AZ4 with pillar extension

[Alfian]

I recently acquired a SW ED100 to be mounted on my AZ4 and the two work pretty well, except for the bugbear of having to crouch at the eyepiece to view at anywhere near the zenith. I expected this kind of issue before buying the ‘scope and therefore I’d verified to my satisfaction, by scouring the net including this forum, that the pillar extension that is advertised as compatible for the EQ5/HEQ5, but not explicitly for AZ4, would fit. Lee at Green Witch, (Birstall) also checked with the Skywatcher suppliers, thanks Lee – good service.

Having got it all assembled I thought I’d take a few photos to show how it worked out. The 16” extension is one big heavy chunk of steel pipe, much heavier than expected. With the AZ4 and pillar together grab‘n go is not an expression that immediately comes to mind! As you can see even without the tripod legs extended its possible to sit at the eyepiece wth the scope in zenith mode.

Not had chance to check it out under the stars, but terrestrially focusing on a notice on a telegraph post ¾ mile away using a 6mm EP was no problem – and no I couldn’t read what it said! I’m looking forward to a proper session with it. Here's a few photos:

[nightfisher]

Looks good Ian, should keep the back in fair health

[mikeDnight]

Great grab and go mounts, but never quite understood why the altitude arm sticks out at such a silly angle?

The arm can be bent to better suit a refractor.

Mike ☺

[Alfian]

Thanks Mike, I like simple sensible ideas like that.

[dobbie]

10 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

Great grab and go mounts, but never quite understood why the altitude arm sticks out at such a silly angle?

The arm can be bent to better suit a refractor.

Mike ☺

How did you bend the arm ? 

[mikeDnight]

20 minutes ago, dobbie said:

How did you bend the arm ? 

I bent the arm and the arms of my friends AZ4's, by sliding the arm into a piece of 15mm speedfit plastic pipe and bending it by using a plumbers bending machine. You need to mark the precise top of the arm otherwise it could end up being bent the wrong way. I marked out the angle I wanted on a piece of paper to ensure accuracy. It's easier than it sounds!

The black paint will crack, but is easily cleaned off with steel wool, and the arm polished using brasso.

Mike

[Alan White]

Or you could not use the arm at all.......my Russian Space programme solution to Mikes American style solution, sorry Mike.

The 16" riser is good with the ed100, but if you are looking low in the sky you may struggle to see through the eyepiece ok, I hanker t o shorten my riser to 10 or 12 inches high.

[nightfisher]

I never used the Arm on my AZ4 mounts, but if using a short frac it would be handy

[dobbie]

Hi jules, I was thinking it would be ok when I use the tv76 , thanks for the info Mike  , Alan I use a 10" riser made by astro macanic.  

[Alfian]

Alan, I found when using the scope terrestrially, as mentioned,  I had to squint slightly  down into the eyepiece, but that was with the scope near horizontal, and I'm 5'10". it's unlikely I'll be looking so low that I'll be unable to view properly.

As to removing the arm, I 'll confess that I do sometimes nudge the scope to move it but do use the arm to swing the scope over longer movements.

[Helen]

I was wondering about this... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az-eq5-gt-mount-pillar-extension.html

Helen

[mikeDnight]

I don't use the arm with my FC100DC as the scope itself acts as the lever.

Mike

[Alan White]

1 hour ago, Helen said:

 

I was wondering about this... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az-eq5-gt-mount-pillar-extension.html

 

Like my arm solution, I was after using a hacksaw rather than buy one, but....

[John]

Nice AZ-4 / ED100 setup !

Those 16" pillars are pretty heavy - I lugged one across London and on the train to Bristol a few years back - together with a briefcase and a laptop. Quite a good excercise

The additional weight will add to the stability I think, which is a decent return for the impact on portability.

 

[Helen]

18 minutes ago, John said:

Nice AZ-4 / ED100 setup !

Those 16" pillars are pretty heavy - I lugged one across London and on the train to Bristol a few years back - together with a briefcase and a laptop. Quite a good excercise

The additional weight will add to the stability I think, which is a decent return for the impact on portability.

 

I don't think I could handle that..., hence thinking of a smaller one! Adding too much extra weight defeats the object of buying a lightweight scope really (although I could start by just extending the legs on the tripod )  .

Helen

[Alan White]

Helen, you are finding solutions in my style, nice one.

Clearly the legs might foul the scope though, but I am sure you have already thought that one through.

[Alfian]

On 10/02/2017 at 22:35, Helen said:

I don't think I could handle that..., hence thinking of a smaller one! Adding too much extra weight defeats the object of buying a lightweight scope really (although I could start by just extending the legs on the tripod )  .

Helen

The AZ4, is I think a bit of an odd quantity.  Its  portable enough to deploy relatively quickly, but still a bit of a lump that I wouldn't want to carry it so far. The weight and general sturdiness makes it stable enough to load up a variety of  useful scopes and yet the leg extension is relatively short , about 14", which makes using even an F9 refractor less comfortable than it could be. I suppose a longer leg extension would potentially make it less stable. In any event the pillar extension, though a lump, doesn't add much, if any time, to set up,  but it all comes down to what the individual is prepared to consider manageable in our own very individual circumstances.

[nightfisher]

I have to say i found the AZ4 great for the seated observing, so no extension needed, but this does not suit all and the added weight of the pillar will more than likely make the tripod a little more stable