Modified Orion bino mount

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KathyNS Canada
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Modified Orion bino mount

#1

Post by KathyNS »


The Orion bino mount is fine, but it irritated me for a couple of reasons. The parallelogram is too short for use with a chair unless you sit with a tripod leg between your knees. And the counterweight is not enough to balance my 20x80 binos. I had to use an auxiliary magnetic weight to balance it.

It is a fairly simple modification to extend the arms, using 1" square aluminum tubing. I started by doing some arithmetic to determine the placement of a pivot points that would allow the stock counterweight to balance the binos in the middle of its range. The result is that the counterweight arm is proportionately longer than before.

The upper arm of the parallelogram changed from 24" to 48" in total length. In the photo, I have positioned the stock arms (black) on top of the modified arms (bare aluminum) to show the extent of the modification.
P1160005-1000px.JPG
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DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
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BamaDon United States of America
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Re: Modified Orion bino mount

#2

Post by BamaDon »


Nice work! Very inspirational!
Don
Scopes: Criterion RV-6; 8" f/8 homebuilt; 10" Cave OTA; 12.5" Dobsonian; Celestron C11 Mounts: Losmandy G11 Eyepieces: ES 82° 24, 18, 14, 11, 8.8, 6.7, 4.7; Meade RG: Erfle 20; Ortho 16.8, 10.5, 7 Binoculars: Orion Ultraview 10x50; Filters: DGM NPB, O-III; Orion SkyGlow; DSLR: Canon t6i
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JayTee United States of America
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Re: Modified Orion bino mount

#3

Post by JayTee »


Would that mount hold a pair of 25 x 100s?

JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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SkyHiker United States of America
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Re: Modified Orion bino mount

#4

Post by SkyHiker »


Wow the Orion monster mount is probably what you should have got but it's $550. One more argument for 90 degree binos on a regular tripod. All that money and DIY modification may not be worth it. Nice mod BTW, looks simple for a whole lot less than the monster mount.
... Henk. :D Telescopes: GSO 12" Astrograph, "Comet Hunter" MN152, ES ED127CF, ES ED80, WO Redcat51, Z12, AT6RC, Celestron Skymaster 20x80, Mounts and tripod: Losmandy G11S with OnStep, AVX, Tiltall, Cameras: ASI2600MC, ASI2600MM, ASI120 mini, Fuji X-a1, Canon XSi, T6, ELPH 100HS, DIY: OnStep controller, Pi4b/power rig, Afocal adapter, Foldable Dob base, Az/Alt Dob setting circles, Accessories: ZWO 36 mm filter wheel, TV Paracorr 2, Baader MPCC Mk III, ES FF, SSAG, QHY OAG-M, EAF electronic focuser, Plossls, Barlows, Telrad, Laser collimators (Seben LK1, Z12, Howie Glatter), Cheshire, 2 Orion RACIs 8x50, Software: KStars-Ekos, DSS, PHD2, Nebulosity, Photo Gallery, Gimp, CHDK, Computers:Pi4b, 2x running KStars/Ekos, Toshiba Satellite 17", Website:Henk's astro images
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10538 United States of America
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Re: Modified Orion bino mount

#5

Post by 10538 »


Thanks Kathy! Nice mod! I have the Orion mount and been thinking about doing the same thing! Thanks for the help!
Ed :Astronomer1:
Scopes: Orion 14 inch f/4.6 Dobsonian w/MoonLite focuser. Meade LX200 Classic 10”w/AudioStar and MoonLite focuser, Criterion RV6, Orion ST80A w/2” GSO micro focuser.
Eyepieces: ES 5.5mm 100*, 6.7mm 82*, 11mm 82*, 14mm 100*, 18mm 82*, 20mm 100*, Meade 9mm XWA 100*, 24mm UWA 82*, 56mm 50*, TV Delos 6,8 & 10mm, Panoptic 24, 27 & 35mm, 17mm Nagler, Powermate 2X, Baader 6mm Ortho, Paracorr II.
MISC: William Optics Binoviewer, Revolution 2 Imager, Orion Skyview Pro Mount, Skymaster 15x70, 20x70, 25x100 Binos, HoTech Collimator, Kendrick Dew System,Catsperch Chair.
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KathyNS Canada
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Re: Modified Orion bino mount

#6

Post by KathyNS »


JayTee wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 2:59 am Would that mount hold a pair of 25 x 100s?

JT
What do they weigh? The 20x80s weigh 5 lbs. There is a bit of room to adjust the counterweight. If they are substantially heavier, you would have to recalculate the weight-and-balance. You might have to use sturdier tubing, too.
Image
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
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Re: Modified Orion bino mount

#7

Post by pakarinen »


Nice mod, but unfortunate that it was necessary after shelling out money for the original.
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I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
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AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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