Thank You, Ballard.
I love that mount, it's a G811GM HD. Scott Losmandy put together a G11 RA axis married to a GM8 dec axis. It appealed to me because I didn't see a need for a G11 dec axis for my Teany Weinie 80 mm refractor I had at the time.(18 pounds total)
But with a 50 pound photographic payload rating is, (G11G 60 pound), I figured it could handle as big as I would foreseeably go.
Now, it has that Triplet 130mm (5") refractor on it. All together I think the equipment from the clamp up is 33 pounds. Which isn't a strain on the mount at all.
My thinking was to have the HD tripod for strength and rigidity, the G11RA which is so good of the Losmandy line, And the lighter GM8 DEC axis.
Yep, I added the 12" extension to space out the tripod and head. No clunk in the night. Basically, a portable pier configuration.
As I picked brains over at the Losmandy Forum, I confirmed what I wanted almost to a tee. I added the RAEXT. After I brought it home and put it together the way I planned.
In part, so I could break it down easily to bring it in (3 main assemblies, Clamp up; DEC/counter weights; and extension. But the RAEXT also allows to not do a meridian flip if aiming South. (North is another can of worms. But I finally licked that in NINA.) As you probably know, as good as Losmandy Mounts are, the Software Industry tends to revolve around others. So they aren't always easy to dial in.
I finally "borrowed" Meridian flip settings from a post I found on the Gemini II forum. Now it flips like a fish on a deck.

I've had some nice conversations with Scott. He could see I had my goal in mind with the specifics I had when I went to Burbank to pick it up at the factory (20 miles away).
I bought a clamp for camera mounting to the dovetail bar. He specifically ask me how I was planning to use it, "Underhung?". Yes I told him, that was what I was thinking.
I don't use it so much for hanging my DSLR under much, it's easier to have my big lens mounted to a dovetail bar and to just mount it right on the clamp. Then do my Comet hunting and guiding.
I removed the bracket for the camera, and use the clamp underhung on my dovetail bar as a stop for the dovetail against the clamp itself. That way the telescope always was perfectly landed in balance everytime I mounted it.
(I use to remove my telescope after every session and bring it indoors, then cover my mount with a round BBQ cover, and a 32 gallon Dome. (A black plastic trash can)
Now though, the 33+ payload is quite awkward for me, and I have a inguinal hernia. (Groin) So I'm not suppose to lift it. It stays mounted and gets covered, plus a patio umbrella to help with the Sun burning down on things. It works.
One last bit of advice Scott gave me was, "Don't mess with it, just use it." And I have always followed that advice.
Except I did lube the gears for the motors.
So it stays outside, with 1" thick old growth Redwood adjustable boards under it's toes (Home made). Everybody sez you don't need to level your mount. I'm not everybody. I like to start off with my tripod as plumb with the earth as possible.
Love my GM811G HD and how it is mildly customized. Thing I like the most is it's American Made. (Singapore electronics, German Programming.) Damn near bulletproof.

Another great set of images, Brian.
Love the Blue Snowball.

Most excellent Brian!
Make stars while the stars shine!

Woo-Hoo!
Some real eye candy there Brian!
Glad you are finally getting some skies there.
Amazing!

Love it!
That's beautiful!

Hi Ballard!
Typically, I don't save a lot of my data. Looking back on a lot of it is just too depressing. But I have learned all along.
I think when "Rank Amateur" was coined, they had me in mind.
I typically store my finished images, but not the whole file. Especially .fit files. Because they tend to be so gigantic.
I've learned over the decades that CD's scratched, Tape drives break, hard drives quit, and thumb drives go in the trash.
My main use is to easily transfer last nights files from one computer to another for processing. Or to build month to month session files which get saved to other storage.
But I am an amateur and try to keep my hobby light.
In fact, I'm more overjoyed in how things run, than forcing image results. So you could liken me to a BB in a box car for my seriousness of results. I just roll along with the rhythm of the rails.
I've finally gotten to a place I dreamed of 10 years ago.
But I love learning from my friends who are doing the same struggles as me. Well, similar I guess. Because each of us have the similar goals, but use entirely different equipment as we learn how to achieve the goal of our images.

