DIY Equatorial Wedge

An alt-az mount isn't great for astrophotography, but you can build your own equatorial wedge to really take your shots to the next level... and save $300 at the same time!
I got the knobs and rubber stoppers for this project in the "hard to find" drawers in the hardware aisle at Lowes . The threaded inserts came from Amazon. The plywood came from scraps I already had laying around. Altogether, this build cost me about $30 plus a few hours to put it all together. It was fun to make and actually works shockingly well.
Opening theme music: John Cola

[@Kelli.Hicks.5]

Hey, Mr. Wilson! 🙋‍♀️ The fact that you 3D engineered this in your mind, then actually, physically built it, blows my mind. 🤯 Great job! 🪚🔩🪛

[@microreniassance2929]

Very ingenious!! Great vids.

[@astronomyaffordablerakesh9536]

Nice and clean work bro

[@santoshbansode697]

Thanks `````with ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@behrendorff2]

Great video! Thank you very much. Do you happen to remember the size of the thumb screws, used to attached the telescope to the wedge?

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

I dont, I'm sorry. I think what I ended up doing was removing one of the knobs from the tripod (they were held on with a little clips that's easy to pop on and off) and I took that knob to Lowes and test fit a few nuts until I found the one that fit. Then I just bought a corresponding thumb screw.

[@behrendorff2]

@@MrWilsonsChannel Thank you very much! I will do the same...

[@haydenpatience6377]

Hey awesome build! did you ever attach stepper motors to the project for non motor telescopes?

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

I never did add motors to it. At the time I built this wedge, the only telescope I had was the 8se which already had motors, so it was a non issue at the time

[@haydenpatience6377]

@@MrWilsonsChannel ok thanks

[@javi9663]

Good work but I have a question. How do you do polar align?

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

The hand controller has a special menu operation for that. I start by using an astronomy laser to very roughly align with polaris. Then you use the menu option to do a star align. Once the mount knows roughly where it's at, it will slew to where a star should be. It will be off. You manually adjust the wedge until the desired star is centered in the field of view. Once the target star is centered, then the mount is also polar aligned. So it's totally different than doing a polar alignment with Polaris like you would with an equatorial mount.

[@MarkTFinch]

so do you have a parts list? and maybe some printed instructions?

[@michaelfrazier9537]

Mr. Wilson. Does the Celestron Wedge, $300, really work?

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

My DIY wooden wedge worked, so I'm assuming the real deal would work even better. But it really isn't an adequate substitute for an equatorial amount. Primarily because the alt as Mount that comes with this scope can't take a lot of extra weight. Additionally, the camera can run into the bottom of the mount if you aren't careful.

[@Cheapass-tro]

Cracking job and my kinda style. I'll be sure to point people your way in my videos. Just found this after a mate said he was thinking of an EQ mount but already has a goto alt/az. Subbed!

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

Thanks for the kind words and referrals. Clear skies 👍

[@Cheapass-tro]

@@MrWilsonsChannel I hope my latest video is okay by you? I've used a few seconds of this video in order to point people your way. I won't try to link it here. I have of course credited you.

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

Fantastic! I'm ok with anything that helps the astro community and appreciate the exposure. Clear skies 😊

[@FranklinNewhart]

So how well would this work for a Dobsonian? Say a 10 incher.

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

I haven't seen very many dobsonian telescopes with a motorized alt az mount. But I imagine if yours has one, it might work okay? Of course you'd have to soup it up to accommodate for the much larger size of a dob.

[@atluangapachuau]

is it compatible in Starsense Explorer Lt 127 az??😃

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

Im not really sure. I know it's compatible with most rack and pinion style focusers so it would probably work? But you might need to drill a hole in the eaf bracket if it doesn't perfectly line up. I can guarantee it won't work with the cell phone star sense app, however. You'll want to connect it to a proper controller like the asi air pro, a laptop, or just get the hand controller for manual operation.

