Okay i know theres some knowledge out there regarding my question.
My question
EQ6 has been purchased.
what parts are needed to attach a 10" SW dobsonian to the top of it
Rings? clam shells?
for future there will be a ed 80, telerad, finderscope, cannon eos, guide cam. I can think of too much more that would be mounted on here other than maby a slightly larger refractor and maby a dslr with a lens.
for the rings, are the off the shelf versions good, or is it best to go with a fabricated one.
of the shelf rings are ok but the standard dovetails are a bit weak, have a look at the W.O plates to suit EQ6.
side by side would probably be the best setup, check out "Starstuff" in Melb, keep the weight as close to the mount head as possible to cut down on large counterweights.
I have the WO vixen style plates, the longer one of the two. They are really well made and not so heavy. Plenty of holes to choose from so mounting rings would not be a problem.
I converted my EQ6 to use Losmandy D plates using an ADM EQG-SAD adapter... Since doing that, the mount holds the C11 solid as a rock, where as with the standard vixen dovetail it was like a bowl of jelly...
You'll need a set of rings for your scope, a side by side setup is probably best..
Peter_4059 uses pretty much that exact setup..
10" newt + ED80 and I think his images speak great amounts to what the EQ6 can do...
Mine carries the C11 + Megrez 102 + QHY8 + QHY5 well too, although the usual setup is C11+ZS66 + QHY8 + QHY5... All up its about.... 17kgs or there abouts... Carries it no worries, guides well...
Congrats on your EQ6... Its the start of many a sleepless night!
Then maybe a bar extension would be cheaper.
I had one of these made for $50.
It would have cost $270 to get ken to to make and send one from the US.
It extends the counterweight arm.
its better to have 4 weights up close to the RA axis than it is to have 3 weights 12" out...
It all comes down to how much you pay for your weights... I got 2 thrown in for free when I bought my C11... At that price.. I use 4 weights.. However $50 for the extension vs ~$80 per weight... I'd go the extension.
To be honest I think it's better to keep the weight close to center. I'm sure some engineer has the maths but it's obvious that the further away the mass (weight) is the more power is required to control it.
Fancy you should say some engineer might have the math it so has it that im currently studying engineering I know about the leaver arm moment. It shouldnt put more stress on the motors as the weight is balanced out, and as long as the axial and shear strain/stress though the counter weight bar is strong enough there shouldn't be any issue with the whole setup. the math for working out moments and forces is just a case of Static mechanics as simple as pythagoras's therom. and it cant be that damm expensive to get a rod made up...
I think those 303 rings depending on the deminsions and how they specify will be for a bigger scope unless they are talking about radius to the Outer size of the OTA.
The only concern that i would have if anything would be if it would foul on the tripod or in that case the permanant peir that i will be constructing soon enough.
So at the moment you guys are reccomending
Losmundy conversion for affixing the tube
standard tube rings
extension bar or weights.
Though i think i might be going and talking to my bro inlaw, he used to be a fitter and turner and has contacts in the industry, might have to get something whipped up for a carton + materials.
Im just doing some calculations at work here for the weight that im going to need to balance this big boy up. Though i need to know the total length from the top of the mount where you attach the dovetail in, though to the end of the counter weight rod. If anybody can give me that information i will be stoked as i have a bee in my bonnet and must know exactly what im dealing with
Im just doing some calculations at work here for the weight that im going to need to balance this big boy up. Though i need to know the total length from the top of the mount where you attach the dovetail in, though to the end of the counter weight rod. If anybody can give me that information i will be stoked as i have a bee in my bonnet and must know exactly what im dealing with
Thanks
Brendan
I can check this for you and take a pic also when I get home.
Im currently using both 5.75? kg weights plus two ~1kg G-Clamps to balance the 8" OTA(~7.5kgs) plus piggybacked ST80; Meade FLip mirror(heavy), DBK Camera, 350D DSLR, and eyepieces.
I suspect the 10" OTA is ~10.5kg ?
Both std. counterweights supplied should just cover it. Unless you're planning for future counterweighting or weights not inc. with your purchase?
Im just desinging all the things i need to put together as in the side by side, and how much stress is going to be applied at the dovetail mount, so how strong the matierials need to be, currently taking into accound using a side by side set up, the 10", 450d body, EoN 70mm, Orion starshoot is coming out to about 170N ~ 17.3kgs. The thing is though you could have a 2kg weight to balance it all off. This is why i need to know the length, as it is a rigid body and you can depict and calculate by using free body diagrams and work out the moment around the central pivot point (where RA connects to DEC). So being a static system i have to counteract the 170N of force on the telescope end with the formula D*F=M in Nm where D= Distance, F= Force in Newtons (Mass * 9.8) and M = moment in Newton meters.
This should be able to with reasonable accuracy tell you how much counter weight you should need at any given moment.
*Ps, no i don't have msn at work dan but i will wait to hear back from you tonight on the matter as i havn't picked the eq6 up yet. also looked at the price of the eq6 from telescope shop, and it jumped up $500 In the nick of time i says.
Why fabricate rings? It would likely be cheaper to buy them?? 303mm rings will fit your 10" newt.... (at least, thats what many other people have used...)
Congrats on the latest addition to your setup.. It will definitely definitely make you happy!
303mm rings most definately wont fit my 10" scope, the overall diameter of the tube itself is 287mm i would have nearly 15mm to make up in spacers. :S
Why did i get them fabricated? well, it was going to cost me close on $100 bucks to get them sent over from east (nobody has them in stock as they arn't so common) and even then its just a mass produced average quality.
Im getting mine fabricated because i can get it made to my specifications and it will be over engineered for the job. That is Flexure should be nigh on eliminated! 3mm Strap thickness, with a flat mounted block on the bottom will add nearly 1kg to the overall setup.
I had viewed a 8" Newt on a eq6pro recently with the rings that are supposed to be better and they where, and they flexed more than my liking (they still did a good job) hence my decision and at $120 powder coated in any colour i want and made to my specifications and here by friday i think thats decent.
Also doing my final calculations I will only need 14kgs of counterweight or there abouts to balance the full load, that is Dslr, Guide ccd, 70mm EON guide scope, and the 10" newt. I could balance it off if i extend the counter weight bar but as everybody seems to suggest keeping everything tight and up close i shal do exactly that.
Now all i have to do is get the 12v Dc converter and the cable to control the mount via PC and im about done and dusted for now
Thanks everybody for your input it has helped with my decisions.
well i must say that after driving a alt az meade driving a eq6 is like throwing a baseball left handed when your naturally right handed , a few hickups bumps and setting the mount up 3 times leveling it all out and then going bugger, im facing north not south hehehe then finding that putting the legs all the way down wasn't the best set up and then the lighter fitting was loose for my car ;( so half way though the align process it jiggled enough to reset it ;(
All in all though i got a alignment happening even if it was with old blue (my dodgy dickkies telescope) and hooked into orion, would have gone the moon but problem was the house got in the way
Now lets hope i pick the rings up tomorrow to get some good game time on the eq with the 10" HAZZZAAAR
