Telescope mount complete
Feb. 2nd, 2011 06:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnridleyGood news, the inexpensive $14 dovetail mount I bought from Orion fits the scope (after a trip to town to buy the proper screws and a little drilling and thread-chasing in one of the holes, and some time at the bench grinder to turn the 1" screw to a 7/8" screw). So I don't have to buy the $90 worth of parts Losmandy wanted to do the same thing. They are correct, this bar wouldn't have fit the original scope, but the used tube that I bought had new holes drilled in it that exactly fit this bar.
And, the $12 power cable I got from Orion also works fine, and was a lot cheaper than the $25 cable from Celestron which AFAICT is the same thing. Though this scope has slots for a whole raftload of AA batteries, you really want to run this off a 12V external battery or a car socket; it destroys a set of AA alkalines in about 2 hours, and won't run off NiMHs due to the low voltage. Since I have a 12V jumper pack anyway, problem solved.
So here it is. Now I just need a clear and non-freezing day to make sure the thing works OK. I mean, it powers up and moves around, but I can't align it or test it without seeing the stars.
And, the $12 power cable I got from Orion also works fine, and was a lot cheaper than the $25 cable from Celestron which AFAICT is the same thing. Though this scope has slots for a whole raftload of AA batteries, you really want to run this off a 12V external battery or a car socket; it destroys a set of AA alkalines in about 2 hours, and won't run off NiMHs due to the low voltage. Since I have a 12V jumper pack anyway, problem solved.
So here it is. Now I just need a clear and non-freezing day to make sure the thing works OK. I mean, it powers up and moves around, but I can't align it or test it without seeing the stars.
