WanderingEye

Mount too..? Or just the pier.... as I leave mount attached to pier under covers...

And that will bolt directly to the mount...? Or will you still use a saddle and dovetail...?

It is a little more tricky, but still quite easy if you have adjustable weights on the one side... 👍😀

Great, found them, 300mm x 450mm £150, that is not bad considering how much dovetails are... and with M6 tapped holes too.. 👍😀

Where did you get that nice square metal breadboard from, for mounting Kit.... ? 😀

Any field flatteners available for these....as I would assume they will require one with large sensor cameras...?

The mounts done come packaged... 😮😮. So how do they come, completely naked as in the picture, and they have to be collected from MA, so how do they get to Bern at MA...??

Hello, Does anyone know the diameter of the focuser spindle on the Takahashi FSQ85, as am wanting to order a motor coupler for it, and am away at the moment so can’t measure mine...but would like it there when I get home... Thanks for looking.. 👍😀

Yes I had to move to 240mm dovetails from 180mm for it to work too.. 👍😀

One of these...

No, you have not missed anything obvious, I had same issue...I use an ADM Losmandy clamp counter weight set up, on the end of one of the dovetails under one of my scopes, it has a threaded bar and the ADM weights screw onto this...

I thought about an upside down water butt from Wilkinson, they were just £20 and would have been ideal with some vents in the sides, but the wife was not a fan of the idea..... 🤔

😮😮 glad you’re Mount was ok.... 👍

Hmmm, leaked..... that’s a worry...surely there must have been an issue with it, did you return...?

Hello, can I ask, do you leave the mat on during a session, to stop any frost or dew build up on the mount head, and if not what do you do about the moisture before you cover back up...?

The desiccant units are ideal to use under a cover, and can be re charged in 12 hours, but buy a pack of two.... so you always have one ready... I guess the solution is, either remove any moisture, to stop condensation, or heat up the area to stop it, both seem to work... 👍 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132929937389

These ones came off ebay, £20 for a pack of two, so one can be I use and a second one to swap with... similar to these... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132929937389 I really don’t understand all the people that just seem to throw any old cover over a mount and never have issues with condensation, or do they, but don’t see it...as they don’t check every few days.... I found it to be a real problem, and that was with a bespoke good quality cover....🤔

Hi, I recently installed a pier in my garden, with the intention of leaving my EQ8 on it all the time and just bringing it my scope and camera, so I fitted it all, and had a waterproof breathable cover made to measure, and after a few days it was all good, then a few days later it was drenched in condensation and I thought I had ruined my mount... 😮, I have no idea why this happened, as many people, example above just throw a cover over and all is good 🤔, so anyway after trawling the Internet, I read a post somewhere that said a breathable cover is not always a good idea and to use a telegizmo 365, which are NOT breathable but have the silver lining to stop heat build up and also to secure it well around the bottom with a large desiccant pack inside to remove any moisture....and this has been superb, not a drop of moisture, and the desiccant packs are re chargeable by plugging in the mains for 12 hours, and last for ages in such a small space... I reckon I could leave my scopes on too.... So that’s what worked for me, the problem with condensation is that it can come and go in a few days, so unless you check under the cover almost every day, you might not even know it was there until it’s too late and electronics are ruined.... HTH

Yes it does intrigue me that such a high end mount with superb engineering, uses such a simple and “old fashioned” for want of a better expression, way of adjusting PA... but if it works....... 😀

I agree... I guess if it’s possible to polar align the wedge accurately enough the what does the mount have to be aligned again when fitted, why not just bolt the mount and wedge directly together with the two plates against each other, and just do the adjustment and PA on the wedge fittings to the pier... But who am I to judge as it obviously works.... 👍😀

But by using those it won’t just move in AZ but in ALT at the same time...because of the angle at which the bolts are on....that must be very awkward...surely there is a bolt in the base of the wedge to loosen so the whole wedge can be rotated in AZ, on the same level....?.

Thanks for that, but am confused as to how two of the altitude adjustment bolts, as there are three of those to alter the mount declination, could alter the azimuth of the mount...maybe I am missing something here... 🤔🤔

I understand how you adjust for PA declination using the three bolts, but how is Azimuth adjusted..?.

Absolutely....the KAF8300 is a very capable sensor and with a good pixel size... I have the SX version of the camera the H18... 👍😀

I don’t see anything wrong with your current set up to be honest, they are both more than doable with those pixel scales...one thing to consider is the slight loss in sensitivity if you change...would it be to a CMOS or CCD camera of you change...? . 👍😀