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midnite4blues
sage
Reged: 11/21/05
Posts: 236
Loc: Denville, NJ
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I have had my DSV-1 mount for a long time and I am very pleased with it. I ordered the dual head version to mount 2 scopes side-by-side (similar to many others like the Giro, WO, Orion, etc). I have the instructions on how to align the 2 heads so that they will point the scopes at the same object, but I honestly have never spent that much time trying to align them. Part of the problem is that I have a very wooded yard, so I don't have any distant objects that I can use to align with during the day. So, I have been only using the mount with one scope at a time up til now.
So, my questions are for anyone that has a mount like this. I realize there might be different mechanisms to align them, but in concept they are the same.
Are there any tricks you have found helpful in aligning the 2 heads?
Once you align them, do you find that it keeps alignment even if you remove a scope or do you have to realign them each time?
How accurate do you get them aligned? ie. if you center an object in one, will it be dead center in the other?
All input is appreciated.
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Ted
Orion 180mm Mak-Cass
Orion SpaceProbe 130ST
Celestron Onyx 80 EDF
Antares EQ-5 mount
Desert Sky DSV-1 mount
Stellarvue BV3 binoviewer
Eyepiece pairs: 25mm TV Plossl, 23mm SV FMC, 16mm Meade S5k SWA
Single eyepieces: 32mm & 7.5mm Orion HL Plossl, 26mm Meade S5k Plossl, 6mm & 4mm B/TMB Planetary
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oldsalt
Astro Philosopher
Reged: 02/12/05
Posts: 8677
Loc: Pa - between starparties
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Try to align them using the same magnification if at all possible. Also a reticule eyepice is a gtreat plus for aiding in centering objects.
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There are no winners in war, only bigger losers.
Jim
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Starlighter
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/03/07
Posts: 4494
Loc: Sunny California
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One more thing to consider. Most dual head mounts cannot be adjusted to compensate for parallax. That would mean one head would need to tilt in the azimuth direction. You can only line up the altitude. So once you line up to say Polaris, you'll have to slew over to see it in the second scope.
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Celestron C4-R 102mm achromat
Celeston Nexstar 6SE SCT
Meade 80mm APO Triplet
Televue NP-101
Televue TV-85
Vixen A70Lf
Vixen A80Mf
William Optics 66mm Zenithstar Patriot
Celestron CG4 EQ mount
Orion Skyview Pro AZ mount
Vixen Portamount
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mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3961
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
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Rare to see two scopes accurately aligned (dead center) without using 3 point rings ... but for most setups you should be able to get the scopes aligned close enough for visual pointing. Both scopes should be able to show you the same object when using lower powered eyepieces. It does take a little fiddling but the results will make more enjoyable viewing.
Use the play around the bolts to your advantage. Slightly loosening the mounting bolts for the saddle or on the dovetail bars will allow you some freedom of movement. If you need to adjust in a direction where the bolts won't help you consider using metal shims underneath the dovetail or saddle mounting bolts.
Start off by eyeballing everything and get the two scopes as close as possible using a level on the otas. One of the hardest things is being able to reproduce a shift in a particular direction, so sometimes you need to practice just barely loosening a bolt and then putting a little pressure on the mount in one direction, then carefully removing a scope and tightening down the mounting bolt. I've also found that tilting the whole setup 90° and using a level on the side of an ota can sometimes really help get two scopes into the same ball park pointing wise.
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Mark
C11, C6, APM/TMB115, and AT80ED - Tandem mount CGE and CG-5A, WO EZ-Touch and AT Voyager
25x100s and 8x56s, T-Mount Light, Mark 1 eyeballs - Modded 350D, DSI-P, SPC900, Mallincam
Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean that you should
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