A Pier from a Satellite dish mount

[pmrid (Peter)]

For anyone with an old satellite dish lying around the place looking folorn and unloved, here is a way to give it new life - as an observatory pier for a scope.
I had a satellite internet connection that requirted a 1.2 metre dish and when I changed providers, inherited the dish. The dish itself has yet to prove useful but the mount - now that's another story. These things are actualy well engineered with worm-screw adjustments in both azimuth and declination. For my purposes, I wanted to keep the latitude and fine azimuth adjustment in my scope mount (just a LXD-75) so I used just the basic mount head with a coarse azimuth adjustment and the boomerang-shaped 75mm gal steel leg it stood on.
With a bit of welding, using threaded rod welded to the pier for the other 2 legs and with some brackets and bolts, I have adjustments in NS and EW to get level on the mount head, a coarse azimuth ajustment in the head itself and of course fine azimuty adjustment and latitude as well in the actual mount itself.
Here are a few pics. The whole thing sits happily on a 50mm box steel triangle that is bolted into the concrete pier base and is a solid as a rock.
At the moment I only have my 90mm sewage pipe scope on it while I finish off my new 127mm refractor - that would be on it now if I knew a little bit more about painting aluminum - totally botched that job yesterday so it will be a few days yet before that scope sees the light.


Peter

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Nice conversion, Peter. A neighbour of mine has one of these monster dishes overlooking my yard, and I too have eyed of the same pier mount!

Arc or Mig weld? Not that it matters, just like to know what others use.

Would you consider anodizing the aluminium or powder coating. Sure not diy jobs, but tougher, more polished finish. Anodizing can be a range of 'electric' colours: blue, yellow, hot pink, red (good for dark adaptation,).

Mental

[pmrid (Peter)]

Mig mate. I hope never to pick up an arc welder again. I would have to think long and hard about an electric pink telescope pier. For now, I'm thinking something a little plainer.
P.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Good one Pete.
Looking forward to your next project.

[pmrid (Peter)]

Thanks Jeanette. I'm chocka with work commitments through May but in June I hope to revive the postponed grand opening of the TenChain Hill Obs and you'll be able to play with the new 127mm scope then. It will be a beaut. The machining of the aluminium couplers to step the tube down from 150 to 80 and then down again to a 50mm 11:1 focuser took ages to do and get it spot on but first indications are good and even though the optics are Surplus Shed, they seem good enough for my skill levels.
Peter