Equatorial Alignment Wedge

Most people buy Alt-Az mounts for beginner telescopes because:

a. They don't know better

b. Alt-Az is much cheaper than Eq

c. Alt-Az is easier to align

d. They don't think they will need more

e. All of the above

I was a 'All of the above." After I bought a Celestron NexStar 130 SLT, I wanted to try astro-photography. And like many others, I quickly wanted some form of equatorial alignment. This leaves two options. Buy an expensive new mount or go with a wedge. Most wedges set between the mount and the tripod. I had a different and strange idea. I built a wedge that would support the entire tripod at my angle.

I admit this is not the best photograph and the bungee cords are pretty trashy. This was the first test of the mount. I new use a light ratchet strap that runs up the top leg rather than the bungees. It looks nicer, easier to attach and is more stable. Using EqAlign and a guide cam I was able to tune this thing in to a pretty good alignment. It is not as good as a real GEM, but $15 and an hour...