Here is a closer look at Roy Hess' excellent big binocular mount. AstroWood Manufacturing is now making some top-notch wooden parallelograms for binoculars of all sizes. I evaluate the mount and share my impressions.
AstroWood HD (Heavy Duty) Parallelogram Mount : Review
(photos at end of the review)
BACKGROUND :
Last summer in 2005, I started corresponding via email with a gentleman who lives in New Brunswick Canada, Roy Hess. Roy Hess is an amateur astronomer and expert woodworker who handcrafts some of the most beautiful binocular mounts I have ever seen. Roy also makes observing chairs and other astronomy-related gear from wood, but this review will focus solely on his HD parallelogram mount.
First, a few words about myself and my observing experience. I have been stargazing with the naked eye for as long as I can remember. But it was only in the last two years that I started "throwing glass" at the sky. I received a pair of 15x70mm binoculars for Christmas in 2004, and that got me hooked (obsessed) with bino-astronomy. It also ignited a case of raging aperture fever that culimated in the purchase of the 25x100mm Celestron Skymaster giant binocular. What followed is a clinical obsession with all things astronomical and binocular and to date I have logged hundreds of hours behind the eyepieces while working my way through the Messier catalog. After months of limiting myself to a standard (yet heavy duty) photo tripod, I began to yearn for a mount with my versatility and stability. As any experienced binocular astronomer can attest, peering through a pair of "straight-through" binoculars pinned to a camera tripod can be an exercise in contortionism, especially when pointed to the vertical or zenith. I started researching mounts on Cloudy Nights and the web, and I decided that a parallelogram mount was the way to go.
This presented a challenge to me : I would need a surveyor-style tripod. The majority of parallelogram mounts (hitherto referred to as "p-mount" to save typing!) are not designed to fit on a the run-of-the-mill camera tripod - they are simply too large and heavy for such tripods. So I retired my old Tiffen Magnum camera tripod, and went in search of a good surveyor. After much shopping, I scored a great deal online - a Raytheon, carbon-fiber surveyor tripod for less than $50.00! This tripod is short (maximum height 42 inches), so I can only use it while seated - which is my preferred method of stargazing anyway, so this did not present a problem. Although, I will admit that I would like the option of standing under the binoculars while observing the zenith, so a taller tripod is on my purchase radar for the future. But, this Raytheon tripod is incredibly SOLID and can hold my entire weight seated on it, which is over 200 pounds. With a suitable tripod in hand, I contacted AstroWood and ordered the sturdiest p-mount that Roy could fabricate. The typical 25x100mm binocular is a very large creature - over 10 pounds in weight, and nearly two-feet long. With dew shields and a finder attached, the package is even bigger and heavier. Just any old p-mount would not do. Roy had the solution - a beefy, robust, wooden mount that would dampen vibrations quickly.
WHY WOOD VERSUS METAL?
A few words about the other p-mounts on the market :
I didn't like much of what I saw. Most of the mounts I've seen are constructed of METAL. Metal, whether lightweight aluminum or heavier steel, transmits vibrations readily when compared to wood. Take a metal pipe and a similar-sized wooden pole and rap both of them on something hard and FEEL what happens. Also, I like the aesthetics of wood and prefer the look and feel of wood over metal, so I ruled out almost all of the metal mounts from the start. Another strike against the fancy metal mounts was their performance. Frankly, they don't perform well enough to suit my needs. According to trustworthy reports on Cloudy Nights, these metal mounts had vibration dampening times in the 8-10 second range! 8 to 10 seconds !!!! I do ALL of my observing with the big binoculars and I like to hunt down faint fuzzies at the limits of resolution (in the Mag 9 to 11 range), so I simply cannot tolerate a view that bounces around for 8 to 10 seconds after moving. In fact, any vibration over 2-3 seconds is not tolerable in my book. Every manufacturer that I could find was very reluctant to give out specific data about their vibration-dampening times, and for good reason apparently. None of the other commercially-available mounts would be acceptable to me, so this helped me finally decide on the AstroWood mount. Since some of the vibration-dampening is dependent on the tripod, I felt confident going into this endeavour with the Raytheon heavy surveyor providing a rock-solid base for the p-mount.
The wood used in these mounts is Eastern White Ash (the same wood used in Baseball bats), a wood with excellent all-around qualities. It has a pleasant grain and is very strong while having some flexibility. This wood provides the bulk of the mount. The rest is a metal bracket (where the p-mount vertical post meets the base plate), some polyethelene washers, a teflon bearing, and some metal bolts/nuts. Roy's skill as a woodworker is evident in the finished product. Every cut is perfectly clean. Every surface is perfectly finished. And no flaws or imperfections are visible anywhere on the mount. No sanding marks, no polyurethane runs, nothing to give the impression that the mount was 100% hand-made. Simply put, this p-mount is a work of functional art. Everyone who has seen this mount remarks about how attractive it is. From the moment I first took the parts out of the packing box, I knew I had found a first rate mount. For more on my initial impressions of this mount, and for more information about the assembly and troubleshooting, please refer to the following CN forums discussion thread : "AstroWood HD Parallelogram - first impressions."
