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Equipment Discussions >> Mounts

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Dennis Sakva
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/19/04

Loc: Kiev, Ukraine

Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

#2944229 - 02/23/09 04:15 AM

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone posted their homemade cases for EQ6 type mounts. Preferably with dimensions... Not that it's a complicated project to finish by myself, but it's always nice to see someone else's result and grab few ideas.

Thanks!

Post Extras:

TheMenace
sage

Reged: 10/21/08

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Dennis Sakva]
#2944293 - 02/23/09 07:02 AM

Mine fits in a pelican 1600.

1600

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Dennis Sakva
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/19/04

Loc: Kiev, Ukraine

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: TheMenace]
#2944302 - 02/23/09 07:19 AM

Well, if cost was of no question, I would buy Pelican too. Look cool and will float with EQ6 head inside

. But at $124 for the case, $100 for shipping, plus 30% taxes

, so I'll try to stick to plywood and some woodwork

Edited by Dennis Sakva (02/23/09 08:01 AM)

Post Extras:

rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Dennis Sakva]
#2944513 - 02/23/09 10:18 AM

Quote:

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone posted their homemade cases for EQ6 type mounts. Preferably with dimensions... Not that it's a complicated project to finish by myself, but it's always nice to see someone else's result and grab few ideas.

Thanks!

Well...sorta... Being cheap, but not being overly good with hand tools (IOW, "dangerous"

) I looked for an alternative. One Possum Swamp afternoon I headed down to Wal-Mart...and a few minutes of inventorying the shelves turned up my "case" ready-made.

What I did was buy a Rubbermaid style container of suitable dimensions, and, on my way out, I stopped by the craft department and bought a few pieces of foam to cushion Miss Mount.

No, the case (which is one of the large, shallow storage containers) does not look as good as something someone might cobble together out of plywood, but it is lighter, and is less prone to damage during packing and transport.

Hey, works for moi.

Post Extras:

TheMenace
sage

Reged: 10/21/08

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Dennis Sakva]
#2944531 - 02/23/09 10:27 AM

Quote:

Well, if cost was of no question, I would buy Pelican too. Look cool and will float with EQ6 head inside . But at $124 for the case, $100 for shipping, plus 30% taxes , so I'll try to stick to plywood and some woodwork

Try using the dimensions as a guide?

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lawrie
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 01/31/06

Loc: Okanagan Valley

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: TheMenace]
#2944548 - 02/23/09 10:36 AM

What I did was make a wooden case for the Styrofoam cutout that the mount head was shipped in. The mount head doesn't move around and when the Styrofoam finally gives up I will look for grey foam like in that pelican.

Post Extras:

Skylook123
Postmaster

Reged: 04/30/05

Loc: Tucson, AZ

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: TheMenace]
#2944551 - 02/23/09 10:39 AM

Bill Van Orden (Beevo here on Cloudy Nights) built a set of traveling cases for his Atlas + OTA.

Check out

Beevo's Cases

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Luigi
Postmaster

Reged: 07/03/07

Loc: MA

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Skylook123]
#2944786 - 02/23/09 12:49 PM

For most intents and purposes, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. should have something inexpensive and practical to use. Some version of those plastic roll-around tool boxes would certainly work well. You'd have a better idea what stores to visit in the Ukraine for these items. Do you have Walmart yet?

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Trebor777
Hazy

Reged: 01/04/08

Loc: Connecticut - U.S.

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Dennis Sakva]
#2944881 - 02/23/09 01:43 PM

I had an old snare drum case that I modded.

19" x 17.5" x 8.5"

I then went and got 1/4" plywood, measured the inside, cut the wood to the inside measurements and glued them in. Then I put some faux leather in there, got some 2" foam, put new hardware and I'm all set. I spent less then $20.

Edited by Trebor777 (02/23/09 01:44 PM)

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Bradley B
sage

Reged: 05/14/07

Loc: Sacramento, California

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Dennis Sakva]
#2945035 - 02/23/09 03:13 PM

Hi Dennis,

Kind of overkill, but I based my case on Beevo's, and included room for the Atlas Extension (and other stuff). You can see mine here.

I tend to just start building things, and don't keep my measurements (as some need to be modified--ALWAYS!) during construction. Basically, start with a centerline of the mount, figure out how thick you want the case to be, allowing for sufficient room so that no part of the mount comes closer than about 10mm to the "walls" of the case. and then divide by two and subtract 5-6mm to give some adjustment room in the middle (the supports do not need to "meet" each other, then deduct 1/2 the diameter of the part you want the piece to support. Some of the supports need cutouts to accommodate clutches, etc., but hopefully you can see where I'm going with this.

You can get as fancy, or as industrial, in the finishing as you wish.

