Eq8 problem mounting side-by-side

[skybadger]

Hi all

As the proud new owner of an EQ8, I've spent the last week in the obbo disassembling and today re-assembling , the scopes, wires and everything. I finally got to the point where I could sling the dual bar on with its two dovetail carriers, and it's there. Try to slide it along to balance and crunch!, the fastening handles on the eq8 interfere with the alignment nobs of the Flo large alignment plate. 

So, does anyone know is an alternative dovetail carrier for this mount that I could look at rather than the standard with the 3 long knobs ?  I can make a custom plate and put my old Altair clamp on it but I'd rather check first..

 

Many thanks

Mike

 

[Thalestris24]

7 minutes ago, skybadger said:

Hi all

As the proud new owner of an EQ8, I've spent the last week in the obbo disassembling and today re-assembling , the scopes, wires and everything. I finally got to the point where I could sling the dual bar on with its two dovetail carriers, and it's there. Try to slide it along to balance and crunch!, the fastening handles on the eq8 interfere with the alignment nobs of the Flo large alignment plate. 

So, does anyone know is an alternative dovetail carrier for this mount that I could look at rather than the standard with the 3 long knobs ?  I can make a custom plate and put my old Altair clamp on it but I'd rather check first..

 

Many thanks

Mike

 

You probably want to think about balancing it when fully loaded and using a counterweight rather than sliding it all. Just my first thought.

Louise

[swag72]

I have my EQ8 mounted side by side and with a JTD alignment saddle........ I screwed my adjustment saddle directly onto the Losmandy dovetail and so far haven't found an issue. Because my scopes are both pretty equal in weight (lighter camera on the JTD saddle side and guider on the heavier side) I have found ample room for balance. Perhaps you could try a longer dovetail plate? I'm not sure how long mine is.

[skybadger]

True enough, my side by side is heavier on the one side than the other. The arrangement I currently have is a long 40Cm dovetail with a dovetail carrier at one end, carrying a vixen Vc200l at 7kg. At the other end is the flo large alignment plate bolted on, carrying another dovetail carrier. In that is the vixen na140 and a 80mm guider which is quite a bit heavier at more like 12kg. Hence to balance it I need to slide the whole assembly across a bit. That's when the Knobs clash. I don't really want to add more weight to counterbalance it, I just upgraded the mount to get that, I don't want to overburden it with dead weight.

Cheers 

Mike

[MrsGnomus]

When we were setting up our dual rig we weighed all of the components including the FLO/JTD alignment saddle and managed to get both sides including cameras and filter wheels within 0.3 kg of each other by looking at the various weight combinations.  

Assuming that you are talking about the same alignment saddle my recollection is that it is around 2 kg. If you mounted your Vixen VC200L on that you would have around 9 kg on that side of the mount and 10 kg at the other end. This would mean that you will have to slide the bar a much shorter distance to get balance and avoid the crunch you described.

Unless there is a reason why you can’t put the VC200L onto the alignment saddle I would have thought that this would have been the best solution as it avoids the need for either a longer dovetail bar or the use of counterweights.

[skybadger]

Fair point . I'll give it a go swapping the saddles. Ta! Should have fought of that one myself. 

 

[skybadger]

I toddled off to the obbo to give it a go. 

i think the reason I hadn't tried it was that the VC200l uses a vixen dovetail on a dual-purpose saddle. 

As per your recommendation i swapped them, adding a losmandy dovetail to the vc200l to make it fit. 

Then it all balanced. 

Just as well I had a spare dovetail lying around and a counterbore bit to modify it. 

Cheers 

Mike

 

[MrsGnomus]

19 minutes ago, skybadger said:

 

I toddled off to the obbo to give it a go. 

i think the reason I hadn't tried it was that the VC200l uses a vixen dovetail on a dual-purpose saddle. 

As per your recommendation i swapped them, adding a losmandy dovetail to the vc200l to make it fit. 

Then it all balanced. 

Just as well I had a spare dovetail lying around and a counterbore bit to modify it. 

Cheers 

Mike

Glad it all worked out in the end.... just needed a bit of lateral thinking or as Gnomus says ‘womansplaining’?!

[skybadger]

Indeed ! More may be required yet