How do I attach my Orion CF Triplet to my EQ5 pro

[MeSeany]

I acquired my Orion 80mm Triplet yesterday - Ill not babble on about the build quality - my first refractor.... ONE HAPPY BOY

Being a newbie Im not quite sure how to lock the scope to my EQ5 pro - do I just slot the peg its got into the mount or do I need a buy a dove tail? I did buy a dove tail for my dslr but as you can see from the picture its quite small with only 1 screw for the camera.

I know its a basic question - appreciate any help

[red dwalf]

Very nice scope purchase,

You can use the little foot on the scope to attach it to the mount, although this isn't the best overall method, I would surgest a set of scope rings and a nice dovetail , the rings will go round the scope body and attach firmly to a good dovetail, a longish dovetail will help you balance the scope on the mount better.

[ronin]

Looks like it has a "foot", in which case does the foot fit the EQ5? If so then attach it by the foot - should fit as Orion/Synta work together. Assume it is Orion US not Orion UK ??

Otherwise if it is a different size you need a dovetail that fits the EQ5 and you screw the dovtail to the foot and then the dovetail to the EQ5 - bit messy but easy..

The other is you remove the foot, buy a set of tube rings and a dovetail. Tube ring around scope, dovetail between the tube rings and then the dovetail onto the EQ5. Looks better and you can put bits on the tube rings - camera or whatever. Just more bits and more cost.

[MeSeany]

The foot does fit into the EQ5 - but you're saying to use rings etc?

I was planning on buying a double dove tail at some point to sit a guide scope along side - not sure this or attached a mini orion scope onto it.

My next challenge is to attach the dlsr into the back of it

[Oddsocks]

For imaging it is better to use a pair of tube rings and a Vixen style rail which is at least 300mm long.

You need the extra rail length so that when the camera is mounted at the back of the telescope you can slide the whole telescope and camera on it's Vixen rail, through the EQ clamp forwards or backwards in order to reach a balance.

If you use a short rail with no movement possible then you may have to add additional balancing weights to the front of the telescope tube so that you achieve a balance.

For the EQ5 the Vixen style is the rail that fits the EQ5 clamp, a Losmandy style rail, which is 3" wide, does not fit an EQ5 clamp unless you fit a modified "puck" to suit the wider Losmandy rails.

If you need to watch the pennies at the moment then just attach a long Vixen rail to the telescope foot directly, without using rings. You will need to use a few wide spacer washers between the rail and the foot so that the dew shield is clear of the rail by a few mm and that it does not jam or scape and that it can not rock from side to side, the spacing washers would need to be at least 2cm wide and a few mm thick . You can use the existing un-threaded holes in the  foot to attach to the Vixen rail using appropriate sized bolts, nuts and washers from Halfords, or eBay etc.

[alan potts]

I have a 70mm scope with the same design but the foot mounting plate is different to what you have been supplied. If I lived in England I would  post you one as I have two of them

Alan

[MeSeany]

For imaging it is better to use a pair of tube rings and a Vixen style rail which is at least 300mm long.

You need the extra rail length so that when the camera is mounted at the back of the telescope you can slide the whole telescope and camera on it's Vixen rail, through the EQ clamp forwards or backwards in order to reach a balance.

If you use a short rail with no movement possible then you may have to add additional balancing weights to the front of the telescope tube so that you achieve a balance.

For the EQ5 the Vixen style is the rail that fits the EQ5 clamp, a Losmandy style rail, which is 3" wide, does not fit an EQ5 clamp unless you fit a modified "puck" to suit the wider Losmandy rails.

If you need to watch the pennies at the moment then just attach a long Vixen rail to the telescope foot directly, without using rings. You will need to use a few wide spacer washers between the rail and the foot so that the dew shield is clear of the rail by a few mm and that it does not jam or scape and that it can not rock from side to side, the spacing washers would need to be at least 2cm wide and a few mm thick . You can use the existing un-threaded holes in the  foot to attach to the Vixen rail using appropriate sized bolts, nuts and washers from Halfords, or eBay etc.

You dont have an amazon uk link to the rail and rings please?

[Oddsocks]

Sorry to say I have never bought anything for a telescope from Amazon......

As with everything astro related you can spend a fortune on things like dovetail plates and rings, there is a big price difference, at least double or treble for instance, between cast aluminium tube rings and CNC aluminium versions, same goes for the vixen dovetail rails, even more so for some rails cost four times as much as the basic ones.

Your telescope is not very heavy so the Skywatcher cast tube rings should be ok but it is worth spending a bit extra for one of the CNC aluminium dovetails with a flat machined top that is easy to mount the rings on without having to use an electric drill to get the spacing right, the Skywatcher dovetail bar is not flat on top, does not have slots to allow intermediate spacing and  is pre-drilled at just a few locations along the bar, consequently it is difficult to get a good spacing arrangement for the rings without resorting to a bit of DIY.

I do not know the outside diameter of your telescope tube body, you will have to measure it and choose the right sized rings from the Skywatcher set accordingly.

Most likely it will be either 90mm diameter or 101mm.

Measure the diameter directly with callipers if you have them, if not, measure with a dress-makers tape, or piece of non-stretchy thread around the circumference of the tube and use length of circumference divided by 3.14 for the diameter.

(90mm diameter = 283mm circumference, 101mm diameter = 317mm circumference)

Linked to FLO website below for a good Vixen compatible rail, the ADM 11" version will give you a large adjustment range for balancing and is pre-drilled and slotted for fixing to the rings, and linked to the cast aluminium Skywatcher tube ring pairs, choose the right sized pair according to your measurement of the telescope body, you will probably still have to visit Halfords or similar to grab the nuts and bolts to put them together but they are only a few pounds bought that way.

Have also linked to the less expensive Skywatcher dovetail, the longest one will suit if you are happy to tackle drilling an extra hole or two to get the ring spacing right.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-vixen-type-v-series/adm-vixen-style-universal-dovetail-bars.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-telescope-tube-rings.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-dovetail-mounting-plates.html