Stupid Question

[brrttpaul]

But when you using your mount (mines a HEQ5) do you bother extending the legs? I never have but I was thinking about it today  and thought  i shall give it a go, Main reason is I,m not bent at an awkward angle so much, have to say polar lining was much easier.  I just wondered what do most do

[Piero]

No question is stupid, we are all here to learn  

If the legs are not extended, the telescope is more stable. I believe imagers do not extend the tripod legs for this reason.

However, for observers, having the telescope at a reasonable height is important, if not necessary, for avoiding sore neck and sore back.

There are also extension tubes to put between the tripod base and the mount. These can be useful for people owning long-ish refractors.

I do extend my tripod legs as I generally prefer observing standing up.

Hope this helps

Piero 

[Stub Mandrel]

I like imaging. I get wet, cold knees.

[brrttpaul]

yeah thats the reason why I never extended them untill tonight (stability) , but surely if there is a risk to back neck etc wouldnt it be a good idea for the manufacturers to have the added length as a one piece. I must admit just extending the legs made life a whole lot easier it has to be said. And another thing I have always wondered why cant they fit something like a diagonal prism type thing on the mount so you wouldnt have to bend as such? they have them for telescopes why not the mount?

[Tinker1947]

A Reflector may not need any extra height, looking through the EP could become a problem, a Refractor has the EP at the bottom end so getting it up a bit would be helpful......

[triton1]

I never have extended the legs as I use a reflector but I did have a senior moment when using my bruvs Sct getting knees wet etc when my mum hollers "why don't you extend the tripod" embarrassed or what.

[Stub Mandrel]

yeah thats the reason why I never extended them untill tonight (stability) , but surely if there is a risk to back neck etc wouldnt it be a good idea for the manufacturers to have the added length as a one piece. I must admit just extending the legs made life a whole lot easier it has to be said. And another thing I have always wondered why cant they fit something like a diagonal prism type thing on the mount so you wouldnt have to bend as such? they have them for telescopes why not the mount?

You mean for polarscopes? Good idea, but I suppose its partly because they want to keep the focal length down.

[brrttpaul]

yes for the polar scopes i meant, im pretty sure they could have a sort of clip on type of thing , similar to the one for the staradventurer that goes on the front but a small type diagonal that goes on the back, its only for polar alignment so wouldnt need to be expensive kit

[popeye85]

No question is stupid, we are all here to learn

If the legs are not extended, the telescope is more stable. I believe imagers do not extend the tripod legs for this reason.

However, for observers, having the telescope at a reasonable height is important, if not necessary, for avoiding sore neck and sore back.

There are also extension tubes to put between the tripod base and the mount. These can be useful for people owning long-ish refractors.

I do extend my tripod legs as I generally prefer observing standing up.

Hope this helps

Piero 

oops. I make a habit of extending my legs ( of my scope tripod I mean!) going on the theory that it creates a wider and therefore more stable base!!

[brrttpaul]

i honestly dont think theres much difference in it stability wise tbh, 

[Jim78154]

It sounds to me that you may want to invest in an observation chair. You can leave the legs collapsed for better stabilization and less vibration while still maintaining a comfortable posture while observing. A chair will also make it much easier to maintain your eye at optimal viewing position. I'm sure that you will find that you do most of your observing at declination closer to zenith than to horizon, and no wet knees and your wife won't complain about the grass stains on your trousers.

[Tommohawk]

Personally I dont extend the legs - stability being the main reason. PA is a pain though - I have to get down and dirty. I put a doormat under the polar scope and grovel. 

I wondered about a diagonal, though I guess you'd have to contend with reversal in one plane. Or if you have a laptop set up, a cheap webcam with a push-fit over the polar scope would work - seen that somewhere.

[brrttpaul]

I cant honestly say I observe as such, the camera is on there and i can see what the scope sees on my laptop via BYN. I mean just for the polar aligning , i just cant see why they havnt brought out some form of diagonal, thinking of it now cant see why they cant put the circle on BYN and you can do the polar aligning that way, I know you can do it with EQMOD etc

[MarsG76]

For imaging I have the mount at the lowest setting, the mount is more stable and less susceptible to any wind vibration, but when observing I do extend it about a hand length short of full extend... I find it much more comfortable looking through the eyepiece when I basically standing up right looking through it... bending over for hours on end in cold weather is not a good idea... I definitely feel it when I finish observing and I'm thawing out.... surprisingly I  didn't feel any discomfort during the session... hmm-adrenaline.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Ive never had a need to extend the legs of any tripod i use because i'm a wheelchair user and the tripod on its lowest height is just perfect for me from my seated position. The added bonus is that it gives stability to the scope.

