I have been researching a solar scope for a while now, and have decided to take the plunge. I am about to purchase a Lunt LS60MT FT with the 60mm DS. I would like to use it with a binoviewer. The main reason I decided not to go with an 80mm scope is portability and ease of setup. To that effect, which mount would you suggest?
I am thinking of a Solarquest vs AZ5. I do not want an equatorial mount just yet, as they are generally harder to use and bulky. I will likely get one in the future.
From the limited information I could find online, here is the weight for my setup:
LS60MT OTA 5.5 lbs
DS 3 lbs
FT 3 lbs (1 lb extra from stock focuser)
Binoviewer 1.5 lbs
Diagonal 2 lbs
Eyepiece 1 lb
Total - 14lbs
The AZ5 seems to be rated for 5kg (11lbs), and the Solarquest for 4kg (8.8lbs). Yet people do mount these scopes on them.
Do you think that my setup would be too heavy for either of these mounts? I guess they will both have some vibration while tuning and focusing, but once setup, would they be without much vibration? Also, would the motor of the Solarquest be overloaded by my setup?
Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Fed
Nooby question about mounting solar scope
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Re: Nooby question about mounting solar scope
Welcome Fed with your question.
I understand the Solarquest is a fine mount for this purpose, but you have more or less answered your own question by providing the weights of the items. The Binoviewer is probably heavier than what you have said though.
Also as long as you understand what the limitations mean, then due to the nature of these and any other mount, damage could occur if overloaded. I can't confirm or deny if a counterweight may also be required, but other owners can...
Lunt 60mm scopes (as well as other sizes and type of Lunts) are a very-fine purchase and you will well-pleased with what it can achieve.
I hope this answer does at least suggest that further research might be preferable...
Best Wishes
Terry
I understand the Solarquest is a fine mount for this purpose, but you have more or less answered your own question by providing the weights of the items. The Binoviewer is probably heavier than what you have said though.
Also as long as you understand what the limitations mean, then due to the nature of these and any other mount, damage could occur if overloaded. I can't confirm or deny if a counterweight may also be required, but other owners can...
Lunt 60mm scopes (as well as other sizes and type of Lunts) are a very-fine purchase and you will well-pleased with what it can achieve.
I hope this answer does at least suggest that further research might be preferable...
Best Wishes
Terry
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Re: Nooby question about mounting solar scope
A very warm and sunny welcome Fed, there is a review about the Solarquest mount in the reviews section, it might help you decide or answer some questions viewtopic.php?f=27&t=25170
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Re: Nooby question about mounting solar scope
Welcome Fed
For your first solar scope you might want to drop the DS etalon and use that money elsewhere. They can be confusing and fiddly to use at first. And my experience has been that the seeing has to be good in order to take advantage of their capabilities. As a result, I find I don't use the DS etalon nearly as much as I had hoped (I live in an urban area and have crappy seeing most of the time). I have a Lunt LS80, btw.
I can't tell you which mount to choose, but I do have one that I recommend that you avoid. I have not been happy at all with the mount that I bought, which is a Celestron AVX. I find that proper leveling and northing of the mount is absolutely essential to keep the solar image from drifting, especially if you want to start taking photos. The AVX doesn't have any sort of a level or reference flat on it (despite the fact that their instructions say "Level the tripod. There is a bubble level built into the mount for this purpose."). The mount contains magnetic materials, so a compass can't be used for northing. And the GPS unit sucks big time. Apparently the GPS ephemeris data is not stored because every time I set up the system, the GPS has to download the full almanac, a process that takes 15 minutes - if it goes right the first time. I often have to wait for more than an hour to achieve GPS lock. And the tripod is bouncy. the slightest touch sets everything wiggling to the point that you can't focus. And I guarantee that the tripod will wiggle a _lot_ when you adjust your etalon (hint - Crank the etalon all the way in, then do your adjustment cranking the etalon back outward. There will be much less shake.)
Just one other note, specific to the telescope. Adjusting the draw tube is an important part of focusing the telescope. You most likely will not be able to achieve focus using only the focuser. Set your focuser at its midpoint and then, looking through the eyepiece, slide the drawtube out or in as necessary to achieve a fairly sharp edge on the Sun. It doesn't have to be perfect. I use a colored pencil with a light color to mark the proper position on my drawtube so that I don't have to hunt for it each time. Different setups, such as adding a barlow lens or a camera, will require different drawtube settings.
Good luck with your new scope. I know you'll enjoy it. And we're just now starting the upswing in solar activity, so you should have some great viewing in the next few years.
Bruce G
For your first solar scope you might want to drop the DS etalon and use that money elsewhere. They can be confusing and fiddly to use at first. And my experience has been that the seeing has to be good in order to take advantage of their capabilities. As a result, I find I don't use the DS etalon nearly as much as I had hoped (I live in an urban area and have crappy seeing most of the time). I have a Lunt LS80, btw.
