New Southern Galactic Observatory Pier

[Tamtarn]

We made a trip to the Southern Galactic Observatory last week to pick up our new pier as foundations have been laid for a roll of roof observatory.

This is one very impressive solid pier and is the same as used in the observatory for remote imaging.

Image 1 - Pier - Height 1150mm.
Image 2 - Base showing two of the four full length flanges.
Image 3 - EQ6 adapter plate fitted.
Image 4 - View showing adjustment for aligning.
Image 5 - Pier with sub concrete mounting frame.
Image 6 - Close up of sub concrete pier mounting frame.

[okiscopey (Mike)]

Looks good! I'm in the market for something similar ... couldn't find 'Southern Galactic Observatory' on the Internet ... any contact details?

Also, does anyone know what happened to 'Southern Cross Piers'?

[Tamtarn]

Hi Mike

Here is a link to Southern Galactic -
http://southerngalactic.com/forum/sh...?p=696#post696

You can use this email address for further info - admin@southerngalactic.com

I like many others could not contact southern cross piers.

David

[Ian Robinson]

They've got some expensive looking hardware .

How much did the peir set you back ?

[Tamtarn]

Hi Ian

The cost of the pier as on our pics with the concrete frame was $480.

David

[netwolf]

David, looks excellent. I spoke to Bert about one sometime ago but have not passed along my top plate requirements yet. Its good to see someone out there is making piers for us amateurs. I to tried and failed in contacting Southern cross piers. Cost of getting one from overseas is not worth it.

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by Tamtarn

Hi Ian

The cost of the pier as on our pics with the concrete frame was $480.

David

Ouch !!!

I really need two , as I've two GEMs I want to put on piers in my ROR observing shed.

Definitely home made concrete piers for me then .

[Tamtarn]

Hi Fahim

After seeing these piers and the payload they were carrying we were more than impressed.We were very happy to get a custom made pier of this quality for a great price. I'm sure you would be pleased with one too as Bert was very helpful

David

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by Tamtarn

Hi Ian
The cost of the pier as on our pics with the concrete frame was $480.
David

The pier certainly looks well engineered, and handsome to boot! At that price, with the in-ground cage, I’d say it represents excellent value for money.

One teeny question – how do you get your hand inside the pier to tighten up the mounting bolt for the head?

Cheers

Dennis

[Tamtarn]

Hi Dennis

The head is bolted to the adapter plate first ( which is part of the top plate ) and then the top plate is bolted down by the four bolts shown on image 3.

David

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by Tamtarn

Hi Dennis
The head is bolted to the adapter plate first ( which is part of the top plate ) and then the top plate is bolted down by the four bolts shown on image 3.
David

Thanks David!

That’s what I figured some 5 minutes after I pressed the reply button!

I’m sure you’ll really enjoy the permanent set up, just as I’m certain that all nighters and bleary eyes will soon become part of your household routines!

Cheers

Dennis

[AlexN]

Envious!! Looks very nice..

My question, which is largely a follow on from the question Dennis posed, So, you tighten the head to the adapter plate, then fit the adapter plate + head to the pier. Do you think this will make azimuth adjustment difficult? The head will have to be bolted down fairly tight, then the little az adjustment knobs are going to be pretty hard to turn. That said, judging by the top of the pier, you can rotate the adapter plate+head on the pier also... get the rough adjustment done via the pier plate, and then just make the final, small tweaks through the az adjustment knobs.

Cheers..
Alex.

Oh, ps... How much does it weigh roughly (total package) postage would no doubt be very expensive depending on how you went about it..

[Tamtarn]

Alex I fitted the mount head onto the adapter plate today at the same tightness I would use on the eq6 to test it out and the az knobs turned very smoothly. Seemed even better than when on the tripod.

Weight of the total package for our size pier is 48kgs.

Hope this helps

David

[ozstockman (Mike)]

Hi David,

Just found this thread while trying to search IIS for a permanent pier solution.
Thanks a lot for letting us know about this pier from Southern Galactic . It seems to be a very good one for a reasonable price.

I've just emailed them asking if they have one more pier for my EQ6 mount.

cheers,

Mike

[Tamtarn]

Hi Mike

We now have the pier set up in our partially completed observatory.

If you go into our web pages and go to the link - New project Range View Observatory you will see more pics of the pier installed.

Each pier is made to order and we found Bert a great guy to deal with.

Cheers

David

[erick (Eric)]

Looking very good, David and Barb! Well done so far!

[ozstockman (Mike)]

David,

I've spoken with Bert about making one for me. He can do it. Although it's a bit more expesive now and I'll need to bring my mount base first I think I'll go for it. Anyway it's still great price for a pier like this and I'm just 70kms from them.

I checked your website the same day I found this thread, especially the observatory page. Looks fantastic. I hope I'll build something like this soon.

cheers,

Mike

[Tamtarn]

We also had to take our mount base up as well Mike.
It's a pity a drawing wasn't made of the base at the time our pier was ordered.
If you ever feel like a visit out our way to have a look just shoot us a PM.

Cheers

David

[gregbradley]

Very nice.

Greg.

[ozstockman (Mike)]

Hi David,

Bert has mentioned that they prefer to make a plate for each particular base as they can be different. This is why he doesn't want to use drawings and doesn't keep any from previous customers.

Thanks for the invitation. If I'm around your place I'll let you know in advance.

cheers,

Mike