Modifications to LX90 Standard Wedge

[aworley (Alex)]

Hi all,

Thought I would just share the two mods I have just done to my LX90 Standard wedge.....these may have been covered before...but just in case...

I found this mod (www.atm-workshop.com/tripod-mods.html) to allow the wedge to remain attached to the tripod and be able to fold the tripod legs up for easy transport - not having to take the wedge on/off is one less thing to do when setting up at my dark sky site...I altered it slightly with Andrew Johansen's help to put a new 1/2" nut underneath the tripod (and thus not having to grind it) and not having to split the handle from the 1/2" rod (ie not battling with the Lock Tight glue used to secure handle to 1/2" rod - i dont own a vice and am not that strong) by turning the 1/2" rod upside down and using the other free handle (the one with the compass in it that used to screw into the 1/2" rod at the top - minus the compass now) as the free wheel that locks in the spreader at the bottom...Simple and easy... Thus, this mod is completely reversible - pun intended if you want to go back to Alt/Az...


(Note if you are going to do this mod...be aware...there is a difference between UNC thread and Whitford thread when getting the extra 1/2" nut; Bunnings did not sell the UNC thread only the Whitford thread - again thanks to Andrew J for helping with this)....most folk probably already know this...but not me....(apparently there is also some school that you go to where you learn the rules for clothes that go together - you know plain shirt with stripped pants...not both etc etc ... never went there myself)


Additionally, I did the 'delux' Azimuth mod (http://jan.eaglecreekobservatory.org/azimuth.html) - it works like a charm .... an old cd between tripod and wedge made a good deal of difference too...a long story, but I used 6mm threaded rod etc to get a neater fit of the cross-dowel into a smaller rectangular rod (filed out a bit to get the cross-dowel to fit) and the rectangular rod must be really, really tightly bolted to the tripod to prevent movement and thus 'backlash'...


Total cost of mods - less than $10....ease of use now .... priceless.....

In the end these were really simple, and particularly for someone like me who finds hammering two bits of wood together quite difficult...

Alex

[TJD (Trevor)]

great i dear and very cheap i find it amazing how acurate telescopes are yet you can fix it with cheap good and quick solutions.

[Popeye (Bert)]

Hmmm. I wanted to be able to pull the scope out of the shed without banging the sides of the shed with the legs spread out, so this meant leaving the OTA assembly separate and putting it in place out in the yard. I too was speaking to Andrew (visited him when we were in Melbourne,) and got the idea with the nut. However I modified the modification. I had two stainless steel wing nuts (UNC thread that I had to buy from a specialist store - for use in yachts.) I was using one with a washer to tighten the tripod to make levelling easier.
But now I took the circlip off and pulled the rod out and inserted one of the wing nuts onto the thread with the 'wings' on the knob side and put a washer on top of that. Then inserted the rod and replaced the circlip.
Now I put the OTA assembly on the tripod top, use the knob to screw the thread up into the base for about and inch and then, moving the spreader so that the ends are clear of the legs I tighten up the wingnut. Simple! The OTA assembly is attached to the tripod and I can move it around with the legs hanging free and not spread out. Makes it more comfortable to move that way. Then if I want to use the spreader I just back off on the wing nut until the spreader can be put onto the legs and tighten up in the usual way with the tension knob.
Cheers!
Popeye