CG-5 ALUMINUM TRIPOD REPLACEMENT USING A SURVEYORS TRIPOD.
Rich McMahon
I've been looking to replace the tripod on my cg-5. With the spidley
aluminum legs it is not up to par to handle the 6" achromat. I ve
looked at several surveyors tripods. Most high end wood ones are
around $$150-200 and there is an adapter you can buy or fabricate to
allow you to use the cg-5 head.. Has anyone done this yet? The tripod
I'm looking at weighs 16" and telescopes all the way to 72". That is
a big difference compared to the standard aluminum tripod..
Thanks
Rich
Joe Kosa
There's a guy who builds tripod legs specifically for the problem you're
having. Here's the link to his site.
http://www.alsastro.com/
These legs use the existing tripod head for the CG5 so no adapter is needed.
I have a set and can tell you it's much more stable than the aluminum CG-5
legs.
Hope this helps,
Joe
"Rich McMahon" <rhm...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3c53dd8d...@news-server.austin.rr.com...
John Switzer
purchased everything I needed from my local Lowes store. There are several
pretty good sites on the web with ideas and techniques. Total cost, about
$50-$60 (US).
Good Luck,
John Switzer
"Rich McMahon" <rhm...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3c53dd8d...@news-server.austin.rr.com...
Wayne Hoffman
McMahon) wrote:
>All
>
>I've been looking to replace the tripod on my cg-5. With the spidley
>aluminum legs it is not up to par to handle the 6" achromat.
Rich, while you may be able to eliminate the tripod as a
problem, you will _never_ be able to make a CG-5 work really
well with a 6" refractor (unlerss, perhaps, it is a very
short tube). The mount itself just isn't up to the task of
harnessing all that twisting moment. That size 'scope needs
some "meat," at least a Losmandy GM8, better yet a G11.
Wayne Hoffman
http://home.pacbell.net/w6wlr/
33° 49' 17" N, 117° 56' 41" W
"Don't Look Down"
Al
refractor very well. This is not to say that a heavier mount is not
desirable with this OTA, it's just that a heavier mount costs much more
money and the CG5 is up for the task.
Al
"Wayne Hoffman" <w6wlr@_REMOVE_THIS_SPAM_FILTER_arrl.net> wrote in message
news:b5k85uot3mdfeptj2...@4ax.com...
Jeff DeTray
wrote:
>All
Check the Tripod Tips page in the CG-5 Improvements section of my web
site for some links and ideas:
http://www.astronomyboy.com/cg5/tripod.html
- Jeff
Jeff DeTray | CG-5 Mount Improvements
je...@astronomyboy.com | Barn Door Camera Tracker
http://www.AstronomyBoy.com | Wide-field Astrophotos
| Equatorial Mount Tutorial
Rich McMahon
I've been looking at this problem for a while now. Not to go down a
path that's already been beat to death but the 6" refractor is too
much for the tripod legs and does tax the mount.. I would not want to
do astrophotography with the cg-5.. Id much rather have the gm-8 or
gm11. However the GM8 costs as much money as the scope costs.
Im looking far is to get rid of some of the vibration and torquing
effects when the wind blows or just try to focus. Im sure throwing a
good tripod at the problem would help allot but not solve everything.
I appreciate all that have posted . I'm trying to see what is a good
cost effective solution to this. One thing with the tripod as
supplied puts the eyepiece way to low.. I had some 4th graders out
looking at Jupiter from a class at school and they had to kneel to be
able to look into the eyepiece. That's pretty bad. Thanks to all
that have posted so far would like to hear some constructive
recommendation on how to fix the tripod issue.. I have looked at Al's
web site and have considered the wooden legs he sells for the cg-5
Later
Rich
Nate Perkins
server.austin.rr.com:
Hi Rich,
Yes, I did this. I went to mytoolstore.com and ordered a heavy duty
CST/Berger wood tripod for around $120. Then I got an adapter plate from
Universal Astronomics. Universal sells the combo for a bit more if you
want to save some trouble.
I can tell you that the surveyor's tripods are absolutely rock solid. I
have a C8 mounted on my CG5, and it has really enabled high power planetary
viewing (the old mount was just too flimsy). It also puts the scope at a
more comfortable level. I went back and stripped the yellow and orange
paint from the tripod and stained it cherry, and repainted the hardware
flat black.
I am sure that the 6" achromat will be more difficult to mount than the C8
due to the longer lever arm on the 6" achromat. There was an article in
Sky&Tel a few months ago detailing how to build a Hargreaves strut, and
that might be useful for you.
Clear skies,
Nate
Rich McMahon
Thanks much for the info. I think this is the route Im going to take..
Ill look at placing an order tomorrow.. The exsisting tripod as you
know is too flimsy and also does not put the refractor at sufficient
height when observing at zenith.. I saw the info on the hargraves
strut. That will probably be the next thing after the tripod.. Many
thanks for the tips.. Also thanks to all the other folks who posted a
response.
Rich
Al
> Wayne, Al
>
> I've been looking at this problem for a while now. Not to go down a
> path that's already been beat to death but the 6" refractor is too
> much for the tripod legs and does tax the mount.. I would not want to
> do astrophotography with the cg-5.. Id much rather have the gm-8 or
> gm11. However the GM8 costs as much money as the scope costs.
I agree with your conclusions. The aluminum tripod legs are a joke, and the
CG5, while okay for visual use, is certainly overtaxed by the large 6" OTA
for the purpose of imaging. Fortunately, many of us do not use this
telescope for imaging.
>
> Im looking far is to get rid of some of the vibration and torquing
> effects when the wind blows or just try to focus. Im sure throwing a
> good tripod at the problem would help allot but not solve everything.
> I appreciate all that have posted . I'm trying to see what is a good
> cost effective solution to this. One thing with the tripod as
> supplied puts the eyepiece way to low.. I had some 4th graders out
> looking at Jupiter from a class at school and they had to kneel to be
> able to look into the eyepiece. That's pretty bad.
Pretty bad indeed! You've identified the tripod related problems with this
telescope exactly...which is something that I did about 2 years ago. I can
assure you that a solid, well built tripod which is tall enough (more than
65 inches fully extended) will go a long way to solve all of your problems.
Thanks to all
> that have posted so far would like to hear some constructive
> recommendation on how to fix the tripod issue.. I have looked at Al's
> web site and have considered the wooden legs he sells for the cg-5
If you've looked at my web site (www.alsastro.com), did you notice that my
tripods are "satisfaction guaranteed"? I mean just that...
If you're not completely satisfied with the performance of the tripod, send
it back and I'll refund your money less shipping. Al