Antares 105 f15--spirit of unitron

[nightfisher]

Just a thought, if you are purely visual how about the skytee 2 mount, has a huge payload

Yes, all powered up, syntrek working, have to say the antares still puts a strain on the HEQ5, i seriously considered the skytee mount, but i need tracking in equatorial axis for lunar imaging

[nightfisher]

Just got back from Phil j`s with the antares, as it would not come to focus, phil machined up an extension to the OTA tube out of ali billet, this sits between the ota and focuser, it now comes to focus with ease and has the added advantage of adding weight to the rear end, allowing me to "push" the tube further up the rings, giving a better viewing height to the EP.....Pics to folow, and a big thanks to phil

[nightfisher]

As promised, here is a pic of the extension phil made for the antares

[Marki]

Nifty looking bit of work there Jules (and Philj). If you can move the tube up better, is this going to help with the load on the HEQ? Did you you look into a longer dovetail?

[nightfisher]

I have fitted a shorter dove tail, the idea being to remove flex from the bar

[John]

I have fitted a shorter dove tail, the idea being to remove flex from the bar

Jules, I used to get flex when I used the standard Skywatcher dovetail bar with a 150mm F/8 refractor. I switched to a solid CNC machined DT bar and it made a really noticeable difference.

Thats a nice extension that Phil / yourself have devised. Had the tube of the scope been shortened at some point ?

[nightfisher]

Not shortened John, guess it was perfect for bino viewers, if that apeals (not me)

the f15 antares is (was) supplied with a tube that is to short to come to focus and they included a black extension but my one lost the factory extension in the past, i have a feeling the f13 elite had the same ota tube with no extension.

one advantage of this modification is the adding of a lump of weight to the rear end, this will allow me to mount the tube a little further forward in the tube rings

[philj]

Have you decided to leave it ali or paint it yet Jules?

[nightfisher]

Not decided yet Phil, early days

[AndyH]

Quality job, Phil !

Looking good, Jules

[philj]

It was an interesting one that mod but relatively straightforward, the tube is a bit thin on those so the boss, on the extension that fits into the tube, had to be snug and long so it had plenty of support. Me and my assistant Jules had fun tapping it out, after testing, with a length of plastic pipe but it now fits a treat, and makes the scope look real cool I reckon

[AndyH]

You reckon correctly

[nightfisher]

I was having a sort out with the f15, needed to take a couple of pics for some one, so i set it up on my AZ 4! looks like some thing out of a nuclear power plant

[A McEwan]

Jules, Did I read that the Antares is now up for sale?

Ant

[nightfisher]

Jules, Did I read that the Antares is now up for sale?

Ant

Yes sorry to say, but a case of to many scopes and not enough room

[A McEwan]

Ah, the age-old problem of loooong pointy scopes.

Ant

[nightfisher]

Most of you good people will be aware i fell out of favor with this long pointy thing,due to it being hard work on the mount, i have been advertising it but with no luck, the chip in the lens must really put people of, though its invisible against the night sky objects.

So i have given it a reprieve, and keeping it, going to rig up a Hargreave strut mounted on the counter weight shaft to make it more stable.

Will post up when the job is done, thanks to Peter Drew for the idea

[Alfven]

Very nice. I bet she pulls in some pretty powerful lunar features. I'd like to see how she manages imaging. If the chip on the flint objective causes excess flare you can instead of stopping down "fill in" the chip with enamel paint!

[A McEwan]

Very nice. I bet she pulls in some pretty powerful lunar features. I'd like to see how she manages imaging. If the chip on the flint objective causes excess flare you can instead of stopping down "fill in" the chip with enamel paint!

That would be a much smaller reduction in effective aperture. Would keep it much closer to the original 100(ish)mm...

[nightfisher]

That would be a much smaller reduction in effective aperture. Would keep it much closer to the original 100(ish)mm...

Why paint the chip out when it does not show

[A McEwan]

Why paint the chip out when it does not show

Ah, I assumed you were still stopping it down to 80mm f19. If it doesn't show then that's great!

Ant

[nightfisher]

Ah, I assumed you were still stopping it down to 80mm f19. If it doesn't show then that's great!

Ant

The only issue with it is the length, hece why i toyed with an istar lens and shortening it to f12