Homemade piggy back mount

[Bugdozer]

Having read dubious reviews for the official Celestron piggy back camera mount, I decided to explore other options. This is what I came up with. 

I acquired two luggage straps and a camera tripod mounting plate from Amazon. There were some sticking out allen bolts on the underside of the tripod plate, which I removed, and glued a base of 4mm craft foam underneath, with a central cutout so I could access the screw to attach to the camera. This foam base rests directly against the telescope tube, providing cushioning and a grippy surface. 

The straps are attached to the camera by using the tripod plate to pinch them tight against the camera body. I did consider glueing the straps to the plate but they hold firm enough just with the screw tightened. 

Then the straps are placed around the telescope tube, under the dovetail bar, and tightened up to keep the camera firmly in place. 

I haven't tested this at night with any real photos yet, but as far as I can tell from daytime tests, it seems to work just fine. The difficult part will be getting a nice polar alignment with the 5SE! 

The cost of materials (not counting the craft foam which I had left over from my dew shield project) was just £12, compared to £30 for the official bracket. 

[Swoop1]

A nice 'bodge' @Bugdozer and by 'bodge' I mean it in the way of an elegant diy solution to a vexing problem.

[Bugdozer]

I have added some extra grip to the underside just to make it extra secure. These are cut up clarinet mouthpiece pads, which are made of very tacky rubber. This should act as a safeguard against slippage. 

I have tested this in the field twice now, once with an object only about 5 degrees from the zenith, and it seems to work perfectly. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by Bugdozer

[AstroRuz]

What a great idea. I imagine this can also be easily adapted to fit OTAs of any size as well. Price saving for sure. May need to try this out myself sometime