SIMPLE WEDGE FOR LOW-LATITUDE LOCATIONS Last updated: 27 April 2008

Sent:	Saturday, April 26, 2008 21:33:57
From:	TP (tprangtip@gmail.com)
Here's my contribution to this great ETX site:
 
Meade Deluxe Field Triod (#884) would not permit polar mounting for
locations below 20-degree latitude.

Unfortunately, all of my observation sites (12-14 degrees north) are
below that limitation   . To get by this problem, I made a simple
150-degree wedge from 6.35-mm. (1/4-in.) thick aluminum plate. The wedge
is anodized in black with two treaded holes (on the right-half of the
plate in the picture) for mounting the wedge on the tilt-plate, using
the two attachment knobs. Two holes on the left half are for mounting my
ETX-125PE with two hex screws. This left-half of the plate should be
pointing towards celestial north for proper polar alignment.



The wedge can be used for locations with a very low latitude.
Extended-arm design of the wedge allows better weight distribution on
the tripod.



One problem remains to be solved ... with Fork Mount-design of the
ETX-125PE in EQ mount mode, it is not possible to observe southern part
of the sky at low altitude. Perhaps, raising/extending the fork arms 10
cm. more would help? My thinking is making two plastic spacers from
thick PVC sheets.

Thongchai P.
Bangkok, Thailand

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