Mount / tripod orientation?

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Larry 1969 United States of America
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Mount / tripod orientation?

#1

Post by Larry 1969 »


Hello all!

I got my new EQ6-R Pro and have it all assembled waiting for my OTA to arrive and I've been fooling around a bit trying to understand polar alignment and also installing EQmod to eliminate the hand controller.

Here's the question: On the top of the tripod (where the mount sits) is a lug that the azimuth screws tighten against. I noticed it looks possible to orient this lug 180 degrees. The way it is assembled now I have to set 2 legs north and 1 leg south.
This puts the south facing leg right behind my polar scope eyepiece... Would it be advisable to move the lug to the other position and have 1 leg north and 2 south? It would seem a bit easier but I don't want to cause any problems. This hobby
already comes with a steep enough learning curve. I don't need to sabotage myself!

Thanks!

Larry
For visual:
10" Skywatcher collapsible goto dob, various EP's and a Celestron StarSense auto align.

For imaging:
Orion 8" astrograph 800mm @ F3.9
Eq6-R Pro controlled by APT via EQmod with an OTA mounted mini PC
Tele Vue Paracorr Type 2 coma corrector
Altair Hypercam 26C
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UlteriorModem
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Re: Mount / tripod orientation?

#2

Post by UlteriorModem »


Yes typically the mount is oriented with one leg facing north.

It really does not matter unless you run into some physical constraints. But it makes things a bit easier.

I put down paver stones at my imaging location so I can get pretty close from the get go each time for setup.
Tom

Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
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Larry 1969 United States of America
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Re: Mount / tripod orientation?

#3

Post by Larry 1969 »


Thank you!
I will switch it around.

Larry
For visual:
10" Skywatcher collapsible goto dob, various EP's and a Celestron StarSense auto align.

For imaging:
Orion 8" astrograph 800mm @ F3.9
Eq6-R Pro controlled by APT via EQmod with an OTA mounted mini PC
Tele Vue Paracorr Type 2 coma corrector
Altair Hypercam 26C
Image
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Arsene37
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Re: Mount / tripod orientation?

#4

Post by Arsene37 »


Hello !
I would say : one leg north for a reflector or two legs north for a refractor (most easy for the chair !)
Arsène
Petzval quadruplet 152/760 on iOptron CEM25P — XX12 Orion Skyquest — 5.5" Celestron Comet Catcher (40 years old) — Perl-Vixen 130 mm/720 mm EQ — 8 mmm, 17mm and 31 mm aspheric Hyperion — BST Explorer ED 5 mm — Baader MPCC II — Leica EP 20x-60x — 2x Barlow — TS Optics Binoculars 20x80 Triplet.
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John Fitzgerald United States of America
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Re: Mount / tripod orientation?

#5

Post by John Fitzgerald »


One leg north seems more stable to me, since in a German equatorial mount, a north facing leg is directly under the counterweight when the cw is at the bottom of its swing.
Double and multiple star observer. Over 3,500 unique pairs logged.

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