Pier Adapter for EQ6?

[OzDave]

I've been mulling over whether to build myself an observatory, or not, or maybe just a pier on some land we have in a relatively dark rural-ish area. I've finally decided that the best thing to do for now would be to build a pier out in the open and run a set of cables back into the house where I will have my control station. So it'll be like an observatory, except the pier will be in the open.

So, looking into what kind of pier to make, most people build something by pouring masses of concrete into the ground, but I'm not sure that is the route I want to take. I want something a bit less permanent and I've seen lots of people building wooden piers out of bolted together 4x4 or even 6x6 lengths of timber. They claim these are quite solid for photographic work and I've even emailed a few people to see how their piers are fairing.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I need a pier adapter to let me mount my EQ6 (yet to be acquired) onto this proposed wooden pier. I think I will just need the part that mimics the tripod head as I will attach this to some form of adjustment / levelling plates atop the pier.

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive source of pier adapters for this purpose? I've looked around and I'm not sure what I need exactly, but have found some pretty wild (=sticker shock) prices for pier-related stuff.

Thanks,

David

[JohnC]

Altair astro do some adapters for the EQ6.

Altair Pier Adapter CG5 EQ5 HEQ5 EQ6 (Sky Watcher & Celestron) :: Mounting hardware :: Altair Astro

[r3i]

If you have the resources to make up your own, Steppenwolf has kindly provided the dimensions in a PDF file on his site: http://www.nightskyimages.co.uk/eq6_dimensions.pdf

I used the information to fashion one out of a block of Delrin/Acetal (I don't have a lathe but was able to use a router). It's rough and ready but seems to be working OK for me.

In hindsight it would probably have been easier just to buy the nice looking one that Altair Astro sell, but it's character building to make up things for yourself from time to time

[angusb1]

You might want to give Gary1968 a shout: http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/60441-pier-top-mounting-eq5-heq5.html. Don't know if he's still doing them or not.

[martin_h]

As for the pier - thought about oak railway sleepers?

New Untreated Railway Sleepers :: New Untreated Oak Sleeper

[daz]

You might want to give Gary1968 a shout: http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/60441-pier-top-mounting-eq5-heq5.html. Don't know if he's still doing them or not.

2nd vote here. I have one of his - excellent bit of kit. You can see piccies on my website Observatory page

[r3i]

2nd vote here. I have one of his - excellent bit of kit. You can see piccies on my website Observatory page

IMHO, Gary's product looks a good option for the OP as it provides a levelling mechanism as well as the EQ6 adapter. I guess it would be straightforward to attach it to the top of a wooden pier with some appropriate bolts.

Nice observatory by the way.

[Tim]

If you are going to use wood, why not just stick with the tripod?

Wood outside moves, bends, curves, shrinks and expands, for me the beauty of having a permanent pier setup is that you know when you go back to it that it will be where it should be, and as you left it.

[OzDave]

If you are going to use wood, why not just stick with the tripod?

Wood outside moves, bends, curves, shrinks and expands, for me the beauty of having a permanent pier setup is that you know when you go back to it that it will be where it should be, and as you left it.

Well people say that and obviously it is true to a certain extent. However there are numerous examples of wooden piers on the net that have been around for years and their owners say they are great.

If it doesn't work out for me I can bring in the cement mixer and do a steel one and the cost of having tried wood will be minimal.

But point taken. I'm going to see if the wood works out. I'll try to post something up about my experience in case anyone is interested.

David

[OzDave]

As for the pier - thought about oak railway sleepers?

New Untreated Railway Sleepers :: New Untreated Oak Sleeper

I have seen people using that kind of thing but many people also bolt together four 4x4s or larger beams, the idea being that if you stagger the grain of the beams they will have a tendency not to warp as much as say a single solid block which has nothing to oppose the warp tendency.

I think I'm going to try the bolt together route. I hope to post my results as I progress.

David

[OzDave]

You might want to give Gary1968 a shout: http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/60441-pier-top-mounting-eq5-heq5.html. Don't know if he's still doing them or not.

Yep, will have to give him a shout. They look fairly awesome!

David

[OzDave]

If you have the resources to make up your own, Steppenwolf has kindly provided the dimensions in a PDF file on his site: http://www.nightskyimages.co.uk/eq6_dimensions.pdf

I used the information to fashion one out of a block of Delrin/Acetal (I don't have a lathe but was able to use a router). It's rough and ready but seems to be working OK for me.

In hindsight it would probably have been easier just to buy the nice looking one that Altair Astro sell, but it's character building to make up things for yourself from time to time

[ATTACH]44449[/ATTACH]

Yeah, I definitely like the DIY approach, only trouble being that I find it difficult to acquire the materials where I live. This might be doable though, although Gary's adapters do look tempting.

David

[r3i]

The solution I chose suited me because I already had a pier & levelling plate prior to the purchase of the EQ6, and I just needed an adapter to mate the EQ6 to the plate. In your circumstances, Gary's all-in-one product looks like a good solution - he certainly seems to have very satisfied customers based upon the postings in this forum.

[simon84]

I made my own, bought a bit of ali from a metal suppliers and then drilled all the necessary holes in it ready for fixing to the pier plate. I had to get the turning done for me. So far its only cost me about £12 which I paid for the ali.

It uses 6 3/8 socket cap bolts to fix to the pier plate and I've drilled and tapped a hole to use the original Skywatcher azimuth post.

All the drilling was done with just a corded drill. Its more or less the same as the one sold by Altair just its not blue, but it will be soon.....

[earth titan]

As I have an EQ6 making it's way to me I'm going to need to make a pier adaptor plate for the mount. Thought this was useful.

If you have the resources to make up your own, Steppenwolf has kindly provided the dimensions in a PDF file on his site: http://www.nightskyi..._dimensions.pdf

Credit to OP and Steppenwolf, but just found this and as its 18 months old, I thought it could do with a bump as it is v.useful and others may not have seen it.

[The Sailor]

I got mine from Gary way back, gone through some use and still going well.

Jim

[Gina]

I measured the tripod head and made my own but not everyone has the facilities.