Sunshine!!!!!

[MapleRidge]

Hi Alexandra...

Just looking at the links mark sent and the handle is a great option. You can slide it to where the tube is balanced (heaviest at the primary mirror end) and east to remove if you want to mount a camera or other piece of kit.

If you mount will take the 3” Losmandy D-plate put that on as a base...far more stable than the narrower Vixen rail. You should be able to get a handle to fit the vixen rail and be go.

The SCT tubes are all pre-drilled and tapped and the supplies if the rails should supply all the hardware needed to put it together.

Good luck getting it all setup.

Brian

[FlankerOneTwo]

So sorry to hear about your husband's shoulder, I hope he recovers quickly!
I very much enjoy your images - would a short pier work better for you? AstroPhysics makes them as short as 24". You might need some sort of adapter on top depending on which mount you have. They are a little spendy, but I got a good price on a used one.

It just occurred to me that you might be able to use a hydraulic patient lift, they are somewhat less than a new AP pier, for example this one:
https://www.parentgiving.com/shop/hydra ... 43/p/8830/
Some lifting straps should allow you to lift the scope to a height where you could affix to the mount. There are probably medical supply stores that will let you rent one for a period. Whatever you do, please don't hurt yourself!

Best wishes,

Patrick

[marktownley]

The handle is a great idea! I'd want two of the rails though, I hate the little thin mounting rail that is on the bottom at the moment. How do you screw these on to the scope, do you have to drill holes? if so, how do you know where it is safe to do so? I need to think about this quick as he only has two arms until 13th March, after that, me - a screwdriver and drill, heaven help us!
Don't cut the legs of your EQ6 mount though Mark, that would be barbaric
Alexandra

No drilling, like Brian said everything is pre-drilled and threaded so it just all unscrews. You can replace the piddly vixen rail on the base for a losmandy. I personally think the bigger losmandy is much easier to locate when putting on the saddle.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/pr ... 445mm.html

Definitely not barbaric to cut down my tripod, creative more like I would say It would be easy for me to do, so the offer is there and open if you want it. Just need to work out how low the TEC gets to the ground when it's loaded with the camera etc so it doesn't clatter with the ground when imaging high in the sky.

You can get a skywatcher pier (like I use) https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywat ... ounts.html and cut the central column down. I've left my pier outside for several months of the year covered with a tarp and bar a bit of rust here ad there is fine.

[marktownley]

I had another (cheaper!) cunning plan too. When you mount the scope do so with the RA axis inverted. It lowers the mounting point by a good foot or so, might just be what is needed for you to do it on your own?

image by Mark Townley, on Flickr

You just rotate the RA axis back to normal...

image by Mark Townley, on Flickr

Something to give a go this weekend?

[Montana]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions, I am going to have a busy weekend trying them all out!
It seems he is going to be one arm only for 6 weeks, then no heavy lifting for 3-6 months! I have to learn how to tie a work shirt tie this weekend, that will be fun, it is amazing all the little things we are thinking about he can't do with only one hand. Well, better to be prepared

Alexandra

[MapleRidge]

Alexandra...

One thing to consider when engineering a low saddle height on the mount is where the eyepiece/camera will be when pointed st the sky. You might have to did a hole to allow the focused to swing through without hitting the ground.

The C11 won’t use near the ground clearances of a refractor. I need to rebuild an observatory that has a raised floor that worked fine when it housed a newtonian, but very frustrating to use now that there is a SCT and refractor option to mount.

Just a thought on the setup ,
Brian