[Chipela]

Since our street lights were swapped out for LED lights I have found the one street light that overlooks my garden is much more of a problem.

The new light is so much brighter than the previous light was and the white light is much more of a problem than the old orange sodium light was. The reason is that the old sodium light did not emit much green light and therefore my lawn appeared pretty dark, but the new white light lights up my lawn like a spotlight in a football stadium and I have to contend with bright light coming up from all angles. This means that I now have bright light coming from under the black sheets that I hang up as a light shield and it is next to impossible to get dark adapted.

I guess I need to try and get a shield fitted to the light. At least there are plenty of threads on here describing how people have gone about this.

Cheers,

Chris

I've never extended the legs. It's been an unconcious decision, maybe because of being a hobby photographer earlier and knowing that the longer the legs, the more unstable the camera is.I tend to rotate my newtonian a lot to get the eyepiece pointing conveniently upwards. It's ok, just that the locking of the mount might give up during rotation and I need to look for the target again.

[brantuk]

This one might be a bit rich for you: http://www.365astronomy.com/Amici-Prism-for-Polarscope.html but it is good and has two magnification levels. Also there is a diy solution made from a cheap regular diagonal and eyepiece with a bit of plastic pipe. Check the diy sections. Another good one is using a webcam hooked up to a laptop using a polar scope adaptor. Just a few ideas. Hth

(It's a good question which most folks have considered at some time or other).

[brrttpaul]

Ahhhh so there is one i thought there would be, TBH it was just a thought thats all once i set my pier in everything should be a lot easier anyway ( I have a plan lol)

[lennylovit]

or stick a webcam on the end

[Linda]

I have an EQ3 mount with a Maksutov. This autumn I spend a lot of viewing on my knees or standing bowed. But I needed to stand up every time I want to look into my finder scope, which has a 90 degree angle. Since a few observations I have found the pleasure of using a garden chair. The tripod legs are now a little (20 cm or so) extended and I can comfortably sit and look in the eyepiece. Althoug for some objects that stand lower in the sky, I need to half standup. Then I use the armrest of the chair to sit on. Standing bowed like that is a pain in the back.

Beside my standard finder, I have installed a reddot-finder as well, which I use primarily for finding the main object. This is easy to look through from sitting in the chair. My other finder (the 6x30 that followed with the scope) is a pain. Each time I turn the telescope in a different angle, the finder is out of alignment. And the 90 degree eyepiece will be pointing in a weird direction e.g. downward. Turning the finder around to correct the eyepiece into a more tractable direction, results again in an unaligned finder.

My solution, that I haven't bought yet, but that is on my wishlist, is a RACI finder where I can move the prism without moving the finder.

Yes, I have noticed that my mount/tripod seems more unstable now than it did when I didn't have the legs extended.

[baggywrinkle]

Due to neck problems along with a dodgy left knee I use my mount legs extended.

[Mak the Night]

1 hour ago, Linda said:

 

My solution, that I haven't bought yet, but that is on my wishlist, is a RACI finder where I can move the prism without moving the finder.

 

 

My Orion 9x50 RACI (below) can be collimated with the main OTA with the two screws indicated. The Amici prism can be rotated along with the entire finder scope in its bracket when the metal spring-loaded tension peg located on the opposite side of the RACI is temporarily pulled out. As far as I experienced this will change the collimation. It is best to rotate the finder to the position you prefer then collimate it to the main scope with the X-axis and Y-axis screws (shown below). 

I don't think you can just rotate the RACI in the bracket without changing the collimation to the main scope.

You might be able to rotate the RACI on some models without affecting the collimation (such as the Celestron RACI), but I don't know for certain.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/celestron-illuminated-right-angle-correct-image-finderscope.html

[Linda]

I am considering this one:

https://www.astromarket.org/accessoires/zoekers---red-dot/90-zoekers/8x50-finder--bracket---90---blue191727

[Mak the Night]

2 hours ago, Linda said:

I am considering this one:

https://www.astromarket.org/accessoires/zoekers---red-dot/90-zoekers/8x50-finder--bracket---90---blue191727

That looks really nice. I haven't seen many like that. For around £88 it looks like a bargain. Mine's just a basic Orion model with a fixed eyepiece. My guess is that rotating the finderscope in the rings attaching it to the foot would still change the collimation to the main scope. I don't really know though.

 

It's a bit like this: http://www.altairastro.com/altair-10x60mm-raci-finder-scope-90-deg-erect-image-prism-variable-illuminator-eyepiece.html

[sandystone93]

I like to add weight to the center of the tripod,  try hanging a weight from the center of the legs.  it helps with stability.