SW Heritage 130p - Skymax 127 dovetail

[BazMark]

Can anyone tell me if the above two telescopes from Skywatcher use the same size dovetail?

The reason I ask is that I already own the Skymax Mak 127 and though it is a superb scope for planetary viewing and even the brighter DSOs, I prefer to view star clusters through the wider FOVs produced in faster scopes such as the f5 SW 130p.

However, the SW 130p OTA can't be obtained separately from the SupaTrak or SynScan mount and I don't want two auto type mounts. However, I noticed recently that the Heritage 130p has what appears to be the same type of dovetail fitting. If it did fit the GoTo mount I could purchase one and switch between scopes fairly quickly when I want to.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I seem to remember something in the SW Heritage manual saying that you can attach any small (i'm guessing similar size apeture) scope to the dovetail on the Heritage base. So i'll go out on a limb and say that i reckon the dovetail of a 127 is similar in size to the one on the Heritage.

[Cornelius Varley]

The Skywatcher telescopes all use the standard Vixen type dovetail bar.

Pete

[BazMark]

Thanks guys. That's very helpful to know.

[CGolder]

is this what you are looking to do?

I actually ended up sending the heritage back as i found the skymax was just so much better.. decided to get a bigger reflector instead

[BazMark]

Is this what you are looking to do?

I actually ended up sending the heritage back as i found the skymax was just so much better.. decided to get a bigger reflector instead

Yes, thankyou that is exactly what I was looking for.

However, I'm not looking to improve on the performance of the Skymax for viewing planets or the moon. I was hoping it would be better for viewing the larger DSOs that the skymax tends to see through due to it's narrower FOV and higher mags.

For example, I used to own a SW 1145p and with that I could see dozens of stars in the Beehive and Pleiades clusters framed in black sky in the FOV. I could also see M31 and faintly M110 nearby. However the lowest mag I can get with the Mak is 37x (with a 40mm EP) due to it's long focal length. This combined with it's narrow FOV means that I see right through the middle of the larger star clusters such as the Beehive and the Pleiades. I am also unable to see M110 near M31 with the Mak. Even the double cluster in Perseus almost completely fills the FOV of the Mak at 37x.

Whould you say that the Heritage with it's lower mag capability and wider FOVs was not as good as the Mak127 at viewing these objects even?

Mark

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Skywatcher telescopes all use the standard Vixen type dovetail bar.

Pete

Thats what i thought.

[LukeSkywatcher]

is this what you are looking to do?

I actually ended up sending the heritage back as i found the skymax was just so much better.. decided to get a bigger reflector instead

The Heritage on a skymax mount just looks so damn weird but..................if the glove fits.

It has proven my point............the Heritage (GREAT SCOPE) and the 127 are compatible.

Now my question is:

How much would the mount cost in the above pics to convert my Heritage 130P ?