PoleMaster DIY perfect align

[kriss13]

Hi

So this thread will cover in fact PoleMaster, Astrotrac and GiroMini  because this is my setup.I bought the PM (PoleMaster) since the Astrotrac has a fail polar scope (no matter how you fiddle about it), and of course the dedicated adapter to mount PM on the AT (Astrotrac) arm.

PM is a real joy to use, but somehow I suspect the AT polar arm has some "issues", so I bought another PM adapter for AZEQ5 and mount it right on the GM (GiroMini).It was based on another suggestion I made to a fellow astronomer, but nobody did it.

Long story short, below the new adapter in place. I am certain this is as close to the rotation axis as it can be. The plan is to replace those M3 screws with M3 thumb screws in the future for easy setup and not to have the PM there when I don't use it.

I will post more pictures "in the wild" and on site results ,but now the clouds are here because my new ES 82° eyepieces also arrived

 

[kriss13]

This is how it looks in RL (ignore the mess... I was doing some tests/ reorganising my backpack)

I will post how this works as soon as the rain stops

[kriss13]

UPDATE take 2.

I realized it is too much hassle with an imbus (how we call torx) in the dark , and that aluminum holes are not very resilient against a lot of (ab)useing with strew/unscrew every time.

So I planed to put a permanent headless screw in on which I will use a nut. The problem was my goles were too close to the RA lever and was blocking it.

Time to another set of holes... 1 hour later was done.

 

[kriss13]

Btw, I also upgraded my DEC and RA screw to a more modern look :).

Unplanned it helped a lot with my mod.

I wanted this too look "stock" and professional made, not something made up in a haste to a solution.

The wait time for the parts (1 month for headless crews, RA & DEC upgrade, red nuts) was worth it (from alliexpress china).

 

1. Barely clearance between the PM red nut and the blue RA screw (hence the second attempt and drills).

The original screws of the AZEQ5 plate are now screwed in the old holes... a nice place to keep them handy, just in case..

 

2. Told you my upgraded blue RA screw gave me a nice surprise... clearance to my fingers to access the red nut easily.

2.

 

3. One red nut out, the headless screw revealed.

 

4. Oops, no clearance to take out the PM adapter... wait...

 

5. .. voila, kudos for the upgraded RA nut and its clearance.

6. Both headless screws revealed. Notice they are at the very edge of the MiniGiro.

 

7. Ready for the PM to be put back in the case... or ready for a session of visual stargazing (no polar align needed).

You may see that the DEC got a new blue lever too

 

An easy DIY mod to ensure the PM is right in the axis, using another PM official adapter and couple of parts (about 20$ total) which also looks nice to look at.

Feel free to ask any questions about parts or the procedure.