Update: Risers

Last time I mentioned that my setup for imaging integrated flux nebulae won't allow a rotation range quite up to the 180 degree minimum I'll need. I mentioned a riser would probably be needed.

What should show up on Amazon Vine for review the next day but this: 

Car seat risers.

Yes, they're car seat risers for when you're not tall enough to drive your vehicle. This set comes with two 1" and two 1/2" spacers, nicely drilled through. The bolts are provided to fit the car model of your choice and are entirely too large for my purpose, so they go in the odd bolts jar.

One problem with these is that the edges of the spacers are too far from the hole and extend into the movement of the camera, keeping it blocked. When I realized this I thought all was lost because these felt as if they were made of metal and probably difficult to work with.

They're not!

What exactly they're made of is a mystery. An ordinary hacksaw cuts them with relative ease producing a sort of black, plasticky "sawdust," so I assume they might be made from some sort of composite material. In fact, it looks as if these might be created with a 3D printer. 

Whatever their composition, two minutes of hacksawing shortened one of the ends. With a quick trip to Home Depot for a M6 1x40mm bolt it was ready. It turns out the 1" spacer is sufficient, providing over 180 degrees of rotation.

Camera on riser. It may look a little precarious but it's solid with very little flexure

It's ready for the next step: assessing image quality. Will there be nasty internal reflections? Given that this is a new lens/sensor pairing will it produce a flat field at infinite focus? Will the lens to sensor separation need adjustment? Questions questions questions!

Spring is in the air -- today's high was at least 52F.  A week ago it barely managed to make it up to -2! I know, it's not April yet. Even worse, it's still February, the month that never ends!