The Astro-Physics Mach1GTO Equatorial Mount is the smallest and most portable mount in the Astro-Physics line. According to Astro-Physics, the design goals of this mount were to be the first, compact, light-weight mounting that was designed for utmost portability while maintaining extreme rigidity and excellent tracking accuracy. No shortcuts were taken to achieve these goals. From the highly-accurate fine-pitch gearbox to the precision-machine tool bearings, to the innovative worm wheel and clutch design, this mount represents a new approach to this vital part of the overall imaging train.
The payload capacity is conservatively rated at 45 lbs., but
Roland Christen, owner of Astro-Physics, has used the mount in
extreme adverse conditions while imaging with much more weight than this rating.
The mount was designed with imagers in mind, as it has a revolutionary "through the mount" cable management system to keep the tangle of wires often seen surrounding an imager's scope out of the way.
The mount was listed as a
Sky and Telescope Hot Product of 2007 and reviewed very favorably by
Dennis di Cicco of the same publication.
April 2, 2008
