I recently received my Orion 80 ED refractor and am debating on which way to go for a mounting. For wide field sweeping I like the simplicity of an altazimuth mount and am considering the Unistar Light by Universal Astronomics. For high power planetary views a light weight but sturdy German equatorial would be nice. This fantastic scope can do both. Portability is very important to me. I would appreciate any input you may have regarding possible mounts.
Mounting the Orion 80 ED
Started by fthomas, 11/04/2003 08:17PM
Posted 11/04/2003 08:17PM
Opening Post
Posted 11/05/2003 01:07AM
#1
Flint,
I think this scope deserves a nice driven equatorial mount. I’ve tried both and while it’s nice scanning with an Alt-Az I invariably want to switch to high power for a better look. I tried a telepod head and it worked very well but didn’t lend itself to changing eyepieces once a target was centered. It was also difficult to keep a target centered at 150x and above. I now have my 80ED mounted to my Super Polaris mount and find it to be rock steady. I have a TAK 2.8 Hi-Or and can push it up to 214x on the planets and Moon just fine.
Tybee
I think this scope deserves a nice driven equatorial mount. I’ve tried both and while it’s nice scanning with an Alt-Az I invariably want to switch to high power for a better look. I tried a telepod head and it worked very well but didn’t lend itself to changing eyepieces once a target was centered. It was also difficult to keep a target centered at 150x and above. I now have my 80ED mounted to my Super Polaris mount and find it to be rock steady. I have a TAK 2.8 Hi-Or and can push it up to 214x on the planets and Moon just fine.
Tybee
Funding Member