I had an Uncle who always encouraged people learn something new each day. In this sport I can about learn something new every attempt.

Wow! An 18 TB SSD. That is huge!
I've always found that bigger drives ran faster for me. They typically have more space so the computer can find data faster. Or so it has been in my experiences.
When a drive gets full, it slows down the process.
And as big a RAM as possible. Though nowadays the RAM is so big and fast the processor can get a whole large file spread out and not have to go back to storage for bits and pieces.

HA! Got me looking for some of my very first Astro Photo's. And I got out my old HP Simple Save back up drive. (Basically a Hard Drive in a case.) The Power supply died a long time ago. But I found one with similar spec's and it works. There is still photos on it that come up. Just not the ones I wanted. But my spotting scope, and cell phone with an app. I saw Orion, and fell into a black hole.
I am amazed the HP drive still works. I think mine is ~10 years old.
Found this yukkie in my old Youtube files:
https://youtu.be/QUiktKNeEUE?si=0Xud7-V7byeTxnl-&t=138

y Cyg Nebula 2023-09-18

(Download)

In the beginning... A spotting scope and a jury rigged phone app.

(Download)

Minor difference... (I have two CB weights now.) (130mm Triplet, with a few trimmings.)

(Download)

Much of our equipment uses USB2 connections anyway.
The only exception on mine is the ASI 1600MM camera.
So I have USB3 from that to my hub and on down via USB3 cable to computer USB3 port. Which also handles all the other USB2 data.
Typically nothing requires the added speed of USB3 for my AP.
When I'm taking my exposures, having 2 to 5 minutes between them gives a lot of time for downloading.

Okay, next time I'll do more research, I Promise.

I see they are the same price for me here. I basically use my ssd's for ease of transfer from one box-of-rocks to the other. And typically store in month to month folders.
Normally, I don't revisit data. Just the results.
My subjects have been coming around for much longer than I have.

Interesting. I've installed it on two computers now (both Windows). So far, so good. Going on 3 days...
I basically use mine as a transfer medium.
And a friend of mine used to work for SanDisc.

Personally, I've had good luck and performance with WD and SanDisc drives.
And I don't save much other than processed files. I'll keep this in mind if mine fails.

OK, not an advertisement, just a heads up.
We all struggle with the outdated and bloated fit files that are the standard of AP.
I've been fooling along with different "thumb" drives. So good, many not so good.
I finally outsmarted them with a 2 terabyte Scandisk Extreme portable SSD.
Not only does it grab the files and eat them like a monster, but it regurgitates them to be processed faster than I've ever seen before.
It uses a USB-C connection to my mount laptop (which I've never used before), and it came with a USB-3 adapter to use it with USB-3 ports.
This Astrophotography business sure keeps you on the cutting edge. Hard on my butt though.

Sorry to hear that.
Work is a four letter word.
Unfortunately, we have to endure.
Good to hear from you, though!

Really beautiful, Brian!
Did you light up those mountains with your flashlight?
(Just kidding.)

Quite a play on the light.

Beautiful scenery!

Still, a lot of great data there.
Way back when, I decided to go the refactor route to avoid collimation.
It was in the running for that initial trigger pull on my 3 wish lists of equipment. But I decided on being a refractor nut, one less complication.
Oh, I had no idea what I was getting into.