Good luck!

Post Extras:

Skylook123
Postmaster

Reged: 04/30/05

Loc: Tucson, AZ

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Bradley B]
#2945058 - 02/23/09 03:42 PM

Even though I provided a link to Beevo's case, I myself use a Herback and Rademan case, as do several other folks on CN. It's only $25 US, and has rigid cell foam that is not glued in so it can be tailored to your mount.

I added a couple of inches of soft seat cushion foam to the top. So far it's fallen off my tailgate twice and not suffered any damage.

Herback and Rademan High Impact Plastic Case

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Rusty
Postmaster

Reged: 08/06/03

Loc: Brooker, FL

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Skylook123]
#2945595 - 02/23/09 08:32 PM

The H&R cases look like the ones SBIG uses for its equipment - nice cases at a reasonable price.

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Dennis Sakva
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/19/04

Loc: Kiev, Ukraine

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Rusty]
#2946080 - 02/24/09 02:13 AM

Thanks guys!
I looked at many cases available locally but didn't find anything that is reasonably priced and rugged enough. Mostly it's either cheap cases from very thin aluminum/plastic (which I use extensively for my lightweight astrostuff) sheets or quite expensive ones.
I decided to make my own case because:
1. I want to try my new tools

2. I want to add rather large wheels to it, much larger than most ready made cases have
Bevoo's case certainly looks nice. I'll take his version as a base.

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Arbacia
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 04/18/07

Loc: Madrid, Spain

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Dennis Sakva]
#2946120 - 02/24/09 03:07 AM

I am using a very cheap cabin size troley suitcase from IKEA. 10€. It has wheels, an easy to grip handle and the walls are reinforced with rigid panel of hardboard. I am using a large piece of black foam inside of aprox. 120x60x4cm in size. As the lid is soft, I introduce a piece of dense mat foam inside of the large pocket of the frontal lid.

This particular troley can be folded flat (about 6cm thick)

Troley image

Patricio

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Al Canarelli
Post Laureate

Reged: 12/06/07

Loc: Central New Jersey

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Arbacia]
#2946663 - 02/24/09 11:07 AM

A great place to buy very worthwhile cases at very low prices is an Army/Navy store or a job lot store. I bought a case for my C-14 mount at an Army/Navy store @ $35 and it has wheels. I bought many cases at job lot stores for next to a song. These are left over lots from a manufacturer who fabricates a case for a specific purpose for a large user. When the user changes specifications, the manufacturer sells the left overs to a job lot outlet where you can buy it at a fraction of the cost. You just have to keep in touch with the job lot dealer at regular intervals to see what they have.

As an avid woodworker, I wouldn't attempt to build a case for a heavy mount out of wood for two reasons...

First, the case would be much too heavy. Imagine building a case for a 50 lb. mount head and 50 lbs. of counter weights.

Second, wood is just not strong enough to withstand the rigors of all that weight. Get rough with it only once and you have a pile of toothpicks.

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Luigi
Postmaster

Reged: 07/03/07

Loc: MA

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Al Canarelli]
#2947080 - 02/24/09 02:18 PM

Certainly wood can be made to work. Think of shipping crates for instance. Unfortunately, there's a lot of wood and weight in a shipping crate. The thing to do is to make an ATA style case where metal angles and corners are used to assemble a strong frame that has "thin" pannels (plywood, laminants, aluminum, fiber glass) to enclose the object.

Also, you can adapt an cheap or old suitcase to the task. Get a dolly to roll the suitcase and other stuff if needed.

Post Extras:

Al Canarelli
Post Laureate

Reged: 12/06/07

Loc: Central New Jersey

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? new

[Re: Luigi]
#2947289 - 02/24/09 03:58 PM Attachment (36 downloads)

A shipping crate is not designed to last very long...usually a one-way trip is the extent of a shipping crate's life. Similarly, a shipping crate is never designed to look pretty, and we all know that pretty is an important prerequisite for the average amateur astronomer. I suppose wood can be made to work, but I'm afraid that it will not absorb too much abuse, it would be nearly as heavy as the mount and counter weights it will carry and it will be far from cheap. I think that a tough plastic material would be far more appropriate.

Here's an example of a plastic case I purchased from a job lot dealer. The case is foam filled and made to house a special computer for a large company. I use it for a CG5GT and counter weights and paid only a fraction of the original cost...

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Skylook123
Postmaster

Reged: 04/30/05

Loc: Tucson, AZ

Re: Anyone made case for EQ6-Atlas? [Re: Al Canarelli]
#2947860 - 02/24/09 09:41 PM

Yep, that's the H&R. Take the plastic computer housing out and trim the foam inside, it's an Atlas/EQ6 carrier.

Post Extras:

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