Portable Rigs

[AstroNome]

Hey! So if im going to go camping and I tend to pack everything including the kitchen sink...meaning not alot of room left. What are your suggestions for portable rigs? Mount mainly? 😀

[3staraligned]

if you're going to pack the kitchen sink best thing you can do is also pack the dishwasher. The wireframe holders can be used to create a makeshift pier. Then as a mount (and you might have to start early with this) is to train your partner to track at the right speed while balancing on the makeshift peer. This will require extensive training as muscle memory takes a while to become accurate.

Or you could have a look at a star tracker type mount! I hear the ioptron one is brilliant!

[AstroNome]

My partner is pretty tall so might get a good field of view! So not a bad idea! 😂 

 

Will have a look at the other suggestion just incase the muscles aren't up to scratch yet thanks 🙂 

Edited February 6, 2021 by AstroNome

[Jkulin]

I have have been designing a travel kit that will easily fit in the car or even a flight case: -

 

Altair 70EDF Triple
Altair 26c Camera, or my Sony A7RIII for MW shots with my Samyang 135mm F2 or Samyang 14mm F2.8

Pegasus Pocket UPB

ZWO OAG

Skywatcher Star Adventure Mount or if taking a bigger OTA then my iOptron 40EC

Laptop,

iOptron Pier but may well buy one of the Altair piers as they look really good.

 

I'm just finalising everything at the mo for when the lockdown clears and I can get away.

[KevS]

29 minutes ago, AstroNome said:

Hey! So if im going to go camping and I tend to pack everything including the kitchen sink...meaning not alot of room left. What are your suggestions for portable rigs? Mount mainly? 😀

Are you intending to just boggle, or are you going to photograph?

[Incisive_Solutions]

I’ve got two portable travel rigs:

 

if I’m flying anywhere (I wish!) I take my beautiful little Altair 60edf doublet refractor, my Star Adventurer and my Manfrotto 055 tripod.

 

for the UK I take my Altair 72edf doublet refractor and my iOptron SmartEQ Mount with another Manfrotto tripod or occasionally the tripod the mount came with. 
 

add in my Pegasus Advance Powerbox. 
 

I also take my Canon 7d Mk II and a canon 50mm lens, Canon 70-300mm lens and a Samyang 14mm lens. 
 

 

[Incisive_Solutions]

59 minutes ago, Jkulin said:

I have have been designing a travel kit that will easily fit in the car or even a flight case: -

 

Altair 70EDF Triple
Altair 26c Camera, or my Sony A7RIII for MW shots with my Samyang 135mm F2 or Samyang 14mm F2.8

Pegasus Pocket UPB

ZWO OAG

Skywatcher Star Adventure Mount or if taking a bigger OTA then my iOptron 40EC

Laptop,

iOptron Pier but may well buy one of the Altair piers as they look really good.

 

I'm just finalising everything at the mo for when the lockdown clears and I can get away.

I really fancy one of those Altair piers as well.  My main scope, my lovely Altair 130 triplet refractor, lives on my pier in my paddock - I sometimes switch it with my SW 200PDS.  And it’s too heavy for one of those tripods so I might get one for my Altair 72edf refractor and IOptron mount.

 

fancy the red one! 

[Jkulin]

As I have an obsy, it won't be going in thier, but I have a really heavy iOptron Pier which is a bit bulky for travel, so I think I am going to treat myself to one of the red ones as well.

[Carastro]

Are you going camping as a holiday with other half, or primarily for Astronomy/imaging?

 

If the latter then I go regularly to astro camps and my primary packing is my Kit and I take everything.  

 

But if it is of secondary importance then when I go abroad I use my Ioptron Skytracker, but I think the Skywatcher Star adventurer would be better (it came out after I bought the Skytracker).  

 

I have a roof rack if I run out of space in the car but for my camping gear not the Astro gear.

 

Carole  

[Gina]

I have plans for an astro holiday in September and will want some sort of portable rig.  Can't take my EQ8!!  I do have an NEQ6 but that is big and heavy - I can barely lift it so I don't think it's suitable and I only have a small car too.   So I shall be following this thread with interest.

[Nightspore]

 

 

This has become my rapid deployment kit (ST80/SW AZ5). 

 

 

I never thought I'd dig my old ST80 out again!

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by Nightspore

[Jkulin]

1 hour ago, Nightspore said:

 

 

This has become my rapid deployment kit (ST80/SW AZ5). 

 

 

I never thought I'd dig my old ST80 out again!

 

Hi Dave, Yep its quite easy for visual but for imaging it require a lot more equipment.

[Jkulin]

5 hours ago, Gina said:

I have plans for an astro holiday in September and will want some sort of portable rig.  Can't take my EQ8!!  I do have an NEQ6 but that is big and heavy - I can barely lift it so I don't think it's suitable and I only have a small car too.   So I shall be following this thread with interest.

Hi Gina, if you can get one of your neighbours to lift the NEQ6, we can lift and set it up for you and take it down again.

[Nightspore]

14 minutes ago, Jkulin said:

Hi Dave, Yep its quite easy for visual but for imaging it require a lot more equipment.

Hi, yeah, I should imagine. I'm disabled so it's not quite so easy for me lol. The fact I can carry the AZ5 and the ST80 (plus some stuff) at the same time really helps as I don't have to make multiple journeys. I've had the ST80 out twice this year. Both times I only expected half an hour at the most before the weather got all inclement. All the years I had the GSO Crayford on the ST80 I never rotated it. I have had problems with larger GSO focusers. The one on the ST80 rotates well now though. It's like I've rediscovered it as a scope. When the weather is more reliable I don't mind making more journeys. The ST80/Crayford's built like a tank so I don't mind lugging it about in what's basically a flight bag.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Nightspore

[AstroNome]

Thanks everyone for all these replies!! So much to go look at 🙃 

Hopefully we will all be able to get out and about soon whether that be with our gear or not! 

I will go see what I can find in order to get this rig together for when we are on the road! 

[Gina]

8 hours ago, Jkulin said:

Hi Gina, if you can get one of your neighbours to lift the NEQ6, we can lift and set it up for you and take it down again.

 

Thank you John.  But really I think I need something lighter.

[paul]

I cant really justify a new portable mount but my priorities are weight and power budget as going portable is to image things I cant see from my garden. I would like to use guiding so I practically need the works. 

 

Adding a raspberry pi to what I have already will meet my needs. Stripped down my HEQ5 with the Altair 70 ED triplet and DSLR is probably about the weight limit for me - it will be at least three cases to lug from the car.

 

The power tank I've settled on is this Beaudens 240WHr.. its a low weight, good price for the capacity and it seems well built. As long as I don't need dew bands it should give me 5 hrs or more - and is also very useful for our power cuts.

[GazAstro]

SW 72ED/OAG/EFW/ZWO 1600MM - SW AZ-GTI - Manfrotto tripod - Star adventurer wedge.

Fairly portable ish.

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by GazAstro
Forgot to add image