celestron c6 s xlt

[ronaldo999]

hi just got this yesterday and put the mount together last night, i have a piece which is puzzling me. It looks like it attaches to the dovetail bar under the scope and sits in the top of the mount. I thought you just slid the dovetail into the mount or am i wrong? There are holes which line up to the dovetail but no bolts to secure it. Any ideas???

any help appreciated

[Mark at Beaufort]

Hello Ronaldo999. I think you are referring to a separate dovetail bar that came with the CG5 mount. You don't need it for your C6 SCT - this scope just slides into the top of the mount.

Mark

[ronaldo999]

so i just slide it in and nip up the lock screw? what about the small screw at an angle at the top of the mount do i tighten this as well. Also does this not damage the soft alluminium dovetail. Sorry i am a bit scared of under tightening and it falling off or overtightening and damaging something. Typical newbie asking stuipid questions

[Mark at Beaufort]

Because the scope can get into odd positions I always tighten both screws. Yes over time the dovetail can get marked. However, I would prefer that than finding that the scope has slipped off the mount and onto the floor.

I always tightened the main screw first to make sure that the scope with eps or camera is balanced. I then tighten the angle screw just enough to engage the dovetail.

Very good scope and the weight of the CG5 makes the instrument very stable. Is there anything else that you want to know?

mark

[ronaldo999]

i would imagine there are many questions. thanks for your help, just got this in replacement for a meade etx105 so got to get used to star hopping as well. But i suppose its the best way to learn.

The tube just looks very odd only being held by a hand tight screw and i was a little nervous last night

thanks for the help hope the cloud clears here in yorkshire sometime soon so i can get out

[scotastro]

If you keep the scope set up all the time, just as a precaution always check those locking screws are tight before moving the scope.

Mike

[ianmwatson]

You need to tighten the big one, the little one's upto you. If you look at the extra dovetail that it came with you can see what the little screw does, it's a secondary safety lock, that dovetail has a slot for it. The C6-S has no such slot. It wouldn't stop your C6-S sliding of if the main screw was loose imho.

"The tube just looks very odd only being held by a hand tight screw and i was a little nervous last night"

A screw thread has a fairly massive mechanical advantage, just nip it up tight without grollying it and I wouldn't worry about marks on the dovetail bar too much, that's what it's for and is pretty much unavoidable.

[ian_d]

Have no fear ronaldo999, as long as the larger of those 2 screws is tight then all is well. I have the same setup as you - it's terrific - and a few scratches on the dovetail bar goes with the territory. It's no biggie, as the Americans say

[ronaldo999]

ok thanks for the replies, i would not be a happy chappy if the thing fell to the ground in a big smash. Anyone got anya dvice for removing cloud cover and stopping rain???????

[Tiny]

The wife's did! Tighten every screw you can - better safe than sorry. And always put the weight on the shaft before you put the scope on the mount - otherwise the mount can tip over scope first. It does happen!