Patform for Skyliner 200p

[jdg600]

Having been observing with a little Meade ETX-80 for the last year or so I've decided its time to get a bit more serious so have ordered a Skywatcher Skyliner 200p from FLO.

I have used a dobsonian before and found that what I didn't like about it was having to observe whilst sitting or crouching down because of the low height of the tube mounting. I'm therefore thinking of building some kind of wooden platform to stand the scope on so that I can use it from a standing position.

If anyone else has an arrangement like this or has any views on wether it would work or not I'd be interested to hear them. Also if anyone has a Skyliner 200 and could let me know the diameter of the base and the height of the focusser when the tube is vertical, that would be great as I could then get going on this project today.

Thanks,

John

[Dr_Who_46]

I have a small dob and found it a pain to see through, but simplicity prevailed by knocking up a small table out of wood and tada, job done. No more achy back, its now perfect for standing. And its used during the daytime for drinks and food in this glorious weather were having atm. 2 birds with 1 stone

[twotter]

I use a folding camping stool when observing with my 200P dob. It allows me to relax and puts the EP at a comfortable height for my eye.

Recently I have been considering buying a goto equatorial mount to mount my 200P OTA. That's the only way I would want to raise my observing height. Any sort of platform my feeble DIY skills might produce would be unlikely to be sufficiently stable