Cheapo alternative to counterweights

[wackyscot]

Hi all, after buying a 102mm refractor, I found I needed some bits and bobs to attach it to my newt. As cash is kinda thin on the ground at the moment, I looked at ways of doing it as cheaply as possible. Here are my results:

Dovetail to fit scope - http://www.365astronomy.com/skywatcher-long-335cm-dovetail-mounting-bar-p-2081.html?zenid=3e29bf47fbc92867e886af16544de17a - Total cost £18.00

Weights to counterbalance scope - http://direct.tesco.com/product/images/?R=901-4328 (while these dont look as pretty as the celestron -originals, they serve a purpose - see image below)

http://www.365astronomy.com/celestron-counterweight-extra-11-for-cg5-mount-p-181.html - 2 x 2 kilo weights - Total cost £7.98

Total spent - £25.98 and the weights work fine

David

P.S. the weights needed a piece of rubber tubing to center them on the shaft, as the hole diameter was larger than the counterweight shaft.

[steppenwolf]

Excellent find and a great cost saving.

[MG1]

This is strange...when I click those links the dovetails is £14, so even cheaper...but the tesco weights are £21 for 15kg and the celestron ones £28.80 for 5Kg, but the celestron ones look as though they are much wider than the others in your photo.

Any I mising something?

...or maybe just being dumb?

[sbooder]

This is strange...when I click those links the dovetails is £14, so even cheaper...but the tesco weights are £21 for 15kg and the celestron ones £28.80 for 5Kg, but the celestron ones look as though they are much wider than the others in your photo.

Any I mising something?

...or maybe just being dumb?

The Tesco weights are a twin pack and the metal may be of differing grades. I notice they do a nylon twin pack too.

[Catanonia]

I use a 5kg cast iron dumbbell weight sandwiched inbetweent the 2 standard eq6 weights.

[wackyscot]

Yeah seems to have come down in price right enough, however it was just to highlight the weights really - they come in different sizes and work fine sorry if any confusion, hey I'm a newbie lol.