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Pages: 1 Kevdog sage Reged: 07/11/12 Loc: Desert Hills, AZ Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS?       #5640328 - 01/24/13 10:13 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Google was not my friend when I tried to search for a pier mount for the C11. I'm thinking about mounting my C11 permanently or semi-permanently in my yard and putting a 365 cover on it. I live in AZ, so not much rain anyway. I'll probably take it back inside during the summer and the monsoon, but would be nice to have out in the fall, winter and spring. So I'd pour my own pier base, but didn't know if there was a metal pier I can bolt onto it like with the meades? Or what could I get to securely mount it? Thanks! Post Extras:       mclewis1 Thread Killer Reged: 02/25/06 Loc: New Brunswick, Canada Re: Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS? [Re: Kevdog]       #5640408 - 01/24/13 10:51 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Virtually any vendor offering a Meade compatible pier can do a Celestron one ... it's just a different bolt pattern for the base of the Celestron scope. Size the pier for a Meade 10" LX200 type of scope and you should be just fine with the 11" Celestron. Another option is to find a local pipe welding guy and have one fabricated. Metal piers are not difficult to design and build and you can usually save quite a bit of money going this route. Post Extras:       Bob Griffiths Getting Grouchy Reged: 10/10/05 Loc: Frederick Maryland Re: Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS? [Re: mclewis1]       #5641261 - 01/24/13 07:01 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I agree with Mark COMPLETELY.. Pour your concrete at just above ground level and then buy a metal pier from any supplier of piers and then order a top plate to match your scope... In my own case I almost fainted over the prices of piers .... but a trip to a local machine shop who sent be to a supplier of metal pipe to get the length and diameter of pipe I needed .Then back to the machine shop to have them shop to fabricated the top and bottom plates...all for a heck of a lot less money... PLUS Shipping a heavy and large pier is not cheap Bob G. Post Extras:       Digital Don Carpal Tunnel Reged: 01/20/04 Loc: Manteno, IL Re: Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS? [Re: Kevdog]       #5641563 - 01/24/13 09:42 PM Attachment (46 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I looked into commercial piers and found them to be quite expensive for a relatively simple item. So, I made the drawing below on the left and took it to a local steel fabricator. The result was the pier seen in the middle picture. The upper and lower plates are 3/4" thick, 12" square steel. The tube is about 8 1/2" diameter, about 32" tall overall. Since the fabricator had the materials on hand, it cost about $200 to have it made. I figure about a buck a pound! Although it can't be seen in the pictures, my pier is bolted to a separate concrete footing that begins just under the observatory floor and extends below the frost line. The original design was for an orange-tube C 11 mounted on a wedge. When I later purchased a CPC 1100, I had a second top plate made to accommodate the new scope as shown on the right. Don Post Extras:       Kevdog sage Reged: 07/11/12 Loc: Desert Hills, AZ Re: Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS? [Re: Digital Don]       #5642476 - 01/25/13 12:22 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks guys. I'm sure I could find someone to make one around here! Good idea! Post Extras:       Gastrol scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 11/04/11 Loc: los angeles Re: Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS? [Re: Kevdog]       #5642628 - 01/25/13 01:44 PM Attachment (40 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I went with a concrete pier, a pizza pan, and a wooden pier plate: Post Extras:       Trombone scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 07/11/05 Loc: Canadian west (and north!) Re: Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS? [Re: Gastrol]       #5643600 - 01/25/13 11:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: I went with a concrete pier, a pizza pan, and a wooden pier plate: Nice! I like that a lot. Post Extras:       BigNick member Reged: 02/19/12 Loc: Upstate, NY USA Re: Pier mount for Nexstar C11 GPS? [Re: Gastrol]       #5647124 - 01/27/13 10:51 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: I went with a concrete pier, a pizza pan, and a wooden pier plate: Great idea! What an awesome way to incorporate an eyepiece/accessories holder! Post Extras:       Pages: 1

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