We also provide a large portfolio of kits to suit many types of mounts.
A new range of kits which will be announced shortly are for the LightBridge series of telescopes.
To this end, we are seeking the kind assistance of LightBridge owners.
We are interested to hear from owners of 10" and 12" LightBridge Deluxe
mounts as to whether the Azimuth tension knob on your mount has a
5/16-18 x 2" thread or whether it has a larger 3/8-16 x 2" thread.
We have heard of instances of both.
If you are able to assist, please email me directly at sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au with the details of the scope you own
(10" Deluxe or 12" Deluxe) and the dimensions of the Az tension bolt
fitted in your particular mount. I thank you in advance.
Is there a foolproof way to ascertain this without the use of verneer calipers?
I'd love to help but I'm afraid I'm quite completely tool less at my current abode.
Could people who have one or the other post a decent close-up picture to compare to maybe?
Thanks for your kind offer to help.
The difference in diameter of the two variants is about 1.5mm.
We believe that the 5/16" diameter bolt is probably the most commonly used.
For all practical purposes, the diameter can be measured across the threads.
Attached is a couple of pictures of the Az bolt from a 12" Deluxe.
In this instance, this is a 5/16"-18 x 2" bolt. As you can see, a good ruler
and a keen eye can provide a reasonable estimate. The '-18' refers to
how many turns per inch, which again can be estimated with a ruler.
Well, mine is quite different indeed. I have the Deluxe 12" version, bought it at the end of march from Astro Optical in Melbourne who shipped it from their store in Sydney. (Bintel were sold out) . I think the cover was packed NOT in the mirror housing like the 1st release.
Anyway, I do believe the screw is still 5/16ths but only 5mm of the very end is threaded. The picture was taken on 5mm graph paper.
Well, mine is quite different indeed. I have the Deluxe 12" version, bought it at the end of march from Astro Optical in Melbourne who shipped it from their store in Sydney. (Bintel were sold out) .
Indeed, yours is very different! Thank you very much for taking the trouble
to document this.
Hi Gary, Mine is the fully threaded 5/16-18 x 2".
Bought from Bintel ( Sydney ) in their first shipment, Late March. This scope has the alt brake. John.
Hi Gary, Mine is the fully threaded 5/16-18 x 2".
Bought from Bintel ( Sydney ) in their first shipment, Late March. This scope has the alt brake. John.
Thank you very much John. It certainly looks as if this element of the
design has a few variants.
The ring is machined onto the shank. It serves to hold the black brake piece in place. This stops it coming of the little bump on the mount when the brake is untightened. I have attached to picture that hopefully give you an idea. If you want, I could do one with it attached to the mount. Also, my scope was in the first BINTEL shipment so I don't know why me and astronut have different bolts. I now that it was the first shipment because I had pre-ordered and I picked it up the day it arrived. Hope this helps (although I suppose that it just makes things more confusing),
Opps, I just realised that I am a complete idiot. You wanted the Azimuth bolt not the friction brake bolt. I feel like a complete idiot now, should have read the post more carefully. I will get a measurement of the AZIMUTH bolt for you and post it
I don't have a ruler that measures inches so mm will have to do. Across the threads it looks like 9mm to me with 16 threads every 25mm. Hope this helps
I don't have a ruler that measures inches so mm will have to do. Across the threads it looks like 9mm to me with 16 threads every 25mm. Hope this helps
Thanks Astrogeek!
Yes, I was after the Azimuth bolt dimensions, not the Altitude.
So seeing the picture of what turns out to be the Altitude tension
bolt had set the cat among the pidgeons.
It's strange that mine and astronut's are from the same order but have different sizes. I wonder why there is the difference. Why did meade do some one way and some another?
It's strange that mine and astronut's are from the same order but have different sizes. I wonder why there is the difference. Why did meade do some one way and some another?
Hi Astrogeek,
It's not immediately clear why there are at least two different sized bolts
employed, but that's why we are gathering as much information as we can.
One additional question for those who have responded is whether their
Az pivot bolt also came with a nylon sleeve on it or not?
Astrogeek, did your Az pivot bolt have the black plastic knob on it, or was it just
a bolt?
Mine had the black plastic knob on it. It is just like the one in the picture you posted. I don't think it had a nylon sleeve though. What would this look like?
Mine had the black plastic knob on it. It is just like the one in the picture you posted. I don't think it had a nylon sleeve though. What would this look like?
Thanks Astrogeek for that information.
If there were a nylon sleeve employed, one would suspect it to be used
on the narrower bolts. The sleeve would act as a bush and would have the
side-effect that the bolt/sleeve combination would have a wider diameter.
A hypothetical sleeve would probably be about an inch or so long and
be a plastic tube made of nylon or possibly teflon, that would slip over
the shaft of the bolt.
LightBridge 10" and 12" Deluxe Az tension bolt survey
