Any commercially available Cellphone Mount to OTA

[patrick torres]

Hello Everyone !

                  Me and a friend live in Bortle 7-8 skies. As such, I did a diy cellphone to Ota mount on my scope to take advantage of apps like Skyeye. I realize it's not perfect, but beats anything my eyes or finder Can see.

                     He is not at all keen on diy, so needs a commercially made cellphone to Ota mount for various sized otas. He will need something that can obviously adjust in azimuth and altitude. Any suggestions ? All I've seen is something from Scopestuff. Anything else ? By the way, he also uses a manual dob mount for his 10 inch, so no setting circles to help him (at least the dob). Thank You ! 

          Patrick 

[Franklin]

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ioptron-mount-accessories/ioptron-universal-smartphone-eyepiece-adapter.html

[Stu]

I think the OP wants something to attach to the scope, not to the eyepiece.

Various ones which I can see, most seem to have a 1/4” thread to fit them to a tripod but perhaps you can use this to attach to the scope?

This one is more expensive but is quite flexible in use.

Manfrotto MCLAMP, Universal Smartphone Clamp with Thread Connections, for iPhone with or without case, Foldable, Compact Size, Vlogging, Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0169SORDW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6TZ89YGCH6TGNNN1KCCQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Or this sort of thing…

Ipow Mobile Phone Tripod Adapter, Rotatable Bracket Smartphone Clamp Holder Compatible with Samsung Huawei Used on Tripod, Monopod, Selfie Stick https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N193MHD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_YD2MAN5V8V3S2H8W0SZN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I’ve not used the second one but it looks ok and quite cheap.

[Peter Drew]

If the OP does indeed want to connect the camera directly rather than the afocal method, perhaps a dummy eyepiece or one without lenses would suit this purpose and still benefit from a x-y cell phone platform.  We have had great outreach results with Celestron Nexyz mounts.    🙂 

[_leo_]

I tried the method that @Stu linked to. The only problem is being so close to the scope the compass wasn't very accurate. It must have been to do with the magnetic interference.

Better results came from this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SEEKONE-Universal-Smartphone-Binoculars-Microscope/dp/B07MW4RG1Y/ref=asc_df_B07MW4RG1Y/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=294684076205&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3464577113046166104&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006586&hvtargid=pla-716508988486&psc=1

Instead of clamping around an eyepiece, I clamped around the finderscope (6x30). This helped to keep the phone away from the scope and improve the accuracy.

[Starslayer]

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DZHXPL6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Starslayer

[Zermelo]

I've been thinking about this too.

I use Synscan and SkySafari on my phone to control my goto mount and record observations. At the moment, when I'm not using the phone, I put it into my pocket, or on a table, or on the eyepiece tray, or somewhere else (and then forget where I put it). It would be most convenient if I could position it so it was always in view and easy to access.

I use three different OTAs with the same mount. My Bresser refractor has a carry handle with a facility to attach any device possessing a stanfard 1/4" photo thread, but the other OTAs do not (they have fixed dovetails and no rings). I could attach a holder to the tripod or spreader tray, but then it wouldn't move with the OTA to different parts of the sky. The mount itself has an inconveniently rounded shape, so my current plan is to try to attach something to the end of the dovetail protruding from the mount's jaws, of whichever OTA is in use. Three sides of the dovetail will be accessible, so I envisage a device that clamps on to that, and then has a standard spring-loaded holder for the phone. I've found a broken phone holder for car windscreens with a flexible stalk (never throw anything away), and this should allow me to position the phone in the best place. I just need to get around to knocking up the clamp part.

I thought a holder like this might already be produced commercially, but I couldn't find any.

 

[patrick torres]

Well thanks for the replies guys ! I should have made it clear  though, that I was not looking for a cellphone to eyepiece mount (afocal), my apologies...  thanks for the effort though.

STARSLAYER - Thanks for the link and the pic.

ZERMELO -  Interesting ideas, thanks for describing it.

LEO - Yes, the app does occasionally hang...

Patrick 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by patrick torres
added stuff

[Louis D]

I just saw this thread, and since I had just cobbled together a holder for SkEye usage a few months back, I thought I'd describe it here.

I used a spare phone clamp from a low cost afocal adapter similar to Starslayer's to start with, but only the clamp part.  The key thing is it needs a 1/4-20 female thread at that clamp, which seems fairly common with these.  I then attached that to a cheap photographic ball head sourced from ebay to allow it to be angled in any direction.  Lastly, I bought a dovetail foot from ebay along with a short 1/4-20 socket head cap screw to thread through it and into the base of the ball head.  If you don't already have a dovetail base, you'll need to add one to your scope.

Here's an image of the assembled holder to help you understand how it all fits together:

[Louis D]

Here's a photo of the above bracket holding a phone on an actual telescope with a 3-way finder bracket.