Last fall 2011 i took full advantage of the fantastic sabatical policy where i am employed. The mechanical design of an equatorial mount is better suited for astrophotography than an altazimuth mount altaz. We are your source for astronomy telescopes, eyepieces, astroimaging cameras, and more. And when i started into astronomy some 50 years ago, the general advice was that one. In a permanent observatory, a german equatorial is ideal. Setting up a german equatorial mount need help finding polaris the pole star then jump to 6. Woodworking telescope tripod plans video how to build. The equatorial telescope mount is aligned to the celestial pole and uses a series of gears attached to slow motion cables to track targets in right ascension and declination. Many people get requested plans for the tripod high german equatorial mount we built for michelles telescope genus gallinago so 1 am providing the. The initial idea was to create a cheap and easytobuild alternative of commercially available.
With a little adjustment of the mount and tripod bolts, the the mount became tight. Meade 127 mm polaris reflector series telescope216005 the. It is therefore important that you choose a telescope with a goodquality mount. An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for earths rotation by having. An equatorial mount, of which the gem is but one variety, simplifies the tracking of celestial objects. You can also download my old sketchup plans right here, if you want. Shown above is a newtonian reflector telescope on an equatorial mount specifically a german equatorial mount. It seems to the best of my memory that it started when i was 9 or 10 years and saw a gocart for the first time. Basic setup procedure for a german equatorial mount gem. Most models include manual setting circles for locating objects.
Cory, thats fine work finely presented the pictures are great. Download scientific diagram the desgined german equatorial mount afer. The computeraided design cad files and all associated content posted to this website are created, uploaded, managed and owned by third party users. Explore scientific iexos100 pmceight equatorial goto mount. Manual german equatorial telescope the astromaster mount comes with 2 slow motion control knobs that allow you to make fine pointing adjustments to the telescope in both right ascension and declination axes, also referred to as ra and dec. The celestron telescope has been imported from the us and has a computerized german equatorial mount. It was fun to make, and a joy to use for ten years and more.
Porter slipring design, this german equatorial mount is manufactured with allmachined aluminum and stainless steel, then finished in black with a durable hard anodize. Accessories included accessories include a 20 mm and 10 mm eyepiece, and a finder scope. Building a mount is a precision instrument and should only be tackled with good experience with the machines. What makes it more complicated is that it has an axis with an adjustable tilt. The equatorial mount allows you to tilt the telescopes axis of rotation so that you can track the stars as they move across the sky. I was a user of the fs2 and i would like to have a fs3. Every thing i needed came with the telescope to start me on my way. And, of course, provided everything is in order when the mount ships and you can fully assemble the mount, you can certainly feel the difference between it and its lowerpriced alternatives. Woodworking telescope tripod plans pdf free download. The little brass bolt on the top end of the dovetail is to prevent the bar from accidentally sliding off the mount. After you download the sketches, these notes will help you understand them more completely. Actually, these platforms are very similar in operating principal to a splitring or horseshoe equatorial mount. Each type of mount has distinct advantages and some limitations.
Here at the curdridge observatory we like improve our astrophotography with a practical diy approach. A single mount can, in fact, be converted from a fork to german or german to fork configuration by adding the appropriate declination assembly. The rv6 dynascope is a six inch 6 aperture 1,270mm focal length f8 newtonian reflecting optical tube assembly mated onto the dynascope model german equatorial mount. The diy homemade german equatorial gem telescope mount. Company seven orion atlas german equatorial telescope mount. Simple equatorial telescope mount with setting circles. Telescope making links designs and techniques star astronomy. Our high quality rigid german equatorial mount with aluminum tripod is an excellent heavy duty tripod. The manual was easy to read and star software was quick to down load and easy to use. It is assumed your mount is of the same basic german equatorial mount gem design and so, although they may look different, they are all fundamentally the same. Homemade gem german equatorial telescope mount how i made my own diy mount for astrophotography. On october 16, 1922, the telescope was erected upon its german equatorial mount in the central dome of the fuertes observatory. Should i get a gem mount to use with my nikon dslr. A summary about the diy german equatorial telescope mount i have made and.
