DIY parallelogram mount - binoculars

[East17]

Hi from East17...I'm new to the forum and astronomy and am presently waiting on the arrival of my Celestron 25x70 Skymaster bins. I was wondering, has anyone had any success in adapting a parallelogram desk light stand to a tripod as a means of mounting this type of binocular for astronomical viewing. See attached picture of a representative stand.

Many tks...forum is excellent.

Cheers...G.

[Blue Skies]

I think you'll find them way too flimsy for the job. The thing you quickly learn about mounts is that they're big and solidly built for a reason!

On the other hand you could give it a go and see what happens - as a learning experience it wont be wasted.

[Blue Skies]

Oh, and :welcome: I see it's your first post.

[Allan_L]

Hi Gaz :welcome:

Looks like a good idea, but I think maybe the binos could be too heavy for the light stand counter balance system.

You may need to consider adding a counter weight somehow.

I have tried several home made versions with limited success, and have another one in progress (yet to be started due to limited spare time :) ).

I am interested to hear how you go with your project. But be careful not to damage your binos.

If all else fails, Andrews have paralellogram mounts I remember. and there are a few other ideas in the DIY section I think.

[mental4astro]

Hi Gaz,

:welcome: to IIS, :cool: :jump:

I too think that the lamp stand is too weak to deal with the large binoculars.

You can purchase a new parallelogram mount, or build one. There is a couple of DIY projects on this in the "Projects and Articles". This one is made of metal. The link below takes you to it that Allan mentioned:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-376-0-0-1-0.html

There are others made of timber. This one is really heavy duty for a massive pair of binos, but you can adapt it, using the above one to give you ideas:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-383-0-0-1-0.html

Mental.

[East17]

Tks for the replies everyone...yes they do look a little flimsy, however my design criteria is to provide secondary support for my hands for extended viewing. I was never really expecting the stand to support the bins independently, just to take the edge of the weight and help stabilise (similar to a steady cam)..I had thought of the addition of a counterweight as Allan said in his posted reply...but I will test and see if it is necessary. I will keep you all up to date as my little project moves fwd. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say. Cheers...Gaz.

[mental4astro]

:thumbsup: sounds good to me!

[East17]

Tks Jacqui...so much to learn about astronomy. I must admit the initial appeal was as an extension of my photographic interests..but I see astronomy or astrophotography offers much more than I anticipated...particularly the community based (forum) learning and social networking relating to this topic / hobby. Look fwd to more posts.

Take care Jacqui...Gaz.

[East17]

Tks very much Allan...appreciate your reply.

I was thinking of mounting the parallelogram mount to a desk chair (rotating with height / reclinging adjustment) so that it acts as a turrent for panning the bins. They're my rudimentary design thoughts at present..I have ordered the mount ($30 eBay shipped). All I will have to do is re-thread the lamp thread to suit Celestron mounting adapter thread and remove the lamp and wiring...very, very minor mods. I took on board your counter-weight suggestion and I had thought of that. However my design criteria is secondary support and stabilisation only, so I will see how the product matches up with my expectations..I will keep you posted.

Cheers Allan...Gaz

[snowyskiesau]

If you're looking for a commercially built mount then I can recommend the Bintel binocular mount (https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Images/Stock/6624X.jpg). I use it with a pair of Andrews 20x80 binoculars and it works a treat.

I'm getting rid of all of my astronomy gear except this bit :)

[East17]

Tks Geoff...were these Bintel's very expensive?

Cheers...Gaz.

[snowyskiesau]

Gaz,

Current price is listed at $529, I think I paid $479 about 3 years ago. This isn't too bad when you consider that the AZ-3 mount as well.

[East17]

Tks very much Geoff...Gaz.

[bloodhound31]

You can build your own pretty easily out of aluminium square tube. If you can't get that, wood looks great too!

Here's one I built. http://www.asignobservatory.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30

I hope that helps.

Baz.

[East17]

Design recap (perspective...I'm a beginner who wants to explore astronomy on a modest budget).

My design requirement was a parallelogram structure that considerably steadied the bins for extended viewing, but didn’t necessarily have to support the weight of the bins independently, but were to be used in conjunction with human hands…a steady-cam. The mount had to allow multi-axis movement in order to be practical from a user perspective and require minimum modification to suit my purposes. The base had to preferably be a clamp design for attaching to multiple surfaces.
With my design requirements in mind, I searched eBay for a product that matched my criteria as closely as possible.
What I found was a clamp base designed parallelogram desk light stand that had multi axis movement, metal construction, the appropriate length and minimum modifications to suit the tripod mount of the bins.
With a purchase price of $19.95 (AUD) + shipping, the mount arrived and was immediately subjected to surgery.
· Electrical cord cut and removed
· Lamp removed
· Two holes were drilled in the binocular tripod mount and 2 mounting bolts & nuts fitted to secure the tripod mount to the lamp mounting plate…perfect
Surprisingly, the mount does carry the independent weight of the bins in a vertical extended position and I certainly didn’t expect that.
Multi-axis movement is achieved through the 360 degree horizontal rotation of the swivel clamp base and bin swivel tripod base, as well as 180 degree vertical rotation of the swivel mount on the binocular end of the parallelogram arm.
This renders the mount quite maneuverable for star-hopping in terms of panning and up and down movement.

So far I have invested $180 AUD ($150 on new Celestron Skywatcher 25x70 bins) in my astronomy pursuits which included the $30 on the binocular steady-cam.
The bin steady-cam is easy to store and transport, set-up and use. The stabilization I have achieved is considerable compared to handheld, whilst not totally motionless as it still has input and reliance on human hands, it is a major step forward in improving my satisfaction from this rather interesting hobby.
Whilst not for everyone as we all have different means and requirements, I am happy with the process itself and the binocular steady-cam project outcome.:)

I have submitted a project article with pictures to the forum adminisitrator for publishing.


Cheers…Gaz.

[dannat]

good work Gaz -i awaauit the pics

[East17]

Tks Daniel...I hope they publish my article. It seriously took me 20 mins to modify the stand into the bin steady-cam.

All the best...Gaz.