Alternative tube on Celestron Nexstar 8SE

[astrogen]

Hi All

This is my first posting here. I am in Yorkshire, England. I have acquired a Nexstar 8SE minus tube. Has anyone fitted alternative equipment on this stand and, if so, are there any pitfalls particularly with balancing.

Tony

[casstony]

Hi Tony, you can put anything on the mount with a Vixen-style dovetail, but watch for the rear end hitting the base as you move toward the Zenith. Regarding the construction/strength of the mount, an 8" sct is near the maximum load though I know people have successfully used a C9.25, albeit with a few extra shakes. Balance doesn't need to be perfect - a small imbalance is ok. I got mine recently and really like the hand control layout and portability of the mount. Welcome to IIS :)

[h0ughy]

i use a lunt 60mm through to a 8"SCT

[astrogen]

Hi Guys

Thanks for your speedy replies. I was thinking of using a Skywatcher SkyMax Pro 180 which is just a tad longer than the Celestron 8SE. I believe I can limit the coverage so that the rear end does not strike the mount.

The 8SE is a quick portable scope as I normally use the Skywatcher on an EQ6 with EQMOD.

Tony

[Moon]

I put my William Optics 72FD on an 8SE mount a few time when I had it.
I guess the Skywatcher is a smaller and lighter than the default tube, so I guess it should be ok. As others have mentioned, Zenith might be an issue, but it's an issue with the default tube anyway if you use 2" accessories.
Balance is a bit of a compromise between seeing Zenith (sliding the tube forwards) and nice balance. I wouldn't add any more weight to improve the balance - it's already at it's limit.

James