AdeKing

Thanks Alan, I've been using it with zero tension on AZ tension screw so it must be background Stiction as it were. I'm still trying to convince myself that I don't need the expense of the AZ100 and when I picked up the Ercole for a good price recently I thought I'd struck gold, but clearly more learning required. I've obviously been spoilt with goto and tracking mounts recently. I remember a similar problem with the Skywatcher Dob but I solved that with a lazy Susan bearing mod, rather too effectively in the end so needed to add some friction back in at the end. The counterweight is not precisely the same weight, but within 100g of the OTA and accessories so not significantly different. I'm going to try again tonight and just keep fiddling with the location of the counterweight to see if I can improve. Thanks Mike, I've seen so much praise lauded on these mounts and absolutely no mention of Stiction on the AZ axis that maybe I was expecting too much. Regarding slow-mo, this is very much an effort to convince myself that I don't need an AZ8 or an AZ100 so I'll see how I go. I am looking at whether I can adapt the lever from my Gitzo birding mount. I thought that I had once seen a guiding handle for an Ercole but I'm darned if I can find it now. Thanks John, maybe it is a case that I'm being over picky and it is in fact inherent in the design and a fact of life that I need to adapt to. Like you I don't ever recall seeing mention if it in any of the reviews that I read of these mounts. I am using with short tube Fracs with them at the moment (ST102/ZS66) maybe it is less noticeable with a longer tube. I tend to move about the AZ axis by grabbing the diagonal whether that be right or wrong, so maybe the longer length of the ED100 might reduce the issue. Thanks Dave, I do need to strip down the GR2 version as the tension adjustment screws don't seem to work very well so I'll take a look. Thanks John, I did have a Skytee ii at one point and do kind of regret moving it on, but such is life.

I've been using giro type mounts for a while and generally enjoy using them, but there is something which I've been unable to get rid of and is beginning to irritate me and that is Stiction on the AZ axis. Balance on the Alt axis is not a problem and is is buttery smooth to move around with very little effort required. However, whilst the AZ axis is lovely and smooth once it's moving, it requires significantly more effort to move around the AZ axis and it's the initial effort which is a nuisance and causes me to overshoot the target needing me to backtrack. I find it impossible to track smoothly at high magnification. I've found this to be an issue with all three of my manual alt az mounts which comprise a Giro GR2, an Ercole Mini and now a full size Ercole. I'm using a counterweight approx equal to the OTA, diagonal and eyepiece weight on the opposite side, even though the Ercole claims to not need a counterweight if the setup is use is under 8kg. Things do improve with the weight added to the opposite side but it still needs significantly more effort to move that it does in Alt. Distance to center of Counterweight to the AZ axis centre is the same as the distance from the centre of the axis to the centre of the OTA. Mount is set up level. So what am I missing, I know there are a lot of Giro type mount users out there on SGL, so do you have any suggestions of things that I've missed or is my expectation just too high and it's a case of that's how it is so deal with it. Many thanks, Ade

Sticky pads for attaching car number plates worked well for me.

Not delivered today, but on Friday and opened this morning after compulsory 3 day quarantine for all deliveries that is enforced by Mrs K. A new to me Tele-Optic Giro Ercole mount thanks to @jock1958. I wasn't fully prepared for the size of the Ercole, here is a family shot with it alongside it's little brother (Ercole Mini) and baby brother (Giro GR2) Looking forward to playing this evening and hoping for some solar action through the day today.

Thanks for flagging this @John I had completely missed AR12768 when I was viewing, but now I've pinpointed it I can clearly see the split umbra at about 50x with my ZS66 and Cool Ceramic wedge. Lovely trail of snaking faculae extending out to the limb too.

