STELLAMIRA 125 F7.8 - A MOD FOR USING STARSENSE EXPLORER WITH IT.

[paulastro]

I already use the SM with Starsense Explorer, but I wanted to move the phone holder away from the finder mounts  near the focuser. (I added a second finder foot as soon as I bought the scope). Even on night mode and low brightness it's distracting so near the eyepiece.  Also it has no/or little affect on balance if mounted near the balance point.

I bought an Askar 150 Multi-Connectuon Plate (to replace the supplied handle) and an Askar 30cm Dovetail Plate in place of the original dovetail.  The Askar dovetail is much better quality and longer which  makes it more helpful in balancing the scope.   

Fortunately Askar make both pieces in red, so they match the red accents on the scope 😊.  I also have the Askar 103 triplet which is supplied with both of these items, and they make it very easy to use Starsense or anything else you want to add on.

The pics are taken on one of my two AZ4s.  I occasionally use it as a grab and go with the SM, and also store the SM on it indoors when not in use.

In the last pic, you can see two extra bolts I use with the AZ4 to help secure the scope, in the holes meant to be options for positioning the supplied handle which I never use.  Also to prevent marking the dovetail there is a strip of (the fluffy side) a strip of heavy duty stick-on Velcro.  This works well, it stays in place, but also is easy to remove or replace without leaving any debris behind. The mount I usually use with the SM is the StellaLyra Dual Altaz Mount which is an excellent match for it

 

Following a request, I've attached some more pics of the Seestar phone holder insitu on the telescope.  The orange 'T' piece was 3-D printed- not by me! The top is easily bolted to the bottom of the the phone holder, and the bottom will fit onto any scope with a Vixen type finder shoe.  The multi finder  base in the first pic is to turn the phone holder up by ninety degrees.

 

Edited July 17 by paulastro
Ommission.

[RobertI]

4 hours ago, paulastro said:

In the last pic, you can see two extra bolts I use with the AZ4 to help secure the scope, in the holes meant to be options for positioning the supplied handle which I never use.

Yes I’ve done something similar with mine, but just one extra bolt as I use the panning handle - it’s worth doing for that extra peace of mind!

Nice solution, perhaps a picture of the Starsense in place just to complete the picture? 🙂

Edited July 17 by RobertI

[paulastro]

1 hour ago, RobertI said:

Yes I’ve done something similar with mine, but just one extra bolt as I use the panning handle - it’s worth doing for that extra peace of mind!

Nice solution, perhaps a picture of the Starsense in place just to complete the picture? 🙂

Pics added.

[RobertI]

A very tidy and clever solution. Much better than my Heath Robinson affair with cable ties and elastic bands. 😆