|
|
 I lost around 6" in scope height when I switched from the tripod to the pier. After looking at several possibilities, I almost stumbled on a SkyWatcher Tripod Extension, that adds 8" in height and should work just as well on a pier. It did mean that I had to lower the Pier Adaptor by just over an inch, but the whole process was very straight forward. Just need a clear night to try it all out now  Today, finally, fitted the pier and leveled the adapter plate. Relatively straight forwards, despite the pier base being slightly out of true. But the bolt positioning was perfect. Installed the NEQ6 and C9.25. It will be a while before I can do a proper polar align due to an inconvenient tree obscuring Polaris in the summer. However the centre of the pier is very close to the centre of the tripod previously (within 0.25") and I kept the Parked settings of the mount. Having also used a laser guide to mark the wall in direct line of the mount peg, alignment should be close enough for observing and short exposure imaging. Assuming it ever stops raining that is! Now focusing on running the many USB, power, and dew heater leads, fitting the dew heater and USB hub, and trying to reduce the overall spaghetti look!  So a busy few days tidying up the concrete surface, removing formers, cutting holes in the floor piece, and fitting the floor. Then rolling back the carpet and cutting a matching hole. And now, it's all ready for the pier to be fitted, and then the fun can start! Will allow a few more days curing, so the plan is to fit the pier on Saturday. The end is in sight! |
Archives
January 2015
AuthorTales from an Astronomer constantly battling the Orange Skies kindly provided by Milton Keynes Council. Categories |
RSS Feed