Quote:
Originally Posted by leon
Hey Geoff, yes that would certainly work and give more stability, however how would it go if there was a breeze and had some sway, it would have to hang dead still at all times if you were imaging, maybe. 
Just my two cents worth. 
Leon |
Yes good thought.
I still have the option of dispensing with the eye and hook bolts and replacing them with say a 300mm or even longer length of M8 threaded rod. That would make the weight system fully rigid.
My thinking though is that any wind is probably going to have more of an effect on the greater surface area of the rest of the rig than on a small yet very dense object like a solid iron counterweight. In that case having the counterweight swinging freely like a pendulum should tend to work or pull back against the direction of any movement of the rest of the rig.
I remember on a trip to Taiwan going to the top of the then world's second tallest building in Taipei. Because it is in an earthquake zone it has a huge pendulum built into the structure designed to dampen the amplitude of sway caused by earthquakes.
Hoping some similar effect might work with this. It's all about moderating the amplitude of any movement caused by the wind or any other factors. BTW I am not anticipating imaging during an earthquake, but we live on a busy road and can often feel the effects of heavy trucks as vibrations on our concrete driveway.
The other adverse possible outcomes could be the establishment of permanent oscillations or even high amplitude resonances.
So I guess the proof of the pudding is going to be in the eating.
