Software Bisque Press Release
 

Software Bisque Delivers the Paramount ME

 
Announcement

 

April 09, 2002

GOLDEN, CO—Software Bisque has "raised the bar" once more with its latest product release: the Paramount ME.

But don't take our word for it. Read what others are writing about the incredible Paramount ME (below)...

  

Golden-based Software Bisque is considered by many in the field to be the leading astronomy software developer in the industry. Its flagship software product, TheSky, has gained a well-earned reputation as the most sophisticated, elegant, yet easy-to-use planetarium and telescope-control program. Software Bisque has developed several software extensions for TheSky, including CCDSoft, Orchestrate, TPoint and  AutomaDome.
Unsolicited Responses From Paramount ME Customers

 

The following letters were received from Paramount ME customers.

 

"Last night from 21:00 to 23:00 I spent standing looking at a piece of machinery that will make a difference in an industry that simply accepts "that's good enough".

 

Everything I see about the Paramount ME sets an entirely new standard for amateur astronomy. I look forward to installing and setting up your new mount.

 

Sometimes it very hard to see past schedules, 'gotta be here on this date,' 'need to make this customer happy,' 'fix the car,' 'turn the sprinklers on before the next job visit,' etcetera, etcetera, that we stop long enough to see what it is we are trying to do. Be a good person, take care of the family, make a living, make a difference.

 

I will probably take a lot of criticism for saying that the Paramount ME will make a difference in this industry, but amateur astronomy will never be the same... what you have done is that innovative, well thought out and superbly executed!

 

Thank you!"

 

"P.S. Please tell the crew that I have NEVER SEEN WORKMANSHIP of this quality ANYWHERE before yesterday!"

 

Tom Melsheimer

Meridian Controls Corporation

(Designer of the LX200 and the ArchImage Mount)

www.meridiancontrols.com

 

"Now that the Paramount ME is shipping I believe some of you who have waited
for a long time for the ME to be a reality would like some first
impressions.  My first Paramount ME (of several that have been on order for
years) has been delivered and last night we had "first light".

First let me say that all of the pictures and descriptions of this mount do
not do it justice.  It is beautifully and precisely made and it looks like a
million dollars worth of mount.  This product was definitely worth waiting
for. The Bisques are making a big mistake if they don't enter this in an
industrial design competition.

I have the mount installed with a C-14 OTA and polar aligned to within a
couple of arc-minutes.  I will do a better polar alignment over the next
couple of nights. I have not yet completed an extensive mapping run.  I have
not yet used the Pro-Track.  I have not yet trained the PEC.  I have made
some five minute unguided ST-9E exposures that show perfectly round stars at
5 minutes unguided and unPECed. I have also tried autoguiding the mount.

Peak to Peak periodic error over two full turns of the worm is well under 2
arc-seconds....measured with the STV.  I have never seen a mount with
periodic error that is this low.  Were it not for very good seeing at New
Mexico Skies last night the PE would have been immeasurable.

Pointing is what I have come to expect with the three 1100S models in our
stable...but I'm sure it will get a lot better when we can do a full TPoint
Mapping Run...I was just too anxious to see what the mount would do.

Backlash in DEC...something that was very good on the 1100S has been even
further improved on the ME.  It was possible with the STV to move the mount
up and down with 2-arc-second jogs and have the reference star hit exactly
the same pixels repeatedly after multiple up and down excursions.  The
positional control on this mount is something that has to be experienced to
be believed.

Autoguiding is unnecessary for exposures probably in the 5 to 10 minutes
range.  Nevertheless I used the STV in autoguide mode at F5.95 and RMS
guiding error in RA averaged 0.2 arc-seconds...I have never seen guiding
consistently better than 0.5 arc-seconds RMS on my 1100S Paramounts even on
a very good night.  If I'm ever able to find enough PE to train the PEC the
numbers can only improve.

The mount is considerably stiffer than the 1100S (even though it weighs in
at only a little over 65 lbs.  I believe the mount could easily handle 175
lb. loads.  It doesn't even feel the 14-inch tube.

The mount is quieter than the 1100S...the whining noise from the PWM in the
motor coils is much quieter...and when the scope is slewing it has a very
smooth silky sound...and it's really quick.  Without TPoint the pointing is
significantly better than an 1100 without TPoint.  When I've mapped a full
TPoint model I will report my pointing results.

And something else that needs to be seen to be believed.....autocentering
with a video camera and the video camera option in CCDSoft makes mapping
stars for TPoint a very fast, accurate and joyful experience.

So far I haven't seen anything to disappoint...the ME is everything I had
hoped it would be.  If you have one on order you're going to be very
pleased.

I will add to this report as I discover more noteworthy things about the
Paramount ME."

Mike Rice
New Mexico Skies, Inc.
www.Nmskies.Com
 

"I am currently testing the new Bisque ME and will be doing so for
the next couple of weeks.  I will not be posting any results nor
answering any questions at this time.  However let me give you some very
initial impressions:

  • The ME is not just beautiful, it is elegant.  I recommended to Bisque that they enter into an industrial design competition.  Its visual impact is simply stunning. It has elements of classical design and at the same time is futuristic looking. The pictures on the web site do not do it justice and the color is a deep, lovely enamel red. No kidding, it is a work of art.  When you see it in person you will understand what I mean.
  • I put my 16" RCOS, made by Brad Ehrhorn, on it and it slews without a whimper or bump. I believe that this mount could hold much more weight. The rating is now 125lbs. But I would not be surprised if they up that to at least 175lbs.
  • The thoughtfulness and time that went into the design elements explains why it has taken so long to get this out the door.  The Versa-Plate, i.e., the Declination plate, is an example.  It is wide and long and distributes the weight of a scope very nicely, and it has a solid dovetail system and mounting holes for almost any need.  The mechanism to balance the scope is simple and very easy to use, and the polar alignment adjustments are the easiest to operate and the best I have ever seen. Tightening altitude or azimuth does not alter the alignment a bit.
  • There are other great mounts out there, like the AP1200 which I like very much, also designed by Rob Miller.  It used to be in a class of its own, but not anymore.  It has been joined by the ME.  Which is better? You will have to judge for yourself.  But one thing is for sure, the world of excellent, large telescope mounts just changed forever.  Stay tuned, you are going to be very pleasantly surprised.
  • Like I said, these are some initial impressions only and I am providing no numbers in this shakedown cruise.  Those will be coming out in a couple of weeks and soon many users will be putting this mount through its paces.  For those of you who have waited for this mount, it will be well worth it."

Steve Mandel
Hidden Valley Observatory
Soquel, California
 www.galaxyimages.com

 

 

"I think all of the hard work you [Steve Bisque] and the rest of the team are putting in has resulted in an unbelievable product. Congratulations! The ME certainly sets a new standard in mounts, that's for sure..."

John Smith

Hidden Loft Observatory

Tucson, Arizona

http://www.hiddenloft.darkhorizons.org/

 

Contacts:

Stephen Bisque, President & CEO

Software Bisque, Inc.

912 Twelfth Street

Golden, Colorado 80401

Phone: (303) 278-4478

E-mail: stephen@bisque.com

Web site: www.bisque.com

 

Modified: July 24, 2007 .