guyinthesky
sage
Reged: 04/13/07
Posts: 330
Loc: western ma.
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i havent seen this one yet so here is a pic of my homemade manual azimuth steering stick. no big invention, ive seen them on camera tripods, but its really good for dobs because as you know, the higher you point the scope, the harder it is to turn the mount because of less leverage. with the steering stick the pressure needed to turn the mount stays the same reguardless of how high the scope is tipped. this is a big advantage because you can develope muscle memory for smoother moves. mine is just an old patio screenhouse pole, it gets narrow and the other fits over it tight so it is removable. i used 'c' clamps at first to determine the best angle before drilling holes. try it, youll like it. john
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Zhumell 12" dob
celestron c100ed-r gt cg-5
meade 5" telestar reflector
just enuf naglers
astro-tech 66ed
celestron C9 1/4
oberwerk 100-45
ALVAN CLARK and SONS 3 inch refractor
canon 350d
Edited by guyinthesky (05/07/07 06:12 PM)
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Duskrider
super member
Reged: 03/24/07
Posts: 101
Loc: Las Cruces, NM
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Oh, what a cool idea. 
I may have to give this one a go.
-Ed
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10" Zhumell Dob
Telrad / 2x Zhumell Barlow / Standard Accessories
Duskrider.com - Space Wallpaper | The Forest of Love | BaconMap!
Las Cruces, NM:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein
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mistyridge
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/28/05
Posts: 2268
Loc: Loomis, CA -26Mi E of Sacto.
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Good idea. It sure beats steering use the OTA. This would be really usful on truss scopes where you can pull them out of collimation if yur ground board is a little sticky.
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Mike F
Misty Ridge Observatory
Stellarvue SV115T "WOW"! What a view.
Stellarvue SV70ED
Stellarvue Nighthawk
18" f/4.5 Teeter's, Swayze mirror
12.5" f/5 Astrosky, OWL mirror
15X70 Binos
Mounts: DM-6,M-1,CG-5(ASGT)
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trentarthur
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/02/07
Posts: 1040
Loc: Canaan, Vt
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Great idea.....and simple to install.
I think I'll give it a try.
Thanks!!
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Jeff Richards
10" Hardin Deep Space Hunter with Telrad
15x70 Celestron Skymaster Binoculars with Tripod
Vixen 20mm Plossl Meade 26mm Super Plossl
LOMO 8-24mm Zoom
Televue 13mm Plossl Televue 2x Barlow
Observing From The Northern Tip Of Vermont
Canaan, Vermont Clear Sky Clock
Just Look Up!
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 28576
Loc: montana
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Nice solution! Thanks for sharing it with us. I can see a stampede now, running around looking for a pole that will work on all our Dobs! 
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm B/TMB 3.2
7mm Pentax XL, 10mm Pentax XW
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
22mm Pan, 35mm Pan
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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erik
telescope surgeon
Reged: 01/30/04
Posts: 24019
Loc: Hawaii 19 N lat -155 Long.
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Great idea. No more "Dobson's hole". 
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-Erik Wilcox
Homebuilt 16" Truss Dob
SV 80mm ED Nighthawk NG on M1 ALT/AZ
Nikon Prostaff 65mm spotter on Trekpod
Konusvue 20x80 binos/Peterson pipemount
Orion 10x50 binos
Homebuilt 80mm f/5 refractor
Mirador 60mm f/12 1960's refractor
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smitty
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/27/04
Posts: 776
Loc: Georgia, USA
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It's a what? 
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Steven "Saratoga Smitty" Smith
10" & 16" Dobsonians
Coronado PST
10x40 & 11x70 "opera glasses"
2 ton eyepiece case
http://www.saratogamuseum.org
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deezdrama
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/29/05
Posts: 1635
Loc: Central Illinois
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wow- that really is an engenius mod- im suprised noone has thought of this sooner, definatelly will do this in the future
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Meade 12" LX200GPS Retired from Dr. Clay Sherrod's A.S.O. Sky Patrol Program
CELESTRON 80 ED / CG-5
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JerryL
member
Reged: 07/02/03
Posts: 42
Loc: St. Louis, MO
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I am definitely going to use this one. I have a 6 inch round scope (think large AstroScan) that could use just that sort of steering device. Thanks for the idea.
jerry
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guyinthesky
sage
Reged: 04/13/07
Posts: 330
Loc: western ma.
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that slides into a fixed piece of pipe mounted to the dob with those clips they attach electrical conduit to the walls with. its great for scanning, you can scan across the sky in azimuth,without disturbing your altitude. here is one more pic. john
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Zhumell 12" dob
celestron c100ed-r gt cg-5
meade 5" telestar reflector
just enuf naglers
astro-tech 66ed
celestron C9 1/4
oberwerk 100-45
ALVAN CLARK and SONS 3 inch refractor
canon 350d
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Uranus
super member
Reged: 04/17/06
Posts: 134
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Brilliant!
