High Bang-for-the-Buck Alt-Az Mounts:
Straightforward, Elegant, Robust, Lightweight

The Mini Hitch is the first of several new lightweight Alt-Az mounts designed to deliver maximum performance for minimum price given their level of sophistication and quality construction.  These mounts feature a shared architecture that includes:

  • CNC machined structures of aircraft aluminum alloy and stainless steel

  • Cross-braced yoke assembly for lightweight rigidity

  • Two-axis balancing

  • Preloaded roller thrust bearings

  • Low backlash slow-motion controls

  • No-tool, adjust-on-the-fly clutches

  • Centerline payload positioning to minimize stress on the tripod

  • Excellent tripod clearance to eliminate the need for an extension column

Select button for more information:

The Mini Hitch

Two additional models will be available soon:

  • The 4-Hitch for 4 to 5-inch class APO refractors, 9.25-inch SCTs, and 100 mm angle-view binoculars.  9 pounds ready-to-use.

  • The 5-Hitch for 5 to 6.5-inch class APO refractors, and up to 11-inch SCTs.  14 pounds ready-to-use.

Both the 4-Hitch and 5-Hitch will have an encoder/DSC option and an optional electronic slow-motion control unit with intuitive trainable tracking.

The Art & Science of Being Rigid Without Being Large & Heavy

Some mounts boast about their carrying capacities like it's their only virtue — implying a larger capacity equates to a better mount.  In this "bigger is better" race, the qualities that make a convenient, high-portability mount are mostly forgotten.
 

By contrast, Half Hitch mounts are optimized for easy portability:
 

  • Proportioned to a specific range of OTAs and tripods — not too big or small

  • Centerline payload position for good balance on lightweight tripods

  • Excellent tripod clearance means no tripod extension column is needed

  • Full range of advanced features in a miniaturized package

 

Half Hitch mounts are not only robustly built; they are smartly designed.  The main yoke members are elegantly rounded and tapered from aircraft-grade alloy.  The axes turn on heavy-duty stainless steel shafts (instead of screws).  Roller thrust bearings (instead of plastic washers) are rated for loads beyond a thousand pounds.  A Wide cross-brace provides maximum structural stiffness.  CNC machined structures fit together tightly and are completely free of slop — yet the axes and controls have not a hint of binding.  The larger mounts feature main structural components with weight-reducing machined lattices of pockets and ribs.

 

By employing sophisticated structural geometry, Half Hitch mounts deliver high stiffness-to-weight ratios.  And the optimized alt-azimuth configuration of Half Hitch mounts has inherent structural advantages over GEMs and alt-az/GEM convertible mounts.  Also note that the machined alloy structures of Half Hitch mounts are far, far stronger than the castings used for the structures of some competing mounts.

 

Precision Made in USA


info@halfhitchtelescope.com
512-632-9624


 Half Hitch Order Form

 

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