Telescope Tripod Support for Perfect Polar Alignment

thingiverse

Human: German Equatorial Mounts (GEM's) require precise polar alignment to track deep sky objects (DSO's). Setting up a GEM scope that is polar aligned can take between 15 to 30 minutes or longer, diverting time away from the actual DSO viewing or photography experience. To minimize this downtime, I set up my telescope in the front yard at the same spot each viewing session, as it offers an unobstructed view of Polaris. However, despite my best efforts, I still encountered difficulties due to uneven ground and the inability to precisely locate my tripod. I addressed this issue by marking the location of my tripod legs with flags after a viewing session. Subsequently, during the day, I excavated 1.5-foot deep holes at each marked location, filling them with gravel and inserting PVC pipes. The top of each pipe was cut to be level with the surrounding ground, while a PVC cap was placed on top to create a stable surface for my telescope tripod. To provide additional support, the dirt around the pipes was filled in. This setup provided a rigid base for my telescope, allowing me to set up my mount with minimal polar adjustments each night, as long as I didn't alter the leg lengths. However, I took it a step further by designing 3D printed caps for the North leg and side PVC support. The North leg cap features a hole that constrains its horizontal motion, while the side PVC support cap aligns with the North leg, limiting the rotation of the tripod. As a result, I can now set up my telescope on these locating features each night without needing to perform polar alignment. To ensure swift reassembly if I change leg length, I have marked the leg lengths on my tripod. My setup time is now limited solely to carrying my mount outside and connecting wires, making it much more enjoyable than before!