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Peter, it is the power pack for the mount/scope/cameras etc... 0-15Volts up to 40Amps, I have it slung under the pier so that it is out of the way. However, I do have a laptop support arm if you look carefully in the second photo to hold the laptop when the scope is in use. I can swivel the laptop around the pier so that it is out of the way.
The pier is 273mm in diameter, 800mm in height and has a wall thickness of 12mm, it is massive but moves freely with the 125mm wheels. Once the pier is located over the three glued washers with tapered centres to self-centre the pier, I screw down the 20mm stainless rods until they reach the two locking nuts set at a position to level the mount (see my last photo).
It takes about two minutes to roll the pier out of the garage and have it ready for imaging. I then control the mount/CCD camera/guide camera using the desktop computer inside the house which talks to the laptop attached to the pier using VNCTight software. It take the same amount of time to switch every thing off and roll the gear back inside the garage.
The advantage of this system is that it is cheaper to use the existing garage to store the gear than to constructing an observatory and you can be inside the house out of the cold with the family while the images are being captured.
George
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