Mounting a Guide Scope

Hi all,

I wounder if any of you guys can help me with this. I recently bought kwiq (8 x 50) guider and Celestron Onyx 80EDF (Thanks Kevin) to add to my C8N and CG5 GOTO mount. The main reason for buying the kwiq guider was to save on weight for my very limited mount. I bought the Onyx for widefield targets and plan to use it from September to Feb and then witch to the C8N for galaxies from then until the summer months. I thought it would be just a matter of witching the kwiq guider between them using the standard mounting bracket. However the Onyx doest not has a base for attaching a finder to.

So I have two options right?
1: Buy a set of mounting rings and dovetail for the Onyx and a set of guide rings and mounting bar for the kwiq guider (Finderscope), then witch the kwiq guider between the Onyx and the C8N as needed thus saving a lot on weight but probably leaving a considerable hole in my pocket.

2: Buy a set of guide rings and bar for the Onyx and attach it to the C8N. Mount the two scopes on the CG5 together and attach a guide camera to one and my imaging camera to the other. This way, I forget about the 8 x 50 as a guide and sell it. However this will be considerably heavier and probably push the CG5 beyond its limit.

Can any of you vastly experience guys on here tell me which is the best approach or is there another way that I am just not seeing.

Thanks for reading,

Brendan
www.DonegalSkies.com

Hi Brendan,

I’m not familiar with the Onyx scope but check to see if there is a threaded hole (5/6mm)
near the focuser end of the scope. I have an Equinox 80mm and there was no mounting for
a finder but there is a threaded hole so I got a finder mounting bracket from
Scopes and Skies about £7.

But as the bracket has fixings for two screws one on each side it’s hard to get a snug fit
using only one screw
So what I did was to drill a new hole in the centre of the bracket and use only one screw
and now it works a treat with my 8x50 finder /guider.


Hope this helps
Tony

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the reply. I found it very helpful. I did come across this yesterday. Dovetail Base for WO, Equinox Looks like exactly what you did. I am just going to double check the scope for a suitable hole when I get home and then probably order it as I wound have to buy a finder base anyway.

Thanks again,

Brendan
www.DonegalSkies.com