Telescopes with plate tube mount

Plate

— in fact, we are talking about a dovetail mount. A special rail is provided for this on the telescope body, and a platform with a groove on the mount. When installing the pipe on the mount, the rail slides into the groove from the end and is fixed with a special device such as a latch or screw.

One of the key advantages of mounting plates is the ease and speed of mounting and dismounting the pipe. So, unscrewing and tightening a single retainer screw is easier than fiddling with screw fastening or puffs on rings — especially since in many models this screw can be turned by hand, without special tools. And there is no need to talk about latches. The disadvantage of this option can be called exactingness in the quality of materials and manufacturing accuracy — otherwise, a backlash may appear that can noticeably "spoil the life" of the astronomer. In addition, such a mount has very limited ability to move the telescope back and forth on the mount, if not at all; and the bars and slots can vary in shape and size, which makes it somewhat difficult to select third-party mounts.