Remove OTA rings to reduce weight

[turaaa]

I have a skywatcher 130 pds newtonian

it comes with rings and a vixen dovetail .

The rings way about 1kg, is it possible to remove the rings and attach the dovetail directly to the OTA? 

what is the best way to do it?

 

The reason I want to reduce weight is because I want to use the scope with a wifi AZ GTI goto device.

 

 

[fozzybear]

the AZ GTI is rated at 5kg and the 130pds is 4kg with tube rings So I cannot see a way of removing the tube rings and attaching the scope unless you make some custom rings via 3d printer to reduce the weight also the size of the 130pds may suffer from wind disturbance plus when you add accessories the weight goes up. maybe only solution is look for a different mount or a small refractor.

[joe aguiar]

I think u can bolt the vixen bar right to the tube but u may have to take out the spider and 2nd mirror or the primary as well.

The thing to remember tho is 2 things I can think of.

1 if u ever try to sell it u now have 2 holes someone may be ok with that if u can get plugs for it other may want a bit reduced price for it since it has couple holes. I probably would.

2nd if u ever put that on a EQ mount there could be lots angles the focuser will be at that wont be comfortable viewing. 

With the rings u could just rotate the tube but since this doesn't  concern u really now using it on alt mount them for now it's ok

Joejaguar 

[Stu]

Not sure it is a good idea depending on the rigidity of the tube. Bolting a dovetail directly to it may end up being wobbly and prone to vibration, something tube rings reduce.