Yes what I am using is a hand truck (in south Jersey where I am from and
lived for 50 yrs they called them dollys), all metal with 2 fixed wheels at
the bottom. You put just the scope, not the tripod, on the bottom lip, on
which I made a removable platform, tilt the dolly back and away you go. I
simply set up the tripod where ever I want, rough level it and then
truck/dolly the scope to that spot and put it on the tripod. The dolly
(very well made and professional looking) in the picture from NJRusty is the
type I saw on the MAPUG site and would be my preference if I had level
ground. But there are 4 places in my yard where I set the scope up to avoid
obsticles and I need to move the scope all over. Russ's type dolly would
never work in my yard since it is very hilly and trying to move the scope on
the tripod would result in a crash and burn.

I also looked at Russ's astronomical pictures and was very impressed. I
hope to get into CCD imaging when I figure out how to use the scope properly
and read a few books. I hope I can do half as well. So far what I see
thru my scope, except the moon which is quite clear, does not look anywhere
near as good as any of these images.

Regards

Bill Wood


-----Original Message-----
Barre Spencer
Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2001 7:36 PM
Subject: RE: [M]: Moving 10" LX200/EyePiece Case


I believe what Bill is calling a dolly is what some
people call a hand truck.

Barre
> Sorry but I do not have a camera or a website. The
> dolly is a plain
> vanilla pneumatic tire model rated for something
> like 500lbs that Home Depot
> has on special. The platform or base I made simply
> slides on top of the
> metal lip at the bottom of the dolly to provide a
> more secure platform for
> the scope to ride on and raise the scope higher so
> you can put it on and
> take it off easier. Obvioulsy you could simply put
> the scope right on the
> dolly with some padding behind it and it would work
> OK but when I tried that
> the scope wanted to shift around and it was too
> difficult to pick it up off
> the ground. So I made the base unit with a U shaped
> area slightly bigger
> than the scope base to keep the base from shifting
> or sliding off the
> platform and made the platform 4-5" thick so I can
> easily lift it up from
> that height. I grab the scope under the fork arms.
> Used most of one 8' 2x4
> and a small scrap of 1/2 plywood. Took an hour to
> design cut and screw
> together. Not up to my furniture making standards
> but it works perfect.
>
> Regards
>
> Bill Wood
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Bill Nicoll
> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2001 7:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [M]: Moving 10" LX200/EyePiece Case
>
>
> Bill,
> Do you have a web site where you could post a
> picture of your dolly?
>
> Bill Nicoll
> Pueblo, Colorado
>
> William R Wood wrote:
>
> > Maybe some other new users will like these ideas.
> After making a
> scopesaver
> > type plate to allow me to mount the scope on the
> tripod easily my next
> > problem was how to move the scope around my yard
> or anywhere else. I like
> > the sled idea from the MAPUG site but cant use it
> since my yard has a
> nasty
> > slope everywhere.
> >
> > My wife suggested that I use a dolly. Bought a
> neat dolly at Home Depot
> > with air filled tires for about $50. Made a base
> platform out of 2x4's
> and
> > plywood that fits and protects the scope base and
> makes it easy for the
> > dolly to hold it. Used a bungee cord to wrap
> around scope and hold to
> > dolly. Used high density foam to pad dolly. This
> works unbelievably
> well.
> > Takes 5 seconds to put the scope on the base
> platform which I made about
> > 4-5" thick so I can pick it up easier. One sec
> to attach the bungee cord
> > and I can pull the scope up hills and over bumps
> with ease. The bouncy
> air
> > filled tires provide sufficient suspension as long
> as you go slow over
> rough
> > spots.
> >
> > Then wife bought me a little Igloo Legend12
> cooler. About 13"x10" with a
> > nice lid and carrying handle. It came with 2 blue
> bottle inserts for
> > filling with water to freeze. The inserts have
> round sections to fit
> soda
> > cans. The round sections fit wide angle EPs
> perfectly and fit regular
> size
> > EP's well too. You can carry 6 EPs in one cooler.
> I put a sheet of high
> > density foam in bottom and it is perfect. Cost
> $9. Had her buy me
> another
> > one in which I can carry the hand controller, star
> diagonal etc. In this
> > one I made 1/4 thick plywood inserts to make 3
> sections in the cooler.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Bill Wood
>
>
>
>


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