8se pier worth it?

[Brutha]

Hi all,

Since manoeuvring my 8se out of the back door on its tripod can be a bit of a pain, and I have plenty of space in the garden, I’m thinking of building a concrete pier for it. Apart from convenience, I am thinking it might help the vibrations a bit.

BUT - we get some horrific weather here (strong winds, rain etc!), so I would have to keep the telescope inside the house on the mount, then take it outside and bolt it on each time I use it.

Any thoughts on whether this is a worthwhile thing to do? Has anyone done anything similar?

Cheers

Brutha

[AMcD]

Hi Brutha,

Before I invested in a roll-off roof observatory I had my scope on a pier that was bolted to a concrete foundation in the middle of a patio.  I left the scope mounted on it all year under a TeleGizmos 365 cover (see TeleGizmos Telescope Covers [2] | First Light Optics).  Apart from the odd spider incursion, the cover protected the scope from all levels of bad weather throughout the year over the course of 3 or 4 years.  

As you rightly surmise, a pier makes using the scope much, much more convenient.  The mount can remain polar aligned from session to session and, apart from attaching cables etc., the scope is ready to go as soon as the cover is removed.  It also helped very much with vibrations.  I found that the pier meant I spent many more nights under the stars than I had done when I had to set everything up from scratch for each session.

Overall, I think it is a very worthwhile thing to do.

A

[gajjer]

Hi Brutha

just to reinforce what AMcD said. I made my pier so that I had location dowels that would ensure I positioned the mount in exactly the same position each time I fitted it. The intention was to take the mount off after each session. However, it wasn't long before it was being left on all the time. All I did was remove the scope and cover the mount with a rugged black bin bag. It's been fine for several years. I can't bring myself to leave the scope on it though.

The other thing I have is a plastic bin. At the end of a session all the cables, focus control, games pad etc all just get dumped into the box for sorting the next day. It just makes strip down quicker.

I hope you enjoy your pier as much as I have. 

cheers 

gaj

 

[Brutha]

Thanks both! I think I shall start making some prep for this then, looks like it could be the summer project for next year!