6” Skywatcher on EQ2 mount? Good idea or not?

[AnnieH]

Firstly, ‘Hello’, I’ve been a member of SGL for a while, but this is (I think) my first post.

I have a 6” Skywatcher telescope on a Dobsonian mount. I’ve been using it quite successfully for about six years, but I’m starting to get a bit frustrated with the limitations of the mount.

I have now got a 5” Skywatcher, on an EQ2 mount, with a clock drive.

What I’m wondering is, can I put the 6” scope on the EQ2 mount? I know I would need bigger tube rings. I have read that it might be too heavy, or too unstable. It’s a lot longer than the 5”.

Is a 6” better than a 5”?

What would you guys do?

 

 

 

[Elp]

Hi, likely not. The smallest EQ which I've found to be sturdy on a 1.75 inch leg section steel tripod is an eq3-2. The 2 will likely be wobbly and won't dampen well.

You might see a difference visually with the 6 from a 5 but I think you'd need to go up to an 8 inch to see more of a difference.

What are your limitations with the dob?

[AnnieH]

I think my frustration arises from trying to take photographs. 
 

I have seen amazing things through my 6” with the Dobsonian mount. If I just concentrated on *looking* instead of trying to photograph things, there wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve got some lovely moon photos, and one Jupiter picture which I’m quite proud of, but that was more luck than judgement 😂

The 5” on the EQ2 mount was not a planned purchase. I like the idea of being able to track things. It’s harder with the Dobsonian mount. 

However, the Dobsonian mount has an advantage, in that I can move it more easily. My view is NE to SW. If I want to look North, I have to drag it outside.

In a perfect world I’d keep both telescopes as they are, as they both have advantages and disadvantages, but I can’t have two telescopes. 

 

[malc-c]

Taking photographs through a telescope requires a sturdy mount.  For the mass of the 6" OTA used in your dobsonian you would be looking at an EQ5 and a minimum which will also benefit from a dual axis drive with better precision and an option to be computer controlled which would be needed to use guiding in order to track targets during the long exposures required for DSO's.  If all you wanted to do was to take images of the Moon then your Dob is capable of doing that using a webcam, cheap astro camera or even a mobile phone camera (supported by a bracket).  Record the Moon using drifting through the field of view and then stack the individual frames of the video in software.

[Elp]

Be careful, going down the imaging route is a slippery slope into financial ruin...

[bomberbaz]

11 hours ago, AnnieH said:

I have now got a 5” Skywatcher, on an EQ2 mount, with a clock drive.

Hi Annie and welcome to SGL.

First off your 6" dobsonian is a cracking scope for visual, that is exactly what it is designed for. £4£ arguably the best in it's class. If, as I suspect it is this Sky-Watcher Classic 150P Dobsonian | First Light Optics then it sits nicely in-between planetary and deep sky territory. So it is if you like, a jack of all trades type scope but perfectly acceptable for all your visual needs.  Sharp views of planets, double stars, clusters and decent views of brighter galaxies and nebula.

Now regarding the 5" SW on the EQ2 mount with clock drive ^^.  I am guessing this Sky-Watcher Explorer 130 (EQ-2) | First Light Optics. Sounds as though you are drawn into imaging! The question is how good is the clock drive? I am not familiar with this.

Can you set the scope onto a object and is it good enough to hold the target in eyepiece view for several minutes without you having to alter anything?  If the answer is yes, then you may be able to manage some very basic planetary and moon imaging with maybe some star clusters pictures but that is likely to be it's limitations. The reason being the shaky mount will not allow long exposures. (please forget mounting the 6" dobsonian on it)

As per @Elp, it can become a money pit. So if you are thinking about getting into serious imaging then be aware your talking bigger money (probably £2,000+) for even the most basic setup stretching into the 10's of £1,000's for the more high end outfits.

I hope this helps but please ask if you need anything further. 

Steve

Edited February 8, 2023 by bomberbaz

[Gonariu]

If you are thinking to the DSO imaging you will can buy a little ED apocromatic as 70/420 or 80/500, I think that your EQ2 can be enough. I put a Vixen acromatic 102/1000 on a EQ3.2 wich vibrate very much when I focused it  owing to lever effect wich there will be certainly with your Dobson 150/1200 too.

[PeterStudz]

Just to make it clear… do you want to image planets or DSO? It’s probably both. I’m not into imagining but I know that @Kon has done some amazing planetary imaging with his manual 8” Dob. So it’s possible. 

If the clock drive is the one I’m thinking of then I have one. First on a little EQ mount. Now it’s on my DIY EQ platform for my 8” Dob. On an EQ it’ll be fine for short 30 sec exposures at relatively low magnification. Anything more than that you’ll need something better. 

[sagittariancat]

It’s possible that the 6” telescope is too heavy and/or too unstable for the EQ2 mount. In this case, you may need to get a sturdier mount such as an EQ3 or EQ5. Good luck with your telescope, and happy observing!

[AnnieH]

THANK YOU EVERYONE 

I think you’ve all told me what I already knew. I’ll keep the 6” on the Dobsonian mount, because it would be too heavy, unwieldy and unstable on the AQ mount.

Which means I will move the 5” on AQ mount to someone else. I can’t have two telescopes.

Photography - I realise I’m trying to do £10000 photography with a £50 budget. That’s not going to work either. 🤣

I’ve been using the 6” scope with an eBay camera body, to take photos of the moon. I’ve been doing that for years, and I’m happy with the results. I’ll leave the rest of the universe to Webb and Hubble. I will look at maybe upgrading the camera, though. 
 

I think I should concentrate on looking and learning, and being amazed!  Maybe I’ll record what I see with a drawing. It was good enough for Galileo!
 

Again, your experienced opinion has been very helpful, and reassuring. Thank you.

[Elp]

If you really want to you can do it on a budget, more than £50 though. A DSLR (even with a compact camera which can save in RAW format), a simple clock drive mount like an Omegon LX, an EQ wedge and a decent tripod and you're nearly there. Even simpler there's the new Dwarf (Labs) telescope if you're interested, it has its limitations but for what it does maybe worth a look, there are threads about it on here already.

[Kon]

5 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

Just to make it clear… do you want to image planets or DSO? It’s probably both. I’m not into imagining but I know that @Kon has done some amazing planetary imaging with his manual 8” Dob. So it’s possible. 

If the clock drive is the one I’m thinking of then I have one. First on a little EQ mount. Now it’s on my DIY EQ platform for my 8” Dob. On an EQ it’ll be fine for short 30 sec exposures at relatively low magnification. Anything more than that you’ll need something better. 

Peter is right. You can use your Dob as it is and you can get some decent shots of planets even some of the bright DSOs; see a small representative examples. I am all manual and with practice you can get some good results. See some of my recent captures. Or opt for an EQ platform if you want to do more DSO imaging; DIY is not too expensive.