Question: Do you have difficulty getting your telescope finely balanced in Alt (for Alt-Az scopes) or Dec (for German EQ scopes)?
Answer: Baader Planetarium’s Levelling Counterweight and Clamp can help!
Easy to use – simply screw the counterweight to the dovetail clamp. Then slide the dovetail clamp, with counterweight attached, onto your telescope’s dovetail bar. Once on the dovetail simply move the unit along the bar until your telescope is balanced and then secure in position. This is an ideal accessory for alt-az or German EQ mounted scopes (e.g. after attaching a camera to the scope when you swap from visual to imaging use). There are two versions available so you can select the appropriate one for you type of mounting system:
Baader 1kg counterweight with a Vixen style dovetail clamp
Baader 1kg Leveling Counterweight and 3″ Vixen Riderclamp / 60mm Long
Baader 1kg counterweight with a Losmandy clamp
Baader 1kg Leveling Counterweight and 3″ Riderclamp / 60mm Long
Both the Vixen and Losmandy clamps feature two locking screws for added security.
The 1kg levelling counterweights, which are made of V2A Stainless Steel, have male threads on the dovetail side (for the counterweight to attach to the dovetail), and female threads on the opposite side. Why the female threads I hear you ask? Simple – so you can add (stack) more counterweights to balance heavier loads (e.g. a heavier camera or if you add a filterwheel). The counterweights are available individually.
1Kg counterweight with female threaded hole side
1Kg counterweight with male threaded side
Below is an image of a Celestron Evolution which has had a camera attached and a Baader 1kg counterweight with a Vixen style dovetail clamp attached for fine balancing in Altitude.
Celestron Evolution with Vixen Fine Balancing System attached
So if you want to achieve fine balancing easily, get one of these useful balancing system from either ourselves or one of our authorised Baader Planetarium dealers now. If you already have one and need more 1kg counterweights, don’t forget, you can buy more of them individually.
