level 5, high torque non-tucked-in motors, HD folding tripod, polar scope and no spring-loaded worms. I just updated the firmware to level 6 and flashed the motor controllers to v30, so it is equivalent to new Losmandies assuming that they get shipped with level 6 (not sure). Level 6 turns the 256-bit motor encoders into 1024 bits, roughly speaking, leading to improved performance. One reason to get it is that I read that many Losmandy users (with level 5) get 0.5" RMS (while there are plenty who don't but that's also a matter of skill and weather). I hope my system can get there, or less because of level 6.

The differences between my system and Losmandies over the past few years are the non-tucked-in motors, and the lack of SLWs. The tucked-in motors are a matter of convenience in rare cases and not essential. The SLWs are a long story. Losmandy has a system that lets you set the minimum worm distance of the worm to the ring gear, whereas AP mounts have a system where you set the maximum distance of the worm to the ring gear. Why, I have no idea. For my OnStep system I added my own DIY SLWs that follow the latter idea. SLWs are a matter of convenience as well because you can alternatively counterweight the axes to fight the backlash. For RA this is natural, for DEC it is not so that's where SLWs are most useful.

The backlash problem is real. When I got my G11S I noticed backlash and found that the ring gear is not round or not well centered. I had to leave a small amount of backlash in order for the motors not to bind up. With SLWs that problem goes away. There is another potential problem related to the worm bearings. They introduce a 72 second cycle when the worm blocks are not properly aligned. Alignment is something that users can control by adjusting the worm blocks, a simple procedure.

The nice thing about Losmandies is that they are very simple and therefore very serviceable. They are mechanically very well made (aside from the problems mentioned) and last a lifetime. The G11 has a 60 lbs. capacity, I believe that's for AP.

Sorry I don't have reports for the performance of factory Losmandies, although I will have, soon. I think I won't be disappointed.

[GKS]

Thanks everyone for the responses so far.
The backlash is what I'm worried about. I have read that the backlash was supposedly taken care of in the last several years. That's my main reason for asking about the newer Losmandy.
I have read that the new Ioptrons (within the last several years) are not what they used to be and to basically stay away from them.
I'm just trying to gain as much knowledge as I can before paying all that money on something that doesn't work well or not at all.
I had a CGX for about 3 weeks last year and the retailer had me send it back to them. We couldn't get the thing to guide well and consistantly.
Keep the info coming please. Everything helps.
Thanks.

[AstroBee]

+1 for the iOptron CEM70. I have the CEM70EC and regularly get guiding in the range of .35-.55" TRMS. And that's guiding through an OAG at 1216mm fl. The mount is incredible. I have it paired with NINA and run my Explore Scientific ED152 on it all the time, no sweat.
If you are looking for something more portable, I've seen several good reviews on the new AM5N. It should easily handle the scope you mentioned. But I'm not a fan of those lightweight carbon fiber tripods. I run my iOptron on the iOptron tripier with an 8" extension so my long refractor can clear the legs.

[SkyHiker]

About your comment that the CGX could not guide consistently, guiding is often inconsistent because of the atmosphere. The choice of guide scope also plays a role, maybe even the row location of the guide star on the sensor.

You should ask around at the Losmandy Users IO group if you haven't done so and ask specifically about backlash, consistent guiding and RMS error.

I considered getting an iOptron CEM60 or CEM120, but I like to buy American when I can to support the economy.

[GKS]

I was really hoping to keep the CGX. I got it on an inventory reduction sale at a steal of a price. The retailer had me try both of my scopes and made sure that all of the software was up to date and after about the 15th time of trying to get it to perform like it should, they said send it back. I really did like the mount. I guess it wasn't meant to be.
If I end up with a strain wave, I would mount it on a tripier or something similar probably.
I will try the Losmandy user groups and pick their brains also.
Thanks for all of the comments. It's greatly appreciated.
Please keep the comments coming.

[Graeme1858]

I run my iOptron on the iOptron tripier with an 8" extension so my long refractor can clear the legs.

Mind you don't fall in to that pool while stumbling about in the dark Greg!