DIY Pillar for EQ3

[Damienandwendy (Damien)]

I had previously posted a few issues I had with my "new" (secondhand) EQ3 mount in this thread http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=78807

After ruling out at a few other options to fix it, I decided to make my own pillar to extend the mount about 170mm above the tripod. It took a few nights of tinkering out in the shed with some Bundy to help me connect some bits of scrap together I had laying around. I am fairly happy with the finished product. I will be able to polar align my scope now without the counterweights hitting the front tripod leg.

I hope to set it up tomorrow night and test for stability, etc.

cheers

Damien

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

Good to hear you made a solution Damien. Just had a look at the finished pic, and isn't the mount on the tripod backwards? My NEQ6 Pro sits on the tripod the other way around with the tripod leg on the left of your pic at the back and the weights sits in front the two 'front' ones at idle. Maybe this was the problem all along?

[Damienandwendy (Damien)]

Originally Posted by obsidianphotos

Good to hear you made a solution Damien. Just had a look at the finished pic, and isn't the mount on the tripod backwards? My NEQ6 Pro sits on the tripod the other way around with the tripod leg on the left of your pic at the back and the weights sits in front the two 'front' ones at idle. Maybe this was the problem all along?

Hi Greg,

On the EQ3 you cannot turn the mount around like you can on more expensive mounts/tripods. The post that you use to make slight adjustments in azimuth for polar alignment is fixed on an EQ3, so the counterweights have to sit over the "north" leg of the tripod. I believe that on an NEQ6 and similar mounts, this post is removeable and can be relocated 180 degrees to the other side which would have allowed my counterweights to swing between the legs if this could have been done on my setup.

cheers

Damien

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Originally Posted by Damienandwendy

Hi Greg,

.... I believe that on an NEQ6 and similar mounts, this post is removeable and can be relocated 180 degrees to the other side which would have allowed my counterweights to swing between the legs if this could have been done on my setup.

cheers

Damien

Yep, true, lift the head off, undo a large nut beneath and drop the pin in on the other side.

Nice bit of work btw. Epitomises the DIY mentality you need in this little obsession.

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

Originally Posted by Damienandwendy

Hi Greg,

On the EQ3 you cannot turn the mount around like you can on more expensive mounts/tripods. The post that you use to make slight adjustments in azimuth for polar alignment is fixed on an EQ3, so the counterweights have to sit over the "north" leg of the tripod. I believe that on an NEQ6 and similar mounts, this post is removeable and can be relocated 180 degrees to the other side which would have allowed my counterweights to swing between the legs if this could have been done on my setup.

cheers

Damien

Ah, I see. Again, it's great to hear that you found a solution to this design flaw.

[Damienandwendy (Damien)]

Just as a followup, I have setup the mount with pillar and scope tonight. There weren't any issues apart from those already common with this type of mount - as far as I could tell I hadn't introduced any stability issues. I was able to easily do a basic polar alignment which kept a target in the center 50% FOV for around 10 min at 166x.

Very happy.

cheers

Damien