THE MOUNT IN USE :
This review will focus on the long term observational use of this mount. As of this writing, I have used this mount for the better part of three months, which includes numerous trips into the backyard and field. In short, this mount is a breeze to use and provides excellent views. There is little vibration to speak of, and the dampening times are less than 4 seconds for the big 100mm binocular and nearly instantaneous for the smaller 15x70 binocular. The mount moves fluidly over 4 degrees of motion thanks to a Teflon azimuth bearing and polyethelene washers. Tension is adjusted via two tightening knobs on the parallelogram, which allow the user to achieve the correct balance for almost any size binocular. Counterweights can be added or removed to achieve the same purpose. The binocular cradle has a standard 1/4x20 threaded post to mate with the typical center-post adapter on giant binoculars. To use a smaller binocular without a center post, an L-type bracket is needed. Thus far I have used this mount with 8x42, 15x70, and 25x100 binoculars. It has performed flawlessly with each. But the primary reason I acquired this mount was for the giant 25x100 binoculars, and I am happy to report that this mount is more than capable of fielding the most (if not all) 100mm binoculars on the market.
One would expect a great deal of set-up and take-down time for a complex p-mount. Not so....well, I guess it depends on the physical attributes of the person doing the work. I am an able-bodied, middle-aged man who works a blue-collar job, with no back or knee issues (thankfully....*knock on wood*), so I "cheat" a little when it comes to this mount. I leave the tripod and p-mount assembled and standing on my computer-room floor. The counterweights are already attached, and all that is missing is the binocular. When I feel like observing in the backyard, I fold one of the tripod legs inward (to reduce the profile). Then I grab the tripod around the top baseplate and let the long-arm of parallelogram rest on my shoulder. I lift upward and proceed to walk the entire assembly down the hall and out the back door into the yard. I put the rig down in my desired observing spot and then go back into the house for the binoculars and my observing stool. I use a small wooden barstool that has the legs sawn off short. This keeps the stool small and light and allows my 6'3" frame to sit under the binocular while the mount is pointed straight up to the zenith. All in all, it takes less than five minutes to set up the mount in this way. When complete disassembly is required (such as transportation in a car), I remove the mount from the tripod via three knobs that bolt the p-mount base down to the tripod plate. The weights can be removed/changed by removing a wing-nut and washer which secures the weights to the p-mount arm. The mount can be further disassembled, but I have never found it necessary. Removing the p-mount from the tripod and removing the weights makes for a relatively-compact package that fits into the rear seat compartment of my Toyota Camry. Folded tripod and a duffle-bag containing weights and knobs fits into the seat as well.
Roy custom built the base plate for the p-mount to fit my Raytheon tripod. This particular tripod is not available on the commercial market and is a government contract item. As one might guess, it has a few peculiar "fit" features that are not standard to the typical surveyor tripod. To make a long story short, I mailed Roy a tracing of the tripod top plate, and using this, he was able to custom fabricate a mounting plate to mate the mount and tripod. The fact the Roy was able to fabricate the plate without having ever seen the tripod in person, is a testament to his skills and personality. The plate fit 100% snug and Roy was easy to work with via email and telephone to hammer out the fine details.
In the field (or backyard) this mount performs flawlessly. The motion is smooth as butter on every axis of movement. The four degrees of motion allow the mount to used while seated or reclined, without the need to stay parked behind the mount, as seen in competing mounts with fewer degrees of motion. I had the option (and chose to take it) of having a pan-handle included on the binocular cradle. This handle makes moving the binocular a breeze. Once the tension knobs are properly adjusted (which takes only a few moments), it is effortless to pan the binoculars around in any direction. Casual, long sweeps and scans are a delight. And when a specific target is located, the binoculars can be made to STOP with very little vibration. In fact, using a stopwatch, I measured vibration dampening times and found that this mount oscillates for less than 4 seconds for rapid/jarring movements, and closer to 2 (TWO) seconds for smaller, lighter movements. I must emphasize that this mount is NOT bouncy, wiggly or otherwise loose. It has a very tight and positive feel to it, when stationary and when in motion. If I stop on M45 for example, and then pan slowly away in any direction and stop again, the vibrations die down almost instantly. It is only when making broad sweeping movements that the full dampening time is needed. When using smaller binoculars, like the 15x70mm, the dampening times are even more impressive - in the sub-2 second range. Some of this is due in part to my robust and heavy tripod which has a low center of gravity, but much of it is equally due to the superb engineering of this mount. I would recommend this mount to any observer who wishes to field the heaviest 100mm binoculars on the market without comprising stability.
Using this mount has taken my stargazing to new level. Without performing the contortionist acts that are necessary to view from the confines of a standard photo tripod, I can now observe longer without becoming fatigued. Observing sessions are now a relaxing pleasure rather than an exercise in leisurely spine-torture. My only regret is that I did not acquire this mount much sooner.
Roy Hess and AstroWood are now in the process of manufacturing these mounts. Please bear in mind, my particular mount is a prototype designed to test the feasibility of a 100mm binocular mount. As an extra measure of security, Roy backs up all of his mounts with a service/replacement guarantee - although I can't forsee ever having to exercise it, thanks to his excellent workmanship.
Photo links : (temporarily removed)
SUMMARY :
A beautiful and stable mount that competes well against the best (and most expensive) parallelograms on the market.
Pros :
Cons :
Turn-around time can be a bit long for those in search of instant gratification. These are custom built, so expect some delay before delivery....but it's well worth the wait!
Roys website : AstroWood Manufacturing.
Clear dark skies to all...
Mike Gilmer
(Cloudy Nights : Glassthrower)