I deforked my Meade 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. But why? 

Completely understand! It definitely is a personal choice, and I am not saying everyone should defork, for sure. I don't mind the meridian flips or viewing at the zenith, so to me the fork is more of a pain. But I hear what you're saying, too. Thanks for watching and your thoughts!

Thank you! I've wanted to do astrophotography for 30 some years, and with the equipment costs being a LOT more affordable - and forgiving of mistakes - it finally makes sense for me to delve into a bit. Good luck with your forays into it as well! There is quite the learning curve.

Thanks! I am trying to make videos a bit more regularly - it's tough when I am trying to learn astrophotography well enough to explain it (which is VERY time consuming) on top of all the things in life. But I'm working on it! And yes, I much prefer EQ mounts 95% of the time. Sometimes an alt-az is nice for a quick look at something with lower magnification, but most of the time that's not my preference.

@@Eyesonthesky Yes, and unless you have a camera rotation device, the EQ mount will simplify your image processing or at least give you more usable "real estate" on your sensor.

Glad you enjoyed!

Thanks! 👍

Thanks Ernie - very true, and indeed I am! Occasionally I am frustrated, but there's definitely a lot of fun happening with this. Always learning something new, trying different things, and improving each time.

Trying to - I was able to get some things organized in my studio space that will hopefully allow for some easier/quicker set ups when I do more than just a Stellarium video from my desk. I am going to make every effort to have videos more frequently. Thank you for watching!

@@Eyesonthesky Yes sir I’ve been subbed for years. Time sure flies and life happens. Looking forward to upcoming content.

Thank you! And yes, I was super lucky that screw didn't fall in the grass! I moved the telescope back to my concrete driveway to reattach it, just in case it slipped while putting it back in. Hope you're able to get a larger SCT again some day! Clear skies to you as well!

Glad that works for you. I could never manage to observe anything within 25 to 30 degrees of the northern celestial pole with a fork mount, because I couldn't get my head between the fork tines to where the eyepiece was. EQ mount made that vastly simpler for me, at least. The good thing is... whatever works for any given person is the right mount for them.

Having owned many dozens of telescopes over the years, I have learned that there is no such thing as the perfect telescope. Only better options for various things.

Yep, I not only have the reducer, I got a dual speed Crayford focuser that screws onto the back so I can lock the mirror in place and avoid any image shift - and get better repeatable / precise focus.

I will do that!! I started to make a video on that right afterwards but the battery in my microphone died.

I am not right in front of it, but I believe it was the 13.5" Meade SCT Vixen style dovetail bar from Farpoint Astro.

I got the handle strap from FarPoint Astro. Totally worth having - makes it much easier to carry when necessary.

@@Eyesonthesky Thank You!!

Putting it back on the fork? Bringing optics back into collimation? (Or both?)

@@Eyesonthesky god no, not reforming it. Needs a good clean and the visual back restored to original. It had a separate focuser installed to prevent mirror flop.

It maxes out my EQ6R so will need to upgrade that one day.

@@neiltonks I added a Crayford focuser on the back of line for the same reason.

I have tried the alt-az type too, though I've been using the eq mounts for so long, it's almost second-nature to me to just keep using an eq mount for astrophotography. As long as it works for you, that's what matters! :)

@@Eyesonthesky Absolutely :D

The dovetail bar is very simple. There's two screws on the bottom of the SCT that you remove. These are in the black end sections. You will need longer screws the same thread, but likely longer to go through the dovetail into the end sections. Make sure these are snug, but do not overtighten them, as the end sections are aluminum and it can be easy to strip the threads. I hope that helps!!

@@Eyesonthesky Working on replacing the fuse tonight to see if that fixes the computer.

I do plan to make videos that talk about that. At the same time, I want to have a little idea of what I am doing - as well as explaining mistakes - so I can make the videos interesting and helpful for others as well.

@@Eyesonthesky Happy to be along for the ride.

I am glad I had both sets!

It's an LX-50.

Also, I did mention the model number around the 8:00 mark.

Deforking my 10" LX200 Meade SCT was the best thing I could have ever done for it. For AP, the difference is Amazing! Very simple process and I now have it on an EQ6-R Pro mount, guiding is done with an OGA and the results are fantastic.

I did feel a bit the same, like I was taking a classic Les Paul guitar apart and replacing the neck or something. But at the same time, I did keep everything together, so if I ever need to return the scope to its former self, I have all the parts to do that too. And yeah, if you can't get polar alignment, that's a problem! Sometimes we do what we need to do so it works for us. Congrats on deforking yours too!

You'll be so much happier. What mount are you going to use?

Note to all people of Earth: Never, ever defork a Questar - for yourself or your brother. ;-)

Yeah, definitely agree with that advice!! Obviously that was a joke. "No Questar were harmed in the making of this comment." I own a 3.5 '75 Standard. While it's absolutely beautiful, punches well above it's aperture, and is built like a swiss watch, I also never use. It was a gift when I turned 16yo in '06 (I don't think the gifter really knew what they were giving away) and I'm too scared I'll mess it up somehow lol. So it stays at my responsible brother house while I cruise the skies with a cheap 8" Dob, mid grade 70 & 100mm binos, and a small fast 70ED. Hopefully this comment doesn't jinks me somehow and my brother decides to defork my scope...

You had me going there for a Min... Deforking a Questar!!!!! 🤣

That would make it difficult to attach to my EQ mount like I do now to take planetary and other astrophotography with it.

No, but we have about 1,000 of them around here. You want one? Or fifty? I won't miss them.

@@Eyesonthesky Send me please one to germany 😁

@@allffrommars6019 only one?? I could a lot. How about a dozen?