I think this is a pretty darn good design! What I am missing (perhaps I missed it) was a list of the materials needed for the job. The board is obvious... I am just interested in the details on the other pieces. Do you have that information?
Hi and thanks for viewing. There really is not much to it. I do talk about the different parts needed and the lumber. It does work well. Hinges and some wing nuts.
Good for you! I went the cheep route. But both our wedges will get the job done. Good luck with your viewing. PS, how do you like your guider setup? I'm looking at the Orion starshoot autoguider. Have you had good luck with your guiding and the wedge setup? Thanks
My ssag died after 11 months, I am still waiting for it for new exchange. Good thing about Orion, they back all Orion OEMs under 1 year. In the downtime not having a guide camera, I went with QHY5L II mono and it was 100 dollars cheaper, I like my new QHY at 3.7mp from ssag 5.4mp. I can tell you, our 8se mounts are wonderful, it did not have the power at 2amp motors to carry my CPEs due to small clutch plate, can tell you it does guide very well since I got the wedge.
Hi and great question. No it works great. I ended up getting some new equipment so I no longer use the wedge. You can have it for free if you want. Pay shipping and it's yours. Let me know if you are interested. I sold my equipment that works with it. It's built strong and handled my 8 inch scope just fine. Or build one, it's kind of fun.
@@hovlandbound Oh thank you but I live in Canada so the shipping would be a lot I guess. Planning to build my own as you said, is a nice project to do. I just worried about the negative reviews online. Now I confident to make my own. Thanks again and clear skies...!!!
@@evastronomy8048 I built my wedge out of 3/4" oak and it's not moving. As long as your tripod is sturdy you should be good to go. As you build it let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!
Hi. The center of the telescope is over the center of the tripod top. It pivots great. If you take the dimensions I talk about on the video you will be fine. I have recently (well, it's been a while now) upgraded my equipment so I no longer need my wedge. You can have it for free if you want. Just have to pay for shipping. Not sure where you are at but let me know if you want it. It does really work well. But it also is a fun project to do. Good luck and clear skies to you!! :)
Thanks. I looked at as many videos as I could to get an idea where things should be and it turned out just right. But ya, good point. That is very important.
Nice one! What exposure times are you getting and are you experiencing any problems with flexure? I was thinking of making something similar but out of 20mm mdfb. Ideally my goal is to build something similar out of steel or maybe aluminum alloy, however using a design that will allow finer adjustments to a larger range of lattitudes, as well as perhaps some means of adusting the center of mass position. On a related sidenote, have you tried autoguiding with this setup?
Hi and thanks for viewing. I really don’t get a lot of flex with it. It works great. Ya, nothing like steel though, I think you are on to something. Or weld up some aluminum would be the best. If I still used that setup I would think about making one out of aluminum. I broke down and got an equatorial mount so I have moved on from that equipment. The autoguiding I never got it to work with great success. But I even have a hard time with the equatorial mount! :) But with this design the center of gravity is about right. The scope is close to the center of the mount. With mine, I built it for the area I live in (Mn.) so it just adjusts a little more and less than 45 degrees. But that could be changed Easley. Not sure where you are at but if you want mine you can have it. Just pay for the shipping. Not sure if I will ever use it again but thought I would keep the video up to help someone out. Good luck and clear skies!!
@@hovlandbound Thanks for the reply :) ! That is good that you do not get flex with it, however the center of gravity might be a bit of a problem, as despite me living in Munich Germany, I do often travel, so a movable center of gravity would be ideal for future, however as a prototype a fixed center of gravity should not be a problem. Funny enough for me the biggest problem is not assembling or designing the mount but getting the damn ANSI bolts for it as they are not used in Germany. I wouldnt mind trying it out but the shipping would probably be quite expensive, and I have a crapload of mdfb so its not a problem to make my own, plus its more fun that way :P . What would be great is if you could perhaps send me a bluerpint/schematic of the wedge with dimensions. On a sidenote, how did you go about polar aligning this setup? were you using a erecting mirror or something or did you use an astrocamera with pc output?
Hi. What a great question. I came up with a really good idea that just flat out works for the polar aligning. Hard to describe but I will do my best. Here we go. I ordered up a piece of aluminum stock that is 2 ½ inches wide by 20 inches long and about 5/8 inches thick. The dimensions really don’t matter as long as it’s close. So it’s basically a bar of aluminum 20 inches long. This is my mount for the polar aligning eyepiece. The bar attaches to the back board of the wedge that the scope is on and sticks up high. The polar aligning eyepiece mounts on the bar up high. I look through it and move the wedge around until (well, in my area) Polaris (the North Star) is in view. Wow, not an easy thing to describe as you can see. I wish I had it part of my video but don’t think I had made it yet. Yes, making it is half the fun. You may also like another video I have. It’s how to make a portable observatory out of PCP piping and tarps. Search for Portable Observatory by Hovlandbound. And as for as the dimensions for the wedge I tell you what each boards length and width is in the video. With pictures. I think that is all you really need. Pete
I also have a Celestron 8SE and live in Wisconsin. I was wondering if you still have the wedge? If so, I'd be more than happy to pay for the shipping to be the new, proud owner of it.
