I dreamt up the design one day (actually, other people have thought of it before me) and just cut some pieces of wood to see if it actually works. Based on its first field test in Desaru, it turns out that it works very well indeed.
The connector to the tripod is the base plate of my etx90. Will have to make some kind of substitute to replace it one day. The scope rotates like a dob in its altitude motion but the azimuth motion is done via the tripod head itself. This design allows me to adjust the viewing to any height, sitting or standing. There is some inherent instability due to the tripod head, but it is more than sufficient for visual work at low powers. I was very happy with the whole performance of the scope and mount for the trip. It was just enjoyable to be able to slew it around at chest level while standing up and looking down into the eyepiece. A 6" newtonian in dark skies... just enjoyable.
The whole setup breaks apart into one bag holding the OTA and the wood pieces, and a tripod bag holding the tripod and the trusses. Everything else is dismantible without a screwdriver. I managed to connect everything and collimate in less than 15 mins.
Wonder if anyone is interested to get a cheap DIY dismantible portable scope like this one. Possible improvements would be to replace the wood with thinner wood or other materials, put in hinges to make the mount foldable, and to use a stronger tripod head and teflon bearings for better stability and control.
Appreciate your comments!
Chris