What are the pros and cons of a german equatorial mount vs. If you already own and enjoy a dslr or mirrorless camera for daytime photography, chances are youd like to use it for deepsky imaging as well. Mar 01, 2019 but celestron has plans to make several features available in this software. You tube videos are a really useful source of information and expertise not least on astro photography. Hd150o equatorial head, digital electronic drives, counter weight. The german equatorial mount facilitates teaching a number concepts in astronomy including the coordinate system used for celestial navigation. Celestron astromaster 114eq telescope31042 the home depot. Employing a counterbalance, the eq mount design is favored for heavier telescopes and those interested in. Equatorial mounts expert support unbeatable prices opt. You may also download the latest version of the a200 control software from. Manual german equatorial mount with setting circles to accurately locate and track sky objects includes a smartphone adapter so you can capture images and video through the scope instantly adjustable, full height steel tripod with deluxe accessory tray. Our product range includes german equatorial and fork mounts, goto controllers for steppers and servo motors, accessories, custom otas and solutions for complete robotic observatories ic friction drive equatorial mount based on our. Having said that, a german equatorial mount would probably be the simplest with potentially great performance if done well. A large german equatorial mount on the forststernwarte jena 50cm cassegrain reflector telescope.
The tripodmount is an orion skyview pro german equatorial mount with a polar alignment scope and dual axis motors. Fig 1 this is a large piece of glass a woman off craigslist gave me. Many people have requested plans for the tripod german equatorial mount we built for michelles telescope, capella, so i am providing the plans here on the web for general and wide access. The cgem mount is a german equatorial mount that attaches to the tripod head. With a properly aligned equatorial mount, the telescope. Your terms may vary and are subject to application. Why buy starsense and gps when you have celestron cpwi. Naturally as a kid i had to have one, so i told my father and he said lets build it.
This is a full equatorial mount of good stability, and for a reasonable price as good astronomical telescope mounts go, but not likely the mount you get with an inexpensive telescope. A gallery of closeup photos of a diy homemade vns equatorial platform that allowed me to do. Feel free to use them and link to them, but do not redistribute them. Scotch mount barndoor artikel portable equatorial mount german equatorial mounts gems capella plans brads homebuilt gem second generation roller drive gem jim sapps german mount schmidlings equatorial mount astronomy boy. Unfortunately i am in texas with no lathe and no mill. Feb 8, 2015 diy heavy duty german equatorial mounts. In the socalled good old days if you built your own telescope, you generally made an equatorial mount to go with it. It includes goto computerized pointing to over 42,900 celestial objects and can support telescopes weighing up to 20 lbs. German and fork telescope mounts german equatorial and. I have seen plans for basic equatorial mounts but i dont think they can hold massive otas and cameras. Cgx equatorial mount and tripod celestron telescopes. Adding to the confusion, most product photos of gemmounted scopes show them aimed at polaris, the north star, as seen here. An equatorial mount is needed and the slt cannot be easily adapted.
Includes the allstar polar alignment procedure for german equatorial mounts and altaz mounts with a wedge. The latter will rotate the object in the focal plane, and generally have a harder time guiding the object. The advanced vx mount includes ports for a hand control, an autoguider, and 2 aux ports for optional accessories. With a suitable telescope, the included dual axis clock drive and either a piggyback camera mount or a telescope with camera adapter the owner is equipped to pursue introductory astrophotography. Geminitelescopedesign german equatorial and fork mounts.
This is a fantastic goto equatorial mount of the eq5 variety, handling visual payloads of up to 30 lbs. The orion 9829 skyview pro equatorial mount is arguably one of the most stable equatorial mounts for the money. In conclusion, use the vast resources of the internet to find out what to see each month. Many of the popular computerized go to telescopes are of this design. Jun 11, 20 telescopes built by amateurs and their storiesplans. The telescope was donated by the kopernik astronomical society. Company seven the criterion dynascope rv6 telescope. They certainly dont look like a normal german or fork mount. In the german equatorial mount, sometimes called a gem for short the primary structure is a tshape, where the lower bar is the right ascension axis lower diagonal axis in image, and the upper bar is the declination axis upper diagonal axis in image.
Now an employeeowned company, we pride ourselves on an unswerving commitment to best quality products, value and unmatched customer care. My wife and i spent a good portion of this time driving around the beautiful american southwest and the many awesome parks on and around the colorado pl. Browse an extensive selection of astronomy equipment at. This combination provides superior observing and imaging performance without a prohibitive price tag.
