Trolley to move my Dobsonian about!

[Guest]

Well isn't that just neat.  

[Roog]

9 minutes ago, Mike Q said:

Well isn't that just neat.  

Its good enough for my purpose, and when not in use it is just a deck of wood outside the back door with all of the lifting apparatus unclipped and put in the shed. When I went to collect it, its designer and maker expressed much frustration that it could have been improved, but as he said to me, "I had to stop changing things and start welding at some point" so this is what i ended up with. He has gone off to think about MKii and MKiii versions!

It has got me thinking that there must be a need for a similar low cost device, if somewhat developed to make it safer, to help less ambulant people in and out of their homes.   

Edited May 26, 2022 by Roog

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Roog said:

Its good enough, and when not in use it is just a deck of wood out side the back door with all of the lifting apparatus unclipped and put in the shed. When I went to collect it, its designer and maker expressed much frustration that it could have been improved, but as he said to me, "I had to stop changing things and start welding at some point" so this is what i ended up with. He has gone off to think about MKii and MKiii versions!

It has got me thinking that there must be a need for a similar low cost device, if somewhat developed to make it safer, to help less ambulant people in and out of their homes.   

What comes to mind is something you just pull with a lever.  Pull up and it locks into place.  Push a little more and it unlocks and you can lower it.  The other and sleeker version would be something that can use a lithium ion battery like in a power tool.  Plug it in and push the button

Edited May 26, 2022 by Guest

[adyj1]

1 hour ago, Roog said:

Its good enough for my purpose

I think you are playing it down too much - it is a well-engineered solution that does *exactly* what you need, cossetting your precious Dob from any hazardous jolts as it is gently lowered to the launchpad with little effort from yourself.

I think you should be very proud - I bet there's more than one envious observer reading this thread...

Thanks for posting the vid, btw - I've watched it more than once   

[Roog]

1 hour ago, Mike Q said:

What comes to mind is something you just pull with a lever.  Pull up and it locks into place.  Push a little more and it unlocks and you can lower it.  The other and sleeker version would be something that can use a lithium ion battery like in a power tool.  Plug it in and push the button

Bang on the money, this was his, (lets call him 'Brian' because that is his name), first idea, until I asked if it could be remote controlled as I wasn't sure that i could get out through the back door once I had loaded the telescope on the platform.  It retrospect I think a removable handle would have worked well. As for the battery conversion this is my next task. 

[Roog]

16 minutes ago, adyj1 said:

I think you are playing it down too much - it is a well-engineered solution that does *exactly* what you need, cossetting your precious Dob from any hazardous jolts as it is gently lowered to the launchpad with little effort from yourself.

I think you should be very proud - I bet there's more than one envious observer reading this thread...

Thanks for posting the vid, btw - I've watched it more than once   

I think that you are quite right @adyj1 I have no reason to be coy about its worth, because all credit goes to my mate and ex-colleague 'Brian' who very kindly designed and fabricated it for me.

I have another video of it going up too, although it is very similar   :0)

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, Roog said:

It has got me thinking that there must be a need for a similar low cost device, if somewhat developed to make it safer, to help less ambulant people in and out of their homes.   

For that short of a rise, most folks in the US put in a ramp (generally made of treated wood so it can be removed when no longer needed) where your pavers are to the left, and leave a platform large enough for a wheeled chair to spin 90 degrees to enter the doorway.

For longer rises, there are these lifts available:

[Roog]

Of course you make a very good point @Louis D the simplest solutions are the best and a ramp was my first thought, but my inner geek fancied a motorised lift, in fact I would have asked for one that made a quarter of a turn clockwise at the same time as lowering just to ease the telescope exit from the platform, but I sensed I'd made the brief complicated enough already, MkiV version perhaps? 

I expect 'Brian' being the engineer that he is did check what the requirements would be to make a compliant lift such as the one pictured in your post, I recall he did ring me to ask "how safe do you want this telescope accessory to be?" I decided that I would own the risk. I'll do a toe count at the end of the year. 

[StarryEyed]

Couldn't resist it. 

[Roog]

It can up as well.

 

 

[AstroTUFFTRUK]

WOW, outstanding !! Where there's a will, there's a way, absolutely brilliant workaround. Love the trolley too 👍 it's all about making it as easy as we can to just get out there and enjoy the sky.

Inspirational. 😊