Stabilising a tripod

[RichardA]

Shame I selpt through most of last nights good viewing conditions. Got the scope out tonight and lined up on Mars. Dropped the 4mm lens in and by the time my eye was lined up, the cloud had rolled over and then stayed there

However I have started to think about stabolising my tripod. Its a Skywatcher 130 scope he Supatrak drive. I notice the centre of the tripodwhere the tray fits has a threaded hole. I was wondering about hanging a weight from here. Anyone tried this? Actually if its a good idea for stabilising the thing then I have thought about hanging the power tank there (that gets rid of the lead trailing down to the ground also)

[Balder]

Yes, a dirty big mass helps. But if you stand the tripod on a stable surface you should get reasonable viewing.

Your worst nightmare is going to be the focus/panning where it takes the scope a few seconds to stop moving.

Keep your Mk 1 eyeball off the eyepiece.

[Demonperformer]

Yes, it will help a lot. Just make sure that it is secure ... I think I am right in saying that the longer the pendulum you make, the smaller will be the amplitude of any movement and the faster any swinging will subside. If I am wrong in that, I'm sure someone will correct me.

[hemihaggis]

Bag of sand on tray works better