Suitable tripod for 102mm Mak - would this Konig be OK?

[Caveman]

Hello there, i've just ordered a Skywatcher 102mm maksutov from RVO, now need to get a decent tripod for it but dont want an equatorial. Have seen this one on Amazon and looks a bit of a bargain, but is it suitable for astronomy. I'm grateful for any advice, thanks, Paul.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Heavy-Professional-Camera-Tripod/dp/B000JU7N3I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292152409&sr=8-2

[nightfisher]

Have a look at the FLO special offer, a celestron cg4 mount an tripod for £99, will be a bit over kill for your mak but if you got a bigger scope later it would serve you well

[Caveman]

Have a look at the FLO special offer, a celestron cg4 mount an tripod for £99, will be a bit over kill for your mak but if you got a bigger scope later it would serve you well

Yes, I did see that one on FLO and it's a bargain, but dont want an EQ.

[andrew63]

Hi look at the skywatcher AZ3 mount from first light optics, for £95 would be ok for your setup

regards, andrew

[CGolder]

I would say an AZ3, will give the stability needed for a scope of this focal length

[alowen]

Hi, i use a AZ3 (bought in the sales section in here) for my 102mak. It works a treat, nice and steady too.

Al

[Keiran]

You can use something like the AZ3 or a Vixen Mini Porta (but it does say OTA should not exceed 120mm external) or for a bit of tracking you have the Skywatcher ALT-AZ synscan/syntrek mount second hand...

I would try not to use a camera tripod, they never seem to be stable enough for telescopes (The ones ive used anyway.

HTH

Keiran

[jgs001]

It looks like a good tripod with a nice head... but.. the focal length of the skymax means you are gonna need to keep shifting the scope in small increments, and camera tripods, do not seem well suited to this task... The AZ mounts with slomo controls would fit the bill for you nicely. It's very frustrating watching Saturn whizz through the FOV in about 20 seconds... or for the area of the moon you want to look at, to have just settled down from the movement you've just made, disappear out of the FOV in even less... you can never quite get your eye in...

I have a NexStar SLT mount and have used it with my Skymax 102 (mount it with rings and a dovetail) and it works pretty well on there.

[ollypenrice]

I would not go for a camera tripod. They are not balanced; the centre of gravity of the scope is above the 'altitude' pivot so the more you aim for the zenith the more you are out of balance and struggling to get smooth control. I would always go for an astronomy alt az mount where the imaginary axis of the altitude bearing passes through the scope, not under it.

A thought on EQ mounts; you can run most of them in alt az just by setting the polar axis as if you were on the equator. I used to do this when 'grabbing and going' with an EQ3. This means you can be EQ if you feel like it.

With a long FL Mak I would not want an awkward mount for manual tracking.

Olly

[Caveman]

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Decided to go for the Horizon 8115 tripod, as everybody here seems to like it.

The Skywatcher 102mm maksutov arrived yesterday, and I hope this will be a good combination as a "grab and go" scope as I don't always have the time to setup the Nexstar 8 SE. Just need a break in the clouds now to try it...

[LukeSkywatcher]

The 8115 is a nice sturdy tripod. I've only ever used my 20x90 bins on it or my camera. Hope it works out for you and your scope. It should do. It has very solid footing.