Temporary Pier

[kljucd1]

Hi,

Don't laugh but is there such a thing as a temporary peir?

What I would like is something that is fairly stable but does not involve drilling holes or building decks/observatories and the like.

I am not fortunate enough to own my own home at this stage and so holes in the concrete are not possible, nor is killing large areas of grass (the real estate makes you pay for the damage).

Any ideas, as I would love to be able to leave the mount outside, polar aligned, so I can simply attach the scope and be viewing the heavens.

Anyway any ideas would be very much appreciated :)

PS. I have a HEQ5 mount, if that is relevant.

Thanks

Daniel...

[ballaratdragons]

Yep, Daniel, the same Pier that I have just restored!

All you need to place it down is 3 bricks or blocks of redgum, and you can easily take it anywhere with you or leave it temporarily 'permanently' set up :thumbsup:

The one I have now was Berts, and he had it permanently set up on 3 blocks of hardwood for years. And now that I have it, you can't even see where it was in his yard. Excellent for rental situations.

You can get them from here: http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-171

[kljucd1]

Hi,

Cool!!

So do you leave the mount head outside as well? If so, what is recommended to keep the, currently very plentiful supply of, rain off?

Thanks

Daniel...

[ballaratdragons]

LOL, anything you can think of to cover the head.

Most people probably bring the head in after a session, but I have left my EQ6 out for weeks at a time by covering it with an old sheet then a small tarp.

Bert only covered his with a bucket!!!!!! :eyepop: But it stayed dry :thumbsup:
(which in itself reminds me of a funny story. The 1st time we visited Bert, my son saw the upturned bucket on Berts Mount, and said "hey, a bucket dryer" :lol: )

[ballaratdragons]

Oh, that also reminds me,

I had my Huge EQ mount only covered with a tarp for over a year, and it ran perfect every time :thumbsup:

All I did at the end of a session was rolled the cables up and tucked them under the Head, and covered it all.

[kljucd1]

:lol::lol:

Cheap and simple, way to go!!

Woot! less effort!!...hmmm now for the money part :).

Thanks again.

Daniel...

[ballaratdragons]

Daniel, this is the Huge EQ I left outside for over a year with just a tarp over it:

1. the size of it with OTA. It's BIG (my son modelling :lol: )
2. removal of OTA, ready for tarp cover (all electronics and cables always ran faultlessly) and it always stayed dry.