Am I doing this wrong?

[blinky]

OK, Went down to Kielder last night to pick up my new 'scope from Chewy (Hope you eventually got some clear sky after I left) and it was dark when Ian attempted to show me how to set the thing up etc

Trouble is I cannot remember and I have put it all together today, but I think something mighte be the wrong way round

It seems that wherever the telescope is rotated I need to look up into the eyepiece, with my old beginer 3£ reflector I looked down into the 'scope. Also when looking down the EP I seem to be miles away from the controls to move the 'scope, so I need to look away in order to rotate it!

Anyway here are 3 pictures of it setup, can somebody tell me if this is correct or I am being silly

[GordonCopestake]

you just need to rotate the tube in the rings to move the eyepiece to a more comfortable position

[blinky]

Cool, I have just done that. I was not sure, as I got it from Chewy I thought it might be set up correctly and did not want to 'fiddle'

[The Warthog]

When I put my newtonian on the equatorial mount, I put it on so the Declination control is pointing along the tube, pointing towards the open end. This makes it easy to get at when I am using the scope. The RA axis you have to reach around for, depending on where the scope is pointing. When using the refractor, I put it on in the opposite orientation. I am seriously thinking about getting motorized controls.

As to the eyepiece, do as Gordon says, and you'll be fine. Leave the rings loose enough that you can rotate the tube, but not so loose that it slides down when you raise the scope to look upwards.

[ZOG]

Is it just my tired old eyes, or does that finder look slightly askew in the first picture ? I'll also take the opportunity to ask a daft question. To align the scope on a target that is virtually overhead I almost have to lie on the ground to look through the finder. Does anyone make a finder with a 90 degree bend like a periscope so my old bones dont come into contact with the frozen ground too often this winter ?

[blinky]

You are correct the finder 'scope is a bit squint. I think it is not the original finder 'scope as the mount for it has only one screw in it as it is too wide to fit the 2nd screw. I have just bought a hot melt gun to stick a bit of glue on it. I could attempt to drill a hole to screw in the 2nd screw but the thought of tiny shards of metal floating about inside the OTA scares me!

[The Warthog]

Is it just my tired old eyes, or does that finder look slightly askew in the first picture ? I'll also take the opportunity to ask a daft question. To align the scope on a target that is virtually overhead I almost have to lie on the ground to look through the finder. Does anyone make a finder with a 90 degree bend like a periscope so my old bones dont come into contact with the frozen ground too often this winter ?

Yes. I just bought an Antares 7x50 RA finder for my Newt. It makes a huge difference when you have to look at something above about 70 degrees altitude. Even on the lower objects it is better than a straight-through finder. You have a choice between a star diagonal and a correct-image diagonal.

I got the correct-image diagonal, as it is actually easier to get used to when using the Newt. The star diagonal gives you an image that is rightside up and reversed left to right. It is a little difficult to get used to moving the scope differently depending on whether you are looking through the ep or the finder, but you can do it. Also, I use the finder as a monocular, off the scope.