Binocular chair mount

[Peter Drew]

Something I'd been meaning to make for ages, a comfortable all sky mount suitable for up to 80mm binoculars. It's a modified "zero gravity" chair mounted on a turntable that is manually driven in azimuth by a friction wheel. The turntable is OTT for the 50mm binocular shown and is intended eventually to suppoert a much larger construction for a 150mm instrument. You control the elevation by pressing your feet on to a footrest bar and the chair slowly recines until you can look at the zenith. A tendency, for the slightly out of balance weighting caused by the binocular support, to fall backwards near the zenith position, has been solved by attaching a Bungee cord between the footrest and the fixed frame of the chair. This also assists in returning the chair to the start position, a major breakthrough! 

[Demonperformer]

Looks ingenious. 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great idea. Might try to make one myself

[Moonshane]

Amazing - I once saw a documentary about someone surely related? 

[Peter Drew]

My great, great, great grandparents!  

[Moonshane]

Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that 

[tooth_dr]

That is fab!  Nice duvet and you could spend an evening out in that. No cup holder?

[Badweather]

20 hours ago, Peter Drew said:

Something I'd been meaning to make for ages, a comfortable all sky mount suitable for up to 80mm binoculars. It's a modified "zero gravity" chair mounted on a turntable that is manually driven in azimuth by a friction wheel. The turntable is OTT for the 50mm binocular shown and is intended eventually to suppoert a much larger construction for a 150mm instrument. You control the elevation by pressing your feet on to a footrest bar and the chair slowly recines until you can look at the zenith. A tendency, for the slightly out of balance weighting caused by the binocular support, to fall backwards near the zenith position, has been solved by attaching a Bungee cord between the footrest and the fixed frame of the chair. This also assists in returning the chair to the start position, a major breakthrough! 

Hi Peter,

I love that a bungee cord was used in a major breakthrough.

 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Badweather said:

Hi Peter,

I love that a bungee cord was used in a major breakthrough.

 

I guess it was an idea that just sprung to mind

[1parsec]

Nicely done.

I hope the addition of the bungee didn't over stretch your budget 

[Stu]

Help me. What have I started!  

[Peter Drew]

Nothing that can't be retracted.