Telescope Reviews: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview

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BobH
sage

Reged: 01/03/08

Loc: Right Coast

Mount Extension for Orion Astroview
#2951678 - 02/26/09 07:52 PM

I have an Orion Astroview mount which I believe is also known as an EQ-3. I'd like to find an extension.

I see Orion has an extension for the Skyview Pro.

Anybody know if that would also work on the Astroview?

Thanks,

Bob

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Phil Frederick
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/19/05

Loc: Seattle, WA & La Paz MX

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: BobH]
#2951733 - 02/26/09 08:16 PM

Bob,

The top of the hubs on both the SVP and Astroview are very similar (leg attachment differs) and from appearances it should work on both. I'd just give Orion a call to confirm. their tech support is excellent and they should be able to tell you right away.

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BobH
sage

Reged: 01/03/08

Loc: Right Coast

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: Phil Frederick]
#2951757 - 02/26/09 08:29 PM

Quote:

Bob,

The top of the hubs on both the SVP and Astroview are very similar (leg attachment differs) and from appearances it should work on both. I'd just give Orion a call to confirm. their tech support is excellent and they should be able to tell you right away.

Phil,

Thanks. As soon as I hit the post button I thought, "Boy, that was dumb. Why not just call Orion?"

Will do tomorrow. Again, thanks.

Bob

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hudson_yak
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/15/07

Loc: Hyde Park, NY, USA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: BobH]
#2951930 - 02/26/09 10:03 PM

I bought that extension for my SVP after being convinced here that it would make my refractor viewing more comfortable. It took several months to get since they were out of stock at the time, finally showing up a few weeks ago. I used it on the tripod for all of about 10 minutes, before removing it and putting it back in the box.

The thing was heavy, 13-14 lbs, made of quite thick-walled steel. It, with the mount head on top, was way too much mass for the SVP tripod to control, damping times were excessive and any little breeze caused jiggles too. And this was with the tripod legs fully-retracted, as compared to always using the tripod with them fully-extended normally. Besides which it made the assembled tripod and mount head a real pain to carry around.

It was claimed to work ok on the CG5 tripod (2" legs as compared to 1.75"). Maybe so, but if indeed so that would have to be the minimum tolerable tripod size, in my opinion.

If you really want extra height, replacing the tripod legs with longer wooden ones would be the way to go, I now believe. My solution so far is to use my chair more often.

Mike

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BobH
sage

Reged: 01/03/08

Loc: Right Coast

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: hudson_yak]
#2953579 - 02/27/09 06:14 PM

Thanks Mike.

I was concerned that it would make for a top-heavy arrangement. Sounds like it would, especially on my little tripod.

I didn't get around to calling Orion and after your assessment, I think I'll bag it.

Bob

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Mike Foreman
sage

Reged: 04/06/07

Loc: Texas

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: hudson_yak]
#2962280 - 03/03/09 11:51 PM

Quote:

I used it on the tripod for all of about 10 minutes, before removing it and putting it back in the box.

Are you interested in selling it?

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hudson_yak
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/15/07

Loc: Hyde Park, NY, USA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: Mike Foreman]
#2963171 - 03/04/09 12:37 PM

No, I don't seem to ever sell any of my astro-rejects, never know when I might change my mind about something and wish I still had it.

I was thinking about this thing just today, in fact, wondering how it might work out if the heavy steel cylinder was replaced with something lightweight, like aluminum flashing with some foam-in-a-can stuff sprayed into it for rigidity. I'd be making it shorter, too, since I never wanted it to be that tall in the first place.

But thanks for asking...

Mike

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JimK
professor emeritus

Reged: 09/18/05

Loc: Albuquerque, NM USA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: hudson_yak]
#2964361 - 03/04/09 10:36 PM

To quote from George Duke (Equipment forum post on 10/12/07):

I have made a lot of accessories from PVC plumbing pipe and fittings. You could take a length of heavy wall PVC pipe and get a long threaded rod and just put the pipe between the head and the mount and bolt them together! Cheapest and quickest solution.

This approach would seem to be better than aluminum flashing and foam-in-a-can...

