Both of the two Meade 10 inch and 12 inch fork-mounted SCTs came with their own equatorial wedges which effectively converted them to equatorial mounting. The small Meade ETX-90 came complete with three adjustable tabletop legs which allowed for equatorial alignment too.
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For the Vixen R200SS OTA a SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro mount was bought as being reasonably light weight (and therefore easily transportable for field work) but sufficiently robust to take the combined weight of the OTA, camera, filter wheel, guide 'scope, autoguide camera and finder 'scope. Once it was determined that the R200SS would be permanently mounted in the observatory this mount was attached to the observatory pier via a cut-down extension pillar and a custom-built aluminium mating block. The incorporated Synscan GoTo system works well and can be controlled by cable from the observatory laptop. An autoguider port is provided for direct connection to the Orion Starshoot autoguider.
The HEQ5 Pro mount now serves duty as a platform for viewing / imaging with the GStar-Ex3 video camera. At first with the 5 inch Vixen R130sf telescope and presently with the SkyWatcher PDS 150mm. A newly added feature is the Synscan Wi-Fi Adapter which replaces the older wired Synscan handbox giving wireless control of the mount using a laptop, an iPad or a smartphone. This greatly adds to the convenience of using the mount. Experience showed that the combined weight of the OTA, camera, filter wheel, finder, guidescope and autoguider was just at the limit of the HEQ5 Pro's effective carrying capacity and in certain parts of the sky (particularly near the South Celestial Pole) PHD2 and the autoguider struggled to work effectively. The solution was obvious and, after some soul searching, the mount was replaced by a SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6 GT. An EQ6 extension pillar was also ordered but I was pleasantly surprised to find that its diameter and thickness is identical to the EQ5 pillar and that the two pillars have their six circumferential bolt holes (three at the top and three at the bottom) in the same locations. This meant that I could continue to use the cut-down EQ5 pillar and existing mating block without any modification other than removing the EQ5 attachment unit at the top of the pillar and replacing it with the equivalent EQ6 unit. The whole setup is rock solid and now guiding is no longer a problem no matter where the 'scope is pointed. A SkyWatcher EQ3-2 was chosen as a robust but simply operated equatorial mount for use with the Vixen R130sf OTA. Nothing fancy - initially no motor drives or GoTo but this unit is well made and more than adequately performs its intended role. Subsequently a SkyWatcher RA drive motor was added which worked well in keeping targets stationary in the eyepiece and allowed "still' video camera imaging. However, the controlling hand box got fried by mistake and rather than simply replacing that motor a full SynScan GoTo upgrade was made allowing easier access to target objects. |
Synscan Wi-Fi Adapter
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