I have decided tonight, to purchase a Sirius 3.5m observatory for all the obvious reasons. Iam planning dig a great hole in our orchard after chopping down a cherry tree. At the top of this pier foundation it will narrow to a vertical cylinder to the proposed height of the observatory deck. I plan to make a dummy pier base plate , attach my anchor bolts to it, then push it into the wet concrete. After the concrete sets, I will unbolt the dummy and remove it, leaving the protruding threaded ends ready to accept the pier after all the rest of the beautiful thing is constructed.
I will be mounting an meade ultra wedge onto the pier.
Question: Do I have to orient the pier in relation to the true poles of the earth or can I manage to get polar alignment by manipulating the wedge. Once the bolts are set in concrete I had better have got it right!
I have ordered the observatory, arranged with a buider to construct the deck but need some advice about constructing the foundations and orientation of the pier to hold up meade ultra wedge and lx200gps 10" scope.
Would welcome advice
Peter B