I think you're right Paul. I love alt az mounts, but getting one sufficiently beefy to carry my 102 f/11 without it skittering around Avery time I touch the focuser is proving to be a bit of a challenge. My GP on a pillar mount copes ok, but all of my alt az mounts feel like they're maxed out with it due to the length. I'm with you on that @John, I really want an AZ100 and from what I saw at IAS last year, I think it's price is deserved.... But I'd want it with all the bells and whistles which puts it around £1400 plus a new tripod or Berlebach tripod top to fit it to, which is sadly too much for me. I'm secretly hoping in vain that one will show up used in a year, or two, or ten if I'm very lucky.

Hmmm, I think that one makes the pink ones look quite attractive.

Hi Brian, With my WO binoviewers, I use a 2x Barlow element screwed into the nosepiece of the binoviewer then the EPs directly into the BV. With this setup and a 1.25" diagonal, I am able to reach focus with a Lunt Herschel Wedge and ST102, ED100 or ED120 in WL mode. I can also achieve focus with my Lunt LS60, but for that I need to use the Barlow element in the body of TAL shorty Barlow that it comes from. I can also reach focus with my Maxbrights and a 1.7x GPC fitted inside the 1.25" nosepiece. Hope that this helps Brian, but you know how to get hold of me if you need to.

I have one of these and it's a great little compact mount. Does anyone have any experience of one of these Omegon AZ-Baby mounts, it looks like a really nice compact AZ Mount. https://www.omegon.eu/alt-azimuth-without-goto/omegon-mount-az-baby/p,49753 It looks like a mount from a different manufacturer but I can't remember which. There was one on ABS recently and I was very tempted to give it a punt, but refrained as I have too many mounts sitting around.

Oh my, I've just realised that I've been here for just over 5 years. I discovered SGL just after getting a telescope for my 40th and was a lurker for a while before actively joining in. I've enjoyed every minute and have enjoyed putting faces to names at Lucksall. Thanks all for making this such an enjoyable place to be.

I've been doing some research over on CN and from the search results, opinions and ideas I've seen, it appears that building your own wooden tripod is a much bigger thing stateside than it is on this side of the pond. It appears that I was on the right track with my post about wedges, and it seems that countersinking is not required, based on this post. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/308494-making-wooden-tripod-question/page-2#entry3962810 I've not yet made a scaled drawing of what I want to achieve, but I don't know why I didn't see this before, but the wedges that will need to be cut from the bottom of the legs to form the feet will have the correct angles to be stuck to the inside of the struts and therefore give a flat mating surface at the hinge, the outside corner of the strut is then squared off, job done and no need for countersinking or bending. This then gives a straight length of wood with a slight kink at the top end. Simples. The designs I've seen have the bottom of the legs bolted together, which does pose a bit of a problem with putting in a threaded insert, but I'll work on that in a bit. That way I don't need to worry about having to bend the wood in jigs or anything like that. I like simple. Thanks Peter, it's good to know that the parallel sides and flexing method works for when my "wood butchering" skills (thanks for the phrase @Alan White) inevitably kick in and the realisation of what I think I can do and what I can actually achieve materialises. Thanks Craig, I'm hoping I have a solution that won't involve steam bending. I watched an interesting youtube video by a Guy in Australia (I think) and saw how many times he failed trying to do this, though to be fair he was going for a 90 degree curve, whereas the bend I would need might be only 2-3 degrees. Thanks for the suggestions on finishes, I'm enjoying looking at what wood to use as I'd like it to look pretty as well as being stable and vibration damping, though at the moment I'm veering towards going with the herd and thinking that Ash is probably what I'll end up with. That is a lovely finish you've achieved on that table, I love it.

Mine definitely lacked that feature, the plastic cover at the visual back end only had holes for the visual back and focuser knob and was very firmly affixed. The nuts attaching the dovetail to the OTA worked loose and there was no way I could find to remove the visual back end of the OTA without an excessive amount of force and so I sent it back for a warranty replacement, fortunately it was still within the warranty period (just). I have recently been pondering picking up another used Mak, but was looking at a 127 rather than the 90 or. 102. Mainly because I have 3x 102mm Fracs already and figured the 127 would give a reasonable aperture boost, though not as portable as the 90mm. Ade

Nice setup John, I used to have Skywatcher Heritage 90 mak and it gave me my best view of Mars to date. I don't recall there being any ability to collimate it though, so sounds like yours is a better model. Ade

Absolutely stunning work. Thanks for sharing.

