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Wedge options and opinions for our Seestar

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#51 xrayvizhen

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Posted 05 May 2025 - 06:00 PM

Maybe this is the wrong forum to be discussing this, but I'm surprised there haven't been any postings on a DIY/ATM wedge for the Seestar. (I checked that forum too.) It seems like it should be a relatively easy thing to make and with the Skywatcher wedge not available at most dealers and me not wanting to spend any more money I don't have to, I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

I just got my S-50 a few days ago and naturally it's been solid cloud-cover and rain for the past few days and so I've been cutting up some wood; a couple of right triangles, a couple of rectangles, a couple of 3/8" tee nuts and some glue. I've deviated a bit from the dimensions on my sketch since I realized the board on which the Seestar gets mounted needs to be clear of the 4 little feet on its base. For any fine tuning that will be needed I can just nudge the tripod left and right and adjust the height of the leg that will be pointing north. Maybe I'm missing something, but I think it will work and if it doesn't my total cash outlay has been $0. 

 

Attached File  DIY Seestar Wedge.pdf   93.18KB   153 downloads


Edited by xrayvizhen, 05 May 2025 - 06:02 PM.

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#52 saga01

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Posted 05 May 2025 - 07:31 PM

Xray,  please post some photos when completed and let us know how it works. Thanks!



#53 Ulysses

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Posted 05 May 2025 - 10:01 PM

Maybe this is the wrong forum to be discussing this, but I'm surprised there haven't been any postings on a DIY/ATM wedge for the Seestar. (I checked that forum too.) It seems like it should be a relatively easy thing to make and with the Skywatcher wedge not available at most dealers and me not wanting to spend any more money I don't have to, I thought I'd give it a shot.

There have been plenty of DIY posts mentioned on these forums, but they’re scattered about. Those pioneer efforts are what eventually led to so many telling ZWO that they should offer their own wedge, as well as exploration of other purchased options that would work equally as well or better. :) 



#54 xrayvizhen

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Posted 09 May 2025 - 05:16 PM

Here is what I’ve managed to cobble together using some wood a contractor left for me after a recently completed kitchen project.

 

The matching right triangles were made by cutting a rectangle diagonally with the dimensions of the rectangle determined using a little high school trigonometry based on my latitude (40.85) and the adjacent angle. I measured the angle of the mounted Seestar with a digital inclinometer and shockingly, it’s within .1˚ deg., hard to believe since everything was cut using only a circular saw and a home-made jig. I’ll know more when I actually start imaging something. Naturally, the only day within the past week that wasn’t cloudy was the day I wasn’t home.

 

I have a C-clamp holding the base of the wedge to the mounting board because I haven’t yet figured out where exactly the Seestar’s center of gravity is but where it’s shown in the picture feels about right. Eventually I’ll glue & screw them together but if anyone knows for sure where the scope’s CG is, let me know although I suppose it will be different for different latitudes. 

 

SSWedge1.jpg , SSWedge2.jpg


Edited by xrayvizhen, 09 May 2025 - 05:34 PM.

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#55 former lurker

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Posted 09 May 2025 - 07:39 PM

That looks really good to me! Great price. Looks very stable. It probably won't create thermal currents.

You could consider a slot and bolt situation to adjust for center of gravity. Or several holes for center of gravity adjustments.

I think you are on the right track here.

Good basic design.

#56 ItsCloudyAgain

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Posted 11 May 2025 - 05:10 PM

Here is what I’ve managed to cobble together using some wood a contractor left for me after a recently completed kitchen project.

Looks awesome! Great work! I would paint it black to match the color and give it that $100 telescope accessory look. lol.gif
 

Getting back to the original topic of this thread, I just wanted to mention: for anyone with a 3D printer, there's a great model available on MakerWorld that you can customize by entering your latitude and then download it: https://makerworld.c...seestar-s30-s50. I'm planning to try that and see how it goes.



