Rolling Platform for Scope

[Starchild615]

Hey Everyone

Has anyone built a rolling platform for your scopes?
And is this a good idea? I was thinking about constructing one for my new scope. I have the orion Skyview Pro 6". It is a little heavy for me to move around on my own ( I am a girl by the way ) I am always having to ask my husband to come out and move it around for me.
I wanted to build a platform out of strong wood with I guess PVC tubing for the tripod legs to go into, on the bottom I was thinking about rolling casters with brakes on them. Has anyone done this before, I figure I could move it around a bit with more ease.

Thanks

[Veeger]

At first, I was thinking, how are you going to roll it around outdoors, then I remembered - you live in New York City so it probably won't get stuck in the grass.



-Veeger

[RickJ]

Find a way to attach locking 3" castors to the tripod legs, 5" for grass. Divices are commercially available to to this but aren't cheap. JMI's medium universal Wheelie bar is one of the commercial ones.
http://www.jimsmobile.com/buy_wheeley_bars.htm

Scan down past the expensive ones to the $200 model. Then get your hubby to figure a way to put locking casters on the tripod for a fraction the cost.

Rick

[Starchild615]

I only have some grass in my backyard and some Mulch
If I had the wheels I could roll it through to the yard, for now its only the front of the house.

Rick, great idea, i checked the site. My husband is very handy and I am sure he can rig something up from the site you sent. It would be such a pleasure to be able to roll the scope. I can lift it, but I am so nervous of it slipping or dropping it, that would be a nightmare.

I order my Dual Axis Drive yesterday, so hopefully I can track soon.
And I will be ordering the webcam and adapter as well, I am on my way to getting the equipment, its fun purchasing it.

Thanks

[RickJ]

And well on the road to discovering the black hole it causes in your bank account.

Rick

[Starchild615]

Yes that feeding monster has been growing and growing, and I can tell you that it's true, what goes in does not come back out
My money is being spagetified in the singularity , I will never see it again

[malevy]

I bought a meade lx200 8" scope yesterday used from scopecity here in vegas and of course its over my 10lb weight limit after back surgery so i found someone that built a transport with 2x4 and some locking caster wheels from home depot. i will post a picture tomorrow but so far its the easiest thing i have ever built and should work great for your scope as well.

Yes that feeding monster has been growing and growing, and I can tell you that it's true, what goes in does not come back out
My money is being spagetified in the singularity , I will never see it again

[Starchild615]

Hi Marc

thats great !! I am glad you got your scope
Please do post a photo of what you are getting built, because this scope is real heavy for me to move around
I look forward to seeing what you have done

Thanks

[malevy]

Hi,
Here is the picture i am using to build mine. Its very simple everything get from home depot or lowes. 3 wheels - locking, 2x4 wood, a metal bracket in the framing section of home depot to join the 2 pieces of wood and some screws.. you might need a forstner bit to cut the hole that the tripod legs go into i am using 1-1/2" bit and this can be placed in a electric hand drill, it just needs to be big enough so the bottom of the legs rest in the hole. I will finish mine tomorrow so ill let you know how it goes as soon as i can get someone over here to lift it onto the new mount. the only problem i see with this design is if you raise the tripod the legs get wider so it wont fit so extend the tripod to where you would want it all the time and then build it. im sure there are other ways of making something but this is cheap and fast to build.. beats spending 300.00 on one.. maybe when i am fully recovered from this surgery i will get out the welder and build something that is expandable out of out metal tubing.. i would be happy to make one for you or anyone on here if it works better then this design.. something to think about for the coming months. if you need more details on how to make this wood transport let me know and i will draw it up with more details.
oh if you have an email address that you can get attachments that are at least 3 megs i have a PDF of an astrophotography book you would really enjoy.. just PM me if you want it.

p.s the scope that is picture is a 12" LX200 which is very heavy so a light 8" will be no problem you can see how strong this design is.

Hi Marc

thats great !! I am glad you got your scope
Please do post a photo of what you are getting built, because this scope is real heavy for me to move around
I look forward to seeing what you have done

Thanks

[Starchild615]

I know what you mean about the tripod legs, I asked the same question to my husband tonight, he said he can rig something up, I will let you know what he comes up with, hes probably good at this as he is a sculptor.

Hope your back gets better, if I dont have a rolling platform soon I will need back surgery as well. It really takes a toll on your back, especially with the weights on the mount.

We most certainly can do this without spending another fortune.

