A interesting looking mount.
Merry Christmas to you

 

I agree that it's a very imteresting mount. It looks like it would be easier/simpler to use, plus lighter in weight.

Happy holidays, and may the New Year bring better observing weather.

 

I went in a different direction. I'm primarily an imager and want steadier/heavier mounts. I also wanted to simplify my equipment, pairing two heads to one tripod.



One thing I didn't care for with the Twilight 1 tripod was the leg spreader with only three eyepiece holes. The many eyepiece holes in the CG-4 leg spreader are better for imaging because it can hold the camera, alignment eyepiece, barlows, etc.

I do use the Twilight 1 for imaging wide-field deep sky, believe it or not. I use my DSLR with the 60mm and field flattener/reducer or a camera lens, and set the DSLR to short exposures. From a very bad Bortle 9 zone a high number of short exposures works better than less and longer exposures. With the short exposures star trailing isn't an issue.

The CG-4/Twilight 1 hybrid is still portable. If you're wondering what I did with the Twilight 1 tripod, I salvaged all the hardware and repurposed the materials.

Your pictures made me think that an additional arm attachment bolt on the Twilight 1 might help control the vertical oscillations even better. Hmmm.....

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ADDED: I didn't waste any time and disassembled the Twilight head and marked it for drilling for the additional bolts. I saw that there is a big stud molded into the base that mates with a cup in the arm. The stud was ~.030" too long and held the arm flange off the base, a source of movement/vibration in my mount. I filed about .040" off the stud and then lapped the flanges of the two pieces together. Wayyy better fit. I used Lock Tite Blue on the stud/cup assembly to bed the two pieces together. I did not Lock Tite the assembly bolts.

While I was at it I checked all other assembly point, but they were OK. I believe the better seating/mating of these two parts eliminated most movement on the vertical axis.

 

Cool looking tripod! I hope you and TwiSky have many observing opportunities in 2024

 

Years ago I had thought about getting the Twilight 2, but it really wouldn't fill any of my requirements. If anything, what I really need is a good photo tripod. I drove my car into the tripod I have and the repairs are not quite satisfactory. Maybe later this year I'll get a tripod I like and can afford.

With the better fit of the arm to the base I believe I eliminated a lot instability. The extra bolts are still an option I haven't ruled out, and are easy enough to do.

Over the years I have seen pictures of how Twilight 1 owners modded the arm. The reason I used hobby grade plywood is because wood dampens vibration better than steel or polymers, and I have plenty left over from other projects. I immediately saw the difference the mod made using the TV-85.

 

I believe you made a good move getting the Twilight 1. The SV225 looks like a decent option for smaller and shorter scopes. Time will tell.

 

I noticed that ES no longer has the twilight 2 on their site.
A friend needed some parts for his and was told they were unavailable.