remounting Nexstar

I've unshipped my Nexstar 5 from the goto gubbins - it was a doddle once I
broke away a bit of plastic, as I could not find any hex tool to fit the
yankee socket screws.

Now how to remount it.

It weighs about 2.5 kilo, has about 150mm of clear tube which is about 150
mm diameter.
I'd like to put it on a decent steady equatorial mount, maybe with a motor,
on a tripod or pier, I don't know which would be better, with a decent
finder instead of the manky red dot thing which has the double effect of
not being completely transparent and also blinding you withthe dot.

It's ok for finding Sirius.

I don't think I need anything special, I'm not man enough to be a *real*
astronomer.

Any advice would be appreciated....

mike

"mike ring" wrote in message
. 1.4...
I've unshipped my Nexstar 5 from the goto gubbins - it was a doddle once I

Out of curiosity; why did you take it from the goto mount? Looking for
equatorial over ALT-AZ, are you looking to do imaging?

What will you be doing with the goto mount?

Regards


Chris

"Chris Taylor" wrote in
:

I've unshipped my Nexstar 5 from the goto gubbins -

Out of curiosity; why did you take it from the goto mount? Looking for
equatorial over ALT-AZ, are you looking to do imaging?

No, I'm very much an amateur and newbie, and I though it would help. It
didn't.

a) sitting on a tabletop was not very stable; I didn't want to spen money
on a tripod for it as I was already worried by

b) before I could use it I had to align it every time; slewing it to 3
stars, or 2 stars plus entering time, was very slow, plus taking the
powersupply and extension lead out each time; it eats batteries.

c) it takes ages to slew large angles, even at top speed.

d) when tweaking it in , it's easy to forget to go down to slow speed,
and you're halfway round the sky again and have to find your way back.

e) The handset is smeary and hard to read when it's scrolling, (they
really should have done better)

f )Adjusting from the handset on the alt-az mount is completely non-
intuitional, I never quite know which way it wall go.

g) The backlash was always driving me nutty; prolly something to do with
(f)

Those will do for a start; I think a number of them could be addressed by
mounting on a tripod and wedge....have you seen Celestron's prices?

What will you be doing with the goto mount?

At the moment regarding it balefully; it's undamaged apart from a small
bit of plastic I had to break off to get at the bearing nut; I couldn't
find a hex key to fit the screws, and I've got a wide selection!

Skip it, give it to charity, flog it? (except that wouldn't feel honest,
it's such a pig).

Swop it for a tripod and mounting gubbins? - this ng has resolutely
refused to help me, and I still don't know how to remount it.

Astro clubs? - my only transport is a motorbike. Helpful shops? not
AFAIK in my part of the world.

I know I need a tripod (how big), eq mount (how big), rings? what's a
good finder device?, I there a shop that can help? I've got lotsa probs
apart from how to dispose of the goto.

So If *you've* any suggestions.....


mike

"mike ring" wrote in message
. 1.4...
"Chris Taylor" wrote in
:

g) The backlash was always driving me nutty; prolly something to do with

Hi Mike

There is a backlash setting to overcome the above. Mine's usually set to 050
and 050 on alt and az. I've had a nexstar for about 5 years and am still
very happy with it, although the LX90 gets used more nowadays.

this ng has resolutely refused to help me, and I still don't know how to
remount it.

Wish I knew enough about mount's to offer all of the answers. You'll be
needing a couple of Tube Rings (or Cradles) to hold the scope and Dovetail
plates (these interface between the rings and the mount) before mounting to
a mount and tripod. The 5" being so light shouldn't warrant a heavy duty
mount.

Try calling these guys http://www.telescopesales.co.uk/drv1.htm they'll
probably be able to advise. I've dealt with them before and they've been
really helpfull. Don't be surprised if a mount a tripod costs more than the
original scope though! Take a look around the site for some examples of the
bits and bobs that you'll be needing.

