Pearls Sought for the Visual Use of AP155

Hi Guys and Gals,

You all know I am fairly new to AP products, having bought a very recent 130 f/6 in September and a 1998ish 155 f/7 last month. I intend the smaller one for routine viewing (at which it excells) and the larger one to replace an 11 inch Dobsonian for deep sky use.

I have been doing comparisons for the last few nights and find that, even more so than the fabulous optics and views, my overiding impression of the 155 is of...difficulty of use. Bear with me, I love the views through this telescope. But on a Losmandy G11, the big refractor's EP is commonly near the ground. No problem, I'll just set the legs longer. Now, with the legs extended, the mount is so high that placing the OTA into the tube rings becomes a bit hazardous, as taking that weight up to my nose level is a bit of a challenge. It worries me that I will drop the OTA someday and be left with a multi K$ pile of glass dust and dented aluminum.

I'm pleased with the performance of the 155 on such deep space objects as I have viewed (the moon being fairly bright of late) and have worked out a routine for setting up in minimal time and effort (see below*), but I wonder if the aim of having a "killer optics" scope for DS use might be more safely met with a Mak-Next or Mak-Cass of similar aperture.

Any suggestions to make the AP155 easier to use? The previous owner suggested measuring the positions of the OTA in the rings and of the counterweight on its shaft, which has removed the need for balancing the telescope on the mount at each use. Other pearls, anyone?

Ciao

Robert

*Here's my routine.
Dinnertime, place AP and EP cases on back porch to cool. Place mount on back walk, with legs on marked locations for rough polar alignment, and level it. Place counterwieght on shaft at pre-measured height for specific telescope.

Dusk, before Polaris visible, open up tube rings with hinges down, place OTA to predetermined location, add diagonal, finder, EP, tighten everything down, fire up Gemini and use to view evening planets or moon.

Evening, after Polaris visible, place polar alignment scope, align carefully, cold-start Gemini and view night sky objects.

1 am, tear down.

Hi,


I have a pier-tech pier. This is a pier that allows lift up to 20". I have mine permanantly mounted in an observatory, but there are casotors that make it portable. See the website.


Marc Zukoff

When I had my G-11 and 155 f/7 I found a couple of things made setup faster and easier. When not in use I kept the G-11 legs stored in the extended position (they fit in a Tamrac tripod bag just fine). Also, I used the AP rings with a Losmandy plate on both top and bottom of the rings, kept the rings/plates on the scope and just slid it into the dovetail on the mount. The plate on the top of the rings serves a dual purpose -- you can mount a guide scope on it, and it makes a very secure handle when mounting and unmounting the scope. Marking your balance points saves time, also, as you have found.

Robert: I have a 7'APO and a 12.5" newtonian and have had a 8" Mak Newt. There is no comparison for deep sky between the smaller and larger scopes. Keep the 11" with fans installed as they make a marvelous difference.
Mak Newts wweigh a ton. I nearly dropped my from 5ft while placing onto my G11.
AS regards your 6": I found it is very safe and easy to place my 7 on my G11 as long as the cradle is turned 90 degrees to the polar axis with the counter wt on. I place it over the open bars of the Parallax cradle. there has never been a problem. I prefer to do this myself. I am 69" tall and I am 58 y/0.