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Subject: eyepiece holder
From: Bill Arnett
Reply To: mapug@shore.net
Date: Fri Jun 21 01:05:26 1996

I cooked up a variation on the pizza pan idea for a tray to hold eyepieces.
My requirements were that it be big enough to hold all my EPs with room
for expansion, that it rotate freely to allow access to all of them without
walking around the scope, and that it be easily and cheaply constructed
with hand tools.

My solution is very simple. I started with a disk of 5/8" particle board
about 24" in diameter. I made a large hole in the middle just large enough
to fit over the top of my tripod (I have the "giant" tripod that comes with
the 12" LX200). My tripod head is not exactly round so the big inner hole
has to be a bit larger than it might seem at first; a little sanding
cleared it up. I then drilled a few 2" and 1.25" holes around the
circumference to hold EPs making sure that they were far enough out from
the center to clear the drive base's rectangular extension. (I also
sanded and painted it, but this is not necessary.)

The power cord can be a nuisance so I drilled a small hole in the side of
the tripod and threaded the power cord thru it. The hole has to be where
neither the scope nor the EP tray cover it; with 5/8" plywood there was
just enough room; 3/4" would not work.

It just fits over the tripod and is supported by the flanges that attach
the legs. It easily spins around without any special bearing material
though I suppose the telfon/ebony star stuff used on Dobs would make it
turn more smoothly.

It works quite well. Installing it takes only a second. Having all my EPs
handy is nice. There's also room for a few doodads (papers, filters,
flashlight) or even resting elbows.

The keypad and Dec motor cords can get tangled on the EPs but that's easy
to control. The only disadvantage is that it makes putting the scope on
the tripod a bit more difficult since I have to reach over the EP tray
before setting the scope down. This would not be a problem for 8" owners.
I haven't tried it with the wedge; I think the thrust pin might be in the
way (a slot could be cut for it but that would prevent the EP tray from
rotating).

My original idea was to make it out of Lucite or Lexan and have colored
LEDs lighting up the various EP holes. That would be pretty flashy but
expensive. I'm sticking with the particle board :-)

---
Bill Arnett                 "Science is a way of trying
San Jose, CA  USA            not to fool yourself."      -- Feynman
billa@zNet.com                              <URL:http://www.seds.org/billa/>