The Awesome Benefits of Buying the Same Brand!!! GUIDESCOPE Fitted at last!

[Screwdriverone]

Hi All,

I had a bit of a win tonight....

I have been (to be completely honest) stuffing around lately looking at guidescopes and QHY5's and finder mods etc etc, to try and come up with the best way to get a guidescope to guide my HEQ5. I was even contemplating buying an ED80 with rings etc to mount on the 8" tube. The other problem is my Toucam has a 1.25" barrel to fit in a standard focuser and I didnt want to cut or mod my existing finders to make it fit. Either things were too expensive, or werent going to fit. Or both.

I was looking at my tube rings and working out how to make up a bar to be able to mount the 5" SW135 tube on to it. I got a smaller dovetail bar from the new scope but its too short to reach between the rings holding the 8" tube on. The 5" also doesnt have a dovetail bar as it screws straight onto the EQ2 using bolts. FAR out.

After looking at some finder mods here on IIS, I thought I would go and take another look at the 5" scope and finally take it off the EQ2 and bring it in to the HEQ5 to see what I could do with it. I took the bolts off the rings and then tried these on the white rings of the 8" but no joy....then I noticed something.......WAIT JUST A MINUTE....:eyepop:

Both sets of rings have tapped holes on the top each of which has a camera bolt on one of them so you can piggyback a camera on top. I use this to mount the 1000D for widefields and the sometimes the binoculars.

Hmmm, now, if I forget the dovetail bar idea and just piggyback BOTH sets of rings? So, I tried the 8" rings camera bolt on the 5" rings - SAME THREAD!. Then the bolt on the 5" ring on the 8" ring - SAME THREAD!

OK, now, turn one ring over and screw it into the 8" - fits, excellent! Do the same for the other one - fits, double excellent! Load the 5 inch OTA on the back of the 8", hmmmm, 8 x 50 finder is in the way of the OTA. Remove the finder from both tubes, and swap them around as the base for the 8 x 50 and the 6 x 30 are exactly the same design. Now I know I dont need the 6 x 30, but its still SWEET.

So now, I have a 5" reflector GUIDESCOPE mounted on the back of the 8" tubes, NO BARS, NO dodgy screws or bolts, NO mods or cuts, RIGID as a ROCK!

All I need to do now is slide the Toucam into the 1.25" focuser of the smaller reflector and configure the guiding and away I GO!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Tell you what, I am soooo happy this is all Skywatcher gear and that they have all the same bits and pieces so it all just fits together. Total cost of mounting the guidescope on the main scope = $0.

I have included a picture showing the "new" piggybacked guide scope on the main tube, ready for guiding. The other thing thats really cool (I just realised) is that both scopes have a Focal Length of 1000mm, albeit the smaller one is a catadioptric, but hopefully this will help with the guiding? Not technically sure why, but handy I think.

Happy just doesnt explain it well enough.....:)

Thanks for stopping by to read my little "win" story.

Cheers

Chris

[Jaybee]

Congrats Chris, Its nice to have a win every now and again.!:thumbsup:

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks John,

Sure is! Now all I have to do is find some time and some clear skies to try it all out.

Cheers

Chris

[madwayne]

Hi Chris

Love to read a good story with a happy ending :).

One suggestion, if I may and you haven't already. Check where the balance point is on your telescopes. Remove the dovetail from the mount with your scopes and cameras attached and balance them on a pencil. Mark where the pencil is to get the balance point on your dovetail. That point then needs to sit in the centre of your mount. Don't worry if it has to sit back in the mount a bit as all your weight will be in the front with newtonians I have the reverse problem with my refractors and my Tak is extremely back heavy. Just a thought and sorry if you have already come up with it.

You should have some clear skies for testing tonight and tomorrow night so get out there and test this sweet looking setup.

All the best and clear skies.

Wayne

[Jeeps]

Wow that looks awesome!

cheers

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Sam, I was pretty impressed it all just fitted together with no extras needed. Stoked as a matter of fact.

Cheers

Chris



Thanks Wayne, Yes I need to make sure everything is balanced well, as I dont really have the ability this way to adjust the top scope position much forward or back as the rings hit the focuser or the bottom. I think the newts will be back heavy as their mirrors are the heaviest bit? Anyway, love to try it out tonight, but stuffed after work and need to be up early tomorrow to finish off the pergola while it isnt raining.....

Thanks for the comments

Chris

[RobF]

Nice going Chris

I had a similar story with my Newt when I mounted a piggyback refractor on it - easiest and firmest way was to put the rings straight into the existing mounting rings. As an added bonus, both scopes still even fitted in the 8"'s original box when attached :thumbsup:

I'm only using a SSAG in the back of a standard 9x50 finder + adaptor now though - even less flexure etc and easy to set up and dismantle.

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Rob,

That is the way I was heading but I couldnt shake the need in my head to use the little 5" as it was gathering dust and has an electric focuser and everything I needed.

Turns out I was right and all I needed to do was pull the proverbial finger out and try it, rather than shelling out more dosh for more scope bits.

Still yet to try it out, hopefully the solid rings on rings wont give me the jiggles or flexure you mentioned. She is pretty rock solid and nicely centred on the main BD tube.

Time will tell I suppose.

Favourite four letter F word........FREE! :)

Cheers

Chris

[DavidU]

That's great Chris ! cheap as !:thumbsup:

[Screwdriverone]

Hi David,

Yup, sure is, gotta love the skywatcher 4 "scopes" on the one mount.

Cheers

Chris