Upgrading my HEQ5 saddle - What do I need?

[swag72]

I am thinking of upgrading my HEQ5 saddle - But I'm not sure what I need.

There is this offering from Alatir Astro http://www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16320&cat=275&page=1 - At the bottom you can select the puck as well. So how does this work?

I undo the grub screws holding my puck onto the mount, put the new puck in? Then how does the new saddle fit onto the puck?

If anyone has some pictures of their upgrades saddles on the HEQ5, that would be great.

[Jessun]

Here you go: Puck fits with grub screws, saddle bolts to the puck. The system is modular so all saddles - big and small fit. The double bolted saddle sometimes snags when you open it but that's the only occational issue. I put some WD40 on the sliding part.

[kookoo_gr]

you could always go for the adm dual saddle http://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-guidescope-rings-and-systems/adm-dual-saddle-upgrade-for-heq5-and-eq6-series-mounts.html i have it installed at my mount and is an excellent upgrade. the saddle comes fitted to its puck and you only need to uscrew the 3 grub screws that are underneath the factory pack, you remove the old puck, place the new one and tighten the screw again. (it's the 8th step at astrobaby's guide http://www.astro-baby.com/heq5-rebuild/heq5-d1.htm you don't need to do the rest of the steps, just to show you how to remove the puck.)

[swag72]

Thanks both for that - So, ADM or Altair Astro - Mmm.

@Jessun - Did you find an overall improvement by fitting the AA stuff compared to the stock HEQ5 saddle and puck?

[jnc71106]

I had a AA dual saddle on my old EQ6 and it was a big improvement on the standard saddle

If your having issues with stability then it's a no brainer

[swag72]

I had a AA dual saddle on my old EQ6 and it was a big improvement on the standard saddle

If your having issues with stability then it's a no brainer

I've heard this sort of thing said before - But does the standard saddle cause stability issues over the upgrade?

[steppenwolf]

There is no particular problem with the the standard puck and saddle. I changed mine because I have an older EQ6 with just the Vixen style saddle and I wanted to go Losmandy style for more stability so a new ADM puck and Losmandy saddle was a good choice for me.

What issue are you trying to address, Sara?

[Jessun]

I upgraded for a good side by side setup and found AA to be very good for that purpose and easier to work with in the field than the fiddly SWEET stock saddle.

[Jessun]

I upgraded for a good side by side setup and found AA to be very good for that purpose and easier to work with in the field than the fiddly SW stock saddle.

[jnc71106]

Depends on your setup I would say. If you have a long scope then it's much better, purely based on the amount of contact area between the the AA saddle and the dovetail bar (less chance of any movement) the system of holding the bar is far better a clamp that grips the length of the saddle as opposed to a couple of bolts with two small areas of contact

[swag72]

What issue are you trying to address, Sara?

Nothing in particular at the moment Steve - Just having to get an extra massive long dovetail in order to try to balance the Pentax as I'm going to remove the dual bar and it's massively back heavy and unablet o balance at the minute, I thought while I was trying to sort that I'd upgrade the saddle.

[swag72]

Depends on your setup I would say. If you have a long scope then it's much better, purely based on the amount of contact area between the the AA saddle and the dovetail bar (less chance of any movement) the system of holding the bar is far better a clamp that grips the length of the saddle as opposed to a couple of bolts with two small areas of contact

Would hold my SW120ED better then.

[Earl]

I use an ADM on my EQ6, one big advantage imo is the extended clamping surface you have it is about twice as long as the standard one.

[swag72]

More chances to be able to balance my back heavy Pentax then as well. Looks like it may be a goer then.

[Earl]

More chances to be able to balance my back heavy Pentax then as well. Looks like it may be a goer then.

IS also worth getting a over long dovetail, ill find an image which says it all..

[Earl]

Here

as you can see the scope sits foward to balance off the filter wheel camera etc

http://www.dl-digital.com/images/Astronomy/Equipment/FSQ-ST8300-SetupBackyard_DD25311.jpg

[swag72]

Great photo, thanks Earl, shows just what I need.

[steppenwolf]

If balance is the only issue, you could consider fabricating a balance bar - I had to do this with my original dual set-up which was tail heavy and if you look at the picture below, you will see my solution which comprises a spare dovetail bar and a weight from an EQ1 mount. Perhaps something along these lines would work for you too? Ignore the fact that mine is a dual bar system, the principle is the same, its just a matter of attachment point.