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Maybe rubber wedges/doorstops would work though ??

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I've been using rubber door stops and they work great. I also bought a rubber floor mat (for vehicles) that I put down on the ground first then my base. It keeps dirt and moisture away plus helps keep the base from shifting. Rubber door stops under the wood feet of my base don't slip and the rubber stops sitting on the rubber floor mat don't slip.

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Hi,
In a grassy area that is not cut recently (but too high) have you noticed with the rubber door stoppers the rocker box becoming wobbly... or is that dependent how "tough" the rubber mat is. How would you feel about a strong piece of plywood? thanks.
Mark

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15" Discovery Truss Dobsonian (f/5)
6" Orion Skyquest XT (f/8)
8" Meade LX6 SCT (f/6)
****
Chapel Hill Astronomical & Observation Society
Raleigh Astronomy Club

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Hi,
In a grassy area that is not cut recently (but too high) have you noticed with the rubber door stoppers the rocker box becoming wobbly... or is that dependent how "tough" the rubber mat is. How would you feel about a strong piece of plywood? thanks.
Mark

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Wow! That's a great endorsement! Thanks.

Carol

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Hi,
In a grassy area that is not cut recently (but too high) have you noticed with the rubber door stoppers the rocker box becoming wobbly... or is that dependent how "tough" the rubber mat is. How would you feel about a strong piece of plywood? thanks.
Mark

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Mark,

I haven't had the opportunity to observe in a grassy area. I would imagine that you are right, this would create a wobbly base. In that situation, I think the plywood would be the better choice. (My wife and I live in a motorhome and there's not really any room for a 19" x 19" piece of plywood [the footprint of my base]). A piece of plywood would give you a more stable base then the door stops would do just fine.

I was given some plastic shims that are used on construction sites for prefab concrete wall sections. These are working great because they are bigger in diameter than the door stops, they're flat, come in three thicknesses and have ridges so nothing slides. Attached are 2 pictures.

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Another good idea for the flat shimmys. Leveling feet seem to take too long to level.

--------------------
15" Discovery Truss Dobsonian (f/5)
6" Orion Skyquest XT (f/8)
8" Meade LX6 SCT (f/6)
****
Chapel Hill Astronomical & Observation Society
Raleigh Astronomy Club

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Hi Ridwan,

You got out and tested the SmartTool before I had a chance to. I am pleased to hear that it works properly even if tilted slightly off axis. I had suspected it would, but nothing beats a true field test.

$80 is a great buy on the level. I knew Sears carried them, but at the time I bought mine, their price was higher by $20. My guess is given a year, this tool will be in the $50 range.

The device is quite accurate, my experience matches yours, the error is very small, a quarter of a degree makes this part of the system well within acceptable tolerance. Add that to the resolution possible with a 20" azimuth dial and you have a system that works very well as you and those who have implemented it have discovered.

The whole thing can be done for about $100 to $125. Moving to additional scopes your cost is just that of the azimuth scale and a mount for the level ~$20 or so.

One other advantage this system has over traditional DSC is its ability to work with a scope that is not perfectly orthagonal. Any deviation from perfect orthagonality of the axis on a dob will cause a DSC to not perform up to its capabilities. This system is immune to that issue.

I am very interested to hear of your results with the total system on the platform. Please be sure and post your observations when you have the azimuth dial in place.

Thanks

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Rod and Carol:
I tried out the Smart-tool for altitude last night without my telrad, finderscope or an azimuth circle (I'm going to add the circle this week). I used a compass or eyeballing for the azimuth.

Before I went out, I made sure that my palm program Planetarium (a ***** program I tell ya) had the most accurate positioning in latitude/longitude and that the time was set as close to possible with atomic time.

When I used the smart tool, the error was +/- 0.1 degrees and nudging the scope on the azimuth would show the object in my 0.8-degree FOV eyepiece. Amazing. In mostly cloudy conditions under heavily light-polluted skies, I was able to find M27, M5, M3, M11 (wild-duck), and M2. That's crazy! I'm so used to star-hopping everything for the discipline of learning the sky, but this push-to system is a nice alternative when conditions are really bad.

Hence I can make the obvious conclusion that the more accurate the time and site-location (long/lat) in the preferences of the computer program, the more accurate it will match the smart-tool.

Anyway, I find the Smart-tool an amazing addition to my astro gear. Thanks Rod for this idea!!!

Can't wait to see what will happen with the azimuth circle!

Mark

--------------------
15" Discovery Truss Dobsonian (f/5)
6" Orion Skyquest XT (f/8)
8" Meade LX6 SCT (f/6)
****
Chapel Hill Astronomical & Observation Society
Raleigh Astronomy Club

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