Some of my gear for lunar and planetary observing

[Scopeman]

My Skymax 180, SW EQ6R Pro mount, IOptron Tri-Pier, WO FLT91 Apo Triplet refractor and Celestron 127Mak. Lost my mojo a bit after losing my Dad in the latter part of last year, need some inspiration to get me going again.

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Scopeman

[Nightspore]

Sorry to hear about your dad. The gear looks good. IIRC correctly the silver-grey 127mm Celestron Mak's were bundled with a GOTO.

[Scopeman]

Thank you. Yes, that's right, the mount was an SLT GoTo mount, not the best for stability but the Alt/Az GoTo works well.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Scopeman

[Nightspore]

57 minutes ago, Scopeman said:

Thank you. Yes, that's right, the mount was an SLT GoTo mount, not the best for stability but the Alt/Az GoTo works well.

 

I nearly bought one just to get a 127mm Mak with a dovetail in the same place.

 

 

Eventually I managed to buy one bundled with an AZ5, which I didn't originally want.

 

 

The AZ5 ended up being used a lot with my smaller scopes. I never thought the AZ5 quite carried the 127mm.

 

 

I always intended it for the Porta II.

 

 

[Scopeman]

That's nice, is it a manual mount? Tripod looks nice and sturdy. My Celestron 127 is a nice scope, good optics, I might see if I can get a small alt/az GoTo mount for a quick set up.

 

[Nightspore]

4 minutes ago, Scopeman said:

That's nice, is it a manual mount? Tripod looks nice and sturdy. My Celestron 127 is a nice scope, good optics, I might see if I can get a small alt/az GoTo mount for a quick set up.

 

 

It's manual. It's a Porta II mount on a Vixen TL-130 tripod. It's very versatile.

 

[Scopeman]

Does the mount fit with no adaptors of any kind? I'd like something like this as a grab and go for the 127Mak. I assume you had to but that tripod seperately? Wondering if that mount head would fit on my EQ^R Pro tripod

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Scopeman

[Scopeman]

Got the mount, it is coming tomorrow, going to see if I can fit the mount on my EQ6R Pro tripod that I'm not using atm.

Edited October 12, 2022 by Scopeman

[Nightspore]

19 hours ago, Scopeman said:

Does the mount fit with no adaptors of any kind? I'd like something like this as a grab and go for the 127Mak. I assume you had to but that tripod seperately? Wondering if that mount head would fit on my EQ^R Pro tripod

 

 

They're both Vixen so they are compatible with each other. In fact you can buy the combination bundled. I have two of these, the first was bought as a bundle. Vixen have three tripods. Bresser sell them. The only difference between my two is that the bundled tripod had Vixen written in red on the legs.

 

 

 

[Scopeman]

Thanks for that. The Hal-30 looks quite like the one that comes with the mount. I was going to try and use my EQ6 pripod but I don't think it is going to work, I'll try and see what the tripod is like that comes with it, the Vixens are a bit pricey for what thaey are.

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by Scopeman

[Nightspore]

1 hour ago, Scopeman said:

Thanks for that. The Hal-30 looks quite like the one that comes with the mount. I was going to try and use my EQ6 pripod but I don't think it is going to work, I'll try and see what the tripod is like that comes with it, the Vixens are a bit pricey for what thaey are.

 

 

You're welcome. My original Porta II came with the standard Vixen tripod. I bought the HAL later.

 

 

You can see it above and below. My ST80 was pretty stable like this. Unfortunately I found the HAL a bit heavy with my disability. 

 

 

If I'm up to it I use it with a Vixen half-pillar and put my Starwave on it. I can use 2" accessories this way.

[Scopeman]

In your opinion, which is the better, the Hal130 or the TL130? I assume on the HAL the mini pier extension is seperate, is that expensive?  Also, are to fittings on top of the Hal legs that join the top, are they metal or plastic?

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by Scopeman

[Nightspore]

39 minutes ago, Scopeman said:

In your opinion, which is the better, the Hal130 or the TL130? I assume on the HAL the mini pier extension is seperate, is that expensive?  Also, are to fittings on top of the Hal legs that join the top, are they metal or plastic?

 

 

Depends what you mean by better. The HAL will carry more weight. Although, in my experience Vixen are a bit optimistic about the load carrying potentials of their tripods. But so is every manufacturer. The half-pillar's are about 188 quid now. The HAL's fittings are all metal. It's well built, although for me it's a tad heavy. I use the pillar so the f/7, 102mm tube clears the mount. You wouldn't necessarily need it with a short OTA like a Mak. The TL-130 is lighter although there is no accessory tray. This can be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on which way you regard it. For me, it's actually a convenience, as it's less stuff to carry or put together. Swings and roundabouts. 

[Scopeman]

Lovely, thanks for all the info, I think I may go for the Hal130, just looks more sturdy to me.

[Nightspore]

19 minutes ago, Scopeman said:

Lovely, thanks for all the info, I think I may go for the Hal130, just looks more sturdy to me.

 

You're welcome. Yes, it's a nice tripod. With the pillar on the Porta II it will hold about 5kg well. My Starwave is around 4kg and 2" accessories can add a further kilo to that. 

[Scopeman]

I'll drop some images of the mount on here tomorrow once it gets here. I need to call around to see if I can get the Hal130 and I'll get that ordered once I find one.

[Scopeman]

Hi,

 

The Porta 2 arrived this morning, I think the only bit I don't like are the push on plastic controls, so ordered some proper flexible ones with the thumbscrews. First impressions are the mount seems fine, the tripod also seems quite stable, not sure it warrants paying out for the Hal-130 to be honest. The only thing I don't really like about it is the plastic leg top fittings but again I don't think it warrants laying out £200+ for the HAL-130, but that remains to be seem I guess.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Scopeman