Serendipity ...

[Nightspore]

Have you ever bought any astronomical kit that inadvertently positively changed or drastically improved your observing habits?

 

About two years ago I was seriously jonesing for a Synta 127mm Mak OTA. I had a Vixen Porta II and Hal-130 tripod combination that was used primarily for my short tube refractors. It was basically a grab and go rig, although as I have a physical disability, the tripod/mount combo still needed to be dragged down my garden on a trolley. It was very stable with short tube refractors and I was very happy with it. However, I owned a couple of Mak’s, which were also often used on the Porta II. Out of these (90mm, 102mm) the 90mm Orion saw the most use, predominantly because its dovetail was in the correct place for a Vixen mount. This puts the finder in the 11 o’clock position which can be an advantage for twilight planetary observing, particularly with a reflex sight and taking into account the small field of view with Mak’s.

 

Sky-Watcher AZ5 mount/tripod

 

As luck would have it a local retailer was advertising Sky-Watcher 127mm Mak OTA’s with the dovetail in my preferred position. As this was unusual for Sky-Watcher Mak OTA’s outside of a bundle I emailed them a few times just to make sure. I was assured that everything was hunky dory. I was initially excited as it would be perfect for the Porta II combination. When it arrived, in a nice carrying case, it looked like this (below).

 

127mm Mak with the 'wrong' dovetail

 

You can imagine my disappointment! Being this close to a 127mm Mak OTA was just too much for me and I returned it, but consequently ordered the Sky-Watcher 127mm Mak/AZ5 mount bundle. I just had to have a 127mm Mak now I’d been so close to one. I pondered that the AZ5 might come in useful for the smaller Mak’s as I initially preferred the extra stability of the Porta II/Hal-130 for the 127mm.

 

 

Sky-Watcher 127mm Mak on the AZ5

 

 

The AZ5 was a strong, lightweight combo with a spreader tray, good slo mo controls which even had the knobs pre-attached, and the entire ensemble could be set up very quickly. I figured it might get some occasional use. Recently I've even been mounting the 127mm Mak on the AZ5 rather than the Porta II.

 

 

AZ5 in my old Newtonian OTA bag

 
I then discovered that I could carry it relatively easily in an old OTA bag. I first took it outside with the 102mm Mak (now equipped with a Rigel sight) for lunar observing sessions and occasional experimentation with eyepiece mounted reducers for some deep sky.

 

 

Sky-Watcher 102mm Mak on the AZ5

 

 

 

I inevitably had a ‘light bulb’ moment and realised it would actually be ideal for my short tube refractors and easily held my ST80, ED80 and ST102. As a consequence these got out far more than when on the Porta II/Hal-130 as it didn’t require a large garden trolley to be dragged up a steep incline at the top of my garden, loaded up, and then gingerly lowered back down the incline.

 

 

Modified ST102 on the AZ5

 

 

A couple of nights ago, early on a Moonless morning, the AZ5 was the logical choice for a rapidly deployed rich field session holding my modified ST102. I only expected around an hour although in the end got twice that. As I sat viewing the Crab Nebula, through a Baader zoom, I pondered just how serendipitous, unanticipatedly useful and valuable the Sky-Watcher AZ5 mount/tripod combination had been. As I’m partially paralysed it has revolutionised the frequency that I observe and allows me to set-up and take-down certain telescopes much more rapidly.

 

 

ED80 on the AZ5

 

Has anyone else inadvertently, unintentionally or accidentally bought or acquired a piece of astro kit that has seriously improved your observing? Tell me your story.

[tuckstar]

I was once invited to go to a house clearance where I picked up a few scopes and 105/500 mirror lens for £150. Sold the mirror lens for £250 on flea bay. Two of the scopes were the bresser sky lux, soon sold on, the third scope I didn't recognise and took a punt on it as I couldn't find any markings until after I had made an offer, and then saw a little Carl Zeiss logo on the mount. A bit of googling and i end up on a little forum called EMS. And that's how I came across my little zeiss telementor 2.

[Nightspore]

I wondered how you came across that Telementor lol. Apparently they're rarer than rocking horse manure. 

[tuckstar]

Just a shame it didn't have eyepieces with it. But I've sympathetically changed it to 1.25 and aquired my Clavès' to use with it. Along with that amici it gives some stunning views. I think it's from the mid 80's but so hard to date as no markings or serial numbers ,but it is in great condition.

Edited November 2, 2019 by tuckstar

[Nightspore]

I've read that they were meant for use in schools, so are virtually indestructible. 

 

http://scopeviews.co.uk/ZeissTelementor.htm

 

They look beautiful.

[tuckstar]

The boy showing his giraffe the moon.

 

[Nightspore]

2 hours ago, tuckstar said:

The boy showing his giraffe the moon.

 

Well, the Telementor was meant for schools. Not so sure about giraffes lol.