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Results of Pier Upgrade Described, Richard Vanderbeek

Results of Pier Upgrade Described

Results of Pier Upgrade Described, Richard Vanderbeek

Results of Pier Upgrade Described

Description

I poured a concrete pier topped with a Starizona EQ6R-Pro Pier Adapter.  I also ran underground conduit for the extension cord and 50ft Comprehensive Company Active USB 3.0 cable to my sunroom.  The Veil, Crescent, and North America nebulae were taken using the pier.  My findings are that the guiding has improved from 0.9-1.2 arcseconds on the tripod to 0.45-0.65 arcseconds on the pier.  On the tripod, after polar alignment with Sharpcap, I would find the quality of the alignment changed significantly as a function of RA axis angle.  On the pier I don’t have that problem.  My guess is the tripod sitting in spongy grass wasn’t a solid enough base.  Also, I only need to adjust the azimuth (not elevation) and aligning with the polar scope results in “excellent” alignment according to Sharpcap so it’s just a confirmation step now.  More important to me, however, is that the setup time (from storage in my house to fully operational) has been reduced from about 90 min to 35 min.  Another consideration for me is that I don’t have to worry about my dogs messing with the power and USB cables running across the ground.  I still have some more optimization to do with cable management, but I’ll get there.  Unfortunately, the upgrade hasn’t decreased the number of cloudy nights.  -Rich

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Results of Pier Upgrade Described, Richard Vanderbeek