Eq6 tripod on scafold poles.

[emyliano2000]

Hi guys.

I recently moved to a new house and my view is quite restricted by the house and some trees in the neighbouring gardens. Because I'm renting I can't build a pier to gain a bit of height but I was thinking of using 3 scafold pols. I have 3 x 1m scafold poles that I was thinking of fixing into the ground on the lawn just leaving 8" out and getting an 8" mount extension too to gain a bit of height. If I would extend the tripod legs as far as possible that would help me get over a few trees that are blocking the southern view.

I already fixed a chain with 10kg of weights to the tripod central bolt to increase its weight and make it more stable and I wanna get some celestron anti vibration pads and fix them between the scafold poles and and the tripod legs.

I'm gonna be doing imaging.

Would this be a good or bad idea?

Thanks. Emil

[darknight]

well, not saying it wont work, of course it just might, but tripod at full stretch on top of more poles I think will not be very stable, the slightest vibration especially if imaging will be disastrous.....or at least very fuzzy.

are you just going to balance the fully extended tripod on the poles? or have I got it wrong?

[JimT]

I think maybe I got the wrong end of the stick there 

Jim

[emyliano2000]

2 hours ago, darknight said:

well, not saying it wont work, of course it just might, but tripod at full stretch on top of more poles I think will not be very stable, the slightest vibration especially if imaging will be disastrous.....or at least very fuzzy.

are you just going to balance the fully extended tripod on the poles? or have I got it wrong?

Well, yes. I'm planning to hit them with a sledgehammer until there's only 8" left above the ground, fill them with sand, put one anti vibration pad on top of each pole then put the fully or nearly fully extended tripod legs on the anti vibration pads. 

This is how the weights are hanging from the central bolt.

 

[CraigT82]

9 minutes ago, emyliano2000 said:

Well, yes. I'm planning to hit them with a sledgehammer until there's only 8" left above the ground, fill them with sand, put one anti vibration pad on top of each pole then put the fully or nearly fully extended tripod legs on the anti vibration pads. 

This is how the weights are hanging from the central bolt.

 

I reckon it should be pretty stable by the sounds of it... If you're smacking them 800mm into the ground.  Just be absolutely sure there's no services there before doing that! 

[emyliano2000]

3 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Just be absolutely sure there's no services there before doing that! 

is there a way to find out?

[CraigT82]

You can hire a CAT (cable avoidance tool) from the likes is Speedy etc..., they can detect electric cables and metallic services (steel or iron gas/water pipes). No use for plastic, concrete or clay pipes though. If you can find somewhere that hires them by the day shouldn't be too expensive. 

[John]

Why not use an EQ6 pillar extension ?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-eq6-extension-tube.html

You could still use the anti-vibration pads under the tripod feet as well.

 

 

[emyliano2000]

6 minutes ago, John said:

Why not use an EQ6 pillar extension ?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-eq6-extension-tube.html

You could still use the anti-vibration pads under the tripod feet as well.

 

 

I'm planing to get one of those too so the mount will be at aprox 1.8m heigh off the ground. 200mm scafold poles sticking out of the ground, tripod (1.4m) and 200mm extension tube.

[darknight]

are they sausages hanging from it?

myself I don't think itl be that stable when fully extended, what about a pillar extension or possible just concrete blocks?

[emyliano2000]

5 minutes ago, darknight said:

are they sausages hanging from it?

myself I don't think itl be that stable when fully extended, what about a pillar extension or possible just concrete blocks?

maybe I should consider extending the legs to only half the height.

[darknight]

what about as I said, if you use 3 piles under the legs of either breeze block or even wood blocks, you could get the same height and make it more stable

[Davey-T]

You can buy 300mm foundation blocks, 3 of these sunk into the ground a bit would be easier to fit and remove.

Dave

[emyliano2000]

4 minutes ago, darknight said:

what about as I said, if you use 3 piles under the legs of either breeze block or even wood blocks, you could get the same height and make it more stable

 

6 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

You can buy 300mm foundation blocks, 3 of these sunk into the ground a bit would be easier to fit and remove.

Dave

yes, that doesn't sound too bad. I just didn't want to ruin the lawn, it's such a well maintained garden and those blocks are gonna kill all the grass under them and leave 3 big squares with no grass in the middle of the garden if and when I will have to move. That's why I was thinking of the scafold poles, They wouldn't leave very big marks.

And with the blocks, wouldn't I have the same problem with the legs fully extended.

I've seen a photo posted by one of the members with a fully extended tripod, an extension tube and a az-eq6 gt on top of it.

 

 

[Davey-T]

32 minutes ago, emyliano2000 said:

 

yes, that doesn't sound too bad. I just didn't want to ruin the lawn, it's such a well maintained garden and those blocks are gonna kill all the grass under them and leave 3 big squares with no grass in the middle of the garden if and when I will have to move. That's why I was thinking of the scafold poles, They wouldn't leave very big marks.

And with the blocks, wouldn't I have the same problem with the legs fully extended.

I've seen a photo posted by one of the members with a fully extended tripod, an extension tube and a az-eq6 gt on top of it.

 

 

You'd need to remove the grass any way then you'd only need to replace three turfs.

Dave

[Ricochet]

10 hours ago, emyliano2000 said:

 

yes, that doesn't sound too bad. I just didn't want to ruin the lawn, it's such a well maintained garden and those blocks are gonna kill all the grass under them and leave 3 big squares with no grass in the middle of the garden if and when I will have to move. That's why I was thinking of the scafold poles, They wouldn't leave very big marks.

And with the blocks, wouldn't I have the same problem with the legs fully extended.

I've seen a photo posted by one of the members with a fully extended tripod, an extension tube and a az-eq6 gt on top of it.

 

 

Have you ever removed a pole sunk that deep into the ground? I suspect it will be a lot harder than you are imagining and after months/years of being there will require at least partially being dug out and so will damage the lawn more than blocks laid on top of it.   Secondly, what do you do with the mount when it is not in use?  Are you planning on packing it away and leaving three 20cm spikes sticking out of the ground, spaced so that tripping over one could easily result in being impaled on another?  Such a scenario doesn't bear thinking about and should be avoided at all costs.

[emyliano2000]

4 hours ago, Ricochet said:

Have you ever removed a pole sunk that deep into the ground? I suspect it will be a lot harder than you are imagining and after months/years of being there will require at least partially being dug out and so will damage the lawn more than blocks laid on top of it.   Secondly, what do you do with the mount when it is not in use?  Are you planning on packing it away and leaving three 20cm spikes sticking out of the ground, spaced so that tripping over one could easily result in being impaled on another?  Such a scenario doesn't bear thinking about and should be avoided at all costs.

Yeah, I thought about the safety issue. I have some really dense foam blocks, 8" long and 4" square that I was thinking of using to cover the exposed poles and the antivibration pads would be glued to the end of the poles. When I would have to move I was thinking of grinding them as close as possible to the ground and sink them in completely. 

[spillage]

why not just get hold of a few house bricks or blocks and some cement and postcrete for three small foundations. Lay the single bricks/blocks to the height you need and then drill out some hole in the top to hold the tripod legs. 

Make the foundations as deep as possible so if or when you move just remove the brick fill the hole with soil and re-seed.

[emyliano2000]

Thank you al for your comments. They helped me decide to get some 300mm foundation blocks, sink them a bit into the ground and put the tripod on them.

Emil

[nightfisher]

Glad to hear you are going with the blocks, if and when you move buy a small piece of turf and cut to size then tamp it onto the 3 square`s, hey presto lawn fixed