I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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man1
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I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

#1

Post by man1 »


Howdy....
I haven't been on for a while as said, but thought I share what my setup looks right now. I have to say up front, I am not into astro
photography - even with the xt10i, I use my binoculars just as much as the dobs. Several things always bothered me on the dobs,
the bumpy adjustments and the focuser that cannot handle the weight properly of my bino viewer plus the lenses.

I ended up installing a lazy Susan from Lee Valley. The original base of the xt10i is sitting on a platform that I can level. The rubber
legs of the xt10i fit directly in some pre-drilled holes on that platform. I made my own motorized focuser, as well as Az and elevation
interfaces - all use gear motors and are controlled via PWM. The resolution is variable from extremely fine to a reasonable speed
to get there (today). On the pictures you can see the fw/rev and the speed control for each...plus a master on/off switch. All is powered
by a Lipo battery that is inside the hand controller. The Lipo is a 4S and all motors are 12V worm drive units. I use my iPhone as
the compass, it doesn't show in the pictures, because I took the pictures with it.

One thing I wanted to mention - this setup is perfect for tracking - no matter what, after a few tweaks on the el/az the object
stays centered for a very long time. No more bumping and constant adjusting to follow the object..... it works super well!

Also upgraded my tripod to a fluid head setup, which works really well. It makes it so easy to swap binoculars, they all have the
matching foot for the head already installed - just slides in and lock. I also added another pair of binoculars - I seem to be a
collector....lol... Aiming made super easy with a rifle scope permanently mounted on top.

Anyway - as we get older sometimes health gets a bit in the way..... and that 5 foot high jump straight up in the air - without
taking a run at it - seems to be not as high any more..... ;-)

Cheers to all.... clear skies....
Manfred

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Orion XT10i custom, Orion GiantView BT-70, Bushnell Natureview 20-60x65, Barska 25-125x80
SkySafari6 Pro & 7 Pro, SkyFi 3, ASI290MC, T7C
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

#2

Post by Gordon »


Looks like a great setup!!!
Gordon
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED80CF, Skywatcher 200 Quattro Imaging Newt, SeeStar S50 for EAA.
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-g mount & Skywatcher EQ5 Pro.
ZWO mini guider.
Image cameras: ZWO ASI1600 MM Cool, ZWO ASI533mc-Pro, ZWO ASI174mm-C (for use with my Quark chromosphere), ZWO ASI120MC
Filters: LRGB, Ha 7nm, O-III 7nm, S-II 7nm
Eyepieces: a few.
Primary software: Cartes du Ciel, N.I.N.A, StarTools V1.4.

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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

#3

Post by Ylem »


Nice work!
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



Orion 80ED
Celestron C5, 6SE, Celestar 8
Vixen Porta Mount ll
Coronado PST
A big box of Plossls
Little box of filters
:D



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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by Thefatkitty »


I'm not sure which I like better; the bino's or the scope! Glad you got the pictures sorted, some really nice engineering going on there!

Nicely done on all counts and all the best,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by OzEclipse »


Nice mods. I use a pair of 9x63 binoculars on a very large solid Manfrotto 475B tripod. I really like the setup and yours looks similar.

There was a commercial product available many years ago (can't remember the name, but maybe a JMI product) which had simple variable speed control on alt and az. It apparently works quite well, except at the zenith :lol:
Joe
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Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members)
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by helicon »


Nice Manfred. Glad that you are back on as well.
-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
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by Makuser »


Hello Manfred. A nice photo gallery of your XT10i and bino viewer setup. This is some nice craft work and looks to be a really versatile setup for you. Thanks for sharing your updates and photos with us Manfred and welcome back to the TSS forum.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by man1 »


helicon wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 1:24 pm Nice Manfred. Glad that you are back on as well.
Thanks... It's nice to be back!
Orion XT10i custom, Orion GiantView BT-70, Bushnell Natureview 20-60x65, Barska 25-125x80
SkySafari6 Pro & 7 Pro, SkyFi 3, ASI290MC, T7C
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by man1 »


OzEclipse wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 12:44 am Nice mods. I use a pair of 9x63 binoculars on a very large solid Manfrotto 475B tripod. I really like the setup and yours looks similar.

There was a commercial product available many years ago (can't remember the name, but maybe a JMI product) which had simple variable speed control on alt and az. It apparently works quite well, except at the zenith :lol:
Joe
Hi Joe,
Your Manfrotto 475B is top notch, I wish I had the vertical adjustment on mine. I have to adjust the
length of the legs, but with the fast locking clips it is not to bad.

Manne
Orion XT10i custom, Orion GiantView BT-70, Bushnell Natureview 20-60x65, Barska 25-125x80
SkySafari6 Pro & 7 Pro, SkyFi 3, ASI290MC, T7C
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by man1 »


Makuser wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 1:51 pm Hello Manfred. A nice photo gallery of your XT10i and bino viewer setup. This is some nice craft work and looks to be a really versatile setup for you. Thanks for sharing your updates and photos with us Manfred and welcome back to the TSS forum.
Thanks, I am glad to be back.....

Manne
Orion XT10i custom, Orion GiantView BT-70, Bushnell Natureview 20-60x65, Barska 25-125x80
SkySafari6 Pro & 7 Pro, SkyFi 3, ASI290MC, T7C
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Re: I haven't been on for a while.... but thought I share some of my changes to my orion xt10i

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Post by OzEclipse »


man1 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:22 am
OzEclipse wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 12:44 am Nice mods. I use a pair of 9x63 binoculars on a very large solid Manfrotto 475B tripod. I really like the setup and yours looks similar.

There was a commercial product available many years ago (can't remember the name, but maybe a JMI product) which had simple variable speed control on alt and az. It apparently works quite well, except at the zenith :lol:
Joe
Hi Joe,
Your Manfrotto 475B is top notch, I wish I had the vertical adjustment on mine. I have to adjust the
length of the legs, but with the fast locking clips it is not to bad.

Manne
Hi Manne
Yes the vertical adjustment is very convenient. When using binoculars, when I want to look higher in the sky or adjust the height for vertically challenged friends, I just wind the column up and down.
Joe
Image
Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members)
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