LaurenceT

The red dot finder on my 127Mak would have been perfect if I'd been 3ft tall but using it meant virtually lying down in the grass, not desirable at my advanced age. I did think about the Rigel but opted for the Telrad because of various height extension options. It does look somewhat weird on my short Maksutov but no one is looking except me.

I bought the Skywatcher auto focus unit and also had some bits made up by a fellow in Portugal specifically to fit the 127Mak with the dovetail bay positioned for an alt az mount. Works very well but because of the long focus travel of the Mak I disengage the belt from the focus knob to get rough focus quickly and then just slide it back onto the knob.

As a complete novice in astronomy, only started last year, I bought a 127Mak purely for lunar and planetary observation and photography with an Altair planetary camera. I've used the Baader zoom eyepiece on the moon with the Baader moon filter and the views were wonderful and exquisitely detailed. For a wider view I have a 130pds Newtonian and my new little baby an Orion ST80.

On closer examination it seems that the focusing is done with the rear cell.

Perfect match.

Thanks for all the information everyone.

Thanks John, I'll get some nylon thumbscrews. As for why it's mounted the wrong way..............I'm an idiot🤣

I've been gifted this rather ancient illuminated crosshair reticule finderscope and I quite fancy using it. Firstly can anyone identify it and secondly the retaining screws are missing and nothing in my collection of screws will fit so can anyone also give me an idea of the screw sizes I could try. Thanks for looking.

Welcome Emlyn from Laurence in Camberley.

Thanks for that Lee.

Right, I get it. I've now simply re-imagined the mount as being my old Skyguider Pro so I can see how I've reversed it in my photo. So to put it in language I can understand, if a polar scope were to be fitted then it would have to be pointing in the same direction as the camera............. So in that misleading second image I posted the correct position for the mount to be facing polaris would be at right angles to that yellow arrow, ie the direction the camera is facing? Sorry for the newbie "baby" language, must be infuriating!

Yes Ady, I think I'm getting my planes confused. What ( I think ) I should have said is that the camera is positioned at right angles to the north/south axis, does that make more sense? I was looking at this image on the web:

For powering my mount and dew heater I use this Talentcell: TalentCell Rechargeable 36W 12V/6000mAh 5V/12000mAh DC Output Lithium Ion Battery Pack for LED Strip, Tape Light, CCTV Camera and More, Black : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo for the rest, including a Raspberry Pi, a Sony camera and some other bits I use one of these: Power Bank 26800mAh Portable Charger, Riapow Fast Charging 3.0A USB C High Capacity Phone Charger with LED Display Compact External Battery Pack 4 Outputs for iPhone Samsung Tablet and More : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo but I don't know if they will meet your power requirements.

Absolutely, trouble is, every time someone buys a piece of kit the clouds pile up! 🤣

After me declaring that DSO astrophotography is on the back burner for me and selling my Skyguider Pro I weakened and bought a second Az GTi and have adapted it for EQ mode. My next step will be to connect everything to Stellarmate and see what happens. I'd just like some guidance on orientation. I've set the declination on the WO wedge to 90 minus my latitude and in the photo I've set the camera/lens pointing south and the mount pointing north, does this orientation look correct? All I'm waiting for now is a levelling base, and like all of us, some clear skies!

From the replies here I got the impression that you wouldn't have to take anything apart if you wanted to use the mount in the way you want to. If you have changed the firmware to the EQ mode option then the app gives you the option of selecting either AZ mode or EQ mode. So if you wanted to simply goto and track for observation or even lunar/planetary imaging then the alignment modes available in the standard alt az mode would be available if you select az mode in the app. Of course it's entirely possible that I'm completely wrong 😅

I'm on the verge of converting my AZ GTI to EQ mode but I want to know if it is still possible to use the mount in it's AZ alignment options such as Point and Track for quick observation and lunar and planetary imaging without having to go through the process of plate solving etc. I've just released some funds and was considering buying a second AzGti purely in it's original AZ form with my 127 Maksutov and 130pds and use the EQ modded one for imaging. If I don't need to do this then I can use the money to upgrade my basic imaging gear.

I'd like to make clear in my head the absolutely correct procedure for preparing the mount for alignment in AZ mode. Mount is not yet powered, levelled using the bubble and pointed towards North, I use a compass not my phone. Scope is mounted and levelled, this is done manually, mount is then switched on and connection made with app and a method of alignment selected. Just another thing, I'm considering converting to EQ mode and selling my Skyguider Pro mount as I really want to learn automation. I will be keeping the WO eq wedge. My deep sky gear is light, modified Sony A5000 with a Samyang 135mm so I'm not worried about exceeding the weight limit but I'm also learning lunar and planetary imaging using my Maksutov 127 and Altair planetary camera. In AZ mode the GTi can easily handle this but I'm concerned about this setup in EQ mode from a weight viewpoint. Thanks for looking.

Welcome to SGL, I've learned so much about astronomy from the friendly people on here.

I feel a lot more confident in that puck than the original, if only there was one for the AZ5.

Replacement AZ GTi received this morning from Harrisons Telescopes via Optical Vision who I believe are the Skywatcher importers for the UK. Seems to work fine in powered mode but the azimuth movement in manual mode with azimuth clutch screw fully loosened is very stiff, they say it should loosen up over time.....we'll see!

Just had a message saying that a replacement mount is on its way, I'm much relieved to say the least! It seems that this particular problem of the mount failing to rotate in the azimuth axis is very common.

That's exactly the same fault as mine!

I'm just canvassing for opinions here, as mentioned earlier I have sent my AZ GTi back to the suppliers as it has developed a serious fault. I have only had it since the 26th October with no conversion to EQ mode, it's still as it arrived in AZ mode. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2015 I know the supplier can offer me either a repair, replacement or refund. I do not want a refund as I love this little mount but neither would I be happy with a repair because of the short time I have had the mount and also because of my general lack of confidence in that particular unit. I understand that under the terms of the Act I cannot outright refuse a repair but I'm wondering what other owners might prefer to do in these circumstances.