Looking for a new mount

[Venla]

Hello! I've had a telescope for about year now and I want to upgrade my mount to a GoTo mount. The telescope I have right now is Omegon N 150/750 EQ3. I've been looking at the Sky-Watcher EQ3 Pro GoTo mount since it's in my price range. Can I attach my old telescope to the new mount or do I need to buy a whole new telescope?

[Elp]

If the scopes dovetail bar suits the mounts clamping saddle you should be fine, most are built to accept vixen dovetail bars as standard.

Regarding mount, I would go up a class as the quality and stability is usually better. Most people recommend HEQ5 or 6 as it's also more future proof, as you're using I assume a Newtonian it'll benefit from the stability due to the scopes size and volume which is prone to vibration from the slightest breeze.

[malc-c]

Venla, looking at the instructions for your telescope it doesn't look as if the upgrade will be a straight forward as you hope.  The existing rings bolt onto the fixed bar on the mount rather than using a dovetail.

You would need to buy a Vixen dovetail to attach your existing tube rings to so that the OTA can be used on a Skywatcher mount

I agree with the poster above, if you can upgrade its worth jumping a step up, but if an HEQ5 is out of your reach then look at getting an EQ5 as a compromise.

[Venla]

Thanks for all the advice! I don't think I'm able to buy the HEQ5 or even the EQ5 because my budget for this is about 750€. I'm a little confused about the dovetail, though. Does it have to be a specific brand, like Skywatcher because I'm going to buy a Skywatcher mount? And how can I be sure that the dovetail will be the right one for the mount and the tube rings?

[Mandy D]

4 minutes ago, Venla said:

Thanks for all the advice! I don't think I'm able to buy the HEQ5 or even the EQ5 because my budget for this is about 750€. I'm a little confused about the dovetail, though. Does it have to be a specific brand, like Skywatcher because I'm going to buy a Skywatcher mount? And how can I be sure that the dovetail will be the right one for the mount and the tube rings?

£750 will comfortably get you a used EQ5 class mount.

The dovetail just has to bolt to the tube rings, which any will do. You then buy a clamp to go on the mount and that just has to match the dovetail. For smaller telescopes you normally use a vixen dovetail and clamp and for larger ones a Losmandy, which is muchmore expensive.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-mini-vixen-style-clamp.html

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-universal-dovetail-bars.html

The above should work OK together.

[malc-c]

1 hour ago, Venla said:

Thanks for all the advice! I don't think I'm able to buy the HEQ5 or even the EQ5 because my budget for this is about 750€. I'm a little confused about the dovetail, though. Does it have to be a specific brand, like Skywatcher because I'm going to buy a Skywatcher mount? And how can I be sure that the dovetail will be the right one for the mount and the tube rings?

You can't be 100% when mixing equipment from more than one manufacture.  But chances are your scope might come from the same factory, just under a different brand name.

Generally there are two "types" of dovetail bars. Skywatcher uses "Vixen" type, so you would be able to take any optical tube assembly (OTA) that is mounted on this format of dovetail and put it on any Skywatcher, Vixen or any mount that supports this format of bar.   Your existing mount doesn't use dovetail bar as a means of attaching the OTA, the tube rings bolt directly to the mount.  Now assuming the bolts used are the same size as those that are drilled into the vixen dovetail then it would be a simple case of unbolting the rings on your OTA and then bolting them to the dovetail.  If the bolts are smaller or larger than the holes in dovetail then you will need to drill new holes in the dovetail bar so that the rings can be bolted to it.  Once you have the Vixen type dovetail (as shown in the links above) you will be able to place it on any of the Skywatcher mounts up to an EQ6.

750 euro should get you a decent EQ5 class of mount.  The Skywatcher pro goto EQ5 retails for around eighty euro more, so maybe save a little more before making the upgrade

[Venla]

Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it!

Do the Sky-Watcher mounts come with a clamp or do I need to order one? If I have to order one, would this clamp work with the Sky-Watcher 21cm Vixen dovetail and the mount?

https://www.astroshop.eu/mounting-plates-and-rails/bresser-dovetail-clamp-messier-vixen-style/p,59351

Edited December 26, 2023 by Venla

[Mandy D]

@Venla I would not recommend the clamp in your link or any other clamp where the screws act directly on the dovetail as it will mark and damage the metal. The one I suggested earlier has brass wedges to clamp the dovetail and is one of the best and cheapest I have found. Although it is branded RVO in my link, it is available from FLO and other suppliers under different brands. My Skywatcher Skytee 2 came with a couple of clamps and I immediately replaced them with the one I suggested.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-mini-vixen-style-clamp.html

There are others which will work with a Vixen dovetail. All you need to do is make sure that both clamp and dovetail are Vixen compatible. Most clamps are universal and will fit most mounts. Any Vixen dovetail should work with the rings on your telescope, although as someone else mentioned, you may have to drill the holes in the clamp to a bigger size, but that is unlikely.

Here is another, lower cost version, with a single clamping screw and wedge.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetails-saddles-clamps/astro-essentials-mini-vixen-style-dovetail-clamp.html

[malc-c]

3 hours ago, Venla said:

Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it!

Do the Sky-Watcher mounts come with a clamp or do I need to order one? If I have to order one, would this clamp work with the Sky-Watcher 21cm Vixen dovetail and the mount?

https://www.astroshop.eu/mounting-plates-and-rails/bresser-dovetail-clamp-messier-vixen-style/p,59351

On Skywatcher mounts the bar on your mount that the rings are bolted to is replaced by a dovetail which is then mated to a clamp that is cast into the mount.  Here's an example of the clamps holding a dovetail

 

You would just need bolt the rings from your mount to the ends of the green dovertail. As mentioned above, if the holes in the rings don't line up with, or are different diameter hole, then modification to the dovertail is required.