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newbie skywatcher 127 goto help required

barbel107

By barbel107
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rwg

rwg

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Once you have got the tripod made up and the accessory tray in place, make sure that the 3 rings that hold the accessory tray to the legs of the tripod are all the same distance from the top of the legs (otherwise your mount won't sit level on a level surface).

Next, tighten the bolts that hold the tripod legs to the mount assembly at the top of the tripod - as supplied they are usually quite loose to allow the tripod legs to be folded up. This looseness makes the whole mount uselessly wobbly. Once you've done this, you won't be able to fold the tripod without loosening the bolts again.

The mount is very similar to a Celestron Nexstar SLT mount (different software on the hand controller, but physically almost the same), so you can find a lot of info here : http://www.nexstarsite.com/OddsEndsSLT.htm. In particular I had to tighten the altitude axis to stop it from slipping so easily (http://www.nexstarsite.com/Reviews/NexStar102SLT.htm#AltAxis)

Hope this helps a bit

Robin

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SteveP

SteveP

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Hi Barbel

A warm welcome to SGL

My advice would be to read the manual first (yes, I know it's not particularly well written) and get used to your mount during the day and in the warmth of your house. Do this before you try it out on these cold, dark nights

... then ask away with your questions

Steve

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Space Cowboy

Space Cowboy

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The mount is very similar to a Celestron Nexstar SLT mount (different software on the hand controller, but physically almost the same), so you can find a lot of info here : http://www.nexstarsite.com/OddsEndsSLT.htm. In particular I had to tighten the altitude axis to stop it from slipping so easily (http://www.nexstarsite.com/Reviews/NexStar102SLT.htm#AltAxis)

Hope this helps a bit

Robin

Very interesting info Robin i shall see if i can tighten my alt axis it has been very loose especially when mounting a camera.

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  • 1 year later...
DrRobin

DrRobin

Posted
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Hi,

I have exactly the same telescope and mount (bought Jan 2011) and even after tightening everything, I still find that the tripod wobbles like mad. It actually twists and gives a very large error.

I noticed that all of the linkages on the tray table were not helping, so removed the tray and fitted a heavy wooden disk (actually a £12.99 chopping board from TK Max) and this stiffened the whole lot up. It also adds a lot of weight to the lower part of the tripod which makes it more stable.

I also added a bullseye spirit level (£1.20 from Ebay) to the wooden base, since the spirit level on my mount is miles out and can't be seen very well once the telescope is attached. The bubble level fitted by SW is also insensitive and I find that the weight of the scope changes the level slightly and the addition of a more sensitive level which can be easily seen from stright above all of the time is a great help.

I level my tripod using a second bullseye level on flat plate placed across the top of the mount before the alt/az is fitted and then check the lower bullseye once the alt/az and telescope is fitted to make sure it hasn't changed, which it sometimes does.

I also noticed that the stainless legs were slack in the top fixings. This is because SW secure them using two [aluminium] pop rivets which just aren't up to the job, since they have the same rigidity as cream cheese. Remembering a similar problem with tube and fittings from some years ago, I drilled 3 additional holes at 90 degrees and secured with 3 more pop rivets. Result, the tripod is much more stable.

The addition of the heavy wooden table and improved leg fixings makes the tripod much more stable and less prone to vibration.

I have yet to get a clear night to test out the mount mods, but initial testing during the day shows a big improvement.

I have attached a few photos for those interested.

Robin

post-23264-133877522718_thumb.jpg

post-23264-133877522722_thumb.jpg

post-23264-133877522725_thumb.jpg

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi and welcome to the forum.

It can be difficult to keep focused when reading the instructions because ultimately, you just want to get out there and get going! What ever the problem, someone here has had it before and has got the solution.

Clear skies

James

p.s Robin, I like your modifications, so much more sensible having a proper tray to put things on let alone providing more stability!

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newt

newt

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Hi barbel and welcome to SGL!

Just got the same scope myself and have managed to get it aligned and tracking objects even without the cool mods DrRobin has done above. Feel free to PM and if i can help i'll do my best!

Dean

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