Skytee 2 ???

[nightfisher]

For a while i have been toying with changing the unused HEQ5 for a skytee 2 mount, this would be used on my CG5 2" tripod, making a very stable dual scope mount, question is seeing as the skytee has slow mo cables, would these give sufficient control for a basic bit of Lunar webcam imaging and dlsr lunar work?

[Mark at Beaufort]

Jules I have a SkyTee 2 mounted on a Berlebach wooden tripod. I wanted to buy a used CG5 2" tripod but could not find one, so I went and bought the Berlebach. The system is very stable and the slow motion controls are very good. I use my Skywatcher 180mm Mak/Cass and it works very well even on high magnification.

I can't totally answer your question although I have taken many good solar photos with my 4" Astro Tech frac and a Canon 50D DSLR so I cannot see why the system would not work for the Moon.

[nightfisher]

Mark, thank you for a swift reply, i am thinking this could be a good solution to thinning out some of my kit, and getting a more stable mount in the process 

[John]

I had a Skytee II on a CG5 mount for a while and it was a very stable mount. With the refractors that I was using I found the standard slow motion control knobs awkward to reach so it would be worth thinking about putting some longer cable type ones on if these are not already supplied. This might not be needed if your Mak 180 is the intended instrument.

Do think about the dovetail clamps too as the originals were pretty poor. 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Jules to add to my previous comment and to support what John has stated. I bought 2 longer cable slow motion controls and they work very well on the scopes from a PST, 4" frac, 6" Newt or the 180mm Mak Cass. I also bought a better saddle (ADM from Flo) and some counter weights.

Really pleased with the setup.

[nightfisher]

I had a Skytee II on a CG5 mount for a while and it was a very stable mount. With the refractors that I was using I found the standard slow motion control knobs awkward to reach so it would be worth thinking about putting some longer cable type ones on if these are not already supplied. This might not be needed if your Mak 180 is the intended instrument.

Do think about the dovetail clamps too as the originals were pretty poor. 

Yes John, i see the ST2 has fiddly  looking slo mo`s so already thinking long cables would be the way to go.................i no longer have the 180 mak, i downgraded to a 150 pro mak and very pleased with it

cheers mark, yes i would think about ADM saddles, but why are the originals so bad ?

[John]

....., but why are the originals so bad ?

The model I had was an early one so this may have changed but the issue is that the knob on the clamp is soft alloy which is drilled and tapped. It threads onto a hard steel threaded peg which has a cross cut in the top of it, presumably to aid assembly. The cross cut seems to turn the steel peg into a sort of router which soon strips out the soft alloy threading in the clamping knob leaving progressively less to hold the clamp tight. Mine quite quickly got to the point where I only had to loosen the clamp very slightly for the knob to loose it's grip altogether. The result could be a scope on the floor

[nightfisher]

Ok sounds like i will need to factor in the ADM  clamps for this mount if this is the way i go, its starting to feel right, i have posted before about getting  the sky tee and its making a lot of sense for me.

Thanks for all the advice so far, keep it coming

[Mark at Beaufort]

Jules I only bought one ADM saddle mainly to hold the 180mm Mak Cass. I have kept one of the original saddles which I use on the top of the mount to hold my PST. My SkyTee 2  is not very old so Skywatcher have not changed the saddles despite concerns having been expressed. However, in saying that I think the original saddles can hold some OTAs but I would not risk anything larger than a 80/100mm Frac - IMHO.

[nightfisher]

Cheers mark, i was thinking replace just one saddle with an ADM, for time being, i will be using 150 mak, 150 f5 newt and tal100 on the mount

[John]

I had one ADM saddle on mine too as 95% of the time I just had one scope on board. 

It's a good mount though, despite the clamps issue. I had my 6" F/12 35 lbs refractor on it for 1st light and, despite the scope being far too much for it, I was able to test the optics up to 250x. Neil English has put some loads on his too and it seems to deal with them pretty well.

[nightfisher]

Thanks John, i will be way under the payload, but still need to answer the tracking on slo mo question for Lunar before i commit to this project

[Mark at Beaufort]

Jules this was taken today using the SkyTee 2 - http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/220289-solar-imaging-in-between-the-tennis/

OK it was taken at 1/500th on 100 ISO but it gives an indication.

[John]

One of our members (johninderby) motorised and GOTO'd his Skytee 2. He did a great job on it but it looked way beyond my DIY capabilities   (as are many things to be honest  )

[nightfisher]

I remember the skytee that johninderby did such a superb job on but also beyond my skills and to be honest i want to keep things simple, whatever happened to john?

[jam1e1]

The payload capacity on the top mount saddle is very poor on my ST2 (I've had it slip with only a dslr mounted). The side saddle can take a 10" sw newt.

I've not seen an official payload capacity for each saddle that I recall, although I think I saw a TS clone of st2 that quoted circa 3kg capacity on top mount.

Done a strip down and tried adjusting some if the grub screws and tensioners but can't seem to fix.

Whilst I can't fault side saddle capacity (once an adm saddle is used ) I'd rather have a mount engineered well that meets purpose it's sold for.

[Stu]

I've never quite 'got' the SkyTee2 design. It seems complex versus the Giro style mounts, don't know if that's true or not but the top saddle looks a little precarious

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nightfisher]

some more answers that give me more to think about, interesting about top clamp

[m.tweedy]

I have a skytee2 and enjoy it. HOWEVER if the Altair Sabre had been out at the time the Skytee would not be in my shed. I got a replacement saddle from astroparts at Dalby a few years back to replace the dodgy side saddle. I also know astroengineering make them

[nightfisher]

As you can tell, i really like to rush into new purchases...........................i hope to collect a used but good skytee 2 next weekend complete with ADM saddle, this will replace my trusty AZ4, meaning i will be down to just one tripod- the CG5.

The skytee will hold my beloved TAL100in a very stable manner, and by adding some long flexi cables i should be able to hand track for Luna work

[John]

I liked the Skytee II design but I found the slow motion controls awkwardly placed and longer cables just seemed to increase vibrations. The saddles on the ones I've used were poor and I'd not trust a heavy scope on either of them. Upgrading to the ADM clamps was a good move but drove up the overall cost of the mount of course.

It's a bit of a conundrum mount in some ways

[nightfisher]

cheers John,

I should be getting this mount at a fair price and it will be more stable than the AZ, i have found a source for flexi slow mo cables

[John]

They have on on Astroboot at the moment but that might be the one you mean.

They are definitely a step up from the AZ-4. I've had some quite large scopes on the Skytee II:

[nightfisher]

It can really take a large tube John!

I have seen the one on astroboot, but the one im after is coming from a private person, has an ADM saddle and is less money