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Is there a "handle" for carrying SCTs?


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I have an nexstar 8 SE, and since I live in a small apartment in a light polluted area, whenever I want to get good use out of it, I need to haul it downstairs to the car, drive about 30 minutes to a dark site, lug it the center of a field, then set it up...

Good exercise, but a bit tedious. I put the scope in a crate or just cradle like a baby when I carry it around, but it would be a lot easier if there were some sturdy handle I could grab it by - study enough that I could even leave the heavy goto arm attached when I carry it around. 

I was thinking about installing a rail in the empty dovetail mount on the side of the scope for this purpose, but it occurred to me that perhaps somebody sells some kind of dedicated "handle" for the scope that attaches in this spot. Has anyone heard of such a thinking. Or alternatively, does anyone have a good solution for carrying the scope around easily - up and down stairs, into and out of cars, etc?

Thanks for any tips!

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My brother has an 8" meade and that has a carrying handle on the back end so when you carry it the corrector plate faces downwards.He bought it like that from telescope house.Whether it had been modded or not I,m not sure.

Regards Jonn

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I see the handle on the Meade. That would be useful on a Nexstar. I'm surprised nobody makes an aftermarket mod. I wish there was a way to hook up a shoulder strap to the OTA sing I can sling it over my shoulder and carry the tripod and mount, powertank, eyepieces etc all at the same time when trekking out to the middle of a field for obvserving.

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  • 11 months later...

My C8 has a handle my 6se doesn't. Either way when transporting either scope I always have them in a case. With the C8 I use an old but dedicated case but that only holds the scope and a few accessories, the mount (celestron AVX) goes separately so it's a bit of a pain. For the 6se I found a luggage case on wheels and it's just the right size to hold its original cardboard box and foam insert so compared to the C8, it's beautifully easy to cart around (just have to take the tripod and my accessory box separately). A very good illustration of balancing the facets of largest scope you can get that you're still able/prepared to carry around!

Getting back to the handle, it only gets used in transporting the scope between case and mount and putting the scope on the mount itself.

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Oh, forgot to add that I find "gig bags" designed for percussion musicians really handy for transporting astronomy gear; my AVX mount all gets in there except for the tripod and if I'd gone for a bigger case, I'm sure that would have gone in there too. Percussion gear is a lot more than round drums and is surprisingly delicate for something designed to be hit!

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A soft gig bag for a guitar or bass (I have a collection) would probably take tube and tripod both: these are quite cheap and most have zip side pockets for O&S; various sizes - acoustic or jazzbox are largest volume.

Drummer's bags tend to cost more (& wrong shape) because they're heavier duty; the kit weighs a ton as I know form helping load in/out

I cannot think of a reason why one should not drill a couple of small holes in the tube at CofG to fit a steel loop drawer-pull handle to carry the tube with.

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I carry my 8" and 6" Newts by the Dovetail bar. If this is good enough to support the telescope for hours on the mount, then short term it is good enough for me. Just don't bang into door frames.:(

For the EQ mounts I have a sort of reversed hand under arm posture which makes even a 15kg C/W loaded EQ no problem as the weight is down my central axis. In other words, I reverse into the mount/tripod and back hand an appropriate bit, thus the weight is behind me on my shoulder.

If any of that makes sense you'll be doing well. ;)

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  • 4 weeks later...

No I never got a handle, but lots of good ideas here. I think I'll try a drum bag

I've seen more drums bags than I care for. Most of them are oversize hat boxes. Pretty sure those won't work. The long one for the stands looks something like a cricket kit holdall, it's not all that big because stands break down small, likewise mic stands: they all have to fit in the back of a family car these days.

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I have an nexstar 8 SE, and since I live in a small apartment in a light polluted area, whenever I want to get good use out of it, I need to haul it downstairs to the car, drive about 30 minutes to a dark site, lug it the center of a field, then set it up...

Good exercise, but a bit tedious. I put the scope in a crate or just cradle like a baby when I carry it around, but it would be a lot easier if there were some sturdy handle I could grab it by - study enough that I could even leave the heavy goto arm attached when I carry it around. 

I was thinking about installing a rail in the empty dovetail mount on the side of the scope for this purpose, but it occurred to me that perhaps somebody sells some kind of dedicated "handle" for the scope that attaches in this spot. Has anyone heard of such a thinking. Or alternatively, does anyone have a good solution for carrying the scope around easily - up and down stairs, into and out of cars, etc?

Thanks for any tips!

If you know anyone who has just purchased an IKEA mattress then grab the handles from that. They are amazing, adjustable and mega strong. I'm not at home so I can post a photo but I use them to carry my 12" Dob and my 9.25" SCT.
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  • 5 months later...

If you know anyone who has just purchased an IKEA mattress then grab the handles from that. They are amazing, adjustable and mega strong. I'm not at home so I can post a photo but I use them to carry my 12" Dob and my 9.25" SCT.

Are you at home now? :-) I looked on their website can't find what you mean... Thanks

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

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