Ok I can't' help myself
.
While under threat of death
, impalement and divorce
, I undertook a secret mission to investigate and finance the upgrade of the EQ6 setup Mk11 with my 12" lx200 classic OTA (removing it from the alt az mount) and providing a alt az adapter for a guide scope to be able to pick a bright guide star using the side by side mounting bar I already had
. Ok, so I emailed Ken Duzat and got a price and ordered the mounting bar and brackets for the 12" OTA. Should get that in the next 2 weeks (just in time for the next dark of the moon I hope)
. But then I investigated the alt az mount extra to install on the dual mounting bar that attached to the EQ6 head. I was about to go ahead and buy the offer that Yagon had here on IIS for his equipment (I was going to use his scope and the head from the az3 mount he has) but a quick and detailed measure of the mount and scaled it to see the positioning in relation to the 12" OTA. Well is didn't fit because the 12" ota and the 80ed couldn’t be positioned together, I was devastated. My plans were dashed and had to decline Yagon's offer. He has a great offer there BTW
. So then I started to brainstorm a little bit, and wondered if a piggyback set of rings and just adapt the piggyback scope to move slightly within the rings to pick a target guide star leaving the main OTA on the object to image. Have to work on that one?
Out of all of this, and looking at scopes and options, I realised that I missed the PST scope I once owned last year
. So I did the deal and bought one yesterday
from Telescopes and Astronomy for $800 new
. Bargin!
Now I will have to read that PST in a toolbox thread to make a box for the scope.
What lead me to this purchase?
I have no idea really, perhaps the closure of Coronado in the US and full integration with Meade, and wanting to get one before all the staff and business went, this will be one of the scopes that wont be built after a DCM (don’t come Monday) notice from Meade management to all Coronado staff. So there you have it, you can research, dream, scheme, Plot and plan all you like, but it only takes a fleeting moment of doubt and want to purchase something else, in my case a PST (second one, should never have sold the first one) to completely change your direction in life, not to mention if the wife gets wind, instant divorce!!
So the 12"OTA project is a goer, just waiting on the new mounting blocks and rail, I have scope rings and a ED80 to use on top. I am so looking forward to imaging through the 12" on this setup it's not funny! One of my goals once completed will be Pleiades, then ngc 1977, then M42/43 later in the year, but I will be trying to get Tonys deep sky object of the month, the helix neb! And then to try and redo some of the items I took from duckadang. I wished I had dark skies?
Yes I know, I will be pushing the little EQ6 to the max with the setup, the OTA alone weighs 18kg, but I am banking on the EQ6 to handle up to the 25kg mark with no problems. With the impending release of the Synscan v3 upgradeable hand controller, life is looking good for the future. It should be an awesome combination.
Dennis, you didnt see half the stuff I had
