Where can one buy an inclinometer ?

[seeker372011]

at a reasonable cost?

I have to move my mount to 53 deg to transport (otherwise it doesn't fit in the foam cut out) and its a right royal pain to get it back to 34 deg at my dark site-thinking an inclinometer could help speed things up

I tried in my local Mitre 10 and they didnt have anything like that

thanks in advance
Narayan

[Lee]

I bought a spirit level from Bunnings (Stabila) - it has a roatable dial - so you can work out an incline by levelling the rotated bubble.....

[Omaroo]

Silva, the compass people, make them. The good thing about using one of these is that your angle is absolute, rather than merely relative to the tripod table....meaning a more accurate overall angle. Use it to measure lateral level too. :)

http://www.geodetic.com.au/category268_1.htm

[AstroJunk]

I use this baby to get me close:

http://www.armysurplus.com.au/index.php?page=showProduct&id=SU4230

A Suunto MC-2. Doubles up as a compass too. Handy that.

[Sharnbrook]

Even better is to cut a wedge of scrap plywood, or chipboard, that has the exact angle calculated by trigonometry, which then can be laid against your OTA, and adjustment made with the assistance of a spirit level. This would be as, or more accurate than an inclinometer, and if you already have a spirit level, would in effect cost nothing.

Not knowing whether you have easy access to trig calculators, this would mean a right angled triangle with a base of 300mm, a vertical of 202.5mm, and a hypotenuse of 362mm, assuming a latitude of 34 degrees.

Regards,

Mike

[iceman]

I got my inclinometer from Mitre 10.

[Harb]

drill a hole in the 90 degree base mark on a cheap plastic school protractor you can get from the news agent........hang a nut or sinker on some string , tie the other end of the string through the hole, hang the whole thing upside down, gravity will pull the string past the degree marks on the protractor and away you read......

:)

[GTB_an_Owl]

got one like Mike's from Bunnings

[Harb]

You could also modifiy the foam cutout to suit your angle.........
I used to move my EQ mount around , so I used to shine a light down the polar scope(which was just a hollow tube!) back the other way and project a light dot on the concrete floor which I had marked......sped things up a lot to check setup....I supose you could also use a long straight edge to align to a mark on the floor.

[johnno]

Anywhere that sells Yachting supplies,should have good ones.
Regards.
John

[seeker372011]

thanks everyone, there's quite a few options there :)

I did make a large wooden triangle for setting at home similar to the idea Mike (sharnbrook) suggests but never made one for Linden, my usual dark site..was looking for something just a bit smaller I have already too many things to cart to a dark site

Thanks for your help all

Narayan

[netwolf]

Narayan,

I to have been searching the shops for and Angle Finder like the on at the top of the page here
http://www.geodetic.com.au/category497_1.htm
Asked at a few Bunnings stores they did not have it.
May have to order online, have not tried Mitre 10 yet.

Regards

[spudrick]

Similar one in Bunnings today $38.95