Lovely setup Mark, one day I'd love to have a look through one of the IOM solarscope setups, but in the meantime I'll just have to imagine and dream. I'm really glad to hear that it's exceeding your expectations.

My setup today. First time I've tried this particular tripod. It's a little shaky when focusing or adjusting the pressure tuner but works well enough when just sat observing.

Hi Fozzie, Thanks for the comments. Yes this is exactly what I'm thinking, though it looks very different in wood than it does in Peter Drews aluminium stock. With the infilling, the design of the legs is more along the lines of your first tripod build, though with triangular rather than parallel sided legs. With regards to the wood type, I'm thinking probably European Ash, though may have fun doing some window shopping. Cherry Wood is lovely, but as you say it comes at a premium. I have been thinking exactly this since I decided on this design last night, maybe it will need some wooden wedges fitting to the inside of the side struts to that the struts are held at the correct angle, rather than bending them, but where they attach to the pivot point they still sit flat against the top plate if that makes sense. Although, this will still give me issues with the bolt as the side struts of the legs will still be at an angle relative to the flat ends of the coach bolt. Hmmm, so careful thinking is obviously in order. Thanks for the comments and offer Craig, this is what I have changed my mind to consider as today I have had a play with my Uni 18, which is fitted with a set of these, and I realised how much they add to the stability of the setup. I realised afterwards that a perfectly level tripod top makes very little difference with an EQ mount to a visual only astronomer such as myself. The iOptron pillar extension has levelling screws on the top plate which work with the AZ Pro that I have so no difference there either, so the spiked feet are all go. I'll send you a PM before we get our wrists slapped for discussing this on the open forum.

I'm looking for a new project and having just completed renovating a couple of old wooden tripods, lusting after a Berlebach Planet, and reading DIY tripod threads on SGL, I have come to the decision that I would like to have a go at making my own. I am in possession of a Berlebach Planet top plate and also a Uni 18 top plate and would like to build fixed leg tripods around these parts. I have read the excellent threads by @Fozzie on his fixed leg tripod builds and one from @Moonshane on the same topic, as well as a couple of threads on CN, where DIY tripods seem to be rather popular. This post by @Rusted appeared in the second of the @Fozzie threads and was illustrated by these images from from @Peter Drew. So, I thought that rather than trying to make a copy of a Berlebach Planet but with fixed legs, that I quite liked the idea of following the inverted isosceles triangle leg design. I'm hoping that this will produce a nice stable tripod but will help to keep the weight down. This is the Planet top plate that I have. It will need a mod to allow a Vixen GP to be attached, but as I also have an iOptron AZ Pro and Pier Extension it could be used for that setup instead. The Berlebach Planet top plate that the tripod will be built around has a 100mm spacing between the side struts of the legs and these will obviously come together and join in a much narrower foot. Key aims are: 1) I want the tripod to provide a stable support for a Vixen GP holding an Altair Astro 102 f/11 Achro. The other setups I have hold my other OTAs nicely, but the length of the f/11 makes it more tricky to mount without getting quite a bit of vibration and quivering when focusing and this is what I want the tripod to eliminate. 2) I want to use wood as I love wooden tripods 3) I would like some degree of adjustment via adjustable feet to correct for slightly uneven ground, but don't want the complexity of making up fully adjustable legs with a sliding central section. I was thinking of articulated machine feet like this into a threaded insert: But as I'm after a really solid setup I do quite like the idea of just having spikes on the end of the legs with rubber covers that can be added like those that Fozzie used, though this would obviously remove any chance of small height adjustment and require me to select fairly level ground to set up on. 4) I'm a novice woodworker and am no engineer so would like to keep the design as simple as possible. However, I'm after suggestions and opinions on a few things: a) what would be the best wood type to use. I know that Berlebach and Oberwerk tripods are manufactured from Ash and that Ash seems to be generally accepted as being well suited to use in astronomy and photography wooden tripods. But in reading various threads on SGL and CN I have seen a lot of different suggestions including Oak, American Ash, European Ash, Beech, Sapele and Iroko. Apart from selecting a hardwood, are there any gotchas inherent in selecting the wood type? The tripod will obviously be used in damp and dewy conditions, but will not be left outside for extended periods, thats what my pillar mount is for. b) I'm Intending to finish the wood with Teak Oil to seal the wood and bring out the grain, unless there are other suggestions. I've assumed that a varnish finish would be likely to bind to the tripod top when the tops of the legs are tightened up and so will be avoiding varnish. c) Do I need to give special consideration to the holes at the tops of the legs where I'm intending that an M8 coach bolt will be employed as the pivot point with an adjustable clamping handle and washer as used on the Uni 18 and Planet tripods. Should I drill oversize holes and use a metal sleeve in there, though I'm guessing that the shrinkage of the wood might pose a problem here. d) How thick should the side struts of each leg be? e) I want to use one of the Berlebach spread stoppers as I find a spread stopper makes setting up a tripod less of a wrestling match than when you have three independent legs each of which is trying to do its own thing, so I will obviously need a brace or infilled section of the leg to attach the spread stopper to. But how wide should I am for the spread of the feet to be? This will control where along the length of the leg the spread stopper is fitted with the higher is is fitted making he spread of the feet wider. f) This may be a silly question, but will the side struts need any cross bracing along their length? (apart from where the spread stopper needs to be attached. This is all I can think of at the moment, but I have quite possibly not considered a lot of things. I'm expecting this to be a long running project as I'll be learning my craft as I go, so am not in a particular hurry but intend to update this thread as I go. Thanks for any help in advance. Ade

