派拉蒙 Paramount vs Astro Physics 赤道儀

[社長]

2008年到訪美國，參觀了Software Bisque總部及生產車間，在老闆Steven Bisque大哥帶領下，認識了他們四兄弟創辦這公司的理念及經歷，也對Paramount ME這獨一無二的赤道儀，有了更深入的認識，其中私人話題當然離不開它跟另一享負盛名的品牌Astro Physics的各自優勢：

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執筆這分鐘，火炭工作室又有一台AP赤道儀正待用戶來取貨，過去一段時間，Mach1GTO、AP900、AP1200等都進過，Paramount ME及MX也有好幾個過手，這兩系赤道儀也有一個共同設計師的身影，可謂有些血緣關係，也設計理念及定位郤不盡相同。

我愛Paramount，ME發西藏組建自己的遙控天文台，又訂了一套MX回來承203APO，經2008親身考察，最欣賞其不惜工本的每台赤道儀花上80機械小時，去蕪存菁的僅把有需要的材料留下來，小至一顆手擰縲絲也經過減重加工，從100公斤以上的鋁材加工出至台只重30公斤不足的赤道儀，但負重郤可達200公斤以上，看NASA及David Levy的設備便知道 (網上不時引述的"68公斤"承重量，其實只是Software Bisque隨意標出來而已，單極軸軸承的系數已是3000磅)，另外本身的電子及軟件配置，更可謂跟赤道儀渾然天成，不連電腦單用手控，作行星月面觀測又十分好用，加上本身的導星口，肯定比高橋的更易用。正如往年跟David結伴觀星時，我架Paramount ME可能三分鐘完事，他的EM200比我慢得多。

有機會摸過不同的AP跟Paramount ME及MX，不少人都會認同Paramount的造工是細緻些的。簡單至配重，AP的加工邊緣是銳角的，而Paramount則圓潤得多，連套赤道用手擰縲絲不用工具，便能架起來承上重型望遠鏡而穏如泰山。那次Steven Bisque大哥教我用手指摸一下配重中間那個孔，原來不是鑽出來便完事，孔牆上加工了有一條微微的凸紋（不是凹紋），配合手擰縲絲已能在配桿上鎖得緊緊。當然，代價是我在西藏放了四個配重，不計運費已花了過萬元...

近日看到網上一些討論，是關於Paramount vs AP的選擇而引起的，因為是從Software Bisque用戶群的討論區引述，我們可先假設有些傾向性，所以純引述作為大家其中一個參考之用，內容可能並不全面。

[社長]

Paramount在Homing, Direct Guide, Clutchless的優勢：

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Between homing, DirectGuide and lack of clutches, it's a no-brainer to go with the Paramount. AP owner are happy with what they bought but they don't have these features and hence don't miss or see the value in them. The homing feature alone means your mount will never lose its orientation to the sky. There's also no dangling cables that can wrap and break as AP owners have had to endure.

The MX is also especially suited for satellite and close-approach NEO object tracking. The integration of the mount with TheSkyX software (all of which is included with the mount) makes it powerful tool with unique abilities.

If you're not a Paramount user, I won't expect you to understand. I own both AP and Paramounts and the Paramount is the far superior mount.

Jonathan


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Yes, homing sensors allow the mount to reposition itself to a known position. The sensors in the Paramount allow this positioning to be within a few arc seconds each time (there's a spec for this but I don't recall it but suffice to say, the positioning is VERY precise).

Clutches can slip and ruin your mount's alignment. Now people who think clutches are a safety mechanism might argue that if something hangs your mount or it somehow collides with something that it's better to slip than to grind your gears. Well, with some mounts that might be necessary but not the Paramount. The motors when they meet resistance will begin increase their current draw and the electronics in the mount will detect it and stop the tracking. No damage and no physical alignment problems.

