Removable pier

[Gottzi]

Morning all,

My scope has the standard eq1 tripod, which is unstable in the wind, limiting my observing.

In my garden I have a stone circle the centre of which has  hole for the rotary washing line.

My plan is to build telescopic post that I can then Tracy my mount to.

Has anyone tried this, will it work?

[glowjet]

If you are meaning to use the rotary washing line hole, by placing a Metal post in it for the scope, every time you want to use it, you will still suffer from vibration, unless you attach metal bar outriggers, fixed towards the head of the post for stability and likewise to a solid ground foundation.

If I were designing this, I would find a metal pole of the correct height, then hinge three metal bars to the outside, either by making a suitable collar, or direct to the tube, if it is thick enough, spaced 120° apart, at a point towards the top of the post ( to be determined ) then angled outwards some 18" at the base of the pole. Where these meet the ground on your stone circle,( due North should be noted at this point ) I would then screw an alloy or stainless plate of some 6mm thick to the concrete paving, this to have a centre tapped hole of M8, with a subsequent clearance hole in the concrete beneath, to allow an M8 bolt/screw to be entered. It is then just a matter of bending each bar to make a foot to coincide with the plates and drilling a clearance hole for the bolt. this should produce a quite rigid tripod structure with a centre column.

As well as using bolts your plates can be countersunk to take an M8 short CS machine screws, this will keep the muck out, if you replace the bolts with them when you de-rig following your observing session. You can always place a flower pot over the plates if you are inclined to think they may cause a hazard, or even go to the lengths of recessing the plates into the paving, enjoy whatever you do 

[Gottzi]

Thanks for the detail John unfotunately drilling holes is not an option as she who must be obeyed has put her foot down. I will have to think of something else I suppose or just not observe when the wind is up. Unfortunately not enough funds to upgrade to a scope with a stronger mount.

[Tinker1947]

Do it the other way, put your pier in the middle and make the rotary  washing pole attach to it.....a neat tarpaulin to cover your pier and bung the rotary down the middle of it....

[Gottzi]

Unfortunately a permenant solution isn't possible either. I will have to look at a different way of approaching the idea.

Cheers guys

Clear skies.

[glowjet]

Oh dear, you seem to be rather stuck. One other alternative is to go down one of the recommended solutions and use some sand bags, attached to the legs and hung from the the centre of the tripod, that should help to cut out some of the vibration.

Another solution is to make a heavy duty short tripod from from something like thick angle iron, fixed to a short pipe to make up your height, you could have it welded together, if you have somewhere to store it, or bolted together for take apart, if that is going to be a problem. That should be a big improvement over your EQ1. If finances are tight, you could always have a look down your local scrap yard for bits.

One other thing that has just occurred to me, keep your eye on Ebay for building site surveying equipment, I have seen excellent tripods for as little as £10, if you come across an old wooden one, they make excellent sturdy scope mounts

[gajjer]

Have you tried an alternative wife? I've field tested a couple and to be honest I find that I'm better off without one.

My pier was put in just where I wanted it. No problem.

Seriously. My pier is buried 3ft into the ground. It was the best thing I did. Could you attach rings to the side of the pier so that the washing line could be inserted parallel to it?

cheers

gaj

[Gottzi]

Alternative wife hey mmmm I wonder.

Seriously though I have come up with some plans for a pole that goes into the hole and has 3 or 4 legs extending from it that sit on the surface with rubber feet attached, will see if I can get that to work.