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Ball Head Mounts

Discussion in 'Beginner's Corner' started by Dr. Ski, Nov 8, 2015.

Ball Head Mounts

Started by Dr. Ski on Nov 8, 2015 at 9:33 PM

9 Replies 2914 Views 3 Likes

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  1. Dr. Ski

    Dr. Ski Well-Known Member

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    Dr. Ski, Nov 8, 2015
    #1
    Visual Astronomy need not be as lavish as some would have you believe. Case in point: Ball Head Mounts.
    They can easily accommodate binoculars and scopes weighing less than 10lbs! With the ball of the stem placed in the slot (portrait mode) and the gear properly balanced, this will be one of the cheapest, lightest, smoothest alt/az mounts you will ever own. The mount/tripods pictured below cost less than $100. These set-ups are surprisingly sturdy, and the smooth movements preclude the need for slow motion controls! If you are using a fluid head mount and are frustrated, replace the head with a decent ball mount (it need not be a high-end ball head). You'll never use a fluid head again!
    BM1.jpg
    I even glued a small piece of felt to the lip of the slot to keep it from being too smooth!
    BM2.jpg
    BM3.jpg
    BM4.jpg
     
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  2. Diogenes

    Diogenes Active Member

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    Diogenes, Nov 9, 2015
    #2
    That's a brilliant idea, I've got a nice little Universal Astronomics mount, but I'll experiment with a ball-head and tell people about it at the next outreach session - most people have a good ball head lying around, after all.
     
  3. LewC

    LewC Well-Known Member

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    LewC, Nov 9, 2015
    #3
    Dr. Ski,
    Sounds like a great idea. I have a SV 9x60 RACI finder that I use to eyeball the sky from my driveway. I have been mounting it directly to my old Tilt-all tripod. But I think it would work much more smoothly with a ball-head. I happen to have one of those laying around here somewhere. I'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip! :)
     
  4. Dr. Ski

    Dr. Ski Well-Known Member

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    Dr. Ski, Nov 9, 2015
    #4
    Cool! The BH won't even know it's there! You can just leave the friction knobs for the ball and panning loose (which I actually do with the ST80!). As you can see from my photos, I've forsaken finder scopes for GL pointers. But I too use the finder scopes to 'eyeball" the sky. Have fun!
     
  5. Frank Dutton

    Frank Dutton Active Member

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    Frank Dutton, Nov 26, 2015
    #5
    Good thinking. I have a good one for use on my Star Adventurer photographic mount and it would do just as well with my 15x70s..maybe even the 25x100 bins too.
     
  6. Dr. Ski

    Dr. Ski Well-Known Member

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    Dr. Ski, Nov 26, 2015
    #6
    Welcome, Frank! "The Fens". That's very cool. My address is "The Jungle".
    All you need is a 1 1/2 in stainless steel corner bracket to connect the binocular mount to the quick release plate.
    (I had to to re-drill the holes a little larger to accommodate the 1/4-20 bolts)
    You will also need to replace the 1/4-20 bolt on the QRP with a slightly longer one.
    Let me know how that 25 x 100 works out. That may be pushing it a little with my set-up (I'm using relatively cheap ball-mounts).
    Have fun!
     
  7. Robert Clark

    Robert Clark Well-Known Member

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    Robert Clark, Nov 29, 2015
    #7
    I'm actually considering this for my binos AND my Eos rebel camera. I really didn't know that the ball head was much smoother than fluid. I also like that the binos are offset a bit, as opposed to in the center of the upright. That's ALAWAYS bothered me for some reason, and couldn't invest in a parallel parallelogram mount.
     
  8. Dr. Ski

    Dr. Ski Well-Known Member

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    Dr. Ski, Nov 29, 2015
    #8
    Actually, the nicest feature of using a ball mount in portrait mode with a scope is that you don't need to constantly fiddle with the friction controls; once it's set, you can easily slew up and down, left and right. This is the only set-up I've used where I can easily track objects at the Zenith! This is important to me because living at 9deg N latitude, the ecliptic is very high. Moon, planets and the Zodiac constellations pass almost directly overhead when they cross the Meridian! I can even track a satellite very easily when it makes its way across the sky.
    With my 11 x 70's I need to adjust the ball tension slightly if it's pointed > 45deg in altitude. No big deal, but I'm trying to devise some sort of counterweight.
    These set-ups are extremely light and portable. The only disadvantage is observing at high powers (>75x). It takes several seconds for the vibrations to dampen after achieving focus. But, I have other set-ups for that:
    ES102.jpg
    Of course, this is not light and is very difficult to disassemble and transport :D
     
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  9. Robert Clark

    Robert Clark Well-Known Member

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    Robert Clark, Dec 2, 2015
    #9
    Like the looks of that! :)
     
  10. Kai'ckul

    Kai'ckul Member

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    Kai'ckul, Jan 6, 2016
    #10
    If I could rename this thread, it would be "Ball Head Mounts and Other Smart Improvisations." The setup of the laser finder scope on the first picture is one. Another one is the use of an ordinary L-bracket to mount the bino. And that little hi-tech home-made device that shows the angle of the ST90. And the crutch tripod!!!

    But I do have one question Dr. Ski (of the Jungle). What is that hardware that's screwed on the ball mount where the ST80 dovetail is attached?
     

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