Re-positioning the dovetail on a skymax 127 ota

[Magnifying_Jim]

I've bought a second-hand Skymax 127, and a Celestron Nexstar goto mount. Problem is, the dovetail on the ota is positioned on the underside of the tube, rather than on the side, where I need it. Should I buy tube rings (the Orion 144mm rings seem to be the ones to go for), or can I drill new holes in the tube. How would I go about that? I'm hesitant to open up the ota without really knowing what I'm doing.

[nightfisher]

I think for use on an EQ mount the dovetail bar should be on the underside as per your scope

[Moonshane]

can you not just turn the diagonal to an appropriate angle?

[JamesF]

If you want to move the dovetail bar then you really should remove all the optics before attempting to drill the tube.  Doing so will mean you need to collimate the scope once assembled and I'm guessing you're probably not up for that

I'd suggest removing the existing diagonal and then attaching it to tube rings and mounting it that way.

Jaems

[JamesF]

can you not just turn the diagonal to an appropriate angle?

Hmm.  That might work if the mount will function with the fork on the left hand side of the scope (when viewed from behind).  Rotating the scope through 90 degrees clockwise to have the dovetail on the left hand side would leave the focuser knob at the bottom and the finder on the right, which wouldn't be too bad.

If it will only work with the fork to the right then the finder would be at the bottom left of the scope and the focuser knob would probably be obstructed by any comfortable viewing angle for the diagonal.

I've no idea if the mount works either way around.  Perhaps someone might be able to confirm that.

James

[hobsey]

I've no idea if the mount works either way around.  Perhaps someone might be able to confirm that.

The OTA will fit fine but I don't know if it will confuse the alignment setup plus I think it would be quite annoying when you go to use the handset as the left and right would be reverse.

Plus the way the fork is position, when looking directly up, the bottom of the OTA will catch the mount.

[JamesF]

The OTA will fit fine but I don't know if it will confuse the alignment setup plus I think it would be quite annoying when you go to use the handset as the left and right would be reverse.

Plus the way the fork is position, when looking directly up, the bottom of the OTA will catch the mount.

If that's the case then it does look as though tube rings are the easiest solution.

James

[hobsey]

Plus the way the fork is position, when looking directly up, the bottom of the OTA will catch the mount.

Just had to quickly set mine up to reassure myself just in case I was talking a load of rubbish.

[RT65CB-SWL]

I have had similar issue with my Meade ETX105 as to how to attach a dovetail bar without drilling and tapping. I am in the process of editing a post and will be posted as soon as I am happy with it. Collimating Maks apparantly can be a pain in the backside and requires patience. It may be an idea that you look at www.weasner.com/etx/

JamesF has posted a photo of a stripped 127 - www.stargazerslounge.com/topic/145055-flocking-skymax-150

[The Warthog]

Have you considered emailing the manufacturer, or the supplier, to see if they have a solution? The scope is sold in configurations for both types of mounts, so conversion may be a simple matter. Or not.

[knobby]

It should be fine, I've used a 127 mak ( dovetail underneath ) on a celestron 4se mount , it's a bit quirky and the writing on the ota is upside down but hey ho ... It works . Just rotate it to put the dovetail where you need it then turn the diagonal to suit.

Just look at the ota on an eq mount , it works at all angles :-)

[knobby]

Just had to quickly set mine up to reassure myself just in case I was talking a load of rubbish.

Need to point it the other way !

[knobby]

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php?/topic/173322-Skywatcher-127-makpage__view__findpost__p__1773860

Skywatcher 127 Mak on a celestron 4se mount

[hobsey]

Need to point it the other way !

Nope, as I was just trying it out for James who had said the below quote.

I've no idea if the mount works either way around.  Perhaps someone might be able to confirm that.

James

And the Nexstar mount is different to the SE mounts. The Nexstar mount has a curve in the fork so the OTA can only be mounted one direction.

[JamesF]

It certainly does look as though scope rings are the easy solution.

James

[Magnifying_Jim]

Thanks to all for your response.