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Hi all:

I’m new in this forum.
I am an owner of G11GT and vintage AP 130 EDT with Atik 314L ccd camera. One morning after pulling in all night, in my sleepy head with no memory I unscrewed two holding knobs at saddle, my scope nearly slipped completely off the saddle. This woke me up enough to come up with a mechanical stop design which I like to share with you.

Basically, it’s 1X1/4X2-1/2 inch aluminum held down with 2-5/16 stainless steel button screws and 2-stainless steel washers that can be had from local hardware store for few dollars and be done with basic metalworking tools. Took me less than an hour to the job. See attached photo of completed mechanical stop.

Hope you enjoy this.

Paul

?

Hi Paul,

Welcome!

All Losmandy dovetails are supplied with stopper knobs that are used in that middle threaded hole you see in your photo. Most better quality dovetails include these stopper knobs.?

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Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

Did the same thing on my G11 the other day after a slip that nearly cost me a new telescope.

Paul, I like your design.? A single stop bold would crush the level vile should the dovetail rail slip.? I have written Losmandy suggesting an optional bar be produced and sold.

That's because you are using it backward JK!

But I really do use mine oriented the other way with knobs are on the left side while looking north. I have no need for the level any more because I figured out a long time ago that if you level the mount well and then mark the mount RA and DEC axis position with the counterweight shaft plumb and the DEC axis parallel to the north celestial pole you never have to do it again while setting up. All you need to do is level the mount and set the RA and DEC to your previous marks and you are GTG. This is a time saver for setup and it also ensures that the Gemini controller has the correct starting position during power up and can more easily hit the first bright star for alignment making sky modeling a lot easier and faster.?

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Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

A 1" long 1/4-20 screw at the end of the saddle would work too.

When I picked up my GM811G, I also got a DUP14 to remount my telescope and focuser, and a because I thought I might one day want to undermount my DSLR.
I have yet to venture with the camera mounting as planned, but do use the as my stop.
I like it because it allows me to balance my Telescope Et Al, and when I remove it and put it back, the DVA relocates the telescope in perfect balance time after time. And it clears my DEC motor fine.
Recently I remounted my guide telescope in a piggy-back configuration. During balancing, I simply relocated the DVA to the new stop point.
Always lands in balance every time I mount my imaging rig. ;^)



Lottsa ways to skin a cat... ;^)

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SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)

Hi guys!

Thank you guys for the replies. I appreciate your feedbacks.

Thank you Chip for answering about a mysterious screw with plastic knob that came with Losmandy plate, also several 1/4-20 bolts were included. I couldn’t figured this out until you mentioned about it.

Normally, I set a plate at center as the stop is 1/2 inch away from top part of saddle. My ota is in modular form weighs 25-30 pounds which I slip on and off the saddle instead of sliding in or out because of my back.
I need to have a stop that has a larger surface area to contact against the saddle in case of impact without point impact so this is how I came up with.
I did tried loosen the saddle clamps to watch the plate with rings only to slammed against the saddle. The stop went flatly and squarely against without marking the saddle which I felt securely that it did the job well.
I felt that using a bolt or plastic knob is fine for small lighter scope but is inadequate for me.

In the future, I would like to upgrade to bigger scope and I feel confident enough to use the stop that I made.

Make one like mine to see for yourself.

Do whatever you want to your mount as a cheap insurance but don’t make it too cheap. <G>

Cheer
Paul

Sonny!

Yes that’s a great product! I agree there are “Lottsa way to skin the cat”! As long you don’t give me a stinkin’ cat! LOL.

I don’t have a luxury to own an observatory and have a limited sky area. This make my scope portable which I have to constantly setup it up at night and break it down at dawn. I’m constantly finding the most efficient way of setting it up or breaking it down in a short time. Your idea of using a device as a stop to allow to counter balance your scope in a minimum amount time is a great idea.

I love my mount so much that I have to take a really good care of it like a baby and make the most use out of it.

Thanks Sonny for the feedback!

Cheer!
Paul

You are most Welcome, Paul.
I, too, have to set up and tear down nightly (except lately. Too much high level smoke to see the stars)
Anyway, my Losmandy mount lends itself completely to building it to work for me (or the owner) and was one of the attributes other mounts sorely lacked. IMHO.
My "Observatory" is an area out back by by my back wall, poolside. Just my best view site. LOL!
So being able to "chunk" my mount into 4 main pieces helps me carry it out, then carry it back in.

In light of that, my telescope is Last on, First off. And I merely plug in 3 wires, and my computer and power source. (Which actually, my mount side computer is Chunk 5)

When I began leaving the HD Tripod out, but covered, the household CFO grilled me that there was no motors in the tripod, and no electric stuff. (That's about as "Tech" as she gets. LOL!)

Anyway, my "Chunks".?
The tripod is as I said, outside under wraps. ;^)
But it makes my setup and teardown a lot easier than ever before.
I hope that lends food for thought to your continued happiness with your mount.
We both baby our mounts. And with a little study on the pieces, I found the best way to get mine to work with me, and not me for it.

I'm closing, I would not give you a stinkin cat. Only a fresh one to skin. ;^) LOL!

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SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)

Hi Sonny,

I’m basically doing same thing: dividing the mount into chunks and combine the scope, camera, filter wheels and oag with camera into a module for ease of portability. The work is still in progress as I’m including a nano computer and a dew heater controller which I need to mount them to complete the scope into a module the way I want.

Thanks for sharing your info as some food for thought with me.

Cheer,
Paul