Eq-mount frustration

qu1xs1lv3r · Post by **qu1xs1lv3r** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:07 am

as described in my rant here... i was also very frustrated with my equipment!

i was having a hard time aligning my scope cz the counterweight kept hitting the slow motion control... then when im trying to point somewhere.. the OTA was hitting the tripod legs!!!

i was thinking i can tolerate the OTA position.. but when it comes to the slow mo controls.. i end up having to take them off... (which is pretty useless since my tube is at least a meter long!)

where can i buy those flexible slow mo controls??

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:41 pm

Just my two cents worth, but I think even after getting the flexible slow-mo knobs, you may still find the setup problematic, in terms of bulk/weight, difficulty in setting to 1deg latitude, wind vibration etc. Maybe for the long-term grab-and-go setup, you can consider getting a sturdier altazimuth mount/tripod instead.

chrisyeo · Post by **chrisyeo** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:54 pm

Hi qs, also just my two cents worth. When observing with a newtonian on a GEM, I always ended up pulling the latitude till it was 90 degrees, so that I was using the mount in an altitude-alzimuth configuration. Equatorial mounts are always hard to aim with long tubes.

You might want to do this at least to align the finderscope.

About the slow-mo controls, I'm not sure how the screws are, but it might be possible to use some flexible tubing and connect them somehow.

kingkong · Post by **kingkong** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:54 pm

my 1 cent worth..... convert it to a dob!

qu1xs1lv3r · Post by **qu1xs1lv3r** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:58 pm

ahehe tnx guys.. when i get time il try to borrow some books and see what i can do! ahehe

Post by **weixing** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:36 pm

Hi,
Did you balance the OTA in the DEC??

Or you can attach something at the mirror end of the OTA to make it a bit heavier, so that you make the balance point (DEC) nearer to the mirror end of the OTA.

Have a nice day.

qu1xs1lv3r · Post by **qu1xs1lv3r** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:30 am

yeah i balance it on both RA and DEC... i think il jz add some more weight on the OTA... i managed to work around the slow mo controls by moving the counterweight further down.. making it abit unbalanced...