You might also want to take a look around these sites, at their mounts ,
cradles and tripods, or make a few calls:
http://www.telescopehouse.co.uk/
http://www.greenwich-observatory.co.uk/
http://www.sbtc.co.uk/
http://www.telescopeshop.co.uk/
http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

You might also consider looking for a second-hand solution, read the recent
threads on astro-pages.

I'd advise keeping the original goto mount for now until you're sure that
your decision was the right one. If you find that you're happy with the
equatorial mount, let me know. I have a pet project in mind for your
existing mount and may consider buying it from you.

My brother ended up with a cheap 6" Ebay scope for his son who hasn't used
it since getting it and its taking up space. The mount and tripod are a
little too lightweight for the 6" but may do for your OTA; assuming
something can be worked out wrt the cradle. I don't know whereabout you are
but he might consider lending you the mount and tripod on apro so that you
can see if you've both made the right choice, and that you might be happy
with the mount? He lives in Maidenhead. Let me know if you want to try it
out and I'll have a word with him (but can't promise anything...).

Glad to hear you're a biker (me too). What do you ride? and where?

Not sure that I'll be any great help in finding your solution but if I can
help in anyway, feel free to shout.

Regards


Chris


Those will do for a start; I think a number of them could be addressed by
mounting on a tripod and wedge....have you seen Celestron's prices?

What will you be doing with the goto mount?

At the moment regarding it balefully; it's undamaged apart from a small
bit of plastic I had to break off to get at the bearing nut; I couldn't
find a hex key to fit the screws, and I've got a wide selection!

Skip it, give it to charity, flog it? (except that wouldn't feel honest,
it's such a pig).



Astro clubs? - my only transport is a motorbike. Helpful shops? not
AFAIK in my part of the world.

I know I need a tripod (how big), eq mount (how big), rings? what's a
good finder device?, I there a shop that can help? I've got lotsa probs
apart from how to dispose of the goto.

So If *you've* any suggestions.....


mike

"Chris Taylor" wrote in
:


Wish I knew enough about mount's to offer all of the answers. You'll
be needing a couple of Tube Rings (or Cradles) to hold the scope and
Dovetail plates (these interface between the rings and the mount)
before mounting to a mount and tripod. The 5" being so light shouldn't
warrant a heavy duty mount.

Try calling these guys http://www.telescopesales.co.uk/drv1.htm

You might also consider looking for a second-hand solution, read the
recent threads on astro-pages.

No luck so far.

I'd advise keeping the original goto mount for now until you're sure
that your decision was the right one. If you find that you're happy
with the equatorial mount, let me know. I have a pet project in mind
for your existing mount and may consider buying it from you.

I've been struggling with it for a couple of years, and have tried to get
help to unship it several times; it's not suitaable for me, I just like
to look at pretty obvious things, and spot the odd comet.

If you want it, it's yours; if you've got an unwanted piece of kit, like
finderscope (the starpointers useless) or a star diagonal (I found out
mine's misaligned after I found out about collimating)

But only if you've got some spare; otherwise, just make arrangements for
collection, I'm mid-essex, between Brentwood, Chelmsford and
Basildon (yechhh)


Glad to hear you're a biker (me too). What do you ride? and where?

Yellow Suzuki SV650 - my niece advised it and I love it. I'm just
changing it for a 2004 model, as the 2005 range have been made butt ugly,
and don't come in yellow.
sighI couldn't get a yellow one for love or money /sigh
Use: speedy shopping trolley; I don't get about much any more, I'm a bit
social phobic, or according to society, just plain antisocial.


Thanks for the links; I've tried a couple, but there's some new ones, I
also could not find a website that was informative about this problem
either.

But I have stumbled across a C5 webring (no, not the Sinclair) - I never
knew it was such a venerable scope!

Do you think

http://www.dhinds.co.uk/pages/fullProd.php?id=274

Would be suitable, or is it too big. I'll give them a bell, but an
independent opinion might be nice; I'll also post separately in the fope
some one knows (and will answer)

Regards

mike

Try www.scopestuff.com for the bits and bobs you need, you have to pay
shipping from America, but it's usually still cheap by UK standards!!!!

