Guide scope question

[5ash (Philip)]

I'd like to put an ED80 ontop of my 9.25" celestron SCT , However i have some confidence issues of placing such a heavy scope on top of it with only 3 screws holding it.Im not sure they were designed with such weight in mind. Can any one with experience in this area advise??
regards philip

[Brundah1 (David)]

Have a look at photo albums on the Yahoo CPC Users group.

There are some equivalent payloads in these examples. Make sure you are using the correct dovetail mounting blocks.

If you are really concerned, pop out your corrector, then drill and tap some more holes in the front cell frame.

Bit more complicated in the rear cell. Here's a good taredown guide with photos.

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=594

If you don't like this option, get a side by side mounting kit - ADM have the best.

BTW see the Celestron advice about oily grease deposit - this is another job to do while you have the OTA apart:
http://www.celestron.com/c3/support3/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewa rticle&kbarticleid=1989

Note Mobil One synthetic grease is not sold in OZ, but an equivalent is available: http://www.ozaudi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25087

The above grease problem relates to high ambient temps. The Chinese grease causes no problems in cold climates.

Cheers,

David