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Equipment Discussions >> Mounts

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TheMenace
sage
*****

Reged: 10/21/08

Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Domerman]
      #2947192 - 02/24/09 03:08 PM

We need to know which mount you have,and which dove tail you are currently using or wanting to use.
ADM has side by side plates that fit losmandy,vixen,EQG etc.
They have any option you could possibly want,and will make you something if they don't already make it.
Great stuff!


losmandy to losmandy

vixen to vixen

adapter vixen to losmandy

dual saddle EQG


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Domerman
Just Lucky, I Guess.
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Reged: 07/21/07

Loc: PA
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: TheMenace]
      #2947199 - 02/24/09 03:11 PM

Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to mention. I don't have the mount yet, but I'm planning on purchasing the Sirius EQ-G.

I'm pretty sure I need the vixen saddle but I do not know which rings I need for my two refractors.


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TheMenace
sage
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Reged: 10/21/08

Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Domerman]
      #2947327 - 02/24/09 04:13 PM

The scope will most likely come with rings and vixen dove tail,but if you buy used,you may need to buy extra sets.

http://www.scopestuff.com/ss_rings.htm

http://www.scopestuff.com/ss_scops.htm


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Domerman
Just Lucky, I Guess.
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Reged: 07/21/07

Loc: PA
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: TheMenace]
      #2947349 - 02/24/09 04:19 PM

Will these rings screw on to this ADM dovetail?

http://www.admaccessories.com/ADM%20Products/VDUP.htm


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Trebor777
Hazy
*****

Reged: 01/04/08

Loc: Connecticut - U.S.
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Domerman]
      #2947433 - 02/24/09 05:24 PM

Don't mean to jump in here - but I am.

Would it make more sense for me to piggyback (which I have been doing) my AT80ED on my SN10 (on Atlas EQ-G) or to mount them side by side.

The SN10 is a beast, while the AT80ED looks like a finderscope on it. I'm thinking that side by side would make balancing more of a pain. If I had 2 similar size scopes, side by side would definitely make more sense, but the difference between the 2 sizes has me questioning - hence my question.


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jrcrillyAdministrator
Refractor wienie no more
*****

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Trebor777]
      #2947629 - 02/24/09 07:15 PM

Quote:

If I had 2 similar size scopes, side by side would definitely make more sense, but the difference between the 2 sizes has me questioning - hence my question.




Balance is balance. There's no difference between balancing two identical loads and balancing two widely dissimilar ones. The dual plate is positioned wherever it needs to be to place the center of gravity over the DEC axis.


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TheMenace
sage
*****

Reged: 10/21/08

Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Domerman]
      #2947723 - 02/24/09 07:58 PM

Quote:

Will these rings screw on to this ADM dovetail?

http://www.admaccessories.com/ADM%20Products/VDUP.htm




The holes make mounting the dove tail pretty easy.
The clam shell rings have threads to accept bolts from underneath,through the dove tail.

The link you provided should work fine as long as you use the holes outside the mounting head of the mount,as they protrude on the underside of the dove tail.


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CounterWeight
Postmaster
*****

Reged: 10/05/08

Loc: Cloudyopolis, OR.
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: jrcrilly]
      #2947726 - 02/24/09 08:01 PM

John, mark, everyone,

Thanks for the answers ... great informational thread. Steve thanks for asking the question.


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Samir Kharusi
Carpal Tunnel
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Reged: 06/14/05

Loc: Oman
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: CounterWeight]
      #2948153 - 02/25/09 12:30 AM

Quote:

Garry, quite an eyepiece turret there WOW.

I am thinking of going in this direction (side by side) with my CGE, and also have a bunch of questions. Soup to nuts really. I was looking at Cassidy products and there was a triple plate that got me thinkin'...Taks on the outboard and the 80ed 'tween...

Looking through the CGEM manual I saw there was a setting for this type setup... what needs to be done differently to accomplish this on a CGE? Or should I ask how are folks doing this on a CGE? Who all makes saddle plates and all the goodies? Thanks.



I would not load up a CGE too much if one of the OTAs is already a C11. The Casady saddles are for serious stuff, heavy enough to cope with even a couple of C14s. They are heavy, before you put any OTA on. So I would suggest that you restrict yourself to a C11 plus something very light, otherwise you are just destroying the performance of the CGE unnecessarily. For minimal weight you could consider a kangaroo joey arrangement, C14 with an autoguider under it, on a CGE:


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t.r.
Post Laureate
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Reged: 02/14/08

Loc: Upstate NY
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Samir Kharusi]
      #2948431 - 02/25/09 07:43 AM

With the ADM side-by-side plate, is there only a 10" center to center or is there a longer one? The C-11 with a 115mm leaves an inch of clearance, could I get a 120mm tube in there???

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t.r.
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Reged: 02/14/08

Loc: Upstate NY
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: t.r.]
      #2948432 - 02/25/09 07:44 AM

Add: I'd like to mount a C-11 with the 130GT on the CGE...

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jrcrillyAdministrator
Refractor wienie no more
*****

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: t.r.]
      #2948439 - 02/25/09 07:51 AM Attachment (44 downloads)

Quote:

With the ADM side-by-side plate, is there only a 10" center to center or is there a longer one? The C-11 with a 115mm leaves an inch of clearance, could I get a 120mm tube in there???