#57 ItsCloudyAgain

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Posted 22 May 2025 - 05:46 PM

 

Getting back to the original topic of this thread, I just wanted to mention: for anyone with a 3D printer, there's a great model available on MakerWorld that you can customize by entering your latitude and then download it: https://makerworld.c...seestar-s30-s50. I'm planning to try that and see how it goes.

All right. It's been 11 days since I posted this message. I printed the wedge and it worked flawlessly.

 

This is how it looks like:

 

3IwrmYG.jpeg 9mbd7XD.jpeg  40G8bHz.jpeg


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#58 ItsCloudyAgain

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Posted 22 May 2025 - 05:58 PM

A few details as a follow‑up to my previous message: I 3D‑printed the wedge using sturdy PETG filament. Used 3/8" coarse nuts and bolts from my local Home Depot. I also adjusted the model so it matches my latitude of 43 degrees. The resulting images improved significantly. I can now shoot 30 second exposures with no star trails, and, using EQ mosaic mode, reduce noise to an impressive degree for such a small scope.

I’ll share some photos later, but even the internally stacked on the Seestar Leo Triplet already looks surprisingly good. I can't wait to process it in Siril to get the most out of it.
 

If you have a 3D printer and want to try this yourself, I'm happy to share my settings and other tips and tricks. OR, message me and I can print one for you. I'd charge only the cost of materials and shipping (this isn't the classifieds section, after all).


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#59 Digital Don

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Posted 24 May 2025 - 03:04 PM

There's an interesting post on the Seestar forum about using a geared tripod head as a wedge.

 

I really like the idea of 360° of azimuth rotation with precise control.  If they were less expensive and/or I didn't already have Skywatcher wedges for both my Seestars, I might be interested.

 

Don usa.gif


Edited by Digital Don, 24 May 2025 - 03:07 PM.


#60 Digital Don

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Posted 25 May 2025 - 05:28 PM

After seeing the ZWO Forum post on using geared tripod heads as a wedge for the Seestars I started thinking about them.  That usually winds up costing me money...

 

For me, the main feature of a geared head is 360 degree control over azimuth rotation.  That means that you could set up your tripod during the day with a rough northern alignment and fine tune it when it gets dark without having to move the tripod.  My only problem with that is buying a geared head for each of my Seestars would cost about the same as an S30!

 

So instead, I designed and 3D printed a bracket that attaches to the Skywatcher wedge to hold my phone or tablet.  Using compass software (I use Altaz from Google Play) I can align the tripod during the day and fine tune it at night - even with the Skywatcher wedge's limited azimuth adjustment range - just like with a geared head.  Except it's a whole lot less money!

 

If you want to print a bracket, I posted the stl file on Tinkercad.  The bracket is sized for my devices but can easily be modified on Tinkercad to fit your particular needs.

 

Don usa.gif

Attached Thumbnails

  • AltAz bracket.jpg

Edited by Digital Don, 25 May 2025 - 07:56 PM.

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#61 jimsmith

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Posted 26 May 2025 - 05:28 AM

Peterson Engineering mount on pier seems to work well...

 

mountSmall.jpg


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#62 groom

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Posted 26 May 2025 - 10:46 AM

After seeing the ZWO Forum post on using geared tripod heads as a wedge for the Seestars I started thinking about them. That usually winds up costing me money...

For me, the main feature of a geared head is 360 degree control over azimuth rotation. That means that you could set up your tripod during the day with a rough northern alignment and fine tune it when it gets dark without having to move the tripod. My only problem with that is buying a geared head for each of my Seestars would cost about the same as an S30!

So instead, I designed and 3D printed a bracket that attaches to the Skywatcher wedge to hold my phone or tablet. Using compass software (I use Altaz from Google Play) I can align the tripod during the day and fine tune it at night - even with the Skywatcher wedge's limited azimuth adjustment range - just like with a geared head. Except it's a whole lot less money!

If you want to print a bracket, I posted the stl file on Tinkercad. The bracket is sized for my devices but can easily be modified on Tinkercad to fit your particular needs.

Don usa.gif



Don and ItsCloudyAgain, if you want easily adjustable and precise azimuth angle control, get a Neewer camera panoramic panning base and install it under your tripod leveling base.


