latitude 34deg 51'South, longitude 148deg 58 East
Mount
The main mount is a Skywatcher EQ8 mount purchased new from Andrews Communications.
The EQ8 is a substantial piece of kit and can easily hold both my big scopes and their gear.
The specs for the EQ8 are easily found, although there is a consistent myth in the vendor ads that it has GPS- it doesn't. It can only be interfaced with the Skywatcher GPS mouse and that is a bit tricky.
The dual encoder system, alignment assist, permanent active periodic error correction, massive build, screw-tight power lead- what's not to like about this mount? (Mine now has an EQ-PRO drive board)
The mount head has been left on its pier-tripod. Playing with this showed the it was quite stable even standing free, and the amount of height flexibility coupled with the mass was too good to waste.
The legs come with separate, very solid, adjustable metal pads. These are anti-slip and can be adjusted individually up to 25mm, ensuring that the mount is as level as possible.
All of this sits on a concrete pier, raised 600mm above ground level, and 1000mm in diameter. This alone swallowed 20 bags of concrete mix and an equivalent number of large rocks from around the farm.
We won't mention the pad this sits on, with its own 30 bags of concrete, granite and rebar...
Several hundred dollars well spent because you can't put a value on inertia and stability!
Finally, the pier-pod secures to the concrete with a central tie-down, through a pair of holes I drilled in the bottom of the main pier. A loxon in the centre of the concrete holds this machined plug which in turn mates with a bolt horizontally through these holes. All very secure. (not installed yet)
Currently, the mount is holding up:
-
Right angle visual finder
-
75mm refractor & Atik camera
-
60mm guidescope & QHY camera
-
Celestron C9.5 & ZWO camera with filter wheel and EAF
-
webcam
-
2 USB hubs
-
Pegasus PPM power distribution.
-
2km of cables
-
2 counterweights....
...and doesn't seem to have noticed!