Telescope mount

fizzy123 · Post by **fizzy123** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 9:04 am

I recently bought the sky watcher Makustov Cassegrain which weigh 3.9 kg ota. What type of alt-azi mount suitable for it? I own a camera tripod can it be used? Is the Manfrotto tripod stable enough to hold it? :idea:

MooEy · Post by **MooEy** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 11:10 am

ooo so u bought the skywatcher 127mak from gwenyi?

anyway, the 410 head + 055 tripod should be more than enough, my at1010 is much heavier than that china scope and it works fine.

~MooEy~

fizzy123 · Post by **fizzy123** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 11:38 am

But using camera tripod only one screw to attach scope and tripod would'nt tis make the tripod head to be under too much stress n pressure? :idea:

gwenyi · Post by **gwenyi** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 1:23 pm

the manfrotto 410 + 055 legs will provide solid support

Post by **weixing** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 1:04 am

Hi,
Welcome to the world of Sky-Watcher!!

But using camera tripod only one screw to attach scope and tripod would'nt tis make the tripod head to be under too much stress n pressure?

No. The manfrotto 410 head and tripod combination should work out fine... I think 9 out of 10 Sky-Watcher 127 MCT owner in singapore use this combination... if you wonder who is the one that doesn't use this combination, that is me

I think I'm one of the few that use this scope with an EQ mount

. Anyway, this scope is a good scope and should give you a lot better view than your previous scope. By the way, if you intend to upgrade any of the accessories, you should get a 50mm finder first. It will help you to find all those objects that your naked eye can't see.

Have a nice day.

fizzy123 · Post by **fizzy123** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 12:46 pm

Ha Wei Xing u are wrong, :idea: 8) , Gwenyi use the EQ3 tripod.
Btw, do any of the vendors sell slow motion controls tat can be attach to photo tripod or any old atro tripod? :idea: By the way does the celestron powerseeker70 tripod strong enough to hold the scope? :idea:

Post by **weixing** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 1:30 pm

Hi,

Ha Wei Xing u are wrong, , Gwenyi use the EQ3 tripod.
Btw, do any of the vendors sell slow motion controls tat can be attach to photo tripod or any old atro tripod? By the way does the celestron powerseeker70 tripod strong enough to hold the scope?

Hmm... I thought he also use the manfrotto 410 head and tripod combination, because he put the EQ3-2 mount which come with the Sky-Watcher 127 MCT on sale a few months ago :?:

Anyway, I don't think the celestron powerseeker70 tripod is strong enough for the job... I think celestron powerseeker70 tripod is not even a suitable tripod for any telescope... it just too weak. If you really want to buy a slow motion controls that can attach to a photo tripod, you can try the Vixen Fine Adjustment Unit DX. I had try it once on the Sky-Watcher 127 MCT, but I would not recommend it for long term use... it a bit flimsy. I think Astro Scientific Centre sell it at around S$170.

Or may be you can try the AZ-3 Altazimuth Mount which can take up to 5Kg of load.

Have a nice day.

fizzy123 · Post by **fizzy123** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 2:04 pm

I tried using the SLIK photo tripod I have for the MAK. But I noticed the the tripod legs actually sagged, thus not strong. I am afraid the Manfrotto will also fare badly as well. BTW,

I'm disappointed with the MAK, eventhough highly mobile, but the FOV is terribly small,

:? , thus the view of D.S.O very restricted especially for cluster. :idea:

gwenyi · Post by **gwenyi** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 2:26 pm

the manfrotto will definitely suffice. you can ask our friends down here who have been in the astro community for countless years for confirmation as well. anyway, it ultimately depends on the eyepiece u are using.

actual field of view = apparent field of view of eyepiece/ magnification.

you might wanna consider ultra wide eyepieces.(probably a nagler/ panoptic will be good

)

cheers,
wenyi

Post by **weixing** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:09 pm

Hi,

I tried using the SLIK photo tripod I have for the MAK.

I use the SLIK PRO 400DX for the Sky-Watcher 127 MCT, I find it quite OK. Which model did you use??

I'm disappointed with the MAK, eventhough highly mobile, but the FOV is terribly small, , thus the view of D.S.O very restricted especially for cluster.

If you consider the FOV of this MCT is small, then all those MCT/SCT greater than 6" will be even smaller when without using focal reducer... they all have longer focal length than your 5" MCT. Anyway, with a 32mm Plossl, you will get near the maximum True FOV for this scope, which is around 1.1 degree.

By the way, you find the view of DSO very restricted, because you haven't seen much DSO yet.

Remember, 99% of DSO is smaller than 1.1 degree.

Go out and use this scope as offen as you can. You will see a lots more DSO once you gain more experience with it.

Happy DSO hunting!

Have a nice day.