I do still have it and it's yours if you want it. It works great. As you probably know I have upgraded my equipment so I no longer use it. It was a fun project. Not sure how much it would cost to ship it to you but It's yours if you want to pick up the shipping cost. may need to modify it a little so the angle suites your needs. For me up here in Mn. I set it around 45 degrees. How about you?
Hi. The wedge Changes the telescope mount from a altazimuth to a equatorial mount. It works great. I don't think you are in the USA (but maybe) but I got a new mount so I don't use the wedge anymore. What I was going to say you can have it for free if you want it, just pay for shipping. But not sure where you are at. It's yours if you want it. :) Pete
If you what it, it's yours. Works great I just don't use it anymore because of the new equipment I have. Where are you located. Sure would be nice to get a 6 pack of beer out of it but whatever. Not that big of a deal. Shipping is the big thing. Let me know if you still are interested.
@@hovlandbound Thank you. I just signed up! I'll look for your user name (I assume it is the same as this one) and send you a message when I am approved by an administrator.
Excellent design, I may give it a shot myself 👍
Hi and thanks. I have upgraded my equipment so I no longer need my wedge. It's yours if you want it. Just pay shipping. Thanks for viewing.
I think this is a pretty darn good design! What I am missing (perhaps I missed it) was a list of the materials needed for the job. The board is obvious... I am just interested in the details on the other pieces. Do you have that information?
Hi and thanks for viewing. There really is not much to it. I do talk about the different parts needed and the lumber. It does work well. Hinges and some wing nuts.
Thank you ! I did buy a wedge but do like your approach. I subscribed.
Good for you! I went the cheep route. But both our wedges will get the job done. Good luck with your viewing. PS, how do you like your guider setup? I'm looking at the Orion starshoot autoguider. Have you had good luck with your guiding and the wedge setup? Thanks
My ssag died after 11 months, I am still waiting for it for new exchange. Good thing about Orion, they back all Orion OEMs under 1 year. In the downtime not having a guide camera, I went with QHY5L II mono and it was 100 dollars cheaper, I like my new QHY at 3.7mp from ssag 5.4mp. I can tell you, our 8se mounts are wonderful, it did not have the power at 2amp motors to carry my CPEs due to small clutch plate, can tell you it does guide very well since I got the wedge.
That's a bummer it died, it does get good reviews. Thanks for the info, that helps.
Hello, have you had any problems with the weight of the scope over the arm. Any problems with the motors?.
Hi and great question. No it works great. I ended up getting some new equipment so I no longer use the wedge. You can have it for free if you want. Pay shipping and it's yours. Let me know if you are interested. I sold my equipment that works with it. It's built strong and handled my 8 inch scope just fine. Or build one, it's kind of fun.
@@hovlandbound Oh thank you but I live in Canada so the shipping would be a lot I guess. Planning to build my own as you said, is a nice project to do. I just worried about the negative reviews online. Now I confident to make my own. Thanks again and clear skies...!!!
@@evastronomy8048 I built my wedge out of 3/4" oak and it's not moving. As long as your tripod is sturdy you should be good to go. As you build it let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!
Nice construction. How did you determine the pivot point to keep the center of gravity of the scope and mount over the tripod?
Hi. The center of the telescope is over the center of the tripod top. It pivots great. If you take the dimensions I talk about on the video you will be fine.
I have recently (well, it's been a while now) upgraded my equipment so I no longer need my wedge. You can have it for free if you want. Just have to pay for shipping. Not sure where you are at but let me know if you want it. It does really work well.
But it also is a fun project to do. Good luck and clear skies to you!! :)
@@hovlandbound Do you still want to give it away for shipping?
Thanks. I looked at as many videos as I could to get an idea where things should be and it turned out just right. But ya, good point. That is very important.
@@joecooksey6948 It's yours if you want it. I would more than happy to give it a good home!
@@hovlandbound Can you send me an email... joecooksey@harrisbb.com
Nice one! What exposure times are you getting and are you experiencing any problems with flexure? I was thinking of making something similar but out of 20mm mdfb. Ideally my goal is to build something similar out of steel or maybe aluminum alloy, however using a design that will allow finer adjustments to a larger range of lattitudes, as well as perhaps some means of adusting the center of mass position.
