Hioptic
6" Maksutov Cassegrain NMC1900x152
Telescope Review
HiOptic
152 > Mount & Tripod
EQ3 MOUNT & AT3 TRIPOD
MINOR DAMAGE
The mount supplied with this Hioptic 6" Mak package was an EQ-3 on top
of a set of
lightweight AT-3 tripod legs.
Assembly was quite straining forward, even though there were no
instructions included. One of the tripod legs showed signs of possible
previous
use with a gouge in it, typical of a counter weight scratching across
it, but it's something you could live with.
BALANCING ACT
The mount and counter weight just about manage to balance and support
the weight of
the 6.5kg/14.4lbs of Maksutov OTA. The counter weight has to be perched
right at the end of the metal bar.
It looks a little bent, in the image below, but this is just an optical
illusion from the camera lens curvature. Anyone having balance problems
is advised to turn the weight the other
way around as it has a recess inside the weight helping it to hang a
few
centimetres further away from the OTA.
The tripod legs have a very small accessory tray holding them together.
It
only holds 2 x filters, 2 x 1.25" eyepieces and 2 x 0.96" eyepieces.
Users will probably find this a bit limiting but it's okay for the
two supplied eyepieces.
EQ3 MOUNT
The mount has four locks. One allows for horizontal polar alignment
adjustment on the base, another locks the latitude screw. The other two
lock or release the Dec and Ra gears allowing you to slew the scope by
hand or with the fine motion gears. On the opposite side of the manual
Ra control is a large gear wheel. This allows the user to add an EQ3 Ra
motor drive for object tracking.
There are a pair of setting circles to help with "star
hopping" and even with the weight of OTA everything seem to move fine.
There are no star charts or software provided to help locate star
positions on the EQ mount and no instructions
on how to use it. This will leave first time astronomers confused and
disappointed with not being unable to find objects but the information
can
be found on the Internet.
AT3 TRIPOD
The base of the mount and legs look like they
are straining at the limits of their design. With the tripod legs
extended the telescope is heigh enough to provide comfortable viewing
for persons of six foot. However there is quite a lot of wobble in the
mount, due to the weight put on it, that makes focussing a chore.
Typically 4-5 seconds are needed for any knock to settle down in the
eyepiece. If the legs are in
short mode (as shown above) and the OTA is removed the mount and tripod
want to fall forward towards the counterweights direction so the reader
is warned to be careful of their toes! The weight should be positioned
over a tripod leg to avoid this.
COUNTER WEIGHT
The counter weight supplied is 4.5kg/10lbs. It has a line running down
the middle of it making it
look like two separate weights but it is just in just one. The weight
can easily be removed by untwisting the bar which helps break the
telescope down into three parts, although the system can be moved
reasonable
well as one or two parts.
SUMMARY
The mount provided is just good enough for visual use but if the reader
has any plans for astro photography an EQ-5, LX75 or a CG-5 goto mount
would be much recommended.
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