The old Equatorial Platform chestnut

[trent_julie]

Hey all,

I wish to purchase an Equatorial platform suitable for a 16inch Lightbridge, whilst I am well aware that this can be done at home, I do not have the tools nor a shed to complete this task and for us to sell the apartment so I can have a shed is currently out of the question.

I do not wish to use a track-n-train setup as I do not want apparent rotation of the object I will be observing.

I would like to go through someone with experience in building these platforms rather than go through a cabinet maker that I find randomly in the yellow pages.

I would like to find someone in Australia that can make them, as from what I understand is they can contain a fair amount of wood and I simply do not want the potential trouble with quarantine.

Any suggestions would be absolutely appreciated.

Cheers,

Trent

[Blue Skies]

I don't think the wood would be that much of an issue. When I came back from the US once I had some wooden candlestick holders from my sister's mother-in-law and I asked the customs officer about it during the inspection and she said she just needed to check for signs of holes that insects might have made otherwise it was ok. The EQ platforms are usually made with ply because its strong and light, and they are layered with lots of glue, so its not that insect friendly. If its openly declared so it can be checked it should be ok. I've seen imported EQ platforms here in Aus and no one mentioned any trouble with customs getting them into the country. And think of all the Obsession telescopes that have imported in, they're all plywood as well and no trouble there. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had problems in the past, though.

[Wavytone]

The only reason you could say that is long exposure imaging... there are easier ways than adapting a 16" dob for that.

[trent_julie]

Good Point,



Your spot on the money, however i wish the telescope to be portable and also able to be used for observing, I guess I figured that the equatorial table was the best compromise.

Thank again for your responses

Trent

[iceman]

I bought my EQ platform from Brian Reed from the US, but that was in 2006! Unfortunately he has closed his business down now.

There was no problem bringing it in from the US - it's just that shipping/postage cost a lot.

To my knowledge, there's noone in Australia that makes them commercially but I'm happy to be corrected.

You can't avoid field rotation over a long period of time, but this isn't a problem for visual observing. If you plan to do planetary/lunar imaging, it's not a problem for that either because the exposures are so short.

[Barrykgerdes]

I haven't built an equatorial platform for some time but I would like to build one for my 16in lightbridge.

I have the workshop, tools and machinery maybe we could get together and make a couple.

Barry

[trent_julie]

Mike,
after attending your presentation at the Powerhouse Museum I did some research into various forms of tracking systems and found that the Equatorial Platform was the best way ahead for us. Simplicity is the overall winning factor. that and I should be able to stretch my exposures that tiny bit more if we ever decide to try some DSO stuff, also it would be nice to be a bit more hands free during public displays rather than having to fuss every couple of minutes.

Not to mention that a nicely made platform simply looks beautiful..
yes, I am quite aware this path eventually takes me to the purchase of a massive obsession, however, we will have to pay for a wedding first, so that may have to wait a while ........a long while




Barry I would like to take you up on this offer!

:thumbsup: