Farpoint Dovetail Accessory Adapter

Product Overview

The Farpoint Dovetail Accessory Adapter (FDA) is a quick-release clamp that locks onto any D-size (Losmandy-style) dovetail bar and turns it into a mounting platform. It positions anywhere along the bar, an accessory bolts to its plate, and a twist of the knob releases it — tool-free and repeatable. The FDA is also the foundation of a family of attachments: Farpoint's L-handle, D-handle, and ball head camera adapter all bolt straight to it, and the plate's published dimensions and mounting pattern let you fit your own hardware. It weighs 0.69 lb and is CNC-machined in the USA.

Who It's For

This is a good match if you run D-size Losmandy dovetail bars and want accessories that come on and off without tools — a carry handle for moving the tube, a camera for piggyback work, or hardware of your own. It also fits the case where you already own an FDA accessory such as an L-handle or D-handle and need a second adapter so it can move between scopes, or where you want one interface that repositions along the bar as balance changes.

Key Features & Design

• Quick-release knob: Clamps and releases by hand, with no tools involved in either direction.
• Positions anywhere on the bar: Slides along the dovetail and locks wherever the accessory needs to sit.
• D-size fitting: Clamps to Losmandy-style bars, the wider of the two common dovetail standards.
• Accessory platform: Farpoint's L-handle, D-handle, and ball head camera adapter bolt directly to the plate.
• Open mounting pattern: The published product drawing gives the plate dimensions and hole pattern for custom hardware.
• 0.69 lb adapter: The published weight, which adds to the mounted load along with whatever is bolted on top.
• CNC-machined in the USA: Produced on CNC equipment at Farpoint in the United States.

Mechanical Design

The FDA works as a clamp rather than a bolted fitting. Its jaws take the angled faces of a D-size dovetail, and the knob draws them together so the adapter grips the bar's machined surfaces along their length instead of bearing on a single fastener. That is what allows it to be released and repositioned by hand: nothing is threaded into the bar, so there is no hole pattern to align and nothing is drilled. The top face is a flat plate carrying a mounting pattern, which separates the two jobs — the clamp handles attachment to the telescope, and the plate handles attachment of the accessory. Because the two are independent, one adapter can carry a handle on one night and a ball head on the next, and anything built to the plate's pattern inherits the same tool-free on-and-off behaviour.

Recommended Uses

• Adding a carry handle to a tube for moving it between storage and the mount, then taking the handle off before imaging.
• Piggybacking a camera on a ball head for wide-field work alongside the main optic.
• Mounting custom hardware — a small accessory tray, a bracket, a controller holder — built to the plate's pattern.
• Repositioning an accessory along the bar as the balance point shifts with different eyepieces or imaging trains.
• Moving a single L-handle or D-handle between several telescopes, each with its own FDA already clamped on.

Compatibility and Accessory Notes

The FDA clamps to D-size (Losmandy-style) dovetail bars, the wider of the two dovetail standards. It does not fit the narrower V-size (Vixen-style) bars. On the accessory side, Farpoint's L-handle, D-handle, and ball head camera adapter all bolt straight on. Farpoint sells the L-handle and D-handle two ways — as complete kits with an FDA included, and as add-ons for an FDA already owned — so this listing is the right one when the handle is already in hand or when the adapter is wanted on its own as a platform. The ball head camera adapter has the FDA built in. For custom hardware, the published product drawing gives the plate dimensions and the mounting pattern to build to. If you are unsure whether your bar is D-size or which FDA option suits your setup, tell us your bar and accessory and we'll confirm the fit.

Good to Know Before You Order

• It is D-size only. V-size (Vixen-style) bars are the narrower profile and the FDA's jaws are cut for the wider D standard.
• The adapter is supplied on its own. Handles and the ball head camera adapter are separate items; the handle kits bundle an FDA, while the add-on handles assume one is already owned.
• Custom hardware is built to the drawing. The plate dimensions and hole pattern are published in the product drawing rather than pre-tapped for a particular accessory.
• It weighs 0.69 lb before anything is bolted on. Shipping weight rounds up to 1 lb, so ordering it alongside other small items can overstate a multi-item cart's total.
• Clamping position is set by hand. The knob is what holds it, so the adapter sits where it is placed along the bar rather than at a fixed indexed point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it difficult to install?

No. The quick-release knob clamps and releases the FDA by hand, and it repositions anywhere along the dovetail bar. No tools are involved and nothing is drilled or threaded into the bar.

Will the FDA fit my dovetail bar?

It clamps to D-size (Losmandy-style) bars — the wider standard. The narrower V-size (Vixen-style) bars are a different profile and the FDA's jaws are not cut for them.

What can I mount on it?

Farpoint's L-handle, D-handle, and ball head camera adapter bolt straight on. Your own hardware works too: the product drawing shows the plate dimensions and mounting pattern to build to.

Do I need a separate FDA if I buy a handle kit?

No. The L-handle and D-handle kits include an FDA. The add-on handles are the ones sold for an adapter you already own, and the ball head camera adapter has the FDA built in.

Bottom Line

In short: a 0.69 lb CNC-machined quick-release clamp for D-size Losmandy dovetail bars that turns any point along the bar into a tool-free mounting platform, and serves as the base for Farpoint's handles, ball head camera adapter, and hardware of your own.