Hi Tom, I need to fix the LX90 to a concrete pier. Can you tell me what thickness you used for the plates and what length you suggest I use for the mount fixing screw? Greetings! Horacio from Argentina
If you look at my other videos on my channel you can see the finished article. I used 8mm 300mm stainless round for the plate www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223655133079?var=522380771826 and I think 8 or 10mm stainless threaded bar. After advice from my friend who is an engineer I decided to just use 1 plate as it would be more stable and easier to keep level. I just used a single plate with 3x bolts as the triangle is easier to get level than quad. I then drilled and threaded the tops of the threaded bolt and put in 6mm countersunk bolts into them so they sat flush with the plate. This was probably overkill as I could Have just put a nut below and above the plate but I wanted the plate to be completely flat with no obstructions so I could mount other telescopes in future by just drilling a few more holes.
@@TheMje1963 Don't try to build it in high winds and make sure you have 1-2 additional people to help. I have build a 3D Model ON fusion 360 of the shed and the base if you want a copy of the model. It is useful for planning things.
When the concrete was setting I believe was the time to separate the concrete from the pole that will hold your telescope's mount, so vibrations will not affect the telescope, but I may be wrong. Great video and inspired to try on my own with my resources.
Great project, Tom! Guess this is not planned for automation, manual roll-off? My observatory, 100 miles away had to be motorized and automated. Quite a challenge, but doable. Good luck with your observatory! Ian
Oh no it will be fully automated over time but I need to chalk up some hours with it first before I start automating. Will use a gate motor to move shed and door openers for the doors, linear actuators to lock it down. Just need to work out how to open the lift plate
