I will soon have a permanent pier in the garden and I’m starting to think about how best to protect it and the mount. The scope will be stored inside the house when not in use, so I need a solution to cover and protect the pier and mount head. I know I can use a Telegizmo or Geoptik cover but that looks messy.
I’ll need something a bit more aesthetically pleasing than an upturned garbage bin as it is situated in the front yard and will be visible from the street (also the wife would not be pleased if I had an upturned bin in the front yard).
The height of the pier mount is 1100mm and is sitting on a concrete base that is 0.5m x 0.5 m and don’t have anymore room.
I’m thinking I might need to go down the custom build route but was looking for some inspiration from the group.
I use Orion scope cloaks ( Bintel )
Use them for my EQ imaging rig and Goto dob
In Sydney, my EQ rig stays outside most of the year including scope ( excluding cameras )
Been using these for 5 years or so , no issues with my mount or scope getting mouldy or rusty
I don't, mine is lightweight and fully transportable.
In a previous life however, I came close to DIY'ing one of these: https://www.pierplates.com/motel.html
I don't, mine is lightweight and fully transportable.
In a previous life however, I came close to DIY'ing one of these: https://www.pierplates.com/motel.html
I don’t have a cement pier unfortunately. I’ve got a Pier2000 from Testar so that wouldn’t work.
I have two Absco pool pump sheds which I use to house my scopes. When I want to image, I just open the roof, and power up. Using a wifi repeater I can connect to the "observatory" PCs via remote desktop, and then control and monitor everything from inside the house.
I was just about to make a thread asking the exact same thing.
I want to buy an eq6r but its pretty heavy to move constantly so I would ideally want to leave it outside all the time on a tripod with some kind of cover on it to protect from wind, rain, heat etc all day every day. Not sure how feasible this is which is why im replying here. The main scope and minipc/electrical setup will always be inside.
I’ve been using a stacking chair cover from Bunnings.
This covered my HEQ5 on a tripod, and now the NEQ6 on a tripod.
No issues.
Throw a towel over the mount then the cover and tied around with a bunge strap.
I’ve been using a stacking chair cover from Bunnings.
This covered my HEQ5 on a tripod, and now the NEQ6 on a tripod.
No issues.
Throw a towel over the mount then the cover and tied around with a bunge strap.
I worry about the tripod legs rusting ? Or does the cover go all the way down?
I just ordered some telegizmos covers for my eq6r + tripod. They have a cover specifically for the legs and the another small one for the head, should be plenty of protection. My main concern with not protecting the legs was any plastic/rubber.