That looks like a cracking location and lovely clear skies to boot. I'm glad that you managed to pick it up, but sorry to hear about the flat DSLR battery, been there, done that and got the T-shirt many, many times. It's been very noticeable how much higher it has been in the sky at the same time each subsequent day. On Friday it was below the treeline but in a gap between the trees at 22:30, on Sat, it was just being tickled by the leaves on the top of the tree next to the gap and on Sunday it was a decent distance above the treeline at 22:30. Not looking likely tonight but hopefully will get another chance to see it this week. Ade

At 10:30 probably a binocular object, but half an hour later it is just naked eye visible if memory serves me correctly. I've used binoculars to locate it first on both nights, its easer to see naked eye once located in binoculars.

I've seen it from Poole in Dorset for the last two nights. Its visible from about 22:30 for me, but it is pretty low down. Easier in the small hours from home for me.

Got it easily in my 8x40s as it passed thru a gap between the trees to toe northwest. Also got a lovely view through the ED120 at 28x with my 32mm Panaview. Very clear bright nucleus and fan shaped tail as John describes. Very pleased to have caught it tonight but will try again in the small hours as there is no work tomorrow.

Great shots Helen, I got up at about 02:00 based on the weather forecast, but found horizon to horizon cloud, so set the alarm for 02:45, but still clouded out, then tried again at 03:15 and still clouded out, so at that point I gave it up as a bad job then awoke to crystal clear skies at 05:30, but I figured that 03:15 would have been pushing it so don't think I actually missed anything. Are those Noctilucent Clouds or just normal clouds lit up before sunrise?

I use the Baader Zooms as 1.25", they are 1.25" natively but come with a 2" nosepiece as well. The Televue and Lunt are 1.25" also. It was a real shock when I realised how many I'd accumulated, these things just creep up on you. Thanks @JeremyS

Another vote for the 1.25" Lunt from me. I use one with my portable setup which is a ZS66SD (66/388). Lovely piece of kit and affordable to boot.