[@atluangapachuau]

@@MrWilsonsChannel thank u so much for replying...😊

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

Of course! Clear skies ⭐

[@suveerudayashankara4273]

Hi wilson nice to see your work hope you are doing well. I am building my own telescope... so jz want to discuss about the wedge with you in detail .. how can i contact you.

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

Sure thing. I'd love to help. You can send me an instant message on Facebook. You can find me at: facebook.com/mrwilsonschannel

[@suveerudayashankara4273]

@@MrWilsonsChannel can i get your gmail.id because i am not their on facebook. will contact you this comming week..

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

You can use [e-mail], but my response may be a little delayed as I don't usually communicate that way.

[@suveerudayashankara4273]

@@MrWilsonsChannel then i will create my facebook account.. Will communicate with you next week..

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

Either way works for me. Whatever's more convenient for you 😉

[@compubyte2010]

great idea.. i'm just NOT convinced making it out of WOOD is the correct choice thou? as this needs to be very precise .. and as you probably know, wood expands and contracts and this will cause issues with AP .. but the concept is solid. just not the material used :) .. IMO .. . just need to make it out of material that doesn't contract and expand with weather temps/humidity etc.

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

You're probably right... But an alt az mount,even on a wedge, still isn't the best tool for the job compared to a proper eq mount. Apparently any distortion from the elements isn't greater than the error in the mount itself. I got pretty good results with this wedge But ultimately decided to go for a proper EQ mount in the end to maximize my potential. Plywood is more stable than stock, so perhaps that was contributing to my success. But you're right, there's a reason Celestron makes their professional wedge out of metal. It's more stable, more sturdy, and costs $300 😉 if you are a metal worker I'm certain you could create something comparable using this design and different materials and probably get results similar to the professional Celestron model

[@compubyte2010]

@@MrWilsonsChannel Nope.. not a metal worker.. ( Although I do have a 3d printer with metal copper filament? LOL ) .. I'm wondering if plywood, layered in fiberglass would be better? (Protection from weather?) .. SO I'm curious on how much more accurate an eq is to a wedge? I've tried to find some data on this. but thus far. I can't find anything other than a few people saying what you said.. but not showing where/how it would be better than a eq wedge that Celestron sells?? once dialed in 100% correctly onto your pier.. I'd think it'd be good to go? or am I missing something? (Should note I have a Hyperstar f/2 that I want to use with wedge.. )

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

I got the feeling that the motors in my next star mount (alt az) weren't as precise as the motors in my eq6 are equatorial mount. I think that's where the discrepancy is happening. I definitely started getting Superior results when I switched to the equatorial mount, so there certainly is something to it. However, the results I was getting with the wedge were still really good. Far better than using the alt AZ without the wedge. The equatorial mount uses belts instead of a direct motor connection and I think maybe that has something to do with it? Perhaps the rubber or whatever the belts are made out of is dampening any motor vibration? I really don't know for sure, just spitballing. I've never heard of a metal 3D printer before! That's amazing 😍

[@compubyte2010]

@@MrWilsonsChannel gotcha .. understood.. I think for the price. I'll start off with the wedge .. You have one for sale? LOL .. much cheaper than an Eq6 .. I just want to get longer subs that's all

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

The wedge will definitely get you longer subs. Even the home made one was getting me decent shots at 2 minutes or more at 1200mm. Stars weren't pinpoint because of the things we were talking about, but waaay better than the altaz by itself.

[@void_presence]

$30...and the hardware/tools skills also--of which I have none

[@sHuRuLuNi]

So you need a router, then drills, then a Dremel, then knobs, screws, hooks, counterweights, wood, and the skills to do all that. For that amount and effort you might as well buy the damn wedge. Or better yet: SELL THE FORK MOUNT and buy an EQ mount.

[@MrWilsonsChannel]

Those searching for "DIY" usually have some diy skills, basic tools, and a "get er done" mentality already. If you're a diy'er then this is a very cost effective solution. Plus the pride one gets from completing a project yourself carries an intrinsic value you just can't get from buying something off the shelf.