During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020 I was one of the many people who took on a number of home improvement projects. I decided to make a concrete pier to use for astrophotography. I did a fair amount of research and planned everything out as best I could, and almost on a whim I decided to set up my camera and film the construction from start to finish. And that's how I started with the video side of my hobby. My videos aren't instructional videos. They are really about sharing my experiences and explaining what I'm doing. They are my answer for the occasional "How did you get that picture?" questions. I hope they help somebody out, but I'm the first to admit that there are better videos to watch if you really want to learn. I know, 'cause I watched lots of them myself! But I will say this: Although I'm a beginner, I everything I explain in my videos is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate. If you find me in error please let me know in a constructive way.
Nice to see someone did their homework !! The only thing missing, I'd say, is add mixtures to the concrete, if you wanted to go all out on strength. Some hydrator, AKA plasticizer, which reduces the amount of water needed for same flow. So many add too much water which weakens the concrete. I'd also suggest basalt fiber... looks like cotton baton, but really boosts strength. Indeed they make corrosion proof rebar from basalt also, or you could have opted for epoxy coated steel rebar. They say also to not let those stick out of the concrete on the bottom, because of water wicking, so I would have suggested suspending the rebar off the bottom by an inch or more. Maybe putting a grade or slight convex on top to help water & snow run off and not enter the concrete via the threaded studs. The fact that you wrapped it in plastic was a great idea, but not evident you did it for all the right reasons. The longer you can keep your concrete damp, the stronger it will get. That's why you see the pros spraying their concrete and covering it for a week or two. A lot of people make the mistake of putting their tube to the bottom , but it will only rot under ground and give the pier a half inch of flex. Great that you did not make that mistake. Also people will try and add some sort of bell, or base, at the bottom of the hole, thinking it will help it from sinking over time, but that means having to dig a bigger hole which in turn means your pier is supported in loose dirt on the sides which you don't want. Note the local ordinances always give specs for compacted vs loose soil for posts etc. You were right to pour it in a clean compact hole, no flared bottom or base. The sides of the holes are like 1000 strong hands supporting it from sinking, or frost heaves. You did not mention depth. One needs to consult maps, or local authorities, for frost line depth. In southern Ontario , it's 4 feet. Not sure what it is for your location. Good job !! Best on net I've seen !!
I absolutely loved this! I just built my pier yesterday. The concrete will have to cure a week or so but I am seriously jazzed up about getting to use and building an observatory around it in due course.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and congratulations on your pier. It really is nice to be able to set up for astro relatively quickly. I have drawn up some plans for building an observatory around mine too, but so far other priorities have kept me from starting that phase of the project. Post a link to your setup if you like.
I've never worked with Sonotube before. Did you let the concrete in the ground partially cure before setting the Sonotube on top, or did you set the Sonotube on top of the hole and pour right after pouring concrete into the hole in the ground?
Thanks for the question. I think we let the concrete in the ground sit for a couple hours because it was a good time to take a break and figure out how we were going to hold the tube when we got around to filling it. But the pouring was all done on the same day and the concrete in the hole was still soft when we set the tube on it.
Thank you! I've been in the Black Hills and it stands out in my memory as the first time I really understood the phrase "It was like I could reach out and touch the stars." I never experienced that anywhere else, but the stars were so bright that they seemed as close as fireflies. I gotta go back!!
What is the purpose of the 4 threaded bolts sticking up? Did you see that off another video or was it something you just made up? No part of the pier needs to be level you did know this correct? I say this because I too have a pier on my property and I don't have this type of setup. The only thing that matters is your mount being aligned to the NCP. My pier is about the same height as yours but mine goes into the ground 7.5 feet and is 36" in diamter with rebar, fiberglass mesh in the concrete and my pier above the ground is 12.7" in diamter steel tube with a wall thickness of .170". I take breath taking photo's of the heavens on windy nights or calm nights it makes no difference. I see this type of design all over RU-vid and I just don't understand why someone would take such a sturdy concrete pier and then put threaded rod at the top and ruin a great setup.
Hello -- sorry for the late reply. The threaded rod is there to hold the metal plate that my mount attaches to. It sounds like your pier is capable of handling a much heavier mount and telescope than I have. Still, somehow you have to connect your mount to the pier, and I couldn't figure out how to do that without putting in the threaded rods. Perhaps you can link to a photo of your pier so I can see how you did it? Regarding making the mount level... while it's true that in the end all that really matters is that you can polar align, I wanted the mount to be straight and level for cosmetic reasons too. Plus, having a level platform means that my declination setting matches my actual location, which is just easier to work with in my opinion. Thanks for your interest!
Thanks for the Like and sorry for the delay in answering. Yes, the galaxies are M81 (Bode's Galaxy) and M82 (Cigar Galaxy). Bode's is a favorite of mine. The image in the video was taken with my Nikon Z5 on the Wiliam Optics ZenithStar 61ii, 360mm, f/5.6, ISO 800. It was made from 185 seventy-five second exposures. I did another take in November 2021 that I like even better. That image, which you can see at www.nieusight.com/index/G00000pzF6vaBeDo/I000007IZ8.vAyzY was also taken with my Nikon Z5 on the same scope and SkyGuider Pro tracker (360mm f/5.6), ISO 800, but this time the exposures was 332 x 60-sec = 5.5 hours.
Great videos and I love your do it yourself ethos! What method or software were you using for your polar alignment? I didn't recognise the graphics on the screen.
Thanks for the comment and sorry for the late reply. The software I use for polar alignment is the iPolar software that comes with the iOptron SkyGuider Pro. Search for "IPOLAR" at ioptron.com and find the version that's right for your ipolar camera. I don't think it works for other hardware.
Like others, I have watched your video of building your pier and I subscribed to your RU-vid channel. Very interesting video again Cliff, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your experience Cliff, you are fortunate to have such a great place to pursue your hobby. Living on the edge of a city here in England with light pollution is a challenge. Well done.
Thank you for your kind comments! I do feel fortunate to live where I do but I also love to visit England and Wales -- Wales especially for dark skies.
I’ve always been of the mindset that science is the study of creation. None of this is an “accident”. Whatever mankind determines as “fact” is usually wrong and God laughs. History indicates this time after time after time. As many galaxies as there are in the Universe, this video deserves that many likes. Clear skies good man.
I just watched your video where you built a concrete pier and immediately went to your youtube page to see more videos. They are well made and very informative and I thank you for that. I hope you continue to make more videos as you are a natural.
Always prefer 3 supports instead of 4. This way, the mechanical stability towards horizontal setting is optimal. This is why Newton’s primary mirrors are designed with 3 collimation knobs, associated with 3 blocking ones.
