Dual Mount C8 & Meade 5000 ED80

[BlueAstra]

Since getting my Meade APO at Astrofest I have been looking at mounting it on my C8 OTA in a piggy back configuration. I'd previously mounted an ST80 directly onto the C8 with a custom bar, but I could only adjust it in one direction. My intention now is to flip between C8-imaging/ED80 guiding to C8 guiding/ED80 imaging depending on the FOV required and the target, all mounted on an EQ6. It would be handy therefore if both scopes point in the same direction!

I modified the mounting bar with two optical angle adjustment wedges mounted at 90 deg with an L shaped plate. I'd thought of using guide rings, but the Meade does not have a rotating focusser so it would be difficult to orientate the camera. It can rotate on its inbuilt dovetail, but I haven't got a mount for that. So now I just loosen the mounting rings to rotate it. I've now tweaked the red dot finder to the C8, and the Meade to the same target. All I now need is a clear night to try it out!