Wedge For Celestron SLT 130

[rsmith6621a]

First post here.

I just bought a Celestron SLT 130. I have been reading about EQ wedges for telescopes like the EQ4/6.

Does anyone here know where I can find a wedge for my scope and tripod.

Thanks
Randy

[helicon]

Hi Randy and Welcome to the TSS Forums. From my understanding wedge options are limited for that scope, while you can get one your astrophotography options are somewhat limited to short exposures of the moon and planets. As far as outlets go, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable on the topic than I am will chime in.

[JayTee]

Welcome to TSS Randy.

If you are a little bit handy with hand tools you may want to give this a try. It works very well.

https://theskysearchers.com/viewtopic.php?t=3129

Cheers

[Juno16]

Hi Randy and welcome to TSS!

I have a 130 SLT and really enjoyed it when I first started observing. I still drag it out from time to time and really enjoy using it. The mount works well, but is very unstable and even with a wedge, very limited exposure time is a must. So, like Michael said @helicon, short exposures are needed.

I tried imaging options using my dslr and quickly found that I could not reach focus. I tried moving the primary mirror forward and I could reach focus, but the image quality was still quite lacking. You would need a coma corrector and really replace the focuser with a more robust version to hold the camera.
Even with a wedge, the mount is super shakey and would serious impact long exposure astrophotography.
Believe me, I tried!
My advice it to enjoy the scope for visual. Maybe add an Orion Accufocus so that you don't have to touch the focuser to focus and will greatly reduce the vibration from touching the focus knobs.
Add some weight to the mount (for stability).

I observed about 75 Messier objects with my 130 SLT in Bortle 6-7 skies. When I bought my first EQ mount (Celestron AVX) I mounted the 130 SLT tube and saw about 18 more Messiers that I couldn't see before just because the AVX mount was so much more stable!

Best of luck and enjoy the scope!

[JayTee]

What Michael and Jim are telling you is very good advice. But if you are willing to find or fashion a wedge and only attach a DSLR camera with its lens you can get some pretty respectable results.

[Juno16]

What Michael and Jim are telling you is very good advice. But if you are willing to find or fashion a wedge and only attach a DSLR camera with its lens you can get some pretty respectable results.

Absolutely!

If you like to tinker, JT's plans for the SLT wedge are super and inexpensive.

If you pursue this, please let us know how things work out.