Question re. Skywatcher 150mm dovetail bar

[nzkatienz]

Hi everyone!

I'm a complete newbie to astronomy. I thought I would set myself up with a Skywatcher EQ5 Pro mount and Black Diamond 150mm OTA.

I received these by courier yesterday and my excitement quickly turned to nervousness by the sophistication of the equipment! I'm scared I'm going to breaksomething haha.

I set up the mount last night but I haven't attached the telescope yet because it seems like the screws on the mount aren't going to go into any holes on the dovetail bar. I watched a couple of videos where they slide on the dovetail and tighten straight into the bar.

Can someone please explain how the dovetail attachment works to ease my nervousness that the telescope isn't going to fall off haha?!

Thank you!

[OICURMT]

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/feature/general-guide/equatorial-mounts-part-1

Step 6

<LATE EDIT> I downloaded the EQ5 manual and interestingly enough, it doesn't demonstrate *exactly* how to mount the scope... hmmm...

Your telescope, rings and dovetail should be a single, firm and solid unit. The dovetail is placed onto the mount inside the puck and the secured with the black knob. If you look at the start of this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtZEgMOwFeU) youtube video, you can see how the dovetail is placed in the mount head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXgtGQq-3V0 is a video with a step-by-step...

[Merlin66]

Katie,
I'm sure you'll manage to get things worked out...
The black dovetail bar is just clamped to the mounting - using the knurled knob. The telescope in turn is held by the two rings which clamp around the body of the tube.
Any questions just ask...we're here to help.

[nzkatienz]

Thank you both! Its good to have confirmation that its a simple clamp procedure. Looking forward to finishing the set up tonight :thumbsup: