The heart of any observatory is the pier which the telescope and peripherals rest on.
It must be stable, insulated from vibration, and aligned with the celestial sphere.
The hole for the pier is 4ft deep and 2ft x 2ft. wide.
It must be stable, insulated from vibration, and aligned with the celestial sphere.
The hole for the pier is 4ft deep and 2ft x 2ft. wide.
Pier base frameThe frame for the pier extends about 2ft above ground so that concrete can be poured and molded to that level. This will make visual observations easier as well as further insulate the pier from the vibration of deck traffic.
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concrete pourIt took 16, 80lbs bags of concrete to fill the pier hole, and it still was not sufficient to bring level with the frame. It was the end of school, and no one had time to go to Lowes, plus the rain was starting to move in. We just got big rocks, dumped them inside to bring it to level... Mr. Whitaker's idea.
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The Anchor plateHere is the anchor plate. It is a 1/2" thick 2ft x 2ft steel plate with 4, 2ft Jbolts at each corner. I tried my best to have this machined at minimal cost to us, but was unable to find the specs. We ultimately had to spend $300 to get this from the manufacturer. Way too much! To top it off, you'll see later that we had to modfiy it to get it to fit properly because it was machined incorrectly.
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