Refractor Mounts

Hello everyone,
I am "new" to refractors & mounts. I have a Televue upswing mount & Apogee 80mm refractor with 1/4-20 mounting block made on it, which I purchased from two different individuals on Astromart,that should be in this week.Trying to get ready before they arrive. I would like to know what mounting rings I need to buy, to be able to mount the Apogee to the Televue,if the 1/4 x 20 does not work. Thanks very much in advance for any help. I can see that I will be very happy knowing anybody associated with Astromart, as both individuals I purchased from, were extremely trustworthy. Also I will be open for suggestions on a wooden tripod new or used.
Thanks,
Clyde Lacombe

Clyde,

Your Upswing mount has two 1/4" threaded holes in it to attach the TV clamshell. You might have balance problems and focuser problems at zenith if you try to attach it to the block mount on your scope as it will be too far foward.
Personally I would go to a machine shop buy a scrap 1/4" thick 2x6" aluminum plate. Drill and tap a 1/4" threaded hole at the rear centered for yor OTA and two 1/4" slotted holes about an inch long and corresponding to the two holes on the Upswing cradle. This will allow you to balance your OTA by allowing you to slide it foward and back. (you can use masking tape on the underside of your plate do you won't scrape the Upswing cradle) Buy the necessary plastic knobs and 1/4" stainless hardware at Lowes and be done with it. It shouldn't cost you more than $10. Tube rings can get expensive and may not even fit inside the cradle and you may find that you need a balance plate anyway.

Regarding the tripod. Televue uses the Davis/Stanford Magnum XL tripod. You can buy one at B&H Photo with a 3way pan/tilt head for $100. If you anticipate aperture fever setting in later on, go for a heftier Bogen with a greater payload capacity and a locking center spreader.

As you can tell...I've been down this road before.

Owen

Hi Clyde,
Owen has given good advice on how to overcome the balance issue. Even if you decide to go with rings to mount the OTA, you'll need some sort of adaptor plate for mounting the rings since most 80mm rings other than the TV clamshells will not fit within the yokes of the Upswing mount. Some sort of pan head is therefore required on the tripod. The photo shows a simple home made adaptor plate with a pair of rings for a Stellarvue 80mm refractor. The mount in the picture is a Telepod, which other than having an integral azimuth bearing, is the same as the Upswing.

Jim

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