A mount for a Skywatcher pro series 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain

[smartybones]

Hi people....

My wife bought me my first scope for xmas, but unfortunately I do not have a mount. I need to get myself a mount desperately, but funds are VERY limited.

I know whatever I get will end up being replaced later on in the year for something more substantial like a EQ5, Being realistic, but I need something I can use now.... my budget will be below £150 so any suggestions would be most appreciated.

I have considered making myself a basic dobsonian mount from plans available online, but with the relitively short tube of the 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain, and the position of the eyepiece its not an ideal solution. are there any other options that I could bang together in my shed?

Marty.

[Cornelius Varley]

An EQ5 would probably ne the minimum mount for this telescope. You could possibly make a mount similar to the one used on the Skywatcher Heritage 130 http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html suitably beefed up to cater for the extra weight.

The mount for the Orion Starblast 6i looks possible http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobsonian-Telescopes/IntelliScope-Dobsonians/Orion-StarBlast-6i-IntelliScope-Reflector-Telescope/pc/1/c/12/sc/27/p/102026.uts?refineByCategoryId=27

[JamesF]

An EQ5 would probably ne the minimum mount for this telescope. 

Have to agree with this.  The EQ3-2 is pretty much on the limit with the 127 Mak.  I'd not want to put anything heavier on it.  You might find a used EQ5 for around £150.

Failing that I might be tempted to try to find a tubular leg tripod and make up some sort of fork mount from timber to fit on top.

James

[Cornelius Varley]

No plans for this one but it might give you some ideas to think about http://www.homebuiltastronomy.com/kidpeek/index.htm

[smartybones]

Thanks for that Peter.

Yeah, I was beginning to think the EQ5 was going to be the realistic minimum and for a little while will be a little out of my price range. that said, If I am going to have to wait, I would sooner wait a little longer and get something better than the minimum required. Long term my plans are to attach my Nikon dSLR to it and enter the wondrous world of AP.

So for the time being, I will be getting my carpentry tools out and will make somthing similar to the mount on the Skywatcher Heritage 130, Its a simple design and easy to reproduce on a larger scale for the extra weight. barings will be the issue, getting a smooth movement but a solid platform for viewing. But for now, the moon and the planets will keep me occupied until I get a good solid mount.

Marty.

[knobby]

Keep an eye on UK astro buy and sell

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=76293

Cheap and might get you going short term

[RikM]

I really don't want to put a downer on such a wonderful gift but this is totally not the right telescope for astrophotography with a DSLR.

The Skymax has a very long native focal length and very slow focal ratio, this makes it ideal for planetary viewing and imaging but a Nikon  DSLR is not the right camera for planetary imaging. The chip is too big really, planets are very small, and Nikon tends to be not well supported with software. For imaging planets, most good images come from specialised fast frame rate cameras or even modified webcams. Cameras that can take many hundreds of exposure, usually as a video clip, which is then post-processed with stacking software to produce the final image. You would want an EQ5 at minimum for this due to the focal length mainly.

DSLR cameras are much more suited to astrophotography of large faint deep sky objects, but for that you need a shorter focal length and much faster focal ratio optics than a Skymax. For DSLR you want to be around f/5 ideally. You will also be using very long exposures. These objects are very faint. Very long exposures means you need a hyper-accurate tracking mount. the generally recommended minimum is the larger HEQ5 mount, and you will probably want to add an autoguider at some stage.

If you want to stick with the Skymax 150 telescope, and your stated budget, I would be inclined to get an AZ4 mount and just use it visually. It is a wonderful visual scope, especially suited to viewing the moon and planets but with enough aperture to show you some of the smaller brighter deep sky objects as well

Forget about astrophotography for a while. Get yourself a copy of Making Every Photon Count by Steve Richards and do a bit of homework first

[knobby]

I really don't want to put a downer on such a wonderful gift but this is totally not the right telescope for astrophotography with a DSLR.

The Skymax has a very long native focal length and very slow focal ratio, this makes it ideal for planetary viewing and imaging but a Nikon DSLR is not the right camera for planetary imaging. The chip is too big really, planets are very small, and Nikon tends to be not well supported with software. For imaging planets, most good images come from specialised fast frame rate cameras or even modified webcams. Cameras that can take many hundreds of exposure, usually as a video clip, which is then post-processed with stacking software to produce the final image. You would want an EQ5 at minimum for this due to the focal length mainly.

DSLR cameras are much more suited to astrophotography of large faint deep sky objects, but for that you need a shorter focal length and much faster focal ratio optics than a Skymax. For DSLR you want to be around f/5 ideally. You will also be using very long exposures. These objects are very faint. Very long exposures means you need a hyper-accurate tracking mount. the generally recommended minimum is the larger HEQ5 mount, and you will probably want to add an autoguider at some stage.

If you want to stick with the Skymax 150 telescope, and your stated budget, I would be inclined to get an AZ4 mount and just use it visually. It is a wonderful visual scope, especially suited to viewing the moon and planets but with enough aperture to show you some of the smaller brighter deep sky objects as well

Forget about astrophotography for a while. Get yourself a copy of Making Every Photon Count by Steve Richards and do a bit of homework first

Blunt... But accurate.

it will be great for planets using a webcam though :-)

[skywatcher58gb]

Hi Marty, totally agree with the comments, Once you have your mount sorted keep a look out for a second hand Phillips Spc900 webcam with1.25" nose piece. Then download Registax which is free capture and stacking program, this should get you started on planetary imaging. Also available free is GIMP software for doing a bit of post processing.