I can't tell you which mount to choose, but I do have one that I recommend that you avoid. I have not been happy at all with the mount that I bought, which is a Celestron AVX. I find that proper leveling and northing of the mount is absolutely essential to keep the solar image from drifting, especially if you want to start taking photos. The AVX doesn't have any sort of a level or reference flat on it (despite the fact that their instructions say "Level the tripod. There is a bubble level built into the mount for this purpose."). The mount contains magnetic materials, so a compass can't be used for northing. And the GPS unit sucks big time. Apparently the GPS ephemeris data is not stored because every time I set up the system, the GPS has to download the full almanac, a process that takes 15 minutes - if it goes right the first time. I often have to wait for more than an hour to achieve GPS lock. And the tripod is bouncy. the slightest touch sets everything wiggling to the point that you can't focus. And I guarantee that the tripod will wiggle a _lot_ when you adjust your etalon (hint - Crank the etalon all the way in, then do your adjustment cranking the etalon back outward. There will be much less shake.)
Just one other note, specific to the telescope. Adjusting the draw tube is an important part of focusing the telescope. You most likely will not be able to achieve focus using only the focuser. Set your focuser at its midpoint and then, looking through the eyepiece, slide the drawtube out or in as necessary to achieve a fairly sharp edge on the Sun. It doesn't have to be perfect. I use a colored pencil with a light color to mark the proper position on my drawtube so that I don't have to hunt for it each time. Different setups, such as adding a barlow lens or a camera, will require different drawtube settings.
Good luck with your new scope. I know you'll enjoy it. And we're just now starting the upswing in solar activity, so you should have some great viewing in the next few years.
Bruce G
Re: Nooby question about mounting solar scope
I recently weighed my LS60MT with the stock Crayford focuser & 6" dovetail + B1200 diagonal + LS60FHa and it came in just under 9 lb 14 oz w/o the lens cap or eyepiece. The LS60FHa alone is a shade over 2 lbs so it looks like your weight estimates are a bit over actual.
I've got an AZ GTi I was using in EQ mode with the LS60MT for imaging before adding the DS and it was OK. However, adding the DS meant I also needed to up the counterweight and the mount was not really up to the task. It would work but was overloaded and I would not recommend it. I think the AZ5 would be pushing it as well.
Adding to the problem is that mounts are in really short supply right now with estimates being May-June or later before there's much availability. I've been looking for a new portable mount as well, though I'm currently using a Celestron Evolution and that's very much up to the task. If you haven't ordered your scope yet then the June time frame may be OK though as my scope took around 6 weeks to arrive after I ordered it.
I've got an AZ GTi I was using in EQ mode with the LS60MT for imaging before adding the DS and it was OK. However, adding the DS meant I also needed to up the counterweight and the mount was not really up to the task. It would work but was overloaded and I would not recommend it. I think the AZ5 would be pushing it as well.
Adding to the problem is that mounts are in really short supply right now with estimates being May-June or later before there's much availability. I've been looking for a new portable mount as well, though I'm currently using a Celestron Evolution and that's very much up to the task. If you haven't ordered your scope yet then the June time frame may be OK though as my scope took around 6 weeks to arrive after I ordered it.
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Re: Nooby question about mounting solar scope
https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/3159 ... e-2-mount/
suggests to me, that as long as you limit the total-weight factor to well within the manufacturer's specs, it is probably an OK acquisition.
But be aware that adding a Bino-viewer (as at the far-end of the scope), careful-balancing is still required as the Bino will active as a leverage and may also require a counter-weight, which although is extra-total-weight, will likely be within the manufacturers-specs. of the Skytee mount.
SkyWatcher have been around for a long-time and I have a very-heavy duty SW mount in constant-use, with no issues, but still with the very-heavy loading of my three Solar-scopes + 3-cameras, cabling, Dovetail-mounts NS WCWN PoleMaster-camera, balancing is very important to protect not only the motors, but the drive-trains (cogs or belts).
Also the tripod required needs to be a good/solid one, which apparently may not be included, so speaking to a decent-supplier to find out the best one for the purpose you require..
Terry
suggests to me, that as long as you limit the total-weight factor to well within the manufacturer's specs, it is probably an OK acquisition.
But be aware that adding a Bino-viewer (as at the far-end of the scope), careful-balancing is still required as the Bino will active as a leverage and may also require a counter-weight, which although is extra-total-weight, will likely be within the manufacturers-specs. of the Skytee mount.
SkyWatcher have been around for a long-time and I have a very-heavy duty SW mount in constant-use, with no issues, but still with the very-heavy loading of my three Solar-scopes + 3-cameras, cabling, Dovetail-mounts NS WCWN PoleMaster-camera, balancing is very important to protect not only the motors, but the drive-trains (cogs or belts).
Also the tripod required needs to be a good/solid one, which apparently may not be included, so speaking to a decent-supplier to find out the best one for the purpose you require..
Terry
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Re: Nooby question about mounting solar scope
Any of these light weight mounts, my experience, is that front to back balance in the altitude axis is key. Azimuth seems happy to track away, but that's no good if the altitude doesn't track too.
Tripod is important too, needs to be beefier than you think...
Tripod is important too, needs to be beefier than you think...
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
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