Edited by groom, 26 May 2025 - 10:48 AM.


#63 tbhausen

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Posted 26 May 2025 - 11:01 AM

For those putting rigs together to use their Seestars in Equatorial mode, Apertura makes a little tripod that’s a great alternative. The legs splay out much further than most other small tripods. This really helps with balance issues.

 


Edited by tbhausen, 26 May 2025 - 11:09 AM.


#64 Digital Don

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Posted 27 May 2025 - 11:39 PM

 Using compass software (I use Altaz from Google Play) I can align the tripod during the day and fine tune it at night - even with the Skywatcher wedge's limited azimuth adjustment range - just like with a geared head.  Except it's a whole lot less money!

 

Don usa.gif

I found that the Altaz app only shows Magnetic North which can differ from True North by many degrees depending on location.  To align the Seestar (or any telescope) using True North will get you much closer to the pole so I've switched to a different app - Compass Steel - which provides both True and Magnetic North heading readouts. 

 

With the app at 0 degrees azimuth, the Seestar showed only a couple of degrees of deviation after the alignment routine - well within the Skywatcher wedge's azimuth adjustment range.

 

Don usa.gif

Attached Thumbnails

  • Compass Results.jpg

Edited by Digital Don, 28 May 2025 - 01:30 PM.

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#65 ItsCloudyAgain

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Posted 30 May 2025 - 01:13 PM

Thank you very much for the details, @Digital Don. It may explain some intermittent issues that I've had.
 

I relied on the Seestar for polar alignment and had virtually zero tilt deviation reported during EQ mode alignment, and yet some of my 30 sec subs still showed short but noticeable trails. I wonder whether ZWO could release firmware update that compensates for the difference between true north and magnetic north based on the current GPS location. That would make sense.



#66 kabes

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Posted 01 June 2025 - 09:25 AM

Thank you very much for the details, @Digital Don. It may explain some intermittent issues that I've had.
 

I relied on the Seestar for polar alignment and had virtually zero tilt deviation reported during EQ mode alignment, and yet some of my 30 sec subs still showed short but noticeable trails. I wonder whether ZWO could release firmware update that compensates for the difference between true north and magnetic north based on the current GPS location. That would make sense.

I was able to minimize this and also get 60s subs on many parts of the sky by doing this:

 

1. Make sure tripod is as level as possible. In EQ mode you can’t rely on the Seestar level sensor for this, you need a bubble level. One of those tripod levelers with the 3 sets of knobs is a lot easier than fiddling with tripod legs. 
 

2. Choose a polar deviation angle closest to your intended target. Adjust as close to 0,0 as possible. 
 

3. Back out of the mount mode menu (do not click refresh deviation). 
 

4. Get polar deviation again, adjust, and back out again. 
 

5. Repeat a third time. By now you should be getting similar readings. I usually find 3 to be enough. I do more if the readings jumped around a lot between measurements. 


I found that the Altaz app only shows Magnetic North which can differ from True North by many degrees depending on location.  To align the Seestar (or any telescope) using True North will get you much closer to the pole so I've switched to a different app - Compass Steel - which provides both True and Magnetic North heading readouts. 

 

With the app at 0 degrees azimuth, the Seestar showed only a couple of degrees of deviation after the alignment routine - well within the Skywatcher wedge's azimuth adjustment range.

 

Don usa.gif

Those on iOS can get Best Compass which also has a True North toggle. 
 


Edited by kabes, 01 June 2025 - 09:43 AM.

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#67 johnsoda

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Posted 01 June 2025 - 09:49 AM

After seeing the ZWO Forum post on using geared tripod heads as a wedge for the Seestars I started thinking about them.  That usually winds up costing me money...

 

For me, the main feature of a geared head is 360 degree control over azimuth rotation.  That means that you could set up your tripod during the day with a rough northern alignment and fine tune it when it gets dark without having to move the tripod.  My only problem with that is buying a geared head for each of my Seestars would cost about the same as an S30!

