Solved Orion/GSO RC10 Ritchey Chretien on M-Uno

Is there a problem installing a 16Kg RC10 Truss Tube Ritchey Chretien plus ZWO camera/FW/Off-Axis-Guider on a M-Uno mount? I know the M-Uno can support 20Kg but I want to make sure that the system will be well within load margin and that there won't be issues such as vibrations, undue flexure, drive capacity, etc... Thanks for your time and information.

I can't speak directly to the truss tube scope but I have been running a Meade 10" ACF, with Atik One 6 camera, Optec focuser, OAG, and 8 lbs of counterweight. OPT lists the Meade tube at 26 lbs. I'm fairly certain I'm very close to the 44 lbs upper limit for astrophotography on the M-UNO, if not a tiny bit over. It is mounted on a permanent pier in an observatory.

Depending on seeing conditions, of course, I get very good guiding performance and no erratic behavior. My PHD2 RMS numbers on decent nights are always below .5 arcsec and probably average .35 or better.

In my opinion, if your setup is well balanced and can be kept at or below the rated capacity of the M-UNO it should work fine. The structure and mechanicals of the mount are certainly capable of handling it's maximum rated weight and then some.

Thanks for your info mike7mak.

Until the pandemic settles down, I will keep using my C8 on my M-Uno and weight my option into a new OTA. Thanks again.

Hi @G_Gagnon,

I would like to put the same OTA ( RC10 ) on my M-uno ( on a permanent pier into an observatory) , did you moved forward in your plan since ?

@Avalon team what is your thoughts on this plan ?

weight: 15.7kgs
OTA lenght: 730 mm
Diameter : 294mm

Thank you

Bonjour Olivier,

No, I haven't gone forward (yet!) with this plan. Given my sky condition (Bortle 8~9, maybe 12 ) I have gone the FSQ85 with narrowband filter way.

Givent the M-Uno capacity and RC10 weight, I would assume that the M-Uno should be OK but if may be marginal in non-ideal conditions (wind, OTA not prefectly balanced,...).

Good luck.

Ok , thank you for your prompt feedback.

I had the opportunity to get a 2nd hand RC 8" a few days ago

I 'll finally stay on my initial plan (RC 8" and a wild field refractor in dual configuration) because I'm not sure my sky will let me use the full potential of an RC 10... was my fear too .

Cheers

Cheers