Wind making scope shake?

[Woolnut]

Hi All,

I managed to get the 'scope out last night to take a look at the "Super Moon" and along the way i thought i would try out my new ZWO cam... It was pretty windy and it looks like the wind was making my 'scope shake a little? I was not tracking the Moon as i hadn't polar aligned. (the video is shaking a fair amount and i am 99.9% it was the wind causing it)

I assume this is an issue that many come across so i was wondering what the best way to deal with it is? My kit is below

[xtreemchaos]

wear two pairs of underpants   sorry could not help myself charl.

[geordie85]

Try placing your mount near something you can use as a wind breaker. 

Or the more expensive option is to build/ buy an observatory. 

[david_taurus83]

Hi. I'm on my phone so your signature doesn't show up so not sure what kit you have? I have a 200p and I reckon with DSLR and guide scope, guide camera and cables all attached I prob have the best part of 12kg rocking my little EQ5 mount!?

The 200p is like a wind sail so I know all about it! The best upgrade I found so far was buying a set of stainless steel legs as the are far sturdier than the aluminium ones. Also, I found that the right ascension worm gear on my mount had quite a bit of sideways play so I tightened it up a little and that also improved things. It's still got a little bit of movement but if you lock it up altogether the mount will struggle to move. It all depends on how strong the gusts of wind are really. Also, if your counterweights are further away from the centre of gravity (mount) then any little wobbles will take longer to settle down.

[Woolnut]

17 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Hi. I'm on my phone so your signature doesn't show up so not sure what kit you have? I have a 200p and I reckon with DSLR and guide scope, guide camera and cables all attached I prob have the best part of 12kg rocking my little EQ5 mount!?

The 200p is like a wind sail so I know all about it! The best upgrade I found so far was buying a set of stainless steel legs as the are far sturdier than the aluminium ones. Also, I found that the right ascension worm gear on my mount had quite a bit of sideways play so I tightened it up a little and that also improved things. It's still got a little bit of movement but if you lock it up altogether the mount will struggle to move. It all depends on how strong the gusts of wind are really. Also, if your counterweights are further away from the centre of gravity (mount) then any little wobbles will take longer to settle down.

I am using a 150p so we have similar sails! I am also using an EQ3-2 GoTo so it is a pretty light weight setup tbh!

Do you reckon getting a heavier duty tripod would help? (something like below)

https://www.365astronomy.com/365astronomy-az5-tripod-only-compatible-with-eq3-eq5-and-skytee-mounts.html

17 minutes ago, geordie85 said:

Try placing your mount near something you can use as a wind breaker. 

Or the more expensive option is to build/ buy an observatory. 

Yeah i was thinking about some sort of DIY wind breaker that i could just put up when required. It isn't normally windy enough to really need to have one but the first time using my cam has shown me there may be a requirement for one!

[xtreemchaos]

yes a heavy tripod would help, as above something to shelter would be the most help, I have a 200p on a eq6 and the wind still moves it, I'm thinking of getting 3 6foot fence pannels  to do a enclose. charl.

[spillage]

cork!!

[Woolnut]

Hmm... Sounds like a combination of a more heavy weight tripod and some DIY wind breaking will sort me out!  Thanks all!

[Bino Pete]

I don't know whether this would help - I use to use one bag of sand/rocks tied with three pieces of rope to each tripod leg (so the bag would dangle in the middle). It helped weigh the tripod down a little so making it a tad steadier.

[iapa]

hate to put a damper on this LOL

My 250 Newtonian is on a pier, and 20mph+ winds still moves it

There is someone who posts on youtube and he has put construction fencing around his rig:

 

[Woolnut]

Seems like a smart idea @iapa!

[michaelmorris]

Another way to stiffen a tripod is to use one of those large helical screws pegs dog owners use for attaching a lead to.  Screw the peg into the ground directly underneath the tripod.  Now attached the centre of the tripod to the peg with a bungee.

I hope this helps

[lux eterna]

7 hours ago, Woolnut said:

.. i was wondering what the best way to deal with it is? My kit is below

Make sure you have some un-balance in both RA and DEC. The more wind the more unbalance. If you have perfect balance, the weakest wind can move the scope because there will always be a little play in RA and DEC.

[iapa]

4 hours ago, michaelmorris said:

Another way to stiffen a tripod is to use one of those large helical screws pegs dog owners use for attaching a lead to.  Screw the peg into the ground directly underneath the tripod.  Now attached the centre of the tripod to the peg with a bungee.

I hope this helps

I did this on my SLT130 when it was at home, after trying hanging 12Kg weight from the center of the tripod

It worked slightly better than the ballast, but, at the time it was my grabngo so, the swinging pendulum was more convenient. 

TBH, I really preferred the weight against the ground spike

 

[Captain Scarlet]

... however, 20 mph is high wind, not even considering gusts. The power imparted by the wind to an obstruction varies as the cube of the wind-speed, so while, say, 10 mph may appear just about tolerable, 20 mph will be creating 8x the problems!

Cheers, Magnus