Ordered LS80, need advice on how to mount

[EasilyLost]

I ordered a LS80 B1200 & pressure tuning. I am confused how to mount this on anything - tripod (I have 2), a motorized mount, piggyback it to my 8" SCT.

I've tried searching for pictures and have been reading this forum but I'm unsure of what I need to get while I wait for the LS80 to arrive.

I was looking at an Altazamith and a GEM on Amazon to get something cheap & quick but then realized I don't know if I need something else to mount the Lunt to it.

Things I want to do with this scope:
[ol]
[li]Just be able to grab it and go out in the yard at a moment's notice to catch what's going on when my 3D Sun app alerts me on the phone.[/li]

[li]Extending my own little neighborhood outreach - something motorized so extended viewing is easy, especially for neighbors.[/li]

[li]Photography (well, attempt it ) with my Nikon D70.[/li]

[li]Mount it to my 8" SCT - my astronomy club is getting more requests to do sun & star events for local schools.[/li]

[/ol]

Any advice appreciated.

[solarchat]

Welcome!

A man after my own heart with outreach.

Let me save you some time.

Celestron CGEM


It's too big to comfortably put on a SCT 8 piggyback mount.

I'll try and send you a pile of solar glasses with it when Tim gets it in to assist in outreach.

Tim also has the CGEM in stock.

[EasilyLost]

When I ordered the scope Tuesday, Tim said it may not ship until Thursday. I'll give him a call Thursday morning and see if he can send both out and any dovetail(?) I might need.

[swisswalter]

Hi Steve

welcome to that wonderful site. Hav sun, fun and post of it.

A motorized mount is a must for outreach, so you will be happy with the CGEM

[EasilyLost]

I talked with Tim this morning about the CGEM and he felt the Advanced VX mount would be better for me - a little lighter mount. I trust his judgment as he seems to know a great deal about the scopes and mounts and what works and doesn't work.

LS80 was shipped Tuesday so I should get it this coming Monday :woohoo:

[marktownley]

You'll have fun!

[solarchat]

ok....awesome!

just remember, I recommended the CGEM...lol

I spoke with them today and the mount and scope are on the way. I could not get any glasses into the package as they shipped it so fast.


Tim has 6 CGEM mounts over there folks if anyone is looking for one.

[EasilyLost]

Well scope and mount came yesterday (Monday) evening. Scope is gorgeous and bigger than I thought. I set everything up this evening hoping to catch the big sunspot tomorrow if the skies cleared.

That VX mount is very heavy, much heavier than I thought. It is also very delicate. I managed to get smoke from it trying to figure out how to hook up the declination cable. Boy, don't plug that into one of the aux ports hmy:.

I'll give Tim a call and see what can be done. Don't know if I can just get a new mount without tripod.

The sun will have to wait a few more days. Oh, I finally did find the port I was *supposed* to plug the cable, just a bit too late.

[swisswalter]

Hi Steve

holy gost. How did you manage that. Hope it is just a smaller part that can be changed. Keep us updated

[marktownley]

Holy smoke! Let us know how you get on...

[EasilyLost]

Regardless of how this pans out, I need advice on a much lighter mount. If I get the VX repaired I still need something a lot less heavy. The VX is at my physical limit. The VX will be great at sun & star parties but for every day viewing in my driveway or backyard I need something much lighter to move.

Any suggestions on the lightest GEM that will handle the LS80?

PS - if there is a break in the clouds today I'm taking the scope and dead mount outside anyway and manually guide it - I want to use this scope - the excitement is building.

[marktownley]

How about an EQ5 mount - or the CGEM like stephen recommends?

[swisswalter]

Hi Steve

my EQ6 has no problems handling a LUNT 100, so why should it have some with a LUNT 80

[EasilyLost]

I called Celestron and they said I'm not the only one who has smoked this mount. There is supposed to be some sort of protection against this happening now but probably isn't on the version I received. They are going to repair the mount under warranty. Big sigh of relief there. The tech support person at Celestron was great. With luck I could be back up and running within two weeks.

In regards to my question on finding another tripod & mount to use with the LS80 let me clarify. Since I have the advanced VX mount (very nice mount, sturdy, steady, etc.) I'll be using that for sun & star parties our clubs do for schools and various community events**. So I don't feel I need to go into the more expensive CGEM or EQ series (unless one of them is 50 lbs lighter )

What I'm looking for is something for quick use when I get an alert on the phone app that something is going on with the sun. Heck I'm even thinking manual controls and even Altazamith will do. So I want to balance lower price and lower weight with something that won't collapse with the LS80 mounted to it. Hope I'm making sense on what I'm trying to find as a secondary mount. The VX will be the primary mount for any serious viewing or photography.

Still cloudy today and I live in the 'sunshine' state - go figure!

**Our clubs are often the main attraction at some of these community events and we get more requests now to set up early for solar viewing - even NASA has asked us for volunteers to bring solar scopes out when they have certain public events. The local schools really like when we set up early for solar viewing.