DirectGuide is a proprietary feature of CCDSoft that allows guiding WITHOUT a guide cable. Because SB writes all of their software products and builds the mount, they can make one piece of software talk to another. CCDSoft directly sends autoguider slew commands to the mount. It not only eliminates the need for a cable (that might snag or develop a problem) but the response time for detecting a need to bump the mount and doing so is at computer speeds and not at camera relay speeds.

Then there is ProTrack, another proprietary feature that utilizes a high-density Tpoint sky mapping model to allow the mount to be micro-adjusted as it tracks the sky. This is completely autonomous and compliments autoguiding. It will factor out refraction-caused guiding problems. I've been able to image 20 minutes without any guide corrections and have pinpoint stars. With autoguiding enabled, the corrections that need to be made are fewer and smaller (which is good).

There really is so much more to this package, it is as I said a no-brainer. You should spend some more time on the SB website and download a bunch of stuff to read. The more you learn, the more the decision will be easier for you to make.

All of this software is included with the Paramount and tightly integrates with the mount making this the most sophisticated mount an amateur can afford. I find these unique capabilities compelling. If you, on the other hand only value smooth tracking, then pick just about any other decent mount. I own two mounts and when I buy a third, it will become my second Paramount!

Jonathan

[社長]

提到 Paramount 跟 AP 的血脈關係...

其中AP比Paramount MX有更大轉動空間，而MX過中天數角度後便會停機，避免望遠鏡撞到支架上。

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If you view the PMX as a shrunken version of the PME, it's interesting to note that the basic design of both the SB and AP mounts have a nexus. Around the year 2000, an Englishman named Rob Miller applied his talents to get both product lines working at their high levels of performance. He did the PME design after the AP1200, and I wonder if it was his idea (somewhat radical at the time) to eliminate the clutches.

Both products have their pros & cons. The AP has a higher load capacity and fewer restrictions on the range of motion. The PMX is better suited for remote operation. Both companies are in the middle of major rewrites for their control software. I've used a PME since 2005 and in my (somewhat biased) opinion, it's the best investment I ever made in astronomy gear. Month after month, year after year, turn it on and it just works.

If I buy a second mount, it would be another PME or the PMX.

Jim M.

[funoooo]

社長，

有関 Paramount 及 Astro Physics Homing 技術是否不一樣？AP 好似是用 Clutch，而 Paramount 是用 sensor。在精度有多大分別？ Clutch 有一樣好處是物理接觸，比較實在！sensor 是用光學還是电磁波？ 因風沙塵埃有可能有影響精度。

另 AP 有一樣優點是可過中天。

在價錢方面....... 好似 paramount 優勝得多，對嗎？

另 Skywatcher 好似就快 EQ8，專打 Paramount 及 AP 市場。請問社長有沒有多點資料？

[社長]

社長，

有関 Paramount 及 Astro Physics Homing 技術是否不一樣？AP 好似是用 Clutch，而 Paramount 是用 sensor。在精度有多大分別？ Clutch 有一樣好處是物理接觸，比較實在！sensor 是用光學還是电磁波？ 因風沙塵埃有可能有影響精度。

另 AP 有一樣優點是可過中天。

在價錢方面....... 好似 paramount 優勝得多，對嗎？

另 Skywatcher 好似就快 EQ8，專打 Paramount 及 AP 市場。請問社長有沒有多點資料？

具體AP的Homing如何實現我沒有去理解，但Paramount是非常精準的。

2008年我拜訪Software Bisque總部時，Steven大哥說在美國具規模的遙控天文台，九成都用Paramount ME，一成用AP，用高橋的絶無僅有。在某觀測點你會看到50台Paramount ME架在那裡工作，很壯觀的。

Paramount MX可過中天兩小時，比ME好得多，以其標註的45kg負重(實際更高)，對絶大多數愛好者來說，夠用了。

Skywatcher EQ8 如何，我要看到實物及一段時間field test才可作論，但只能說Paramount的生產模式，不容易在Skywatcher那種生產線上實現，兩者應是面對不太一樣的市場。