Telescope Reviews: DIY Mount

This one is a not for novice ATM.
Although I would use it mainly to support large, heavy telescopes, it can be used for smaller telescopes to.
It can be build completely out of plywood, but I'd rather would use solid wood.

Bearings : Ball-bearings. In case of small telescopes Teflon/formica will do.

Usage :
1- Medium to very large telescopes.
2- Reflector (mostly Newtontelescopes).
3- Difficult to transport.

Here again the scope itself could be made with trusses instead of a tube. Because it's a equatorial a real truss is needed. Stray poles would flex if not well designed.

Important : This scope has one major drawback. It has a big blind spot in the north. Observing Polaris is not possible. Observing around Polaris is possible as long as the frame (that holds the scope) stays long enough.

One should consider to make this mount smaller, for whatever reason) but shortening the telescopeframe will enlarge that blind spot in the north. (or in the south for observers down-under)

The only location were this mount could be used without these major drawback is at the equator. At that location the mount's polaraxis would be installed horizontally. With that polaraxis horizontally you added a second blind spot. Observers in Congo or Uganda (for example) should not worry about these two blind spots, as they are both located at the horizon.

Large image

Large image

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Chris