MortonH

I have a short 1.25" extension tube that I'll use between the wedge and the eyepiece. If I attach the polariser and any other filters to the extension tube I can swap eyepieces without unscrewing the filter(s). The extension tube will sit inside the eyepiece holder of the Herschel wedge with plenty of clearance above the ND filter. This is how I used my Lunt 1.25" wedge a few years ago but the only additional filter I used was a Baader continuum. The brightness seemed ok but now I wonder if I could have improved the contrast by using a polariser as well. I take the point that a single polariser may not be sufficient so I might buy two and put one on the extension tube and the other on the eyepiece. Since I'll be using a zoom I don't think swapping eyepieces will actually be necessary.

Agreed. I'll be using a zoom as well.

Today there was a break in the clouds and I tried out the wedge in a 66mm f/6 ED refractor. Since I have no additional filters right now I wore sunglasses for the first look and the view was good through a 25mm eyepiece. Removing the sunglasses turned the sun into a glowing, featureless disk as expected. So for now I'm satisfied and have accepted the partial refund which will cover the purchase of a GSO polariser and probably a green filter as well.

I shouldn't need a variable polariser as the prism polarises the light. I just need a single polariser to attach to the eyepiece and then I can rotate the whole eyepiece to vary the brightness. When I had a Lunt wedge a few years ago I had a continuum filter instead of a polariser but I was hoping to avoid a green image this time.

The ND3 filter is installed at the bottom of the eyepiece holder as expected but the polariser is supposed to be separate. I unscrewed the eyepiece holder but couldn't remove the filter. I'm pretty sure the polariser isn't installed in there as well.

Based on positive reviews I ordered the visual version of the Hercules wedge through AliExpress. It cost about AU$230 including shipping and GST. https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4001204285379.html On opening the package I discovered: - the 'included' polarising filter is missing - the main body enclosing the prism is loose at every joint I was able to solve the second issue by tightening the various tiny Allen bolts so it now feels secure. AliExpress has offered a partial refund for the missing filter so I guess if it performs ok then I'll probably accept it.

Can anyone advise if the TS wedge has a safety stop to prevent the eyepiece hitting the filter?

Thanks guys. Seems fairly certain that the C8 will be a no-go on this mount, which isn't really a surprise!

Resurrecting this thread in the hope that someone might have tried an 8" SCT on this mount. Apart from the weight I'm wondering if this scope is physically too wide to point horizontally and/or vertically.

A user on another forum reports that a friend's AZ appears to have a design flaw. He states "When you reach the highest possible altitude the only way to go back down is to push the scope down with hands and turning alt knob at the same time. The worm gear at this position just gets disconnected from each other as there is no stopper inside. So you need to push the scope down with hands to get worm gear connected again. You can live with that, but that's just inconvenience. " Can anyone confirm this is common to all AZ5 mounts? It would be a deal breaker for me as I'm lucky enough to have the Milky Way overhead and regularly point my scopes vertically.

It's curious that the TV adapter requires a mount with a 'bolt' at the top of the saddle, i.e. like Vixen, Skywatcher, GSO, etc. If you have a mount with a non-marring saddle that is angled at the top as well as the bottom this adapter won't work. It's a silly design because an adapter angled on both sides like a regular dovetail bar would work in both saddle types.

Yeah but the manufacturers tend to overstate the capacity so I'm wondering if anyone has actually tried it with a C8.

I use my C8 on a DSV-3 alt-az mount equipped with encoders and Sky Commander and am very happy with it. I prefer the simplicity of this type of setup to EQ and/or GOTO mounts. With regard to the AZ5 I'm looking for a smaller alt-az mount to use primarily with a C5 but it would be nice if it was also capable of handling the C8 should the need arise.

I've been scouring posts about the AZ5 but have been unable to find the info I need so posting here. With the heavier tripod (1.75" legs) this mount is supposed to have a capacity of 9kg so in theory it should be fine with a C8. Has anyone used it with this or similar scope? I'm particularly interested in whether the motions are still nice and smooth, and also if there is any wobble or play in the mount.

Great. That'll work for me!