If you email the guy (Jim) and tell him want you need to do, he'll
probably get the kit togather himself and send it (nice bloke), it
usually takes 10 to a fortnight to get here.

I wouldn't bother getting the dovetail plate shipped, theyre pretty
common (and cheap) over here

Gaz

Mike

the mount you linked to at D.Hinds is a bit big for your scope (you'll
get away with a EQ2/3), but it's a good deal and not any dearer than
the smaller EQ2/3 anyway. If you don't mind carrying the extra weight
when you set up I'd get it - it doesn't hurt to over-mount a scope and
if you wanted to get a new scope in the future a bigger mount would
give you more options.

Can I ask why you just didn't sell the Nexstar 5 secondhand and buy a
equatorally mounted scope with the proceeds? I don't know what they go
for these days but it would seem the be the easiest (and cheapest)
option?

all the best
Gaz

"mike ring" wrote in message
. 1.4...
"Chris Taylor" wrote in
:

If you want it, it's yours; if you've got an unwanted piece of kit, like
finderscope (the starpointers useless) or a star diagonal (I found out
mine's misaligned after I found out about collimating)

Hi Mike

I have a spare finderscope. Its nothing special , a 6x30 that came with a
startravel-80 I'm using as a guidescope. I also have a spare diagonal (45
deg I think) and can offer both. If you don't want the red-dot finder I
could use that too. Is the e-mail address above
) the correct one? I'll pop my contact
detail over to you. I'll also not make any irreversable changes to the goto
bit for at least 1 month in case you change your mind.

The mount that you've provided the link for, is probably bigger than what
you really need. Popular advice though on the NG is to purchase the best
mount that you can afford. On a budget I'd be tempted to consider an EQ3 for
a 5" scope. Its about £100 cheaper (a few more accessories)? The upside to
the EQ5 of course would be the ability to handle a larger scope if and when
you decide to upgrade. If you have a suspicion that 5" just isn't enough for
your future needs....(when does enough aperture satisfy?)

Regards


Chris

Chris,

The celestron CG5 is only =A3130, he'd only be saving buttons getting a
EQ3. I thought about getting one myself as a spare, because you can
guarantee the day mine breaks, that offer will end! :O)

regards
gaz

"Chris Taylor" wrote in
:


If you want it, it's yours; if you've got an unwanted piece of kit,
like finderscope (the starpointers useless) or a star diagonal (I
found out mine's misaligned after I found out about collimating)

Hi Mike

I have a spare finderscope. Its nothing special , a 6x30 that came
with a startravel-80 I'm using as a guidescope. I also have a spare
diagonal (45 deg I think) and can offer both. If you don't want the
red-dot finder I could use that too. Is the e-mail address above
) the correct one?

Yup - remove the MICHAEL - pretty obvious, it's in my signature, but I'm
not sure if I know how to add the signature!

I'll pop my contact detail over to you. I'll also not make any
irreversable changes to the
goto bit for at least 1 month in case you change your mind.

Don't worry about that, I've had plenty of time to take a view! And
you're offering just the bits I need; the red dor finder is prolly OK as
the BB gun sight it started out as, I find the dot dazzling, and on a
faint star, like Polaris ;-) I can't quite see through it.


The mount that you've provided the link for, is probably bigger than
what you really need. Popular advice though on the NG is to purchase
the best mount that you can afford. On a budget I'd be tempted to
consider an EQ3 for a 5" scope. Its about £100 cheaper (a few more
accessories)?

£100 pounds cheaper than £129? my worry is that it's an overkill,or the
counterweights are too heavy - the scope is very light - I called D
Hinds and they said it isn't, but they would, wouldn't they?

My chief worry is whether I can carry it out and set it up quickly. Hinds
said that some C5's come on this tripod as standard.

The upside to the EQ5 of course would be the ability to
handle a larger scope if and when you decide to upgrade. If you have a
suspicion that 5" just isn't enough for your future needs....(when
does enough aperture satisfy?)

Well, it's more curiousity than astronomy; nearly always cloudy, if not
brass monkey, ephemera always rained off or over New Zealand....

mike