how to adapt a surveyor tripod...

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:11 pm

one of the things I determined from last night's attempt at imaging is that the HAL-150 tripod which comes with my Vixen GP is a piece of cr*p. Partly due to the fact that I have a pier, the tripod hub sags a teeny tiny bit over the session which throws off the polar alignment.

I don't think it's possible to reinforce this tripod that much. It doesn't have a tray but I think a tray will not help so much. So I am thinking of getting those $100-plus surveyor tripods. But I need to know how hard it is to adopt the top of that tripod to the Vixen hub.

Thanks!

Bergkamp_ · Post by **Bergkamp_** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 1:25 pm

sad to hear this.. i brought a gpd2 (late delivery) with AL-130.. i wonder if i will face the same problem..

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:23 pm

The AL-130 and even HAL-110 is much stronger than the HAL-150. So should not be a problem. I believe Cheeyiun was carrying a C-11 on his GPD2 + AL-130. However I think I saw his pier sagging a bit as well..

This is the HAL-150
http://www.opticsplanet.net/vixen-al150 ... eries.html

each leg is three-piece.

I believe the HAL-110 and AL-130 have one-piece legs. If I could get a CG-5 or LXD55/75 tripod that would probably make my mount a lot more stable.. admittedly aside from sagging a bit over time, it's quite stable with my imaging setup (Z70ED + DSLR, home-made guider) so much so that its basically immune to wind.

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:17 pm

Well, I just got a aluminum surveyor tripod with manfrotto leg spreader and I can tell you that it sags slightly as well, or it seems that it leans to one side. I am using the tripod with Astroslew 1 carrying a 8" SCT with a DSLR and some accessories. So I guess I'll need to place some counterweight on the other side to prevent that.