Star Gazing on the Park

Galileo Visions Telescopes - A Detailed Look (continued)

Tripod Mount

It's not the sophistication of the tripod that intrigued me initially. It was actually the sturdiness and build quality and the fact that it was completely metal. I also took note of the eyepiece holder that where ready for four 1.25" eyepieces, making a safe haven for them in the still of the night while you're scrambling around in the dark for your star maps. Another nice feature included a bubble level with height adjustments so that the scope could be made level with the ground. This would essentially make it easier to track celestial objects when viewing. There was a difference though, between the mount for the larger scope and the mount for the smaller. The smaller included a built in compass and bubble-level, whereas the larger mount only provided a bubble-level. I questioned Michael about this feature difference and I am awaiting his response.

Mounting To Tripod
The tube assembly was attached to a cast metal, compression cradle which was also used to mount the assembly to the tripod. I thought it was odd that when I received both scopes, I had to loosen the cradle locking knobs and turn the tube assembly around (180º) so that the eyepiece would be in the correct position. I believe this was intentional as it reduced the overall profile when packaging the subassemblies; and the smaller the box, the less expensive the shipping, and the less expensive the total price. My only gripe was that the instructions didn't state the necessity to rotate the tube assembly. That fact came after my attempt to secure the mount with tube assembly to the tripod. But this issue was easily overcome and the tube/mount assembly was a snap (or actually, a screw) to secure on the tripod. All it took was positioning the bearing washer between the tripod and the bottom of the mount, resting the tube/mount assembly into position, centered on the tripod, and rotating the screw knob from the bottom until tight. But once again, the instructions didn't identify the bearing washer, and if you weren't paying attention, this could easily be left off. To be clear, the picture in the instructions did show a washer for the knob where it screws in, but it did not show the bearing washer.

The next step was to place the counter weights onto the metal shafts, and then screw them into position under the mount. The two counter weight assemblies were required to balance the load of the tube assembly as the positioning system was gravity sensitive. I offer a word of caution however. These threaded shafts were made from stainless steel which was a much tougher metal than the cast metal mount, and they could easily strip the threads in the casting if installed incorrectly, or loosened and tightened too many times. I did notice some flaking from the cast threads during my few times screwing the shafts in and out of position, so it's not something you would want to disassemble frequently. But once installed, it was fairly easy to adjust the counter weights until the tube was evenly balanced. The instructions actually did a good job of identifying how to do each counter weight assembly, which on my own, I probably wouldn't have thought of. The tube assembly had a balance mark imprinted on it for identifying it's location within the mounting clamp. By pointing the tube assembly vertically, the vertical counter weights could be adjusted and by pointing the tube assembly horizontally, the horizontal counter weights could be adjusted. I would have just given it the ole eye-ball.

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