Telescopemaker.com

Amateur Telescope Making

Charlie Wicks

20 Inch
Aluminum Alt-Az

6 Inch Airline Portable String Scope

6 Inch
f/15 Refractor

Large German Equatorial Mount

10 Inch Airline
Portable String
Scope

Large German Equatorial Mount

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RTMC 2006 Merit Award

At left is the completed German Equatorial Mount.

Some specs:

  • 3.5" dia. solid aluminum shafts
  • Precision tapered roller bearings
  • 7.5" byers gears on both axis
  • Spring loaded worms
  • Closed loop servo drive by Sidereal Technology.
  • Bearing housings are 6" dia., Gear housing 8" dia.
  • The Dec shaft dovetails onto the RA shaft
  • Weight: approx 100 lbs. (60lbs RA, 40lbs Dec)

This has been the most challenging ATM project I've undertaken. A large number of the parts were machined to tolerances of less than .001 inch, with a lot of attention paid to the shafts and bearing seats. I've logged in about 300 hours in construction time over a 6 month period.

Pictures of the internal shafts, gears and clutch hubs can be seen here. The mount on it's pier can be seen here.

The mount performs extremely well, with no perceptable backlash in either axis. With very light clutching the scope can be moved easily and smoothly, and when released, tracks immediately. Periodic error is less than 5 arc seconds over 4 minutes.

I've received a lot of email regarding this mount and its construction details. If you have specific questions regarding the mount, I will be more than happy to answer them through the email address at left.

You can contact me at:

cwicks1@earthlink.net