Folding Dob Booster

[Mognet]

Being a mere 6ft and a standing observer I found my SW 200P dob a bit on the short side. I'd tried a chair, but it was a bit wobbly and needed moving to get a full view, and a water butt stand just wasn't high enough. So I used some left over 2x2 to build a folding stand.

It's not exactly elegant, but it does the job

[estwing]

hmmmm......me thinks your next topic will be..."my scope has fell over".

[Mognet]

The photo is of the first version, which was too high and not wide enough. I took it apart and rearranged it so it was wide enough and lower. Seems much more stable now, and it passed the tilt and wobble test this time

This weekend I need to do something about making sure it stays in the right position when open. It should be fine after that, even when used by someone as careless as me!

[estwing]

good luck!

[Mognet]

2 minutes ago, estwing said:

good luck!

Thanks! If my carpentry skills are anything to go by I'm going to need it I managed to break a ratchet screwdriver and a drill while making it

[swamp thing]

4 hours ago, estwing said:

hmmmm......me thinks your next topic will be..."my scope has fell over".

LMAO 

[Mognet]

I've reworked it a bit so it's more stable, and I don't have to stand on tiptoe to use it at certain angles!

So...lessons learnt:

• Make the stand wider than the base
• Measure the view height using the longest eyepiece and adaptor. And don't forget that you also need to be over it to look into it!
• Put the feet on the very extremes of the base
• Positioning stops on top are also a good idea
• Make sure that it's easy to get into an equilateral triangle and stay in position

This version is definitely better. There's hardly any wobble now and it will probably need a good shove to tip it over. Neighbours probably thought I was a nutter for dragging the tube round in circles lots while shaking it, but I needed to prove that it wasn't going to fall off easily