Skywatcher explorer 200 and Eq5 mount

[reddish75]

Hi folks 

My daughter is starting to show interest in stargazing again so I've tralled Facebook market place and managed to pick up a Skywatcher explorer 200 and what I think is an Eq5 mount ( pics of mount attached ) they were £150 ( did I do well with this )their in ok condition but I think I maybe missing the larger locking screw to lock the scope in place, if anyone could help me with the size of screw getting a temporary one should be a problem. From the photos can anyone see if there's anything else missing?

[vernmid]

Looks like the counterweight bar and weights are missing too. Still looks like a a bargain though  👍 

Edited November 19, 2022 by vernmid

[Marvin Jenkins]

The spreader plate for the legs is missing as well.

[Marvin Jenkins]

Also the turn screw knob that holds the OTAs dovetail in the clamp is missing. Also the slow motion controls are not there.

[Marvin Jenkins]

Edit one is on the dec I think. 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Marvin Jenkins
Typo

[reddish75]

I have got the weights and spreader plate, slow motion controls? Where should they be?

[Marvin Jenkins]

[reddish75]

I have one in the bits box that came with it. See pic

[Marvin Jenkins]

Looks like your good to go then.

[reddish75]

7 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Looks like your good to go then.

Thanks for your help so far,

Looks like the bit that's missing is the one circled on this pic. Could anyone help with the size of screw?

[Stu Wilson]

itll be either M8 M10 or an M12 thread bolt, spanner size for such is 13mm 17mm or 19mm

[RichM63]

Congratulations, good score.

As I leg it out the door, the obvious missing bit is the OTA!

 

[Ian McCallum]

31 minutes ago, reddish75 said:

Thanks for your help so far,

Looks like the bit that's missing is the one circled on this pic. Could anyone help with the size of screw?

8mm, as I've just measured mine.👍

[Ratlet]

If it's M8 I think I've got a M8 anodised knurled knobs somewhere would need to check on the length but could be a good replacement.  If you like red.

[reddish75]

7 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

If it's M8 I think I've got a M8 anodised knurled knobs somewhere would need to check on the length but could be a good replacement.  If you like red.

 

Thanks Ian and Ratlet I've got some 8mm bolts somewhere, I'll check fitment and get back to you for your kind offer Ratlet

[reddish75]

18 minutes ago, RichM63 said:

Congratulations, good score.

As I leg it out the door, the obvious missing bit is the OTA!

 

Here it is, finder scope wasn't included, any suggestions on what to replace with?

[Ratlet]

3 minutes ago, reddish75 said:

 

Thanks Ian and Ratlet I've got some 8mm bolts somewhere, I'll check fitment and get back to you for your kind offer Ratlet

I'll grab a photo of the bolts. Does the scope have the bracket for the finder scope?a

[reddish75]

20 hours ago, Ratlet said:

I'll grab a photo of the bolts. Does the scope have the bracket for the finder scope?a

Here's a pic of the mount

[Cosmic Geoff]

2 hours ago, reddish75 said:

Here it is, finder scope wasn't included, any suggestions on what to replace with?

You may get various suggestions about the finder.  A straight-thru optical finder will prove a pain in the neck (literally).  A 9x50 right angle or corrected-image right angle finder (RACI)  plus a red-dot finder is a good combination. You could add another bracket, or get an adapter to mount both on the same bracket.

[bosun21]

It looks like one of the altitude bolts is also missing. I can only see the one in the photos. The one opposite the azimuth screws side.

[bosun21]

You should remove the white bracket that’s screwed on to your dovetail on the side of the scope. This is not suited to the mount saddle.

[reddish75]

17 hours ago, bosun21 said:

It looks like one of the altitude bolts is also missing. I can only see the one in the photos. The one opposite the azimuth screws side.

 

16 hours ago, bosun21 said:

You should remove the white bracket that’s screwed on to your dovetail on the side of the scope. This is not suited to the mount saddle.

Hi Bosun thanks for the reply 

So the missing screw should be in the highlighted red circle? With the white bracket your saying remove that and attach to the telescope with the black bracket underneath?

 

[reddish75]

11 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

You may get various suggestions about the finder.  A straight-thru optical finder will prove a pain in the neck (literally).  A 9x50 right angle or corrected-image right angle finder (RACI)  plus a red-dot finder is a good combination. You could add another bracket, or get an adapter to mount both on the same bracket.

So this is where I'm confused a little, I've seen recommendations to use a telrad, is this in conjunction with a raci? 

[wulfrun]

1 hour ago, reddish75 said:

So this is where I'm confused a little, I've seen recommendations to use a telrad, is this in conjunction with a raci? 

Personal choice, some folk use one or the other and some (like myself) like both. A Telrad or similar gets you close to target or to the nearest naked-eye-visible star, then you use a RACI to hone in on the exact point you're after. The RACI allows you to see fainter stuff, the Telrad does not.

EDIT:  the green-circled, white thing in the picture above shouldn't be there at all, it'll prevent the black bit (dovetail) engaging with your mount. (I think!)

Edited November 20, 2022 by wulfrun

[Ratlet]

2 hours ago, reddish75 said:

So this is where I'm confused a little, I've seen recommendations to use a telrad, is this in conjunction with a raci? 

You can lump the quickfinder, telrad and red dot site in together in that they are finders which work at zero power.  The main difference is a red dot finder shows a dot, a telrad/quickfinder shows circles.

I use a quickfinder because my scope with a 32mm Plossl gives x20 magnification and a 2° field of view which is quite nice to navigate by.  Although it can be a struggle as I'm using a 5" scope to navigate by and it shows a lot more stars than some star charts, but it works for me I think.

Some people use both a finder scope and a rdf or similar.