Open-Air Pier Mount

[bottletopburly]

 I remove the head if I’m not going to be using for a while , it is still quicker than lugging the tripod out all electrics and usb cable underground to shed 

 

[Jkulin]

On 18/07/2018 at 17:58, Kaliska said:

Well, here it is all set up and aligned, ready for action. I invested in the Telegizmo 365 cover as well

What size Telegizmo did you go for? Do you just leave mount and weights out and bring the OTA inside? My iOptron is a similar size to the AZ-EQ6 so may well invest in one.

[Kaliska]

47 minutes ago, Jkulin said:

What size Telegizmo did you go for? Do you just leave mount and weights out and bring the OTA inside?

I went for this one  which is for 5" refractors (plenty big enough).

I just bring in the camera and EWF, the rest I leave all setup. I've been popping home during the day to check how warm everything gets under this sun and its not at all hot.

[DAVE AMENDALL]

I had an all weather Telegizmo (there are different grades and prices within the Telegizmo range) The all weather ones are good. There is minimum condensation during the winter months. I sold it on after 2 years use when I got my Obsy

It looked no different after two years than the day I bought it...Dave

[DaveS]

I stopped dismantling my rig some time ago, and with the DDM it just wouldn't be practical.

I too use a Telegizomos 365 cover and a pet bed for dewey nights, but I leave the bottom open for ventilation.

[Jkulin]

My Telegizmo arrived last week, superb piece of kit but as you can see from the grass not tried in in the rain yet.

I'm only leaving the pier out as it will depend on my object which scope I use.

If this works out fine then perhaps I should have gone for the iOptron 120 instead of the CEM60EC as I would then only have to lift it on to the pier and it was only £100 more.

[DaveS]

That's great, but there's no need to wrap the mount up like a package, in fact leaving the bottom open for ventilation is probably a good idea.

Oh, and in addition to a pet bed, a silicone water-repellant spray is useful to have.

[Rusted]

An open bottomed bag or cover will attract nesting birds, wasp nests and spiders.

I speak from direct experience of twice removing birds nests from the base fork of my MkIV.

Perhaps a net bag with a drawstring or cord around the pier would prevent such invasions?

The waterproof cover can go over the top of the net.

[DaveS]

Not had those problems. My garden has plenty of better sites for birds to nest in, the oily atmosphere under the cover probably puts them off. Had the occasional spider web though.

Maybe Ruislip isn't the most nature-friendly area.

[Davey-T]

I have a large cover on mine that reaches nearly to the ground and the neighbours cat has taken to lurking under it as it's not far from the bird table.

Dave

[Dr_Ju_ju]

woe betide any cat that enters my garden, I have anti-feline measures in place......

[Gina]

I hope no moggies were hurt in your experiments!

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Only the cats......

[Gina]

Moggies are cats!

[Dr_Ju_ju]

I even put up with the Herons looking for an easy supper (they don't get one...), cats on the other hand are bad news....  being polite !  also allergic to the vermin.

[DAVE AMENDALL]

Can never understand people who don't like cats

[Dr_Ju_ju]

If you saw me writhing on the floor trying to breath, then maybe you'd understand.....

[Gina]

Oh - I see.  I understand.

[DAVE AMENDALL]

Oh dear I did'nt realise that there was anybody who suffered that bad due to cats

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Neither did I, until I was on holiday in southern France, staying with some friends, in a family home, & keeling over on the 2nd day there....

[Jkulin]

On 03/08/2018 at 21:18, DaveS said:

That's great, but there's no need to wrap the mount up like a package, in fact leaving the bottom open for ventilation is probably a good idea.

Oh, and in addition to a pet bed, a silicone water-repellant spray is useful to have.

Hi Dave,

I'm sure you are right, however I have a very large access point in the side for access to the 4 locking bolts and for when I used my AZ-EQ6-GT and I didn't expect the Telegizmo to be quite so short, as I wanted that covered to stop any possible corrosion or indeed birds or wasps nesting in there, so I had to pull it down to cover it.

Once I have recovered from all my recent expenditure than I may in vest it a slightly larger cover that comes down an extra foot.

It's also a south facing garden and really does pickup up some exceptional south westerly winds.