hi. i am very interested in making a pier. it is to suit a eq6 pro.
i am going to make it as a fixed set up.
these are the measurement i am looking at using to make it.
tube 1100mmtall, 6mm walls, dia 170mm
base plate 400mm* 400mm* 10mm
top plate 260mm*260mm*20mm
head top 255mm*255mm*40mm
does this look like a good build?
suggestions are very welcome.
thanks
les
You may find this drawing useful..
Also, make sure you allow a space below top plate for access to central screw (so that you can fasten/unfasten the mount easily
You may find this drawing useful..
Also, make sure you allow a space below top plate for access to central screw (so that you can fasten/unfasten the mount easily
thank you for the drawing. i was just doing the measurements now.
thanks
Hi Bojan. Les, I hope I'm not hijacking your thread with a question. I have a pier to rebuild as well so I'm interested in this also.
Am I right that this pier-top doesn't have adjustments for getting horizontal. The design assumes this is built into the pier support legs perhaps?
And what are the 3 holes in to top for?
And finally, what about an azimuth adjustment post?
Peter
The drawing I posted is for EQ6 equatorial mount.. So all adjustments are part of the mount.
Long time ago I built a pier with plastic tubing filled with concrete, and 3 bolts protruding out of it on top, which I used for adjustments. I will post the image if I can find it..
OK, here it is..
The shed was on wheels and tracks... the whole thing was movable by 2~3 metres, to expose the scope on mount (10" Newt)
Quote:
Originally Posted by pmrid
And what are the 3 holes in to top for?
And finally, what about an azimuth adjustment post?
Peter
3 holes are for fixing onto pier. At least this is what I will use them for (when I build it in my front yard.. when the trees around are high enough to shade the streets lights from 3 sides...)
Azimuth adjustment is part of EQ6 mount mechanism.
Suggest you make provision for leveling the adapter plate (3 x M15 threadbars and bolts).
You can't guarantee once you bolt the pier to the slab or concrete footings it'll stay put (vertical and leveled).
I had my Altux pier made for me by a local engineering firm (200mm NB steel thick walled pipe with 15mm thick base and top plates, no gussetting , and had a 40mm thick adapter plate mechined up from aluminium block , needed some mods.
Took two men to lift it out of the company's ute when they delivered it to me .... is HEAVY !!! which is good. The extra $30 was worth it .
Mine is a 1m length of pipe with 200mm tall threadbars (I'll shorten these) = leveling bolts bplted to the topplate (will eventually weld them on) and looks too tall for me once I attach the GEM and the 250mm newt , but I'm a shorty , and I designed it based on my desired ROR shed wall height to allow me to actually aim the polar alignment scope at the SCP and see a bit of sky lower down to 20o above my SW , S and SE horizons.
Last edited by Ian Robinson; 16-11-2009 at 07:48 PM.
I take it that when pier mounting an EQ6 you don't need a pier with an adjustable top plate? Do you just use the existing EQ6 method of fine tuning heading and altitude?
I take it that when pier mounting an EQ6 you don't need a pier with an adjustable top plate? Do you just use the existing EQ6 method of fine tuning heading and altitude?
Just make sure that you have bolts that go into pier roughly azimuth aligned (if you are making concrete pier), within 5° or so. The fine tuning can be done with EQ6 mount.
Just thinking in relation to the EQ6 on a pier. Why make a steel pier and then mount the machined adapter as in the drawing above on top, then mount the EQ6 onto that? Why not just make the pier with a thick top with the appropriate holes drilled and tapped in it? This would save on both materials and machining. Can anyone see an issue with doing it this way?
Well.. the problem is how to machine the top of the pier, remember thie whole thing is VERY heavy....
This way this is actually much easier and cheaper.
Also, sometimes in the future you may want pier somewhere else... then you just take the top and put it on the second pier.
This is the design for the top plates I have used for my concrete piers. Works beautifully and have had these plates on several as I have move from place to place. Have used it to mount an LX200 with wedge as well as an EQ6 - its very adaptable. On the inferior plate for the holes which accept the pier bolts, I cut them into small arched slots so that there would be some additional adjustment for N/S alignment. http://spazioinwind.libero.it/gpasi/tech/pier/pier.htm http://spazioinwind.libero.it/gpasi/...ier/plates.htm
I can post some photos of it as I've just made a new pier and deck in preparation for a Sirius observatory