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18" Teeter f/4 "Fat Daddy" Sky Commander, ServoCat
ETX125PE/UHTC
10.5 x 70 Garrett Signature Series Binos
5'8" Angrywife
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nitroexpress
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/16/06
Posts: 534
Loc: Hemet, calif
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The Salvation army should have an old Golf club for a 1$........that would work well...(if you first cut the head off eheheeh).......thank you ....this is great.....................gary 
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"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
10in Zhumell-$15/ push to circles-flocked tube
8in-c8-on a Meade GoTo EQ mount with a cg-5 Tripod
5in Meade with goto...
2in Gilbert reflector (1955 or so)
7x35 binos
Orion 100mm X 600mm Achromatic Refractor
Sac8-2 ccd camera
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Markus
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/04
Posts: 5395
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Now that's ONE crafty idea!!! Kudos for coming up with such a great invention !!! (Now I can copywrite it © Tee-Hee, just kidding)!!!
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25X100 Skymasters
15X70 Skymasters
Home built Parallelogram Mount
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hokie1525
sage
Reged: 03/15/07
Posts: 340
Loc: Light Laden Northern Virginia
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I just made the mod to my XT10i. The supplies I got from Home Depot for < $10. The pipe is galvanized pipe, 1/2 inch, connected to an elbow connected to a flange. The pipe can be easily unscrewed for easy transport. You just have to make sure to screw in the elbow completely before mounting the flange to make sure the elbow is oriented correctly and in tight enough to support the weight of the pipe.
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Orion XT10i w/COL
20x80 Barska Binos
30mm Meade UWA (Big Boy!)
TV 12mm T4, 7mm T1
Baader Hyperion 17mm, 5mm
4mm WO/UWAN, GSO 2" ED Barlow
Crockett Park
River House
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hokie1525
sage
Reged: 03/15/07
Posts: 340
Loc: Light Laden Northern Virginia
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Here's another picture.
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Orion XT10i w/COL
20x80 Barska Binos
30mm Meade UWA (Big Boy!)
TV 12mm T4, 7mm T1
Baader Hyperion 17mm, 5mm
4mm WO/UWAN, GSO 2" ED Barlow
Crockett Park
River House
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dmgriff
sage
Reged: 09/20/06
Posts: 257
Loc: 30 degrees latitude, USA
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An idea so simple, yet elegant, that someone should have patented it.
Used 1/2in pipe flange, nipple, elbow, and 12 in length pipe, with some kind of pvc T connector attached to user end of stick for a handle. <$8 at local hardware store.
Instead of mounting the steering stick on the sideboard, I mounted the flange about centered on the Front Panel of the rockerbox, on a 6in. Hardin dob, angled to let the ota clear it. The DSH 6 is pretty light, and mounting the stick on the sideboard, may still cause some jerky az motion. Mounted on the front panel at about 60 degrees, or a longer pipe length, whatever your comfort, the motion is very smooth, with the T handle to push/pull the az.
Just did this today prior to this post, so clear skies will be the test.
dmgriff
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ST80 EQ1, ra drive; aka "Seeker"
4.5in Tasco Luminova f8 newt ota (Coulter 1/8 wave primary) Meade LXD300 mount, ra controller; aka "Finder"
Hardin DSH 6 Dob (alternate Apogee EQ5 mount, wooden legs, dual axis controller); aka "Looker"
Hardin DSH 10 Dob; aka "Believer"
Borg/Hutech Helical Focuser S (#4317), 1.25 in adapter (#7316) for high power focus adjustment
Burgess 24 Binoviewers
10X50, 15X70 Binocs, relatively inexpensive eps
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John Fitzgerald
In Focus
Reged: 01/04/04
Posts: 1253
Loc: AR
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I did the same mod to my first Dob, using a broom handle and pvc pipe straps, about 1981.
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?
Observing since 1966
Messier Cert #898
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skydog
member
Reged: 08/24/06
Posts: 36
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Great ideas, thanks.
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15X80 Orion Binoculars
114mm Celestron NexStar
One of the last 12" Certified DBA dobs
Omni XLT120 on CG4
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Jaxdialation
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/01/07
Posts: 1797
Loc: St. Augustine, FL
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Am I the only one thinking about getting a mtorocycle suicide shift lever to make this really "bling"?
Maybe with a big knob on the end?
Anyway -- great idea. I'm going to do it!
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John
SST/Tak/RCOS/SBIG/CCDWare
I started CCD AP December '07 Why didn't someone stop me?
New Zhumell Owner? Read this: New Zhumell Owner Upgrade Mega Thread
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ForgottenMObject
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/11/04
Posts: 3585
Loc: Maryland, US
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That is a brilliant, yet so simple, idea! Cool - thanks for sharing it with us.
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Matthew
IDA member
XT8i, 10x50 binoculars, lots of eyepieces
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