Fornax 155 Mount with MC5 controller & Encoder

Fornax 155 Mount with MC5 controller & Encoder

This is the latest incarnation of the former Fornax 155 mount. The New Fornax 150 comes with much strengthened and improved wormbox that makes it an even more precise mount. The new housing of the worm drive is stronger and it has got an extra unit that holds it in exact position, eliminating any sideway movement that could have occured in earlier versions when changing direction under heavy load.
Manufacturer : Fornax Mount
SKU : Fornax155_MC5_Enc
Price: 16658.81 € incl tax 19% (Germany)
Estimated delivery time : 2-3 months (valid for new orders)
Product description

This is the latest incarnation of the former Fornax 155 mount. The New Fornax 155 comes with much strengthened and improved wormbox that makes it an even more precise mount. The new housing of the worm drive is stronger and it has got an extra unit that holds it in exact position, eliminating any sideway movement that could have occured in earlier versions when changing direction under heavy load.

Robust Body

Fornax Telescope Mounts are a series of German Equatorial mounts for precise positioning and tracking large telescopes. These are available in various payload capacities: 50kg, 100kg, 150 kg and 200 kg (the latter one is coming soon). The Fornax 155 telescope mount is a heavy duty German Equatorial mount for precise positioning and tracking extremely large telescopes up to about 100 kg. Although there are examples of use of even heavier telescopes up to 150 kg, the recommended maximum load is about 100 kg for this telescope mount when used for imaging.

High accurate tracking

The mechanism of this extremely sturdy mount is being made of aluminium alloy, cast aluminium, bronze and stainless steel. The worm and the electric motor are located in an enclosed, sealed space (waterproof and dust-proof), making it less sensitive to dust and temperature fluctuations, and is practically maintenance free. Thanks to the ingenious solution of the inner drive mechanism this telescope mount doesn’t suffer from any backlash. Typical periodic error (when not guided) is less than +/- 6 arc seconds (one period on the worm gear is 7.5 minutes long!) Whit absolute encoder, this can be reduced to below +/-0.5 arc seconds.  When using auto guiding, the mount reacts immediately, so corrections are very fast and completely free of play. This is the ultimate solution for astrophotography with a high quality/price ratio.

Due to its weight and size this model is designed for observatories, not exactly a transportable model.

The MC5 GoTo controller with hand box

The control was developed by Ursa Minor for large mounts and is ideal for Fornax mounts. Of course, the control unit is delivered readily adjusted with the mount. About 50,000 objects are already contained in the database.

  • Power supply 12 V to 30 V - we recommend 24-30 Volt stabilized power supply
  • Maximum current consumption 2.5 A (controller only)
  • Computer connection - USB available
  • Autoguiderport ST4 level available
  • DSLR control (2.5 mm stereo jack) available
Scope of Delivery:
  • Mount
  • Controller with handbox
  • Absolute Encoder (2 Heidenhain ECN 125 2048 5XS08-c4 R)
Note: Counterweights per KG 11 EUR (please specify when ordering)
Products specifications
Technical Data
Montagegewicht70 kg
Maximale Nutzlast:120 kg (ohne Gegengewicht)
Fotografische Nutzlast:90 kg (ohne Gegengewicht)
Gesamtabmessungen:320 × 584 × 770 mm
Wellendurchmesser:100 mm, eloxierte Aluminiumlegierung
Lager:Durchmesser 150 mm, hochpräzise Kegelrollenlager in X-Anordnung
Ausrüstung:Durchmesser 292,5 mm, 1,5-Modul, RA-Zahnrad aus Bronze, 192 Zähne
Wurm:Durchmesser 33 mm, Mehrfachgewinde, geschliffen, gehärtet, korrosionsbeständiger Stahl (KO13)
Periodischer Fehler:< +/- 6 Bogensekunden
Periodischer Fehler (bei Encodern):< +/- 0,5 Bogensekunden
Schrittmotoren200 Phasenschritte/Umdrehung, 1,7 Nm
Spannung und Strom:24 V DC, 3,5 A Spitzenleistungsaufnahme bei maximaler Last
Schrittauflösung:0,25 Bogensekunden pro Schritt mit MC5 und 0,03 Bogensekunden pro Schritt mit OC5
Höchstgeschwindigkeit:4 Grad pro Sekunde
Halterungsrohr für Gegengewicht:Durchmesser 42,4 mm (1,25-Zoll-KO33-Rohr) × Länge 570 mm