Pier design

[saturn5]

Had enough of setting the tripod up,doing the drift alignment thing and then just as i'm about to take a piccie i would kick the tripod(not on purpose ).

Been out a couple of times of late and have done virtually no observing,just setting up, so as an obsy is out of the question at the moment i came up with this pier design which means hopefully i can remove the mount and store it out of harms way from the winter gales and when observing be able to set up the mount onto the pier in exactly the same position as last time.

The aluminium adapter which connects to the mount slips over the pipe(0.1mm clearance) and when accurate drift alignment has been achieved i will remove one of the three grub screws and drill a recess in the pipe,repeat with all three so that the next time i set up the mount all i have to do is align to the drill holes,tighten up the grub screws and the mount should(praying)be in the exact same position and accurate alignment wise.If it works i will replace the grub screws with knurled knobs.

Did a trial at work with a laser level where the mount would be and removed/replaced the adapter 5 times and the beam shone on axactly the same spot on the wall about 50 ft away so hopefully the process will repeat accurately and i will get that first long exposure image before xmas.

[Dippus]

That's a great looking adapter . If the laser level experiments are as accurate as you say , i really cant see any problems . A small drift alignment check every so often wouldn't hurt though . Great job

Mark

[barkis]

Hi Sat 5. It looks pretty good. I take it it will be set in concrete judging by the bars at the bottom.

You will have to ensure that the pillar is perfectly perpendicular, because I don't see a means of adusting the mount level from the images . This is only essential if you are planning to do long exposure imaging. A pier is much better than a tripod, as long as you have the means to adjust the levels, and azimith. The latitude is not an issue with the mount. Plenty of adjustment available there.

Ron.

[George]

That looks a nice pier

I take it the top is rotatable? Also I would fill with cement or sand as its liable to ring like a bell

[saturn5]

Yes George,its rotateable and will be fill of cement,as for getting it pefectly perpendicular Ron, hopefully this baby will get it accurate enough http://www.laserlevelshop.co.uk/showdetails.asp?id=277

Its the level i used at work or a very similar one so should be able to get it more levelerererer than my tripod ever was.So just got the hole to dig and paint the pier black.

Mark,i'll be more than happy to spend 15 mins or so every session checking the drift alignment,better than the current hour or so it was taking me.

I have 3 patio slabs marked of where the tripod legs sit but no matter how carefully i try to postion them i always end up having to spend too long aligning,its good enough for visual work but no use for long exposure work.

[beamish]

Very neat and very clever ! Should work a treat !

Karlo

[blinky]

I am sure you will get the benefit from the Pier. I was exactly the same as yourself, sometimes by the time I got it drift aligned I had half an hour before I really needed to get soem sleep!

Best thing I ever bought/made for the scope. As an exampple I have a couple of white painted lines so I can make sure my mount head is in exactly the same position each time. The other week I plonked it all on and managed to take 1.30mins exposures with no trailing.

[gary1968]

That looks great S5, should get you going in next to no time, if the clouds ever get to...............

Gary

[saturn5]

Thanks for the positive comments guys.....well she's in!!!!!!

[beamish]

Cripes no messing !!! LOoks really good grrr Must get mine in !!

Karlo

[saturn5]

Dug a 2x2x2ft hole this morning,got the pier sitting level,then half filled the hole with water and poured in 5 bags of postcrete(great stuff)threw in a few stones and rubble that was lying aroung and waited 10mins for the postcrete to set.

Gave it a couple of coats of spray paint and covered the area with gravel so all thats left to do now is the accurate drift alignment,supposed to be clear for a couple of hours around midnight so hears hoping.

[barkis]

Yes, It is looking very good S5, And that pricey laser thingy should ensure positional accuracy.

You have a great warm room there too, so you are well set up.

Judging by the shadow, have you got the polar axis set right. Or has been positioned just to take this picture?

It depends on what time the picture was taken .

Ron.

[saturn5]

Thanks Ron,errr the position is purely for photographic reasons although it is roughly pointing North,very well observed Ron,never even thought about the shadow(doh)

Photos taken at 12.10 you sharp eyed fox you.

The warm room did start of as a summer house for my wife to sit in comfort but it gradually became a shed for rubbish until i got the new scope and cleared everything out to make way for it,it also gives great shelter from the northerly winds in winter,its not an obsy though but is a good second best i suppose.

[Dippus]

Looks the business. Now all you need is a kettle and a comfy chair in the outhouse.

Mark

[saturn5]

Forgot to mention the pipe is 4 inch diameter heavy wall aluminium,a bit smaller than most piers i've seen on here but it is only 33inches out of the ground(same height as the tripod was)for my newts, had i been using refractors then with the added height needed i would have gone up to 6inch pipe max.

Mark..why do i need a kettle...oh yes,to warm the whisky up.

[saturn5]

Just got round to positioning the mount on the pier for a second time to see if the setup repeats itself accurately and saves me oodles of time drift aligning,well it works,it actually works.

Put the mount on, put in the cross hair ep and lined up to Vega,one of the few clear areas of sky and left it for 15mins,came back and Bingo still in the middle of the cross hairs which is what i achieved last time, now i will try and get the same for 30 mins or so and hopefully by tweeking it over the coming weeks it will get even more accurate.

[Naz]

Good result S5, hope it withstands the winter breezes

Archie

[saturn5]

Good result S5, hope it withstands the winter breezes

Archie

Thanks,i hope so too,not that they're to severe as you well know

[saturn5]

As the design seems to be a success i replaced the grubscrews on the mount adapter with knobs i turned.

All that is needed now is some clear nights that arent blowing 40mph like the past week has.Winds down today and satelite image looks good for later on tonight so who knows

[Psychobilly]

Nice work S5

Billy...

[barkis]

A very professional finish to an excellent job.

Ron.