Need Help Assembling Mount for LS50THa

[JimmyT123]

Hello all,

I was recently gifted an LH50THa solar telescope from a friend.  It didn't come with a manual and I'm unsure if I'm missing pieces.  I have experience with night time telescopes, as you can see I included a photo of my Orion 130St Reflector that came with an equatorial mount.  I contacted Lunt (who were VERY helpful) who suggested purchasing a dovetail to use to mount my solar telescope to my nighttime telescope's mount.

I felt bad pestering them with further questions, and I'm sure there are several ways to do what I'm asking, so that's why I joined this discussion forum.  My question is, once I purchase this dovetail accessory (if someone could suggest specifically WHICH dovetail I need, that would be super helpful) how do I attach it to my equatorial mount?  Which pieces do I dissassemble and then how do I reassemble it for solar viewing?  Links to a site where I can purchase this dovetail accessory would be greatly appreciated.

Question 2: It comes with a 20mm eyepiece.  Would a different eyepiece help me get better views of the sun?  Since it was a gift I'd be more than happy to splurge on some extra goodies.  Any and all suggestions are welcome.  Thanks!

Jim

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[DRT]

Hi Jim,

This is the dovetail you need: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/lunt-solar-accessories/lunt-dovetail-bar.html

Unfortunately, FLO do not ship to the USA so you will have to find one on that side of the pond. The Lunt part number is 0554401.

I cannot open your pictures so can't comment on how you would fix the Lunt to it. Could you please try posting the pictures again as .jpg images?

Derek

 

[JimmyT123]

Thanks for your input, I'll try the photos again.

[DRT]

Hi Jim,

The dovetail screws onto the black collar/ring that is fitted around the white part of the tube. You can see the holes that it fits to in the first picture you have posted. You can alter the position of the scope in the collar by loosening the hex bolts on the sides, moving the scope to where you want it and then re-tightening the bolts.

Your current scope looks to be fitted to the tripod using a similar dovetail. You should be above to find one or two knurled screws on the mount just under the telescope tube that will be holding the dovetail into its clamp. If you remove the telescope your Lunt (once fitted with a dovetail) will slot right into the same clamp.

As for eyepieces, the most powerful I use is an 8mm. It might be a good idea for you to order the Lunt 7.2mm to 21.5mm Zoom to give you a range of magnification without having to switch eyepieces.

Derek

[JimmyT123]

Ahh!  Very Cool Derek!  I'm chatting with Faye from Lunt right now about choosing the correct sized dovetail.  Once I have that, I'll remove my orion, attach the dovetail to my lunt, and hopefully it slides right in.  I'll also look up the eyepiece you mentioned.

Thank you very very much.

Jim

[The Head Gardener]

Wow, that's one heck of a gift!  Good luck getting set up.  Have you considered Lunt's 7.2-21.5mm zoom eyepiece?

Jayne

 

[JimmyT123]

@jayne I DEFINITELY ordered the zoom eyepiece! I bought it along with the 4inch dovetail they said I needed to attach it to the mount I own.

So I've received the dovetail but I'm lost.  Requesting help again.
1. Which side of the dovetail goes towards the telescope? (edit: I'm fairly sure it's the smooth side)
2. How does it attach to the mount I own?
3. What size screws do I need to attach the dovetail to the telescope? (edit: 1/4in wide, figured that out)
4. Do I need to take anything off of the mount before I attach the telescope w/dovetail or does it just slip into some sort of slot?


Thanks!  Jim

[The Head Gardener]

Jimmy,

There are four videos on YouTube put up by Lunt.  Hope this link works. If it doesn't, then just search YouTube for the  'Lunt Solar Systems"  channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIP-sBB1PuiKgRqJB_iJ9kg

One of them shows how to attach the dovetail.

Jayne

[DRT]

Jimmy,

The side of the dovetail with the ridges on the outside and smooth recess in the middle goes towards the scope. The two central holes on the dovetail fit to the two outer holes on the clamp on the scope. You need two short M5 or M6 hex bolts (sorry, can't remember which).

On the mount you can see a black knob on the opposite side from your hand. It looks like that bolt is clamping the existing dovetail (the bar with the large rings attached) to the mount. Unscrew that bolt and the dovetail and rings should come off. The Lunt dovetail should slot into the same clamp.

It is possible that the bolts that are holding the rings to the existing dovetail will be the size you need to fit the new dovetail to the Lunt

Derek

[JimmyT123]

@Jayne the videos were very helpful, but sadly they make it look like my mount may not be suited for any telescope other than the one it came with.

@derek the black knob, when loosened, only allows for rotation of the telescope (you can see the dial just under the knob, it rotates around that axis).
It appears as though this mount is not designed to allow for other telescopes to be attached to it.

Again, thanks everyone for your help.  I might need to buy another mount for my new LS50THa.  I'm going to post one more round of pictures to see if anyone has any other advice before I purchase a new mount tho.

Thank you,  James

[DRT]

James,

You might still be able to use this mount

In the first of the three pictures you just posted you can see that the bar that is holding the large rings is fxed to the mount by two black bolts. If the centers of those bolts are 34mm apart you could buy and attach a clamp like the one linked to below, which would fit the Lunt dovetail.

http://agenaastro.com/gso-dovetail-mount-dovetail-bar.html

Other sizes are available if this wouldn't fit your mount.

Derek

 

[The Head Gardener]

Jimmy, sorry the videos did not provide an easy solution for you.  I am far too novice to offer you any other advice, other than to say listen to what folk at SGL tell you. In the short time I have been here I have found this a knowledgeable, kind and incredibly helpful forum.

Good luck.

 

[JimmyT123]

@Jayne  I LOVE the skywatching community.  I can't wait for the day where I'm knowledgable enough to pay it forward and help a newbie.  Once I have more $ to spend on the hobby and I can have some more gadgets to give advice on, I'll be prancing through these forums spreading seeds of knowledge lol.  Thanks for your help.

@Derek  I see the screws you're talking about.  After looking at the contraption, I think I'm going to leave my mount in one piece and probably invest in another tripod/mount for my solar telescope so that I don't have to take the mount apart and put it back together when switching from daytime to nighttime viewing.

That said, I'm now shopping for new mounts that I can clip my new dovetail into lolol

Thanks again fam

James