Pier Mount Query... (Southern Hemisphere)

[Paliadon]

Hi all, I currently have an NEQ6Pro mount coupled with a Meade LX200 10" scope and Orion 80 Short Tube assembly for auto guiding. What I am querying is how do I make a pier mount?

I live in the southern hemisphere. With the equipment I already own, am I able to make the mount "fit" on a pier mount as well as how do I orient a pier mount?

Any help would be great guys.

Cheers

Kris

P.S. If any Aussies out there live around the Seymour area, let me know. I have huge troubles getting her properly polar aligned and any help would be gold. Thanks again.

[Paliadon]

Anyone?

[ncjunk]

The pier designs most people seem to follow are a large ish pipe or tube filled with concrete with 4 bolts inserted into it. You can then attach a plate to the bolts and an adaptor for the mount.

See the attached pic from the web.

Also attached the EQ6 dimensions for the mount, I have checked them against mine and am getting an adaptor made up following this pdf (by my father in-law)

Also search the Observatory section of the forum as there are loads of photos of the piers people have built so you can see how they are constructed. Normally the foundations for the pier are separated from the building or shed foundations to minimise vibration.

Saludos!

Neil C

eq6_dimensions.pdf

[ncjunk]

Align the Pier with North when you build it and do the fine adjustments as you normally would on the mount.

NC

[beamish]

Surely you polar align to the Southern Pole ?

You'll need to first align your RA post close to the N-S (facing South) meridian so that when you plonk your mount on you'll not have too far to go to align the mount itself.

Thru your polar finder you'll see the Southern Polar constellations and these need to match the position of the constellations in the sky, BUT first you'll need to ensure that the reticle in the Polar finder is correctly aligned to the polar axis of the mount.

Go to the Skywatcher site for PDF's of polar aligning and I'll see if I can find links to polar reticle alignment ( mount)

http://www.geologynet.com/astronomy/polar.htm

http://www.myastroshop.com.au/guides/polar-align-basic.pdf

[barkis]

We in the Northern Parts are fortunate to hav ePolaris as a nearly there marker. Accurate enough for visual work, but still too far ouit for Photography, at least long exposure photography.

The Southern Hemisphere lacks a good marker star, although the polar scope has a marker map to aid you.

You could resort to Drift alignment which is a very accurate way to align your mount.

Here is a link to guide you through the procedure.

Ron.

http://www.southern-astro.com.au/php/guides/lx200gpsdriftalignment.php

Whoops, Karlo beat me to it.

[ncjunk]

my brain had trouble with australia being in the south...sorry...

[Paliadon]

Wow, now it looks as though I have some reading to do. Thanks guys, greatly appreciated.

[Merlin66]

Polar alignment in the S hemisphere is a little more difficult as our "pole star" Sigma Octans is only about mag 5. I generally just did a rough alignment then tuned it in with the drift method..

Paliadon,

I think the main issue is getting that adaptor plate between the EQ mount and the top of the pier.... There must be someone in Oz making them? Have you checked via the IceInSpace forum???