Telescope Reviews: iEQ45 Accessory Shelf

I saw another post about iEQ45 mods and it inspired me to post some pictures of an accessory shelf I made.

Since the mount doesn't come with an eyepiece tray, I wanted to add something that let me rest a few small items on the mount. But since I don't use it for visual, an eyepiece tray wasn't really necessary. I needed something small that would allow me to put a power distribution box, a USB hub, and a camera power supply on it. I wanted it to be small so that it would not stick out too far and interfere with a scope, but also quick and easy to install and remove so I can setup and tear down the mount easily. This is what I came up with.

The first two pictures are of the top and bottom. The slot allows it to go around the central shaft of the tripod. The two wood blocks at the narrow end are sized to hook under the opposite bracket at the top of the leg. And the two white nylon stand-offs on the bottom hook behind the arms of the spreader so they keep it from sliding out one it's installed:

The next photo shows how you install it by just sliding it in at an angle so that the white stand-offs clear the spreader arms:

When you release it, it drops down to rest on the spreader and sticks out under the south end of the scope. This ease of installation and removal also means you can quickly take it out so that it's not in the way of getting your head behind the polar scope.

And here it is in use. I made it somewhat small because I though it might be a bit flimsy, but after making and installing it, it is really quite solid and I think if I made another I'd make the part that sticks out from the mount larger so I could set a few more things on it.

-Dan