Altitude adjustment

[Oz Nippon Images]

I have what might appear a silly question. I decided as an astrophotographer beginner that I should start out with a cheap second hand scope to get some experience up before buying something serious. I decided on a Saxon 80/400 refractor and have purchased a celestron Barlow lens to pump up the focal length. It came with an AZ3 mount and I understand how the az/alt flexible control cables work for fine adjustments but they only travel roughly 45 degrees from start to finish.

The az is not a problem as it has a locking knob which will allow it to spin 360 degrees and locks and unlocks very easily. The problem is the altitude adjustment, if I want to go from the horizon to 90 degrees up it appears I have to loosen the nut with a spanner, tilt it to roughly where I want it then tighten it back up again. I need it tight as I will be attaching a DSLR to the end of the scope. This doesn't seem right to me, am I supposed to carry a spanner with me evrytime I set up the tripod?

[Ruud]

A wing nut with large wings would maybe work. Something that looks like this:

https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-wing-n ... /G1640974/

[KathyNS]

I'm guessing that the original plastic knob broke, and the nut is either a cheap replacement, or it is what was left when the broken knob fell off. A wing nut is the cheap solution.

[gregl]

Ruud's suggestion is a good one. Be sure the handle wings will clear the base. If they don't, here's an alternative. The handle pulls up from it's captive nut so it can be adjusted for position. You probably only need a quarter of a turn or so to tighten or loosen so these would also work well: https://www.mcmaster.com/machine-handle ... handles-6/

[Oz Nippon Images]

Ok so the wing nut option sounds like an easy fix, I’ll get down to the hardware store and find something that’ll fit and allow plenty of purchase on the fingers. Thanks for your help, it makes sense now to hear a previous one was broken and replaced with the nut.

[Lady Fraktor]

You only want it tight enough to hold the telescope in place but loose enough you can still move the telescope

[John Baars]

I am not sure if this was the original nut. I suppose not. A winged one as supposed is a good solution.
The washers in between look corroded. Two or three new smooth and thin ones, to spread the needed force is very recommendable.