Good luck

Dave

[Christopher Davenport]

I really don't want to put a downer on such a wonderful gift but this is totally not the right telescope for astrophotography with a DSLR.

The Skymax has a very long native focal length and very slow focal ratio, this makes it ideal for planetary viewing and imaging but a Nikon  DSLR is not the right camera for planetary imaging. The chip is too big really, planets are very small, and Nikon tends to be not well supported with software. For imaging planets, most good images come from specialised fast frame rate cameras or even modified webcams. Cameras that can take many hundreds of exposure, usually as a video clip, which is then post-processed with stacking software to produce the final image. You would want an EQ5 at minimum for this due to the focal length mainly.

DSLR cameras are much more suited to astrophotography of large faint deep sky objects, but for that you need a shorter focal length and much faster focal ratio optics than a Skymax. For DSLR you want to be around f/5 ideally. You will also be using very long exposures. These objects are very faint. Very long exposures means you need a hyper-accurate tracking mount. the generally recommended minimum is the larger HEQ5 mount, and you will probably want to add an autoguider at some stage.

If you want to stick with the Skymax 150 telescope, and your stated budget, I would be inclined to get an AZ4 mount and just use it visually. It is a wonderful visual scope, especially suited to viewing the moon and planets but with enough aperture to show you some of the smaller brighter deep sky objects as well

Forget about astrophotography for a while. Get yourself a copy of Making Every Photon Count by Steve Richards and do a bit of homework first

+ 1 on this. Skymax are best for planetary observing and webcam + stacking.

Check the planetary imaging forums on this site for advice.

Good news is that you can get a skywatcher alt az goto mount used for ₤150.

Your tracking does not need equatorial precisetion for planetary work.

Nice scope by the way, observing m catalogue, planets and the moowill be mighty fine through this

[smartybones]

Thanks for your input Rik,

As you can guess, my knowlage of telescopes is a fraction above clueless, and the fraction bit comes from two days of reading web articles.  My list of books to read is getting larger and larger.

My ambitions of AP is a long way off yet, but is something I do plan on in the future. I need to find my way around the sky first, in the meantime, the kit to connect my nikon is not bank busting, and should get some good results of the moon.

[RikM]

... the kit to connect my nikon is not bank busting, and should get some good results of the moon.

Yes absolutely

A t-ring and a nosepiece and you should be good to go. If you can lock the mirror up before taking the shot, you should get a sharper result

[smartybones]

Those Phillips Spc900 are as rare and as hard to find as dark matter !!!!

I do have a Logitech QuickCam Pro 3000 knocking around my desk somewhere, I belive those are quite good for AP

Not a fan of GIMP, but I can find my way around Photoshop CS5.5 quite well.

[smartybones]

Ahhhh,,,, at last.

I finally scraped some pennies together and got myself a mount for my telescope. I got myself a Skywatcher EQ5 deluxe (£238) and the dual axis motor kit, (£88) from first light optics.

The mount is a lot heavier than I ever thought it would be, I doubt it will move even in a strong wind. I was pleasantly surprised to find a polar alignment scope built into the mount already.

The only thing now is to find a patch of sky to look at.... I was hoping for clear skies tonight to get a good look of Saturn while its in opposition...

[dannybgoode]

+1 for second hand.  EQ5's go for well under £150 on ebay quite often and astrobuysell.com/uk has bargains also.

I appreciate funds are tight but do not skimp on the mount - a mount that is not up to the job may well cause more frustration than it is worth and put you off the hobby.

I was going to take this route also until I saw some of the cheaper mounts and they really are quite flimsy.  Luckily a suitable one turned up on astrobuysell well within my price range.

This one on ebay for example will go for less than £150 - may not be suitable for you as collection only but gives you an idea as to what is out there

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161297294182?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[smartybones]

well isnt that typical.....i just hope the missus doesnt see that on ebay... i will get skinned alive!!!

I have been searching ebay and the like for the last few weeks looking for a mount, and none came up that was a reasonable price/distance to collect. The closest i came was last week, when for just a little over £200 inc delivery was a good as new eq5, which afterwards i was glad i did not get, the bloke was advertising it as the mount plus a polar scope, which I now know comes with the scope..

never mind.

I got a good deal from first light optics, (see my post above)

[Nillchill]

Saw this on astro buy and sell

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=80764

But its in Cheltenham, though it may be reasonable courier charge

[tony gazer]

i use a 150p on a eq4 can find on ebay 4 150 using dslr can get great lunar and a few pix o jupiter but just lately solar observing and photography with a filter from 365astronomy

tony

[Plissken]

Hi Marty. I have the 127skymax on eq 3-2 and it feels perfect.  I have took some fantastic photos of the moon with my canon 800d. I also took pictures of venus. I have no software just my camera on my scope, then to my phone then on to instagram.  Fair enough venus looked like a white blob but it's still venus. But the pictures of the moon was breathtaking.  Good luck and have fun. 

[Cornelius Varley]

1 hour ago, Plissken said:

Hi Marty. I have the 127skymax on eq 3-2 and it feels perfect.  I have took some fantastic photos of the moon with my canon 800d. I also took pictures of venus. I have no software just my camera on my scope, then to my phone then on to instagram.  Fair enough venus looked like a white blob but it's still venus. But the pictures of the moon was breathtaking.  Good luck and have fun. 

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