The desgined german equatorial mount afer project execution with. Dobsonian reflector telescope to track the night sky. Design, project execution and testing of a computerized german equatorial. This example payment is based on the listed product price of 299 assuming a 36month term and a 9. Advanced vx 11 schmidtcassegrain telescope celestron. Since that time, many more astroimagers and planetarium controlled setups have emerged as backyard telescope technology has evolved. Celestron cgx computerized german equatorial mount and tripod. This article will end up on the subject of a german equatorial telescope mount after i give you a little background. Here at the curdridge observatory we like improve our. For equatorials have a larger problem zone because the eyepiece becomes inaccessible when under the mount. Amateur astronomers accustomed to fork mounts or dobsonians sometimes have trouble visualizing the movement and orientation of a german equatorial mount gem as it tracks across the sky.
The iexos100 utilizes a proven german equatorial mount design and explore scientifics revolutionary pmceight precision motion control system to flawlessly navigate the night sky and track objects as they journey across it. The basic design theme for this project was to inexpensively construct a large computer controlled gem using only basic tools and ordinary materials. Add a wedge to turn the altaz form mount into an equatorial means i lost any chance of pointing north. The polaris comes with the following included items and features. This celestron omni cg4 provides solid support for many types and sizes of telescopes.
A good example is the celestron cg4 german equatorial mount and tripod. May, 2020 teenastro an easy to use telescope controller. This project is construction of a large goto german equatorial mount gem for my 10 ultra light newtonian telescope. It needs to track at sidereal rate for astrophotography. If you plan to control your a200 mount from thesky6 a planetarium program. Cg5 mount improvements equatorial mount dobsonian mount simple. Home made friction drive, 40 kg capacity, weight 30kg without counterweights.
Regularly stocked item that is on order with the manufacturer and on. We feel that spending hundreds of pounds on a commercial telescope mount suitable for decent astrophotography is a dull and uninteresting route to. Telescope making links designs and techniques star. One important part of building your rduinoscope is to download and install the arduino. The below left diagram shows a comparison of the english cross axis and gem mounts. The advanced vx is the smallest of celestrons german equatorial mounts. The motion the german equatorial mount is designed to facilitate gradually turning a telescope in the opposite direction from that which the earth is rotating, at the same apparent speed as the celestial objects are moving. Choosing the best design will depend on the type, weight, and dimensions of the telescope tube assembly. Cgx tripod and counterweights tripod 2 x 5 kg 11 lbs counterweights accessory tray.
Explore scientific iexos100 pmceight equatorial goto. Download telescope tripod plans download prices telescope tripod plans diy where to buy telescope tripod plans pdf telescope tripod plans how to. How to build an equatorial mount for long exposure. The friction drive is, by far, the most easy way i have done. Since i aquired an losmandy g11 mount without any goto provision i decided to create my own solution. The horseshoe mount overcomes the design disadvantage of english or yoke mounts. Gemini telescope design has been serving astronomers with high precision mechanics and electronics since 1996 explore the gemini telescope design history.
The gm4000 qci german equatorial mount has been designed to meet the needs of the advanced observer who requires a mount with maximum strength and accuracy, for the most demanding professional applications. We serving astronomers with german equatorial and fork mounts, goto controllers for steppers and servo motors and solutions for robotic observatory. Improving older cg5 mounts machine tools links to suppliers astrophotography building a german equatorial mount improving the newtonian. All these mounts have steel rod legs for increased stability. For eight years, celestron s workhorse cgem mount lineup has been the german equatorial backbone for telescopes ranging from 6 to 11 inches of aperture. A gem allows the scope to swing around without clearance issues for the most part.
Examples of high quality, sturdy german equatorial mounts for different telescope weights. Homemade gem german equatorial telescope mount how i made. Celestron cgem 1100 instruction manual pdf download. See more ideas about telescopes, telescope, cloudy nights. It is an excellent and affordable upgrade for most telescopes. The point of the v holds a piece of pipe that serves as the mechanical apparatus for the mount. For those interested in primefocus astrophotography, a computerized equatorial telescope mount is essential. German equatorial mounts gem the german equatorial mount gem is an english cross axis mount with a ra axis supported on only one end. The mount is a classic german equatorial mount designed to carry a mediumlarge newtonian telescope mine is 8 inches, but i suspect one day i will make a bigger one. The orion skyview pro equatorial goto telescope mount is designed for the serious amateur astronomer. Scotch mountbarndoor artikel portable equatorial mount german equatorial mounts gems capella plans brads homebuilt gem second generation roller drive gem jim sapps german mount schmidlings equatorial mount astronomy boy. Ascension 200hr german equatorial mount instruction manual. Jun 11, 20 telescopes built by amateurs and their stories plans.
