Counter Weight Systems (retrieved)

[mick pinner]

if you can wait about a week l'll be posting some pictures of a new weight system l'm making, full sliding weights, full range of sizes and adjustable for 3D balancing, another professional product from Mick and all this for about $100.00.

[acropolite]

Sounds good to me Mick. I also need a piggyback rail for the top, camera bracket for my EOS and rings to suit a shorty skywatcher ED80. Could this the start of MickInSpace Astronomy Products Pty. LTD.....:D

[mick pinner]

the more l see the prices of astronomical accessories you would have to agree we pay to much because we are a small market, because l have access to an engineering facility and friends that are specialists in plastics, aluminium and steel fabrication as well as mechanical engineering l really believe l can supply locally made products for a fraction of imported prices. My aim is to eventually do this full time.

[slice of heaven]

Are you taking orders then Mick ?

There's a few bits I need . At the moment I have 3 options... Pay through the nose and import... Buy inferior locally... Go through a long process of explaining to a local engineering firm exactly what I want and then hope it works properly.

The 1st will hurt my pocket.
The 2nd is not an option at all.
The 3rd could be a headache.

Theres definitely a market here in Oz for astro accessories.
Good luck with your venture.

[mick pinner]

l'll post photos in about a week and then l'll send a couple of sets out for people to try, if they like the set up then l'll make them for whoever wants one, let me know what you want and l'll make one for you to try. Thanks Mick. PM me.

[Starkler]

If you are interested in doing anything for a GSO dob , I can let you know that it takes between 1.5 and 2kg at the rear end to balance it for heavier eyepieces such as my pentax xl, and the 31mm terminagler. I used lead divers weights secured with a luggage strap.

[h0ughy]

do you often go observing under water? :D Or is it a reflection of the recent weather? :rofl: Sorry !!

what about a bar bell weight round, flat?

[Iddon]

Mick - count me in. I plan to but a range of accessories over the months ahead.

[mick pinner]

any requests will be seriously looked at, l am seriously looking at the viability of starting a retail outlet for astronomical accessories, hopefully selling almost completely australian made products, obviously there needs to be the market but l think between N.Z and us it would be viable.

[Starkler]

To get the right balance on a dob, one has to distribute the weight to put the centre of gravity right between the two altitude bearings. One way is to put your counterweights on the back of the mirror cell . I didnt like the idea of a heat retaining mass bleeding warm air currents into the OTA.

I have the rectangular flat type of weights which are designed to slip into a pocket of a divers weight belt. Being only about 1cm thick, I was able to strap them quite close to the centre of the OTA sides without them hitting the dob base. I wouldnt be able to do this with a barbell weight.
I wish I knew about these weights earlier, and they were quite cheap, $5 for a 1kg, $2.50 for a 0.5kg

Im running "springless" on my altitude hubs now, and its oh-so-nice :D

[Starkler]

I retrieved these posts which ended up in the buy-sell archive and made a new thread to save them.