Wooden Legs for the Astro-Tech Voyager?

Hey Gang,

Has anybody replaced the stock aluminum AT Voyager legs with wooden ones to reduce vibration?

If yes, did it help and where did you get the legs?

CS!
Alan

Alan: I have tried the wooden legs on a variety of tripods to replace the seemingly standard extruded aluminum legs and they help some. I had a Voyager for a while, my guess was that some of the compliance (lack of stiffness) of the mount was that caused by the fact that arm was bolted on rather than cast as a single unit.

My experience suggests that primary factor freedom from vibration is the stiffness of the tripod assembly, the wooden legs help with that. But your post got me to thinking about my own Vixen Portamount. I really like the ergonomics and the slow-mo plus point and shoot aspect but it really best suited for an 80mm scope and currently I am using it with a TV NP-101, it works but it could be better.

So I am thinking about ways to mount the Portamount head to a Celestron CG-5 ASGT tripod. The CG-5 ASGT tripod with the 2 inch Stainless steel legs is very stiff and still managable. I am not sure how much effort it will be to adapt them bit it does look possible.

Jon

Hi Alan,
Replacing the legs will not but marginally improve the vibration issue with the Astro-Tech Voyager. The problem is the bolted-on swing arm. This design is essentially a copy of the early Tak Teegul prior to the Lapides modification. The Lapides modifcation turned the Teegul from a shaky design to one capable of holding a 5" refractor. If you can modify the Voyager with a Lapides design then you have a whole different story.

I own a L-modified Teegul, a Vixen Porta, and a Voyager. I keep the Voyager outdoors under a plastic garbage bag for quick look-sees with very small scopes. I don't care if it rusts out. It is currently on an ultra solid Astrosky Tripod. But vibrations remain due to the swing arm.

Good luck
Ivan

I made wooden legs from standatd 1x2 and it made the mount much more stable than the origional aluminum legs. The shelves add much rigidity and are perfect for eyepiecs and ballast like a battery to further stabalize the mount. This was a one afternoon project that cost less than $50 for wood and hardware. The only tools required were a saw, drill and hand tools. Hope this gives you some ideas.

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