Does this look correct?

[Neutron John]

Hi,

Got my 150P today (thanks FLO, great service). My one and only problem so far is that I am not sure if I have fitted the bar correctly to the mount.

I have (hopefully) attached a pic that demonstrates what it looks like.

Does it look correctly fitted to you guys? Let me know if I can provide any more info.

Thanks for your help.

John

[Paulb3098]

Hi John

Looks OK to me, its how I fit mine, obviously with the rings and scope.

Paul

[Neutron John]

Excellent, thanks very much.

Although it is certainly secure enough, for some reason it just didn't look right to me.

John.

[Adz]

Looks right to me. When you come to take the OTA off, just remember to always do the safety screw first, other wise it can be more than a pain to undo. I have to screw the big one back in and try again. Then again, I never seem to learn from my mistakes

[brantuk]

My first scope was the 150P and what I used to do was fix the tube rings to the dovetail and leave them pre assembled for putting on the mount. Then all I had to do is undo the rings to put the ota on and take off. The fitting in your pic looks correct

[Adz]

My first scope was the 150P and what I used to do was fix the tube rings to the dovetail and leave them pre assembled for putting on the mount. Then all I had to do is undo the rings to put the ota on and take off. The fitting in your pic looks correct

Every single time I post something, a mod seems to highlight my lack of logical thinking Thanks, I shall be doing that from now on!

[brantuk]

Lol Adz - your post was very relevant - when I was green I too undid the big screw first and had to do it back up to loosen the small one. So my logic was born out of all the usual newbie mistakes - most of us made them at one time.

[Adz]

Lol Adz - your post was very relevant - when I was green I too undid the big screw first and had to do it back up to loosen the small one. So my logic was born out of all the usual newbie mistakes - most of us made them at one time.

Out of interest. Do you have a preference for which way round the tube rings should be and/or why? I mean the openings nearer the weights, or the other way round perhaps?

[brantuk]

Well I had one ring at each end of the dovetail bar. They only fixed on with one bolt each which were kept allmost loose - just a little friction. That way I could turn them in line with the mount axis and lay the whole lot flat in the boot for transport, mount and all. The only bits I took off were the weights.

When I mounted the ota - the rings just lined up naturally along the tube when tightened up (clamps on the right when looking from behind). It all transported in three bits - tripod, ota, and rings and mount assembly. (plus the weights of course).

Hope that helps

[virtualpilot45]

I remember thinking mine looked a bit dangerous/unstable when I first assembled it, but it hasn't collapsed or snapped! (so far...)

[Adz]

Well I had one ring at each end of the dovetail bar. They only fixed on with one bolt each which were kept allmost loose - just a little friction. That way I could turn them in line with the mount axis and lay the whole lot flat in the boot for transport, mount and all. The only bits I took off were the weights.

When I mounted the ota - the rings just lined up naturally along the tube when tightened up (clamps on the right when looking from behind). It all transported in three bits - tripod, ota, and rings and mount assembly. (plus the weights of course).

Hope that helps

Thanks that is very helpful. What do you mean by on the right from behind? Should my tube rings be the way round as this picture?

Advanced Series GOTO - Celestron C8-N GT (GOTO)

If so I need to switch things around

[brantuk]

Yup - that's how they look in the picture. Now if you stand behind the scope the fastening clamps are on the right - can't see them in the picture cos they're on the other side.

But when you undo the clamps and take the ota off - you can twist the rings round and lay it all flat in the boot.

[Astro Imp]

Thanks to the OP and Brantuk,

This thread had been a great help.

[pook]

Does anyone know what that bracket is on the EQ3-2 mount? The one one shown in the OP's photo? And why is it made so it looks crooked like that?

I've been wondering about this since I bought mine.

[brantuk]

Hi Pook - the bracket is a dovetail joint with two tightening screws (large and small). It may look crooked but it's an illusion cos it's actually square on to the mount axis. I agree mine looked wierd when I was new to all this - but it is actualy very straight so it can be polar aligned correctly

[pook]

Yeah.. mine works great, and the dovetail is aligned perfectly. I was actually wondering about that bracket that sticks out from the side....

..and why it's at a different angle than the dovetail mounting aperture?

[brantuk]

Ohhhh I see what you mean chap - yup - that's the mounting bracket for a motor.

I'll try get a pic of mine and post here for you (if I have a camera with charged battery available lol)

[brantuk]

Here ya go - one maybe a tad blurry but enought to demonstrate:

[pook]

Aha! That makes sense now. Thanks for posting that