Equatorial mount for Orion XT8

[carlt]

Hi everyone,

                    like everyone else in this sodden country I've had little opportunity for looking. I've been doing some dreaming though. Was wondering if it was possible to attach my recently bought  XT8 dobsonian to an equatorial mount and how much this would cost. I don"t want to invest in a go to system at this stage, just something which will track an object if I want to photograph. I contacted Orion and they offered me something with all the bells and whistles for $1100,(could n't get a UK price, but know it would be beyond my budget). There's got to be a cheaper option. I would appreciate any advice.

     If I get the chance to get out for a look I'm finding my way round the sky with binoculars. I thoroughly reccommend this way of doing some astronomy if you've got a little time to spare. It's worth checking out auction sites for bins if you haven't a pair, there are some great bargains, do your homework first tho', it's easy to get robbed. I recently bought  a pair of Swift SPWA 9x42 for under a hundred quid for birding, they're also brilliant for stargazing. I've got together a bit of a list of objects I can go to straight away with bins and as soon as I'm able to get the scope out I know I'll be able to find them. When is this rain gonna stop?

[NGC 1502]

One option for a Dob is an equatorial platform -  http://www.equatorial-platforms-uk.co.uk/  never used an EQ platform, but have seen one.

If you are good at DIY you could make one yourself.

Regards, Ed.

[leelee970]

Ed is right, an equatorial platform would be the way I'd go if I wanted to have a tracking Dob.

I think they are about £450 - £500 retail, or you could make your own.

Lee

[brantuk]

Yup - barn door tracker (or EQ platform) is the sort of thing I'd go for - most commercial mounts similar to NEQ6 are good for up to 8" Newts, but you would be talking about a minimum budget of a thousand squids. Diy barn door trackers would be peanuts - or circa £500 for a commercially made one.

[carlt]

Thanks for the input guys.  I've been  doing a bit of research on eq/platforms, and I'm not in any way knocking them if people have them, but they look a bit orthopaedic and I imagine quite difficult to set up. I know I can get a set of tube rings for my scope, but are these a universal fit for all tripod manufacturers or are they specific ? I think I"d rather save for a decent mount and have the option of either set up.

[RichieP]

Your tube rings will attach to a dovetail bar and it is this dovetail which will attach to the mount. Happily there are only two styles in general use so you shouldn't have a problem.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

[RichieP]

I should mention that the two styles of dovetail are known as Losmandy style and Vixen style. Most mounts will accept one or the other (and sometimes both) and adapters are freely available.

Personally I prefer the Losmandy style, especially for larger scopes, as they are sturdier.

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[dweller25]

Here is my 8" Skywatcher Dob - EQ mounted .....