On a related sidenote, have you tried autoguiding with this setup?
Hi and thanks for viewing. I really don’t get a lot of flex with it. It works great. Ya, nothing like steel though, I think you are on to something. Or weld up some aluminum would be the best. If I still used that setup I would think about making one out of aluminum. I broke down and got an equatorial mount so I have moved on from that equipment. The autoguiding I never got it to work with great success. But I even have a hard time with the equatorial mount! :) But with this design the center of gravity is about right. The scope is close to the center of the mount. With mine, I built it for the area I live in (Mn.) so it just adjusts a little more and less than 45 degrees. But that could be changed Easley. Not sure where you are at but if you want mine you can have it. Just pay for the shipping. Not sure if I will ever use it again but thought I would keep the video up to help someone out. Good luck and clear skies!!
@@hovlandbound Thanks for the reply :) ! That is good that you do not get flex with it, however the center of gravity might be a bit of a problem, as despite me living in Munich Germany, I do often travel, so a movable center of gravity would be ideal for future, however as a prototype a fixed center of gravity should not be a problem.
Funny enough for me the biggest problem is not assembling or designing the mount but getting the damn ANSI bolts for it as they are not used in Germany. I wouldnt mind trying it out but the shipping would probably be quite expensive, and I have a crapload of mdfb so its not a problem to make my own, plus its more fun that way :P . What would be great is if you could perhaps send me a bluerpint/schematic of the wedge with dimensions.
On a sidenote, how did you go about polar aligning this setup? were you using a erecting mirror or something or did you use an astrocamera with pc output?
Hi. What a great question. I came up with a really good idea that just flat out works for the polar aligning. Hard to describe but I will do my best. Here we go.
I ordered up a piece of aluminum stock that is 2 ½ inches wide by 20 inches long and about 5/8 inches thick. The dimensions really don’t matter as long as it’s close. So it’s basically a bar of aluminum 20 inches long. This is my mount for the polar aligning eyepiece. The bar attaches to the back board of the wedge that the scope is on and sticks up high. The polar aligning eyepiece mounts on the bar up high. I look through it and move the wedge around until (well, in my area) Polaris (the North Star) is in view. Wow, not an easy thing to describe as you can see. I wish I had it part of my video but don’t think I had made it yet.
Yes, making it is half the fun. You may also like another video I have. It’s how to make a portable observatory out of PCP piping and tarps. Search for Portable Observatory by Hovlandbound.
And as for as the dimensions for the wedge I tell you what each boards length and width is in the video. With pictures. I think that is all you really need.
Pete
I also have a Celestron 8SE and live in Wisconsin. I was wondering if you still have the wedge? If so, I'd be more than happy to pay for the shipping to be the new, proud owner of it.
Hi. Did you still want the wedge? It's yours if you want it.
Do you still have this mount on hand, or would you be willing to construct one, under commission, for a fellow 'noob' to AstroExploration?
Hi and thanks for viewing. May I ask where do you live?
@@hovlandbound In greater NY Metro area.
I do still have it and it's yours if you want it. It works great. As you probably know I have upgraded my equipment so I no longer use it. It was a fun project. Not sure how much it would cost to ship it to you but It's yours if you want to pick up the shipping cost.
may need to modify it a little so the angle suites your needs. For me up here in Mn. I set it around 45 degrees. How about you?
@@hovlandbound if you can tell us the approx weight as it now stands, that is a good forward step and our thanks.
Looks like it's about 13 lbs.
How control with wedge?
Hi. The wedge Changes the telescope mount from a altazimuth to a equatorial mount. It works great. I don't think you are in the USA (but maybe) but I got a new mount so I don't use the wedge anymore. What I was going to say you can have it for free if you want it, just pay for shipping. But not sure where you are at. It's yours if you want it. :) Pete
Hello! Are you still looking to give away your wedge? Thank you!
If you what it, it's yours. Works great I just don't use it anymore because of the new equipment I have. Where are you located. Sure would be nice to get a 6 pack of beer out of it but whatever. Not that big of a deal. Shipping is the big thing. Let me know if you still are interested.
hovlandbound hello. Yes that would be great. I just don’t know how to send a private message on UA-cam.
I don't know ether. Are you a member of Cloudy nights? It's free and worth joining if you are into astronomy. There you can chat I know.
@@hovlandbound Thank you. I just signed up! I'll look for your user name (I assume it is the same as this one) and send you a message when I am approved by an administrator.