Mounting a Telescope to an ASTROTRAC, Help Please!

[williamnohair]

Hi Specman

noticed this was posted in Feb but as I am in a similar position wanted to know how it all panned out in the end. I was put off of mounting a Televue 60 (weight 1.5Kg) from advice given from Astrotrac on a Manfrotto gear head and camera mount as it would probably have been too unweildy and might have suffered 'flexure'. They suggested the Astrotrac wedge and mount but I wanted to stay married so passed up on that kind offer.

To cut a long story short I opted for a Canon 200mm f2.8 and a small scope (330mm) for observing for holiday travel, which I will try out on the Astrotrac in the future when we finally get some clear skies!!!!!!!!! This is the scope I bought which quality wise seems pretty good but I am no expert at things like this. Would be keen to know what you ended up with and how it performs.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p5632_TS-50mm-f-6-6-APO-Doublet-Refractor---Day-Night-Scope-and-Tele-Objective.html

[m.tweedy]

You may have a bit of a wait. I suspect he has taken the summer off as there has been no activity from him on SGL for a few months.

[CraigC]

I know this thread is very old, but I came across it when searching online for recommended scopes for mounting on an astrotrac.

I'm in a similar position to the original poster, however some of the suggested models are no longer available.  I would ideally like to buy a travel scope that I could also use for astrophotography on my astrotrac, but since I'm new to astrophotography I don't want to break the bank.  I have access to a sturdy enough tripod but may upgrade that too over the next few months.  I'm also currently using my brothers 300mm canon zoom lens (when it is available) but have noticed a higher degree of coma with this than I would like.

I would be interesed in peoples thoughts on these two scopes:

William Optics ZenithStar 71mm (latest version of what seems to have been recommended here, but heavier).

Vixen VMC110L - seems very cheap.

What is the best scope an astrotrac could take unguided within the limitations of its polar alignment (assuming sufficient tripod etc)?