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Bought this lightweight mount (go to controller not included) on CN for just $39 to use with my 60mm to 80mm scopes for a quick Grab & Go. It's not supposed to be too picky with which Meade controller it uses and I have a few I can pick from!
The clamshell is made to fit a 90mm refractor, so luckily I had some 3mm self-stick felt strips to attach to the inside of the clamshell to fit my Meade 80mm f/5 scope. There's an L-bracket I just bought that will allow me to attach my 60mm scopes. This 80mm scope is a little heavy, so I'll probably change out the finder for a lightweight red dot to help lighten the load.
Here it is looking at the sunspots today (with non-"go to" controller). That's our dog Juno, sharing the spotlight! Can't weight to see how it performs at night! Now what did I do with that red dot finder..........?
Attachments
Bruce
Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15. Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains. Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts. Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces. Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
Looks like a great little mount and not expensive!
-Michael Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50 Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl Camera: ZWO ASI 120 Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs Latitude: 48.7229° N
Great deal! Sounds like it was an easy modification. Have fun with it!
Thanks for introducing your dog. My previous dog was Juno. Rottweiler/Lab mix. A wonderful pup!
Jim
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), ZWO OAG, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, ASI 220mm mini , IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
I have a fully functional Meade DS2102 scope and mount. The mount is the same as yours, the scope that fits in it is a 102 mm f8 refractor. It has no problem motoring this OTA around the sky. Although I do call the mount "moaning Mona". It is by far the loudest slewing and running mount that I own. But it works and the go-to's are usually close enough. So I think your mount can handle a bit more weight than you think.
∞ 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 EQ6R, 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 ∞ AP Gear: ZWO EAF and mini EFW and the Optolong L-eXteme filter ∞ 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."
AstroBee wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2023 2:39 am
$39, hard to beat! I hope it works well with your other controllers.
I have 2 AutoStar #497 HC's. The first one I plugged into the mount would not work. Then I realized it was version 22E from 2001. It works fine for my ETX90, but would only let me choose between an ETX60 or ETX70 and neither worked for this mount! I really need to update this HC!
Luckily, my other 497 is version 43E and works fine for a 2102 mount. I did a "mock-alignment" with it today along with several Go To's and it operated smoothly and pointed in the right direction for the objects I chose using Stellarium for locations, so I'm quite happy.
It works okay with the 492 HC you see in the photo, but of course the 492 does not have auto tracking ability.
Bruce
Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15. Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains. Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts. Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces. Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
Ha! I got the mount's model number wrong in the post title! It's really a Meade DS 2102, not a DS 2120. If an administrator can correct this, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!
Bruce
Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15. Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains. Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts. Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces. Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
StarBru wrote: ↑Sun Nov 26, 2023 1:21 am
Ha! I got the mount's model number wrong in the post title! It's really a Meade DS 2102, not a DS 2120. If an administrator can correct this, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!
I have a fully functional Meade DS2102 scope and mount. The mount is the same as yours, the scope that fits in it is a 102 mm f8 refractor. It has no problem motoring this OTA around the sky. Although I do call the mount "moaning Mona". It is by far the loudest slewing and running mount that I own. But it works and the go-to's are usually close enough. So I think your mount can handle a bit more weight than you think.
Thanks, JayTee! I read and enjoyed your post from 2020 about this mount. I was able to shave off a whole pound from my scope by replacing the 50mm finder with a red dot, and you're right, it seems able to handle the weight of my 5 pound scope just fine, although it is still a little top heavy. I would like to cut down on the vibration a little though. I thought hanging a weighted bag from the top of the tripod legs might help. I don't think a weight hung from the tripod spreader will work, but I haven't tried either method yet.
Bruce
Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15. Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains. Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts. Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces. Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.