SW ED150.. What upgrades?

[slice of heaven]

Hi all

Looking for some direction in upgrading the basic version of this scope.
Mainly, as expected, the mounting and focuser options.

It'll be mounted on an EQ6, the older version with just the narrow vixen fitting.
Is changing the puck to dual saddle the best option for fitting a wide dovetail?
There's various narrow to wide adapters available, are they worth thinking about?

The tube rings are oversized, they slide from the weight of the ota.
Are there any good inexpensive alternatives?
I'll do a temporary fix by packing them out with felt as others have done just so I can test the scope.

For imaging I'll be using DSLRs, full frame and cropped. So a good aftermarket focuser is probably on the cards as well.

Happy to hear thoughts on what I should or shouldn't do in making it function properly.

Thanks

[garymck (Gary)]

Hi,
I have an ED150 standard version like yourself mounted on an EQ6R.I've used a losmandy rail to mount the scope and have the green vixen bar moiunted on top to hode other stuff. Don't bother changing the focuser, it is more than adequate to hold pretty much any type of camera and can be adjusted if needs be. Don't forget that you will need the reducer/corrector for imaging. My tube rings were fine - didn't need to pack them at all. but on other scopes in the past with the problem I just got self adhesive felt spots from Bunnings (used for furniture, vases etc) and stuck them inside the rings. The scopes perform beautifully, , My only regret is that I'm soon going to have to sell mine as I am moving from 1.5 acres to an inner Geelong home with a postage stamp backyard, so I won't have space for anything more than a small portable setup :-(
cheers
Gary

cheers
Gary

[slice of heaven]

Thanks for the reply Gary

I'll have a scrounge through Bunnings on the weekend and see what adhesive felt I can find. The spots sound like a good idea. Then I can at least test the scope.

I do intend to use the wider losmandy rail, I just need to find the best way to change/ adapt the vixen mounting to suit.

That's good news about the focuser, if it's capable I'll leave well enough alone.

I ordered the corrector/reducer at the same time as the scope, I considered that an essential must have. The other peripherals and upgrades can be done as needed. The savings on buying the standard rather than the deluxe at present gives me a good financial buffer for those.

That's a shame you have to downsize, but you can still have good viewing with smaller scopes.

Cheers