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Small alt-az head needed


I've just picked up an Orion 90mm Mak and one of their Paragon HD tripods (the smaller of the two models). I'm a bit less than impressed with the pan head even for day use. It's got a bit of play in it that annoys me and I can't seem to get rid of it. Otherwise it's surprisingly smooth and stable for the price and weight.

Thinking of a small alt-az head for the purpose instead. What would you recommend? The tripod has a standard 1/4"x20 post, and I'd like something that accepts Vixen dovetails.

Conversely, any tips on improving the pan head itself?

Also, would owners of the Orion slow-motion adapter please chime in? Does that need to attach to a pan head to provide large movements or does it pivot and tilt on its own? Never actually saw one in person.

Try this mod to help smooth out the altitude motion.

JIM - CN member since 4/05

15x70-Ultra~TV-85/SM-60~MN-66~12.5"dobsonian Unistar Deluxe~Unimount Light~DM-6/Planet tripod      

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Universal Astronomics DwarfStar or MicroStar. Just what you're looking for.
Wishing you clear skies Ken
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The Orion slow motion adapter only moves about 5° before bottoming out it's travel. I use it for telephoto lens fine tuning - on top of a ball head for gross movements.
For that it's great. For a telescope going place to place it's not the ticket. That said, I did, in desperation because my mount hadn't arrived yet, put my brand new 127 Mak on it - and it held...

Orion Apex 127 - Desert Sky DSV-1 Alt-Az on a surveyor's tripod. Ioptron SmartEQ Pro. Nikon D5000, Fujifilm IS Pro DSLR. A few Nikon lenses and a ProOptic 500mm reflex lens for fun.

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