I sent you my email in a PM

Thanks

[malevy]

I am going to try and finish it today but of course you know what happens when its all done and your ready to mount the scope.. its off by 1/2" or something like that lol.. i hope that doesn't happen.

I know what you mean about the tripod legs, I asked the same question to my husband tonight, he said he can rig something up, I will let you know what he comes up with, hes probably good at this as he is a sculptor.

Hope your back gets better, if I dont have a rolling platform soon I will need back surgery as well. It really takes a toll on your back, especially with the weights on the mount.

We most certainly can do this without spending another fortune.

I sent you my email in a PM

Thanks

[Starchild615]

Hi Marc

Thanks for the email with the book. Its great !!

Did you get to create your platform yet?

[winensky]

As I can't afford an observatory, I have been thinking of building something similar except on a set of rails so I can roll it out of the shed, lock it in position, and avoid realigning every night. Has anyone seen a set of plans for this type of system?

Kind regards
Matt

ps Malevy, I have responded to your question regarding alignment and go to in Crimson Ghost's thread which has been moved to this section.

[Starchild615]

Hi Matt

Same problem here... cant to an observatory. Only way I can do that is to remove my pool and there is no way I am doing that, as i will be sorry on a July day
Malvey had a good idea on this, if you scroll up a few posts, Rick posted a site where you can purchase wheels and stuff. If you find the plans of what you are seeking please post them here, all our ideas together are bound to come up with an affordable and space saving portable observatory

Gina

[malevy]

I did get it built yesterday and it works good, the only thing is i think it would be alot sturdier if it were a square platform with wheels on each of the four corners. The 3 wheels scare me as it has a tendency to feel like its going to tip if your not really careful and moving slow especially across the control joints in the driveway and sidewalk. Ill have to get some more wood and redesign it.

Hi Matt

Same problem here... cant to an observatory. Only way I can do that is to remove my pool and there is no way I am doing that, as i will be sorry on a July day
Malvey had a good idea on this, if you scroll up a few posts, Rick posted a site where you can purchase wheels and stuff. If you find the plans of what you are seeking please post them here, all our ideas together are bound to come up with an affordable and space saving portable observatory

Gina

[Bigbeck]

malevy, I'm really good at building things like this. It seemes like half the things that I buy need to be modified in some way. Either for ease of operation or better durability.

You are right about the platform with four wheels. It will be much more stable. Even for smaller scopes. The three wheel design is cool though.

[Kaptain K]

A word of advice from my rock n roll roadie days. Don't use 4 casters. It makes it almost impossible to steer! Use 2 casters and 2 fixed wheels.

[malevy]

ahh good idea never thought about that. anyways here is a site with all kinds of ideas for transports like what we are talking about. there are links to alternative transports on the right side of the page..
http://www.mapug-astronomy.net/astro.../TrpdSled.html

A word of advice from my rock n roll roadie days. Don't use 4 casters. It makes it almost impossible to steer! Use 2 casters and 2 fixed wheels.

[Starchild615]

Hi Marc

Did you get a photo of your set up yet?
I checked out the site you posted, good idea, but I would be scared to tilt the scope as I move it, it may slip and then Crack

We will be designing something this weekend and I will post the plans and photos if any. The moon looks great tonight, but I dont want to have to lug the scope around, so this platform is essential

Gina

[malevy]

No i havent had a chance to take a picture yet. If you look at the top of that page he has links to about 4 or 5 other style transports.. one or two looked like some good ideas we could use.

Hi Marc

Did you get a photo of your set up yet?
I checked out the site you posted, good idea, but I would be scared to tilt the scope as I move it, it may slip and then Crack

We will be designing something this weekend and I will post the plans and photos if any. The moon looks great tonight, but I dont want to have to lug the scope around, so this platform is essential

Gina

[malevy]

I have been using this for about a week now and so far its great. If you move slow there is no problems. I was looking at the commercially available units and they all have larger wheels (inflated with air maybe) but that would solve the problem of going over the joints in the driveway.. I wonder if you can just buy the wheels and castors.. it would be worth i. If i only knew how to use this brand new welder thats been sitting in my garage for 2 years lol maybe i will have to get out the instructions and try it out and then we can make some really cool things for the scope.

[Starchild615]

Hi Marc

I am glad it is working out for you
I too have the joints in the driveway, so I will have the same problem
I have not used the scope in a few days as we have had cloudy nights, night after night
We are making the plans tonight for the scope transporter, once I am done I will scan them and post them here.

[Kaptain K]

Pneumatic wheels are great for rolling over uneven terrain, but not so nice for steady viewing. You need some way to get the wheels off the ground while observing.