I've modified my pier in anticipation of my EQ8 turning up on Monday.
I have modified a top adjustment plate that was previously made to suit/fit an EQ6 - it has a central well and a bolt hole in the bottom - I enlarged that a little and bought a straight M12x75mm bolt that will do the job. If you're making your own from flat plate without any well in the centre, a M12x50mm would do the job.
I also drilled a couple of holes in the wings where the azimuth securing bolts will go (80mm out from the centre) and another hole 54mm behind the centre where I had installed an azimuth adjustment pillar made out of an old galvanised bolt. It's secured by a bolt above and one below the plate. The one on top I have ground down so it is pretty thin and also ground the sides so it is much smaller in overall diameter. That way it should not foul the mount when it goes on top.
Should do the trick.
I'll post some pics tomorrow. I'm imaging at the moment and can't use a flash in the obs for the rest of tonight.
Peter
Peter,
Many thanks for the reply, I guess I was assuming the center bolt would be an issue, but maybe not, our EQ8 order is still ten days away here in NZ.
I'm NOT putting mine on my pier
Actually, the reason is simple, my pier is a monster with a wide top plate to accommodate the Meade superwedge. When I put the eq8 in it I found that the width of the plate seriously restricted the amount of movement past the meridian that I could get. So Tripod it is...
I'm moving to new house in Whitley Bay in 2 weeks.
I can feel the North Sea Chill from here. I can still smell the winkles and diesel from the Spanish City.
I've not noticed any inbuilt Polar alignment routine, bus dead-reckon it then move the mount to the target of a one star alignment does the trick pretty well
Many thanks for the reply, I guess I was assuming the center bolt would be an issue, but maybe not, our EQ8 order is still ten days away here in NZ.
Robert
Hi Robert, here's those pics I promised.
After the mount is attached to the top plate, I'll lower it on those 4 long bolts and put securing nuts on the bottom side as well to lock it in.
The azimuth post may need a bit more fiddling depending on how well (or poorly) it sits with the bottom of the mount. But that's just grinding wheel work and not a big deal.
Peter, I've found on mine, that as the top plate is bigger than the head, counter weights won't slide all the way to the top of the bar. They hit the top plate
I'm thinking that once the 12" newt goes on that won't be an issue, the weights will all be at the other end of the bar anyway
I guess the ideal pier head would be round with a 180mm diameter like the top of the tripod.
Peter, I've found on mine, that as the top plate is bigger than the head, counter weights won't slide all the way to the top of the bar. They hit the top plate
I'm thinking that once the 12" newt goes on that won't be an issue, the weights will all be at the other end of the bar anyway
I guess the ideal pier head would be round with a 180mm diameter like the top of the tripod.
Hmmmm. Sounds like a job for the big disc grinder with heavy cutting wheel. I do just love all those sparks flying into my shoes, down my shirt and in what's left of my hair.
Peter
It was the OTA that was the issue for me. I recon I'll get a custom pier made for it to regain the height I have lost. Pegasus Piers, here I come! (can you hear me Phil?!)
Just a quicky on power supply. I pull 12v from my new obs computer to power everything and never had an issue. I did a few nights testing using an qhy5LII as a camera to collect numbers without issue. Now I have the atik 11000 connected I've had power issues.
The mount would stall while slewing and it's red power light would flash. The Atik would drop comms, locking up maxim and I'd have to pull and replug the usb to get it going again.
I've put the mount on it's own supply and all my problems went away.
I haven't measured what it's drawing but that obs pc is a low end AMD dual core with an Intel SSD drive and a 500 watt supply. Go figure?
Just a quicky on power supply. I pull 12v from my new obs computer to power everything and never had an issue. I did a few nights testing using an qhy5LII as a camera to collect numbers without issue. Now I have the atik 11000 connected I've had power issues.
The mount would stall while slewing and it's red power light would flash. The Atik would drop comms, locking up maxim and I'd have to pull and replug the usb to get it going again.
I've put the mount on it's own supply and all my problems went away.
I haven't measured what it's drawing but that obs pc is a low end AMD dual core with an Intel SSD drive and a 500 watt supply. Go figure?
i figured that something like this would suck some juice, especially slewing - the titan does
I'm pretty sure I put the mount on a 2 amp 13.5v supply, first that came to hand.
I don't understand why the 500 watt supply in the pc wouldn't cope?
It needs 4amp power supply at full load. Its a hungry beast. A computer supply isn't designed to deliver that sort of peak current through a single outlet. Jaycar is your freind...
The psu will do 8 amps on each 12 volt rail? And it's not a cheapy.
The atik only draws just over an amp, low end cooling eq8 running fine on a 1.8amp supply at 13.5v.
The psu is only 12v though, maybe that's the issue?
Anyway, be aware it's a power pig.
It needs 4amp power supply at full load. Its a hungry beast. A computer supply isn't designed to deliver that sort of peak current through a single outlet. Jaycar is your freind...
Yes, they are. I picked up a 13.8 volt at 5 amp unit (Powertech) for $99 from them for my EQ8. But the mount has yet to arrive. I have a bell but no bicycle as my grandpa would have said.
Peter
It needs 4amp power supply at full load. Its a hungry beast. A computer supply isn't designed to deliver that sort of peak current through a single outlet. Jaycar is your freind...
I don't know for any particular supply, but mine delivers 12amps an a single 12v rail without trying really.
My EQ8 is still not here despite the tracking showing it's been " On Board for Delivery" in the Brisbane Depot since last Friday afternoon. StarTrack are you out there? Is anyone home? I'm 45 nautical miles from Brisbane International Airport. This is not remote.
Come on boys and girls, this thread is a little slow, you've got at least 988 pages to go before you reach the 1000 mark, afterall this is the mount to beat all mounts
My EQ8 is still not here despite the tracking showing it's been " On Board for Delivery" in the Brisbane Depot since last Friday afternoon. StarTrack are you out there? Is anyone home? I'm 45 nautical miles from Brisbane International Airport. This is not remote.
Peter
Give them a ring, nothing like speaking to a real person.
Come on boys and girls, this thread is a little slow, you've got at least 988 pages to go before you reach the 1000 mark, afterall this is the mount to beat all mounts
clouds, pestilence, family and now in my case sickness