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bcuddihee
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/04/06

Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: JimK]
#2966465 - 03/05/09 09:50 PM Attachment (25 downloads)

I don't know about the extension as it relates to the Astroview but I did use it with my SVP mount and it was fantastic! No but about it, it made the mount more stable than extending the legs out. I mean this thing was rock solid. I even had an Antares 6 inch f6.5 refractor mounted on it and it was still very solid. As I said I'm nort sure how it translates to an Astroview but for the SVP I highly recommend it.
bc

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hudson_yak
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/15/07

Loc: Hyde Park, NY, USA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: bcuddihee]
#2966730 - 03/06/09 12:22 AM

Well, that was certainly not my experience. I suppose it is possible results could vary depending on the various masses involved and where the tripod is sitting, mine was on a hard surface when I tried it. It was not a good combo with the ED100, perhaps a heavier OTA works better.

Mike

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ducatirob
professor emeritus

Reged: 06/15/05

Loc: SW Ohio

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: bcuddihee]
#2966863 - 03/06/09 02:58 AM Attachment (22 downloads)

BC,
I have agree with you. I have a SVP mount with the extension and have a Meade AR-5 mounted on it and it is rock solid. I have anti-vibration pads but never use them with this setup. As you said, I don't know how it translates to an Astroview, but as far as the SVP, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. IMHO
Rob

Edited by ducatirob (03/06/09 03:20 AM)

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hudson_yak
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/15/07

Loc: Hyde Park, NY, USA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: ducatirob]
#2967184 - 03/06/09 09:35 AM

Another heavy scope. I guess there's a pattern developing here, interesting. My little ED100 vibrated like a tuning fork.

Mike

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bcuddihee
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/04/06

Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: hudson_yak]
#2967266 - 03/06/09 10:15 AM

Mike, you might want to hang your battery,(if you have the tracking motors), off the eyepiece rack. You can do this with bungee cords. This helps to "plant" the tripod a bit more securely. If you are setting up on a patio or other hard surface..hopefully not a deck, use a set of vibration suppression pads, orion, meade and celestron all carry them. That should really help. Also make sure all bolts are snugged down. They can loosen up over time.
bc

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hudson_yak
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/15/07

Loc: Hyde Park, NY, USA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: bcuddihee]
#2967322 - 03/06/09 10:46 AM

I do have the anti-vibration footpads, and they probably helped some when the extension was on, though I don't need them without it so that also made using it a tough sell. They didn't do much to keep it from moving in the breeze though.

I use a homemade triangular shelf suspended between the tripod legs at around the midpoint (when they are extended). Perhaps because of this I don't notice any increase in jiggles having the legs all the way out, like others frequently mention.

It really seems like this is some sort of resonance issue, and having the extra mass at the very top helps. My motorcycle has weights at the end of the handlebars for the same reason, to cancel some of the buzzing resonances. I imagine this extension was really meant for larger refractors like you guys have in any case, it's really taller than my scope needs.

Mike

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bcuddihee
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/04/06

Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: hudson_yak]
#2967373 - 03/06/09 11:09 AM

Mike, I also had a Williams optics zsfd 80mm mounted on it and had no issues although it was a bit tall for this scope. Maybe just cutting it down to 1/2 size might do the trick. You would have to re drill the holes but that's not a biggie. Perhaps shortening it would stop the resonating. Sometimes it doesn't take much tweaking to eliminate this sort of thing.
Good luck and hope it works out.
bc

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hudson_yak
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/15/07

Loc: Hyde Park, NY, USA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: bcuddihee]
#2968097 - 03/06/09 04:44 PM

Thanks, I'll experiment. I happened to be looking at an unrelated thread just now and saw this, another one not liking results with a 100mm-class refractor. So it isn't just me, anyway.

Mike

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rathbaster
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 03/21/08

Loc: East Bridgewater, MA

Re: Mount Extension for Orion Astroview new

new

[Re: ducatirob]
#2968821 - 03/06/09 11:43 PM

The Orion pillar will indeed mount on the CG-5.

My 76.2mm F/16 vintage Tasco rides steadily atop it.

-Joe

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