If you have an astrotrac then you know the accessories are very expensive. I suppose it may be because they are hand made in Britain. If
you do not have the budget to drop 1,200 on a guider that only tracks in Ra and its accessories, then there are some solutions for you. I
recently acquired a second hand astrotrac for $500. It came with the polar scope and 2 battery adapters. I improvised my first wedge but it
lacked in stability, reliability, and precision adjustments. The astrotrac wedge is $429 brand new, and is a nicely machined piece of
equipment, but as I recently discovered, so is the wedge made for the sky watcher star adventurer which is now sold in the us by adorama
and b&h. This wedge, also milled from solid aluminum with a worm gear and locking mechanism on Alt, and a very precise solid Az
adjustment will run you a whopping $59.95. I ordered one on cyber monday and it arrived this afternoon. It is a solid little alt az adjuster
now I may look to ioptron to buy their counterweight system for the skytracker and retro fit it to the AstroTrac. Here are some shots of
the skywatcher Alt Az on my astrotrac.
Untitled
by LMNO Sunset Deluxe, on Flickr
Untitled
by LMNO Sunset Deluxe, on Flickr
Untitled
by LMNO Sunset Deluxe, on Flickr
