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I wanted to order a Celestron 127EQ and I was going through the manual online and just noticed that the manual says that latitude is adjustable in about a 20-60° range.

The PowerSeeker equatorial mount can be adjusted from about 20 to 60 degrees (see figure 4-3)

I'm in Costa Rica which means that it's less than 10° latitude. Is the 20-60 limit a hard limit or it can be lower?

By looking at various telescopes equatorial mounts pictures in internet, I think all will have the problem that the counterweight might hit the legs of the tripod if lowering the angle a lot, so it's not like a problem unique to 127EQ.

I have seen that a cellphone can be used to measure this angle so that would not be a problem as long as the mount can physically rotate down to about 10° but I wonder if this setup would not trip the telescope because the center of mass would be too far to the front..... at least while setting up its axis.

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    $\begingroup$ That's interesting.... but the cut does remove some of the important pieces of information. Take a look at this one: youtu.be/pJpHPDEqWCk I guess it could be said that it can be as low as 0, but then the counterweight will hit the tripo's legs so it looks like it won't be safe at 10 degrees. :'( $\endgroup$
    – eftshift0
    Commented Nov 24, 2020 at 5:07
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    $\begingroup$ Keep in mind I'm a newbee.... I was just wondering: that might not be a problem because I could place the tripod in a position so that, say, the north is in a gap between two legs of the tripod.... then the mount (and counterweight) will be able to be lifted to about 10 degrees wirhour issues (even if I have to measure it with a cellphone, or any other mundane trick) and then it is fixed and won't move anymore.... would this be correct? $\endgroup$
    – eftshift0
    Commented Nov 24, 2020 at 8:00
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    $\begingroup$ I realized that if I am able to align the mount with a cellphone/other mundane trick, then the telescope is free to move around and then I would have the same movement resctriction as if I were in any other lalitude (hey, if the counterweight will hit a tripod leg, there's not much that can be done then). Will I be looking at things that are too close to the horizon next to 60/180/300° (the directions that the tripod legs would be forced to be for me to make this possible)? I hope there's more stuff to watch. This sounds like a manageable situation. Let's wait for some more feedback. $\endgroup$
    – eftshift0
    Commented Nov 24, 2020 at 8:58
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    $\begingroup$ I will change the question to make it more generic, related to EQ mounts in general, as I think it does not only apply for 127EQ. $\endgroup$
    – eftshift0
    Commented Nov 24, 2020 at 23:35
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    $\begingroup$ Yeah, makes sense, that's why I kept my exanple question for context. $\endgroup$
    – eftshift0
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 0:08

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Let me answer myself: Yes, they can. I got a 150mm x 1400mm Newtonian with a EQ mount and I am able to align its axis... even if it had no scale, it can be done with a cellphone (I have already done it... both for pointing north and adjusting latitude).

WARNING: Need to be careful that the weight doesn't go off-balance.

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  • $\begingroup$ Would you provide the model and brand (for the Newtonian, and mount if bought separately)? Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Cheng
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 8:32
  • $\begingroup$ AstroVenture 6"? Everything came in a single package. $\endgroup$
    – eftshift0
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 13:15

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