Making a fairly poor tripod work better.

[bluegoatwoods]

I actually have a modified dobsonian mount in mind for this telescope. But that one is going to require some moderately careful planning and fitting to get it right. And I have other things to do that, after all, are a higher priority.

 

So I’m going to make a tripod that isn’t quite up to the task work for now. And I’ll take photos. That way if there’s anyone out there who is getting along on a mount that isn’t really all that good, but doesn’t want to spend a bunch of money on a mount, then here’s something that might just make things a bit better.

 

(In the background, by the way, you’ll see some stakes in the ground. That’s the beginnings of my two-telescope, greenhouse style observatory. Peel back roof. Dismantle-able for lawn mowing season. But there’s nothing to show on that yet. I’ll come back when there is.)

 

The first step is to give the tripod camera shoe a larger ‘footprint’ in order that it can handle a 114mm/910mm telescope. I just cut four strips of steel 200 mm long. Bottom pieces thinner than top in order that they’d bend up and better ‘embrace’ the shoe.

 

Then I bolted the scope base through this whole assembly. You gotta be a little creative in order to get all of those holes lined up. But it’s not all that hard.

 

Two more 1 x 4s mounted to the sides gives a cradle that’ll hold a 4 ½ inch scope just about right.

 

 

Then something to hold the scope properly. There would be any number of ways of doing that, I’d guess. Here’s the one I chose based on supplies on hand.

 

 

I only looked through this scope for the first time just before this photo was taken. We’ve had bad weather, it hasn’t been mounted and I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks.

I bought it almost by mistake. I was browsing ebay. Not very serious about buying something. But if I’d stumbled across, say, a 10”dobsonian at $200, then I’d have snapped that up.

 

There was nothing like that. But I did come across this one. Starting bid was $80. I went ahead and bid on it at that price. I really didn’t expect to win that auction and I kinda hoped I wouldn’t since I didn’t see this as hardly anything more than what I already have.

 

But the seller didn’t get any other bids. So I ended up buying it. Shipping was another $20. I figured I was getting a scope with a rough value of $150 for $100. So I felt alright about it, but I wasn’t excited.

 

Then it came. Clean, barely used…..maybe never used……..original packaging and………….What’s this???

 

A 2 inch focuser!!!! Now we’re talking!!!!

 

I immediately ordered three 2” eyepieces. I haven’t told my wife just how much I spent on those, you can be sure. I probably never will. If she asks, I think I’ll tell her that she doesn’t want to know.

 

So after getting this scope mounted yesterday I looked through a 2” eyepiece for the first time. And I fully agree with those who say it’s a big improvement. My viewing session was short last night due to mosquitos and the need to do other things.

 

But random star-fields were beautiful and the wide field of view allowed me to track down Saturn even without a finder scope. I can’t wait for the cool, clear winter nights to come.

[JOC]

I know you've got a lot of it, but will nylon coated bungee cord really not slip on the white painted surface of the OTA?  I'd be tempted to add an L shaped bracket under the back of the tube just to stop it falling backwards and out of the mesh.  Also is that tripod really sturdy enough to not move under that weight?

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, bluegoatwoods said:

I immediately ordered three 2” eyepieces. I haven’t told my wife just how much I spent on those, you can be sure. I probably never will. If she asks, I think I’ll tell her that she doesn’t want to know...

Yes but we DO want to know , at least what they are, if not how much

[mikeDnight]

Ingenious, and a little kinky too. What's not to like!

[bluegoatwoods]

3 hours ago, JOC said:

I know you've got a lot of it, but will nylon coated bungee cord really not slip on the white painted surface of the OTA?  I'd be tempted to add an L shaped bracket under the back of the tube just to stop it falling backwards and out of the mesh.  Also is that tripod really sturdy enough to not move under that weight?

It actually seems to hold beautifully. I can tell already that this scope won't get knocked around short of the tripod falling over. Sliding it back and forth or turning it in that web takes just the right amount of effort: do-able but it takes will. It won't slide when I don't want it to. Maybe I'd want to be careful if it gets good and wet. But that'll only happen if I get caught in a real rain. I've got that stuff under some tension, though. So it might not move even then.

And the tripod felt very sturdy while observing. Aiming also was stable.

There was enough vibration to make fine focusing difficult.  (Is that what the term 'backlash' means?)

[bluegoatwoods]

2 hours ago, Captain Magenta said:

Yes but we DO want to know , at least what they are, if not how much

Okay.....it's a set of Celestron E-lux  "fully multi-coated"  (& I think) Plossls. 40mm, 32mm and 28mm. They came with 5 filters, a 2x two inch barlow and a 2 inch diagonal. Not to mention a pretty nice padded aluminum case. Almost as large as a small suitcase.

Cost was about 250.00. Give or take 5 bucks.

They were among the least expensive 2 inchers I could find.  I figured I had to make that concession to economizing.

And I suppose I'll upgrade to nicer eyepieces one at a time. Not quite yet, though.

[westmarch]

Hi there,

Very ingenious and I hope you have clear skies to enjoy it.  

I think you are likely to get some oscillation in wind just due to the weight of your OTA and wooden frame.  With your obvious talent for improvisation and carpentry, a dob mount should be well within reach and would give you a much more stable and durable mount.   Moonshane’s template is an excellent example of what you could achieve.

Love to hear how you get on.

John