Damo1965

Oops - should read 150PDS

Last year I made the decision to mount my SW 150PDS on a dob mount - the old EQ3-2 I had was just not up to the task anymore and, despite overhauling it the flimsy tripod was certainly holding my visual observing back. Like most who chose this route I bought a large piece of 18mm ply and set about copying all those who had gone before and knocked up a pretty decent base which was just the right height for my seated observing. However, the damp winter had a detrimental effect on the uprights and by last month I noticed that both were warping outwards at the top - enough that the OTA was at risk of slipping off. A rebuild was in order and I decided to try using aluminium extrusion - the 2020 slot stuff - some of which I had lying around. I reasoned this would not warp, could be made very accurate without too many tools and would be lighter than the original. Having read on CN about a similar one, but using 3D printed joints (I don't have access to a printer) I thought I would give it a go. It was great-ish. At first I used all 2020 extrusion, but like the old SW tripod found that vibrations were an issue so have included some 18mm ply as mass damping. It's lighter and stiffer and gives me the option of changing it to suit different requirements in the future - OTA size etc.