Sharpsky Pro on SW ED80

[NeilW]

Hi all,

There are a couple of posts on here (one running to several pages) about fitting a Sharpsky focus motor to a crayford style focuser on an ED80. There seems to be a fair bit of work involved with fashioning brackets, etc. to hold the motor. However, I have the standard Skywatcher rack & pinion focuser on my scope, and I'm wondering if the supplied fitting kit that comes with the Sharpsky will be sufficient to attach it to this focuser.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

[multiweb]

In my experience it is best to have the motor coupled with the shaft of a 10:1 micro focuser rather than directly 1:1. Just for torque consideration and smoother tracking. Having said that it's a terrific little unit. A must have IMHO. The pic is when I had it fitted on my 90mm APO. Just make sure the motor shaft is inline with the coupler and focuser pin then make brackets to work your way back to a solid face of the scope.

PS: added similar setup on FSQ.

[NeilW]

Thanks Marc. What brand focuser is that?

[NeilW]

Reading throug this post http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=112059&highlight=sharpsky which ran to 80 posts, fitting required making up a bracket that wrapped around the whole (GSO) focuser :(

[multiweb]

It was a GSO rail focuser.



No you don't have to make a huge bracket. All you need is bolt a solid plate to a flat face on the focuser, then run from there to the motor.

When I see those massive curved robo-focus brackets I reckon it looks ugly and stupid TBH. Doesn't need to be that big. Just stay minimalist.
There's always a flat part under the focusing knob axis on the block. That's where you start from. The less drilling, the better.

[NeilW]

Thanks Marc, much appreciated.

[Octane]

Marc,

Can you provide a few more photos of your setup on the FSQ? I'm having trouble understanding what you've written about brackets, etc. :(

H

[multiweb]

No worries, will take some more pics tomorrow and post here.

[acropolite]

Regarding the OP's original question, I only made up the curved bracket for an aftermarket GSO 10:1 to allow fitting without modding the focuser.

The stock 10:1 skywatcher focuser is an easy fit to the Sharpsky, not sure if the brackets Dave supplies are drilled or not, but all that's required is drilling a few holes in the brackets that come with the Sharpsky.

As for the SW R&P focuser, I'm not sure, although there are quite a few Sharpskys out there so someone may have fitted one. I bought the 10:1 SW focuser as a separate item after finding that the SW reducer and wide T adapter allowed coverage on FF sensors.

Might be worth adding your question to the original thread as Dave may still be monitoring.

[multiweb]

Here's some close up pics. The only drilling I did in the FSQ rack and pinion block was to secure the TAK micro focuser. Otherwise you can see the big alu plate is held by the same screw that holds the casting to the tube. It's just a pass through.



So we're clear I wasn't referring to your mounting Phil. It's actually quite neat. Just Google robofocus brackets and you'll see what I'm talking about. :scared: