What is the primary purpose of the Baader 8" Double Mounting Plate?
The Baader 8" Double Mounting Plate is designed to mount two large telescopes side-by-side on a single heavy-duty mount. This allows you to, for example, pair a long-focal-length telescope for detailed views with a wide-field refractor for broad context, and capture data with both simultaneously.
Do I need other accessories to attach the Baader 8" Double Mounting Plate to my mount?
Yes, this is critical. To attach this plate to your mount and utilize its lateral balancing feature, you must use at least one Baader 8" PlaneWave Clamp (#2451555), which is sold separately. The plate mounts inside this clamp, which in turn attaches to your mount's saddle.
How does this Baader mounting plate help with balancing a dual-telescope setup?
Its primary balancing feature is lateral adjustment. Because two different telescopes will almost never have a perfectly centered combined weight, this plate allows you to slide the entire assembly left or right within its mounting clamp. This lets you find the true center of balance for the paired instruments, which is essential for precise tracking on large mounts.
Can I use non-Baader clamps and accessories with the 8" Double Mounting Plate?
Yes. The plate is pre-drilled with a versatile pattern of holes designed to accommodate a wide variety of accessories and telescope clamps, including Baader's 3" PAN/EQ clamps and other third-party hardware. This modularity allows for flexible and secure custom configurations.
My observatory has a large 10Micron or PlaneWave mount. Is the Baader 8" Double Mounting Plate suitable?
Absolutely. This plate was specifically developed as a robust and versatile foundation for complex parallel installations on large, observatory-class mounts like the 10Micron GM 3000/4000 series and the PlaneWave L-series. It is engineered to handle the significant loads and precision requirements of such systems.
I want to mount a large PlaneWave CDK next to a wide-field refractor. How does the Baader 8" plate facilitate this?
This is an ideal use case. The plate's long frame provides enough physical separation and mounting surface for both a large-aperture instrument like a PlaneWave CDK and a smaller, wide-field refractor. The pre-drilled holes allow you to position clamps for each OTA, and the lateral adjustment capability is essential for balancing the unequal weights of the two different optical designs.