Presentation at Telescope Technology Workshops

There are many inflated, non-quantitative, claims about new mounts with “superb performance”. How do we evaluate these claims and test their veracity?  Astrophotography images with blobby stars do not make it easy to discriminate between poor technique, poor mount design, or defective/damaged equipment. It is difficult to tell whether better results from one mount resulted from better equipment, better technique or better conditions. Fortunately, there are more quantitative techniques that can be used to evaluate a mount’s true performance quantitatively, but they are not well known by telescope users. Such techniques can help you evaluate the right time to send your mount in in for a specific repair, and when it is time to upgrade your equipment to something quantitatively better.