Handle with care

[beren]

Saw this vid
, imagine setting that up and down every night. After tripping over a tripod leg {thong got caught in the locking knobs} and taking a face plant into concrete with laptop in hands a few months ago I'm ultra careful now setting up

[RickS (Rick)]

I wouldn't want to be doing that in the dark!

[lazjen (Chris)]

Too much work whether it's dark or not!

[leon]

That looks just plain dangerous.

Leon

[LewisM]

Geez, talk about extreme bird watching - the tree is right there :LOL:

[Wavytone]

Nah... it’s for watching birds with no feathers

Now.. how many things are wrong in that setup...

1. It’s under a tree;
2. Large metal objects should not be placed within 6m eiether side under powerlines;
3. Cradle should be horizontal, not pointing at the pole;
4. Tripod has skinny wheels that will sink into grass;
5. The mass of the OTA exceeds international standards for a safe one-man lift;
6. No handles or straps to make it safe and easy to lift:
7. Working at height without appropriate safety controls; fall from that thing is likely to result in permanent injury or death.

[skysurfer]

Originally Posted by Wavytone

Nah... it’s for watching birds with no feathers

Now.. how many things are wrong in that setup...

1. It’s under a tree;
2. Large metal objects should not be placed within 6m eiether side under powerlines;
3. Cradle should be horizontal, not pointing at the pole;
4. Tripod has skinny wheels that will sink into grass;
5. The mass of the OTA exceeds international standards for a safe one-man lift;

Then forget about a C14, which is usually lifted manually on the EQ8 or heavier mount.

Originally Posted by Wavytone

6. No handles or straps to make it safe and easy to lift:
7. Working at height without appropriate safety controls; fall from that thing is likely to result in permanent injury or death.

The 'worker' should be tied up / chained to a safety cable when working on a high platform.

I am lucky that even my large aperture scope (40cm Dob) is just grab&go, just put the wheelcart under it and drag it outside. And a 40cm Dob is easier to handle than a refractor of only half that aperture.
Even the 10cm Polarex from the 1970s on a mount is a monster compared to a 40cm f/4.5 Dob.

And my portable 11cm refractor is easy to bring along on trips like now in Oz.

[MattT]

I thought this was a hobby....international standards don’t apply....actuallly nothing applies cause it’s a hobby.

Looks like he has worked out a system, as I have with my 20 kg 6” f12.

[miker]

He was careful and methodical. Well done!

Michael.