HELP with My Lidl 102mm Refractor

Hello,

Got the 102mm refractor from Lidl yesterday. Lovely looking thing. Pic of it below.

As you can see, I got it mostly set up. However the scope will not elevate beyond 50 degrees, I am not sure why(its prob something simple) and more importantly the scope will not stay in an elevated position and wants to go to back to the horizontal position as in the picture. Its prob not balanced correctly or there is too much weight at the front/ or too little at the back. Would appreciate your help. You guys know lots more about scopes than I do, this should be an easy one!

Neill

Hi Neill,

Before using a German equatorial mount you need to set the polar axis, at the moment yours is not set. Once that's done one of the features of the mount is that you have to flip the telescope when you cross the zenith, which may be why you're being limited in the way you describe.

This web page has pictures and instructions: funnyyouasked.com/Equatorial_Mount_Setup...guide_to_setting.htm If it still doesn't work after doing this and balancing the scope then it could be mechanical.

By the way, if your intention was to use the mount in AltAz mode, you need to jack the polar axis all the way up to the vertical. Not all equatorial mounts allow that and I haven't checked this particular one

This web page has pictures and instructions: funnyyouasked.com/Equatorial_Mount_Setup...guide_to_setting.htm If it still doesn't work after doing this and balancing the scope then it could be mechanical.

(from the link)
Basically make the scope look like this:


The angle there should be 53 degrees ish. Then you will be able to get complete sky coverage. The equatorial mount can take a bit of getting used to.

Hi all,

Here is a bigger pic of the scope - it might help pinpoint/confirm what the problems are.

Neill

Neill

Your polar axis is set at 90 degrees, it needs to be set for your location, Dublin is 53 degrees, Antrim should be something similar. In the instruction book that comes with the scope it will tell you how to do this. It's a matter of moving the small bright metal bolts that sit on both sides between the tripos and the equatorial head. The mount should have a scale between 0 and 90, these are the degrees of longitude and if you adjust the bolts until the pointer rests at 53, then you will notice a difference. It should look like Albert's image.