Improving Stiffness of EQ3 Tripod

[Stub Mandrel]

One of my hobbies is engineering, and the NEQ3 mount seems reasonably well engineered to me, but the tripod that goes with it flexes a lot and seems to be the weak point. These tips are based on engineering thoughts rather than astro ideas. Don't do anything irreversible to your tripod if you are not sure or want to maximise its resale value. Your mileage may vary, do this mod at your own risk.

To maximise rigidity it's clear that the tripod should be kept as low as possible, then the greatest amount of flex is in the two long arms either side of the central leg. This simple tweak effectively turns the three components of each leg into a single, more rigid, section and does away with some of the unwanted flex. I recommend carefully marking where the holes need to be (about 6-10mm above the top of the inner leg) and drilling with the leg held in a vice on a pillar drill, but you could do it by hand with great care - the holes need to line up well. Use M6 allthread in 6mm holes and wing nuts (you could also use M6 coach bolts) all available from Wickes for a few quid. Grind (or file) the ends of the sections of allthread so the nuts go on easily and you doin't end up cutting yourself. Hand tightened wing nuts are less likely to cause damage than hex nuts tightened with a spanner and allow you to remove them and collapse the tripod fully without tools. Don't go up to M8, M6 is more than adequate and 8mm holes will excessively weaken the legs. Don't add a spacer between the legs - the mod relies on bending the outer sections slightly to clamp the central section.

This does make a big difference to my tripod, but it's clear that more can be done but that will require more specialised equipment - I'm thinking of a single aluminium yoke at the top of each leg to replace the two plastic pivots.

Other tips - spread the legs as wide as they will go to maximise tension in the spreader, and consider hanging a big weight below the mount.

So, let's finish with a look at the mod, simple enough, a little patience will reward you with a neat result:

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice idea. I went a bit further and got rid of the aluminium legs completely on my EQ1 tripod (which I think is the same, or an even flimsier design. I now have a hardwood version:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/106352-tripod-rebuild-from-aluminium-to-hardwood/

There is also an interesting ash wood rebuild here:

http://philjay2000.tripod.com/usefulstuff/upgradingtheeq.pdf

[RichM63]

Not bad, but you could also do a 'no leg drill' version using 2 plates per leg and 2 bolts per leg in an H-clamp pattern.

Best,

Rich

[philj]

I would recommend changing the ali legs completely they are too flimsy, the first thing I did with mine some years ago was build ashwood legs as per the my write up that Michael has kindly linked to. That tripod went on to support eq4, heq5 and giro11 mounts with various tekescopes and it was rock solid

[Alien 13]

I have never had a problem with mine its allways used at its lowest setting and everything done up tight, I only use the mount for imaging but I get no vibration at all even when the camera liveview is at  x10 and I am manually focussing.

Alan

[Stargazer33]

Three of those trigger clamps would work equally well. I believe some people fill the legs with sand to add weight/stability too.

[Stub Mandrel]

I think teh clamp plate idea is agood 'un although i think it would act more to reduce twisting, where my mod really acts to lock the inner and outer legs together, so perhaps both wouldn't do any harm.

[John]

If you put the EQ3-2 onto an EQ5 / HEQ5 steel tubed tripod it's a lot steadier. It fits right on.

[Stub Mandrel]

Interesting - I found a new 'Skywatcher heavy duty tripod for EQ3 and EQ5' with stainless steel pip[e legs online for £95.

I costed up 3m of 1.75" x 1.5mm stainless steel pipe - £60! Mind you I could make ordinary steel legs and paint them.

[YKSE]

I bought the AZ4 for quick grab & go session, switched the tripods between AZ4 and EQ3 (got help from John too about the idea), clear better stablility with C8 or 120ED on EQ3, also lighter G&G AZ4 mount.

[John]

Interesting - I found a new 'Skywatcher heavy duty tripod for EQ3 and EQ5' with stainless steel pip[e legs online for £95.

I costed up 3m of 1.75" x 1.5mm stainless steel pipe - £60! Mind you I could make ordinary steel legs and paint them.

There is one here for £55:

http://www.astroboot.co.uk/prod/Astroboot/skywatcher/tripods/eq5a3.html

Might be worth checking on the condition though as the description is a little confused !

[Stub Mandrel]

I've looked carefully at the plastic 'plugs' that 'fit' into the ends of the legs to clamp onto the top of the tripod.

They only contact the aluminium section of the legs on one side, and there is nearly 1mm of movement in the far side of the joint from the fixing screws. I'm adding about a tablespoon of epoxy adhesive into each of the six sections in such a way as to ensure that at least three sides of the section are firmly attached to the plugs.

If successful, this may remove the need for further stiffeners near the top of the legs. I will report back.

Long term, I'm now looking at aluminium scaffold pole, more than stiff enough with 1/8" thick wall, but the real challenge will be the same joint between top of leg and tripod top.