Help - Need an easy design

Started by SaturnRacer3, 06/16/2011 03:13AM
Posted 06/16/2011 03:13AM Opening Post
I volunteer at star parties: Time and time again, i have excited newbies bring their scope, thinking i can work magic on it. I hate to tell them it is junk: in fact, quite often, it is salvageable.....what they often need is a good mount...any ideas or plans for a $20 or $30 mount that i can point them to? quite a few of these scopes costed them 50 or 60 bucks, so i can't point them to a $100 mount
thanks
Posted 06/17/2011 08:13PM #1
William Biermann said:

I volunteer at star parties: Time and time again, i have excited newbies bring their scope, thinking i can work magic on it. I hate to tell them it is junk: in fact, quite often, it is salvageable.....what they often need is a good mount...any ideas or plans for a $20 or $30 mount that i can point them to? quite a few of these scopes costed them 50 or 60 bucks, so i can't point them to a $100 mount
thanks

William:

That's a tough one. Quite often the problem is not the mount as much as it is the tripod and the legs. Beefing up the legs can make a substantial difference.

If one has some tools, simple wooden legs can be made from some 2x3's that will stiffen any tripod. Cut a notch in one end that fits the tap on the mount, drill a hole for the bolt, slit middle of the leg to allow for some flex... do it three times and you are done.

It's probably a $12 fix, ugly, heavy but it can be effective.

Jon