Obsy Qs??

[Paulus17]

OK thanks everyone theres plenty there to think about when i come to do the obsy,just gotta decide whether to have a new shed,wood or metal, more decisions,or use what i have.

[pwalsh61]

I must admit that as I was watching the video I found myself first thinking "well that sounds like it makes sense" followed by "well he would say that, wouldn't he?"

I'm not in the position to build a pier or observatory, so it doesn't really affect me, but I'd me more inclined to listen to independent, impartial advice, backed up by sound engineering test results (as opposed to saying something in an authoritative manner) than what amounts to a sales pitch (IMHO).

I've seen many exquisite images produced by a variety of people, using fascinatingly different approaches with regards to supporting their mount and 'scope. If I can get anywhere near a fraction of the quality with my humble meg72 on EQ5 I'll be well pleased. As for ringing piers I wouldn't know, after all, I'm forever rapping out Saint-Saens' Danse Macarbre on my tripod legs!

[Astrokev]

Regarding the preachings of the AE bloke on the video - as a scientist, show me the hard data to support his techno-babble theories and I may be swayed (I suspect there's none whatsoever). Until then, a common sense approach does it for me. I have 10" air con ducting ready and waiting to be filled with concrete, to be embedded in a "not too massive" concrete block.

I'm still unsure how best to mount the EQ6 on the top. My common sense tells me that the commonly used 3 bolt approach is less rigid than fuller support, so need to think about this some more. I liked the idea of attaching the EQ6 tripod head to the pier by screwing steel plates to the tripod attchments, then embedding these in the concrete, but need to think about how to access the bolt to secure the head. Thinking hat on.....

[fwm891]

This would be a bad idea IMHO. You would end up with a 2" thick "skin" of concrete that would be very fragile and susceptible to cracking.

Concrete piles for roadways etc are hollow concrete tubes and they are whacked into position with pile-drivers.....

[Zakalwe]

Concrete piles for roadways etc are hollow concrete tubes and they are whacked into position with pile-drivers.....

No doubt true.

But concrete piles are pre-cast with pre-stressed steel rods and are not made by some bloke in his back garden with nothing more than a shovel and a bucket of enthusiasm?

[Paulus17]

Heres a quick drawing of what i intened to use for the pier mount.

But was thinking would 10" ducting be too wide,would it get in the way when the scope is slewing,not having had much chance to use the scope since getting it,but it seems it might hit the wider mount possibly???

[Zakalwe]

10" is a lot, which is why I am opting for a 6" box section. It'll be no wider that the mount base plate.

Having said that, it'll be no wider than the pier that RogertheDodger built from bricks on the first page of this thread.

[Paulus17]

Aye Zak,might have a re think on that one??

Must admit i do like Rogers brick build.

Might be worth doing summat like that and putting a sun dial there during the day

[ollypenrice]

This would be a bad idea IMHO. You would end up with a 2" thick "skin" of concrete that would be very fragile and susceptible to cracking.

Also a bad idea. You would end up with a concrete floating on a bed of sand.

Either make a solid concrete pier, or make a solid base with a steel pier. As for steel "ringing", then don't go round hitting it with a hammer when imaging. There's hundreds of imagers getting outstanding images when using mounts on steel tripods. All of those steel tripods will ring if they are hit.

Personally, I think that there is a lot of mythology building up around piers. Tubes within tubes, tonnes of concrete, oil and sand etc etc. Just build the thing, make it reasonably solid and don't whack it with a hammer when you're imaging. It''l be reet!

Agreed. I have three steel piers, all fine. I don't hit them with hammers unless they have been particularly naughty!

Olly

[Zakalwe]

Agreed. I have three steel piers, all fine. I don't hit them with hammers unless they have been particularly naughty!

Olly

Steel piers? Maybe that's why your images are so rubbish! :grin:

I wonder what that bloke in the video would have made of your pier top....I

I bet he would rubbish it to the Nth degree.

[RogerTheDodger]

Aye Zak,might have a re think on that one??

Must admit i do like Rogers brick build.

Might be worth doing summat like that and putting a sun dial there during the day

Funny you should say that... I have a second big aluminium disc the same as I mounted the scope on and I do indeed intend to make a sundial out of it

@ Zakalwe - the mounting disk on mine is 12" across, doesn't seem to cause any more of a problem than the tripod legs did at the zenith. Just to throw my opinion in on concrete footings, the brick pier I built is on a paving slab that has been there for 20+ years and is a steady as a rock - more than stable enough for AP, and there are no vibration problems. As long as it is on stable ground you will need very little mass.

