INTRODUCTION
February 2017
Several years ago I rekindled my childhood love of
astronomy. Since then I have purchased three telescopes, each one bigger and
more expensive than the last. I have always owned binoculars, used primarily
for terrestrial observations. Other than an occasional glance at the Moon, it
never occurred to me that binoculars could be serious instruments for
astronomical observation.
Telescopes are great for getting close up looks at distant galaxies and
star clusters and nebulae, but nothing beats a good pair of binoculars for wide,
sweeping views of the cosmos. Your perception of detail improves greatly when
looking with both eyes, and you get a three dimensional effect. Once bitten by
the binocular bug, I began collecting them. I now own six pairs and counting,
ranging from little 7 power wide view to giant 25 power monsters that weigh 10
pounds.
The heavy higher power binoculars yield fantastic views, but they are
almost impossible to keep a steady view when hand held. Tripod mounting helps,
but it gets pretty awkward trying to look at stellar objects more than 25 or 30
degrees above the horizon. The answer is a tool called a
parallelogram mount. This allows you to sit back in a reclining chair and
gaze in comfort at objects all the way from the horizon to directly overhead.
Good parallelogram mounts capable of supporting my 10 pound 25 power
binoculars run around $500. Fortunately, there are lots of options for building
your own p-mounts at a fraction of the cost. After a little research and
planning, I decided to try my hand at constructing a home made p-mount.
This is not a
step-by-step tutorial on how to build a p-mount, I never even developed a
comprehensive set of blueprints or an all inclusive inventory of parts.
But a lot of the details are there for your use. If you are planning
a p-mount project, I hope this website will give you a little inspiration.
May you pick up on my good ideas, and learn from my mistakes.
This website documents my adventure. I'm an over the road truck driver by
trade and away from home for weeks at a time, so progress is moving at a snail's
pace. But however long it takes, the stars will still be up there waiting for
me.
UPDATE: November 2017
Well, this little weekend project has dragged out for 10 months now. Trial and error, revisions, modifications, budget overruns...nobody ever said prototyping was easy. Yet I remain determined to see this project through....more to come!