Building a deep sky astrophotography kit from the ground up. Does anyone know of any plans for a good eq which can hold a lot of weight. Design a german equatorial mount association of lunar. This was a commercial product manufactured by criterion manufacturing, inc. Design a german equatorial mount jeff beish introduction after a question from a planetary observertelescope maker was posed to me concerning telescope mounts a reference came to mind that may interest other telescope makers. Astrophotography is possible with a dobsonian and equatorial platform id been frustrated by the lack of ability for my zhumell z10 10. Parallax hd150 standard, non goto, german equatorial mount with digital drives. You can see that it looks more complicated than the altazimuth mount. The solution seemed to be to take the ota optical tube assembly off the forks and mount it to something like a german equatorial mount gem. After much research, i found that the cheapest way for me to get basic and automatic sidereal tracking is to build or buy a motorized equatorial platform, which required absolutely no modification.
Taking things away from the software, lets take a look at the hardware and wow. Computerized telescope goto control based on arduino driven stepper motors for german equatorial mounts. Homemade gem german equatorial telescope mount how i. Fred tretta published a paper in the riverside telescope.
Ive just stumbled onto eq platforms in the last few days ive preciously thought about trying to build an equatorial mount for my dob, but was thinking of a full mount, that would let the scope rotate through a full 360 degrees. How to build an equatorial mount for long exposure astrophotography. You can also catch a faint glimpse of the milky way across the image. He aligned one of the mounts axes parallel to earths axis and moved the mount with a weightdriven clock drive at the same rate as our planets spin. It helps in keeping it steady and firm and reduces the manual intervention required to do so. The equatorial platform in the photo above is of the cylindrical bearing type, complete with threaded rod tangent arm drive, as developed and documented by chuck shaw, and also nicely documented by warren peters. Celestron pwi telescope control software celestron. Continue reading part 2 of this german equatorial mount article on declination, right ascension, setting circles, mount balancing, and load capacity.
The computerized goto capability automatically tracks objects as they move across the night sky. For astroimaging, more accurate polar alignment can be achieved with the standard stardrift method, as with any equatorial mount. The large gm4000qci is a perfect mount for largesized instruments such as 400mm newtonian re. The motions of the mount compensate for the rotation of the earth, allowing the observer to keep an object in view. I figure once everything is set up the mount may need to hold as much as 40 lbs or a tiny bit more. The motion is so slow that few people can observe the motion, this rotation is only on the order of one revolution per 24. German equatorial mounts manual a manual german equatorial mount is one without go to capabilities provided by an on board computer and motors to drive the mount to a desired object. Our a9020 german equatorial mount can handle telescopes up to 8 lbs. Hd150 equatorial head, digital electronic drives, counter weight.
Dec 21, 2019 using a refractor telescope with a dslr camera. Celestron powerseeker 80mm refractor telescope black. So i am thinking to get a good gem german equatorial mount and may be in ask. German equatorial mounts are easily identified by their counterweight, which is used to balance the telescope across the primary axis of the mount, or polar axis, resulting in greater stability and weight capacity. Bread loans are made by cross river bank, member fdic. Losmandy g11 with explore scientific pmc8 electronic goto. Allows you to pec train your ra worm gear with cpwi directly from your pc. The directions are south centric and so people living in the northern hemisphere will need to convert any references that are hemisphere specific. There are 3 types of mounts available in the market altazimuth altaz, german equatorial eq, and motorized. The latest telescopes, cameras, binoculars, mounts and accessories tried and tested. Simple equatorial telescope mount above the front view and side view show the simple equatorial telescope mount with its two sides spread wide in a v. Note how the gem can be formed by removing the green sections of the.
Search stellafane, rtmc and the cloudy nights atm forum for many many more. Losmandy gm8 equatorial mount with tuckedin motors, lw tripod, and gemini 2 goto system gm8g. Welded steel observatory permanent pier specify height. Kas telescope in the southern equatorial room is a 20 in 510 mm f8 ritcheychretien reflector and german equatorial mount manufactured by optical guidance systems of huntingdon valley, pennsylvania, us. The key difference is that only two short arcs of the whole ring or horseshoe are used, with the rest of the structure made flat to accommodate a dobsonian telescope on top. The equatorial is more complicated, but still not out of the question even for those with just basic tools.
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