I don't remember the center to center distance of the Losmandy DSBS, but I had no problem mounting a C11 beside a VX120NA on that. I could have gone bigger yet (those three point adjustable rings add quite a bit of diameter; I believe they were 160mm ID).

Edited by jrcrilly (02/25/09 07:54 AM)


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JerryWise
Postmaster
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Reged: 12/26/03

Loc: Lexington, SC
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Canadian]
      #2948502 - 02/25/09 08:48 AM

Quote:

Quote:

The side by side lets you mount 4 scopes instead of two.





How many?






Just plain wow. I've never seen so many Takahashis on one mount..... ever. Way to go. (I think one buried in the center is in backwards. Of course that could be a super widefield setup.)




DISCLAIMER: This was subtle humor. No brand slam intended or implied. While white is used by Tak I know full well the white scopes are Astro-Physics models. Take the humor with a grain of salt.


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t.r.
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Reged: 02/14/08

Loc: Upstate NY
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: JerryWise]
      #2948764 - 02/25/09 11:22 AM

Thanks John C, just what I needed...do you think the mount would be fine pushing 15#GT + 27#C11 +5#accessories or too much in side by side mode?

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t.r.
Post Laureate
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Reged: 02/14/08

Loc: Upstate NY
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: Domerman]
      #2948774 - 02/25/09 11:28 AM

Another question, the way the DSBS goes on the mount, requires the slot to be 90 degrees from polar, does this not throw off the encoders for GoTo???

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JerryWise
Postmaster
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Reged: 12/26/03

Loc: Lexington, SC
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: t.r.]
      #2948797 - 02/25/09 11:39 AM

Quote:

Another question, the way the DSBS goes on the mount, requires the slot to be 90 degrees from polar, does this not throw off the encoders for GoTo???




Good question. That very thing gave me a fit on the CGE. There are a number of threads dealing with that on the CGE. AP mounts it doesn't bother in the least. Well, there is the issue of orthogonal alignment which seems to crop up more on side by side mounting. This is where the scopes always point a little higher or lower than the true polar axis when moving from east to west. Especially on a double plate. This will nick the gotos even on the best of mounts. You can shim it out but if you change scopes a lot the shimming takes more time than dealing with it. I always sync on a bright star near a new object anyway do the gotos are always dead on regardless of orthogonal alignment.


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t.r.
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Reged: 02/14/08

Loc: Upstate NY
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: JerryWise]
      #2948802 - 02/25/09 11:42 AM

So for the CGE Jerry, you sync each time before a move...I did read somewhere there is a feature in the Hand Controller to set it up to read Side by side...anyone doing this and elaborate please?

Edited by t.r. (02/25/09 11:43 AM)


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CounterWeight
Postmaster
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Reged: 10/05/08

Loc: Cloudyopolis, OR.
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: JerryWise]
      #2948831 - 02/25/09 11:52 AM

Not sure if I'll be using the sxs setup with the C11, I am more interested in using for the refractors, am just plain uncomfortable with them that high riding on the C11... had my 102 on top and it worked perfectly. But the 128 or especially the 130... 'nyet - ne hachoo'(no-I dont want).

Of course having the C11 an option doesn't hurt, and I'd be all about a solution that includes more than excludes, like t.r. posted, a C11 with a 128/130, and an 80 somewhere sounds pretty good too. Sure it's loading the mount a bit bit I think the CGE will tote it.

I am liking these refractors so much ... the SCT hasn't seen much light lately - other than some CCD testing I've been almost exclusively using the 128 and 130 with the 80.

Another question - what if I dont want to use 3 pointers and just go with any of the clamp rings... are 3 pointers really necessary? Is that to make one for aligment scope?


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mclewis1
Thread Killer
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Reged: 02/25/06

Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: t.r.]
      #2948832 - 02/25/09 11:53 AM

My "about one inch of clearance" comment was from the edge of the split rings. Different scopes with different rings will all be, well, different in the spacing available.

The ADM and Losmandy side by side setups are 10" center of one saddle to the other. The plate is actually 14" wide so if you had a very tight configuration you could easily drill a couple of different mounting holes for the saddle a little farther apart.

47 lbs is not too much for a CGE visually, but it's more than I would be comfortable with if I was imaging with the C11. I could probably make it work but it's not something that I'd plan to do on a regular basis. When I image with the C11 I replace the 115mm refractor with an 80mm autoguiding setup, this saves about 7 lbs or so. It might be even better to consider Samir's suggestion of a very minimal autoguider (something in the 50-60mm range, much like the KWIK package from KW Telescope KWIK ).

The issue with the 90° setup is that the CGE has home position switches (and therefore unlike the CG5 and CGEM knows when it starts out 90° from it's home position) and requires a Declination offset to be entered into the HC. Early fimrware seemed to handle this, and as John mentioned later versions seemed to mess it up. Today there are two simple fixes, one is to purchase the ADM CGE adapter which rotates the stock saddle 90° or simply use the new 4.15 firmware which has a specific capability to handle side by side setups.


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t.r.
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Reged: 02/14/08

Loc: Upstate NY
Re: Advantages of side by side setup? new [Re: mclewis1]
      #2948885 - 02/25/09 12:27 PM

Thanks Mark, I'm visual only...It would be a Killer rig!

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