[Zakalwe]

There you go!

Wan't there some images on here of a pier made of two concrete breeze blocks bolted together? IIRC, that was stood on a paving slab laid on the ground too.

The ground where I dug my hole is very, very boggy and it gets waterlogged. Hence I went down about 30".

[RogerTheDodger]

That sounds like a perfect reason to do it - not just because someone else said so.

[ollypenrice]

Steel piers? Maybe that's why your images are so rubbish! :grin:

I wonder what that bloke in the video would have made of your pier top....I

I bet he would rubbish it to the Nth degree.

Yup, and he'd be right. (For me building is the art of the possible!) He was a real joke, lurching between a desire to appear helpful and an even greater desire to be the font of all knowledge. He was also vaguely into 'sales by fear.' HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE MESURING THE SEEING? IT COULD BE YOUR MOUNT RINGING LIKE A BELL.

Oh no, my mount is ringing like a bell!! What can I do?

I never heard anything more ridiculous in my life. Has Mr Knowledge ever taken an astrophoto?

Who on earth was the sychophantic interviewer? Get 'im off!!

Olly.

PS No discounts for me with Astro Engineering, then!

[Zakalwe]

Yup, and he'd be right. (For me building is the art of the possible!) He was a real joke, lurching between a desire to appear helpful and an even greater desire to be the font of all knowledge. He was also vaguely into 'sales by fear.' HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE MESURING THE SEEING? IT COULD BE YOUR MOUNT RINGING LIKE A BELL.

Oh no, my mount is ringing like a bell!! What can I do?

I never heard anything more ridiculous in my life. Has Mr Knowledge ever taken an astrophoto?

Who on earth was the sychophantic interviewer? Get 'im off!!

Olly.

PS No discounts for me with Astro Engineering, then!

Excellent rant , though you should get off that fence and tell us what you really think :grin:

[ollypenrice]

Excellent rant , though you should get off that fence and tell us what you really think :grin:

Rant? Pah, that was an understatement. You want rant? say 'rap music...' (No don't, really don't!)

Olly

[Gina]

Yeah!!

[pwalsh61]

You mean ©rap/hip-hop/gangsta/whatever-stupid-name ?

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[Paulus17]

Good point about the water logged garden as ours is most the winter if we have a lot of rain so most the summer as well

But would that effect the ground if the pier was in a shed/obsy?

[Zakalwe]

Good point about the water logged garden as ours is most the winter if we have a lot of rain so most the summer as well

But would that effect the ground if the pier was in a shed/obsy?

I dont know, to be honest. As long as your footing is below the frost line then you shouldn't get any ground heave. If the worst comes to the worst, then I guess that you might have to check the polar alignment ever now and then. At the end of the day, the pier isn't going to jump out of the ground.

Unless you live along the Pennines or in the Highlands the average January temperature of the ground (measured from 1981 to 2010) at 30cm does not fall below 3 C (see this link). My pier base has gone down over twice this depth so I am not envisaging any problems. And in truth, that's probably a massive overkill and will do nothing more than cause a pain in the bum for whoever buys this property whenever I come to sell it.

[Paulus17]

Thanks Zak.

I had a measure up yesterday and to put another shed in the garden with a roll off roof will be taking too much room up so it looks like i will have to try and make do with the existing shed on the back of the garage,but my views from there are more restricted compared to standing in the middle of the garden where i would have more decent-ish all round views.

So am now thinking along the lines of an open pier.

But have just seen the post with the roll off shed which can be a smaller shed which might not be too bad.??

More thinking to do and scratching of head

[pwalsh61]

One possible solution which has been mooted in the past is to have a pier disguised as a bird table/bath. Simply remove top and attach mount. With suitable markings you could make sure mount is pointing North accurately eacn time and, unless the mount's been adjusted, the altitude setting should be ok too

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[Paulus17]

Yes another good idea for the bird table/bath.

I suppose if i did go for an open pier it would have to blend in with the garden better,but have been looking/measuring at a smaller shed 6x4 to roll off??

Decisions decisions!!!!