 

So instead, I designed and 3D printed a bracket that attaches to the Skywatcher wedge to hold my phone or tablet.  Using compass software (I use Altaz from Google Play) I can align the tripod during the day and fine tune it at night - even with the Skywatcher wedge's limited azimuth adjustment range - just like with a geared head.  Except it's a whole lot less money!

 

If you want to print a bracket, I posted the stl file on Tinkercad.  The bracket is sized for my devices but can easily be modified on Tinkercad to fit your particular needs.

 

Don usa.gif

If you have SkySafari or some app that shows the celestial poles, can’t you just center the south celestial pole (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere) on your tablet or phone?  That’s what I’ve done for daytime alignment with other mounts.



#68 ItsCloudyAgain

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Posted 01 June 2025 - 03:32 PM

I was able to minimize this and also get 60s subs on many parts of the sky by doing this

Wait, is there an option to capture 60 second subs? I can only see 10, 20, and 30s subs in both EQ and Alt-Az modes. I guess I need to update my Seestar firmware.



#69 ItsCloudyAgain

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Posted 01 June 2025 - 03:37 PM

Ok, I see another thread here with more info: https://www.cloudyni...tar-60-seconds/ . I should probably update it. Still, 60s subs for this little beast might be a bad idea. Many subs will be discarded, no doubt.


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#70 JReed

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Posted 06 June 2025 - 10:12 AM

Ok, I see another thread here with more info: https://www.cloudyni...tar-60-seconds/ . I should probably update it. Still, 60s subs for this little beast might be a bad idea. Many subs will be discarded, no doubt.

Actually you might be surprised. I have been doing 60 sec on my s30 and have not had an issue with excessive dropped subs. As long as i get the alignment as close to 0.0 as i can it runs along just fine. 


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#71 gooeytek

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Posted 06 June 2025 - 03:05 PM

I use a Desmond DMH-2 with leveler and 8" cheese plate to offset-mount my S50.
 
IMG20250606022003
IMG20250606014940

 



#72 buramu

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Posted 10 June 2025 - 01:01 PM

I'm thinking about getting the ZWO bundle (TC20+TH10) for my S30. The white-label alternatives are not really easy to get here in Europe, so this is an economic option for me.

How's the TC20 tripod? Would it add anything as a tripod for the S30 (beside just be something to mount the wedge onto)?



#73 Digital Don

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Posted 10 June 2025 - 11:16 PM

Finding the 'right' solution for mounting the Seestars has been an ongoing quest.  With the addition of Equatorial Mode, it was almost like starting all over again!

 

So, here is my ultimate, final solution.  At least for this week...

 

I installed a 'panoramic base' below the Skywatcher wedge. Between the compass app I use to roughly align the tripod, the wedge's slow-motion azimuth controls, and the 360° rotation of the panoramic base, getting essentially 'perfect' polar alignment with the Seestar is easy!

 

Don usa.gif

Attached Thumbnails

  • Wedge Current 3.jpg

Edited by Digital Don, 11 June 2025 - 12:45 AM.

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#74 UTSkyWatcher

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Posted 11 June 2025 - 05:24 PM

Finding the 'right' solution for mounting the Seestars has been an ongoing quest.  With the addition of Equatorial Mode, it was almost like starting all over again!

 

So, here is my ultimate, final solution.  At least for this week...

 

I installed a 'panoramic base' below the Skywatcher wedge. Between the compass app I use to roughly align the tripod, the wedge's slow-motion azimuth controls, and the 360° rotation of the panoramic base, getting essentially 'perfect' polar alignment with the Seestar is easy!

 

Don usa.gif

 

Since I already have a panning base and the Th10 is still hard to come by due to the tariffs, I'm thinking of going this route and getting the Skywatcher wedge.  My question is, do I need to get anything else?  A different size screw?  A different plate for between the wedge and the S50?  Or if I get just the Skywatcher wedge and whatever it comes with, am I good?



#75 Cfeastside

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Posted 11 June 2025 - 07:25 PM

I’m using this ioptron wedge.  Very esy to use. 
https://agenaastro.c...hYmsq1-kD1Kvi3R




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