I do use the ASI program for viewing my fits files. And I've experimented with it's stacking, and one night I tried the ASILive stacking which I didn't really like because it took and stored my images jumbled. But it's likely I didn't have the storage set up right. (It wasn't jumbled, per sey, but sequential.)
I prefer the LRGB where NINA takes all of one filter, then all of another filter. They are all in one folder, but a series of L, or R, or etc. So it's easier for my to look through the nights captures and pick off any ones with cooties.
Last night had some odd double takes. Not sure what happened there. But I just delete any odd-ball or ones with Elon's in them. (Whether they are Elon's, or whoever's satellite's are polluting my images.
My simple way of sorting. I'm a Post-Processing minimalist. So I don't tinker with focusing normally. Or anything else generally. I may try some different things, but usually cancel them rather than save modified images.
My skies are not looking too promising for tonight. So it might be a good night to fiddle.
If I go and uncover the big eye, I'm sure it will remove all chance of clearing. That's the way it works here. Unless it's dark, the sky see's my telescope and closes in.
So experimenting, and trying to gather some darks independently of inside NINA might be a great thing to try.
Every day has a night to try and do something.
SGPro was a nice program while I was test driving it. But they changed the purchasing just before I was going to buy in. I have a problem with software that has monthly or annual payments. And that was one thing that rubbed me the wrong way. I and another trial user inquired about could the file format be made to save tiff format?
The creator of SGPro blew his top. He told us if we wanted tiff format to go use a different program! We weren't doing anything but inquiring for other file formats. He sure convinced me to look elsewhere.
So, I seek out open source and free programs, even though they often fall short of the commercial versions in ways. They can't be everything somebody else's copyrighted software is.
I go way back on the Internet, before Al Gore. And I believe, still, in a free Internet. A free information highway. So I'm careful what I get myself into. SGPro went from a set price to a schedule payment. (Something a lot of software was going to.)
I'm not a total scrooge though. I subscribe to Sharpcap to use it for Polar alignment. I chose to not use much (or anything) else about it. And it's a one-man band operation.
Babble, babble, babble.... Gonna be cloudy after all.

I tried an experiment last night, and it flubbed.
I ran LRGB with no darks. The plan was to do the darks before the daylight of pre-dawn. I wound up with none.
The Flats Wizard wouldn't work properly in NINA. And I couldn't collect my Darks in the regular programming.
Rather a bummer, because as we all know, the dawn waits for no one.
So more to learn there. Like, if it works, don't "fix" it.

Told Ya I'm my own worst enemy...
I might get another chance tonight. But right now it is cloudy.
I think I'll go make mud pies. At least that washes off.

Good, no complaints.
I've gotten NINA to run great for me finally.
Now I'm trying to get some parts to work for me, like the Flats Wizard.
Always more to learn.
But it has been running, and doing Meridian flips just dandy.
So much so, i just casually watch it. Then I'll go watch to see the flip cracks off like it should and retire for the night.
I have had several nights where clouds or fog shows up unexpectedly.
But can't fight the weather.
Tonight looks to be good. I'm hoping so.

I think every night is a new learning experience. At least for me it is.
On the 7th/8th I ran a series of LRGB and DARK, Dark Bias files. (the Dark/Dark Bias files were not necessary)
I woke up just before dawn as the sky was lightening with Dawn. I think my brain was waking me up to go try the Flats Wizard in NINA. So I did, first time for me.
I managed to bumbled through getting some settings adjusted. And by watching The Lazy Geek, I run off my first set of Flats with the NINA Flat Wizard.
When it got to shooting the darks, they seemed to have amp glow in the corners. Curious, since it was darks anyway, I went and capped the telescope with it's cover after removing my Flats filter. Then I realized I was getting real dark frames. (You mentioned learning....)
I let the Flats Wizard continue running and gathering it's dark files. The display in NINA shown a marked difference with the cap on the telescope, even though I was using the #8 filter position dark filter.
Obviously, my "dark Filter" leaves something to be desired. Lesson learned.
So, I believe I have better files to play with now, than ever before.
And I'll collect my Darks and bias files differently now.

I never understood whether to Stack, then Process. Or Process, then Stack. Now I do. Thank You.
I might get something panned out of my piles of sand now.
Then get to the colorizing from those.
I have my raw fits files in L, R, G, & B folders, And my Darks and Bias flats in folders. When I stack them, they get saved in the same folder I drew them from.

I think I need a nap. My skies should be good tonight. Promises, promises.

So onward through the fog!