Beacon Hill Telescopes

THE MARK II EQUATORIAL HEAD

MKII Equatorial Head (12224 bytes)

The MkII equatorial head is suitable for telescopes up to a maximum of 16" aperture. The cradles are as per the MkI mounting, but fitted with braces for larger models. Both shafts are of 1.5" diameter and fitted with sealed self aligning roller bearings of massive construction. The mounting can be fitted with either our 8" or 11" diameter worm wheels, or a combination of both. Slow motion control rods over-ride the motor drive to enable the observer to make any slight corrections necessary. A VFO unit greatly adds to the sophistication of this mount. The mounting is very heavy, weighing in at about 85lbs. It is not therefore, a portable mount, although it is often purchased as such

This heavy, strong mounting is the top of the range and is quite capable of supporting additional guide scopes etc. This particular design won a recent award at the American 'Stellafane' exhibition.

Figure. Base of a standard fork mount.

The MkII mountings come complete with a motor drive to RA, slow motion control rods and a suitable counterweight, so reinforcing our policy of 'no hidden extras'. A motor drive can be fitted to the declination axis and then the addition of a dual axis VFO unit will give the user full electronic control of his or her telescope.

Stepper motors and computer controls are also available.

Our heavy-duty fork mountings are designed to carry up to a 30" telescope. They can be fitted with 14" worm wheels and stepper motor controls. They have to be mounted on a concrete plinth. Further details and photos on request.