Outside pier and wedge: leave mounted or not?

I just installed a Le Sueur Astro Pier that I plan to eventually enclose in
an observatory of some sort. In the meantime, I was wondering if people
with exposed piers leave their Meade or Celestron wedges mounted all the
time and exposed to the elements or if they bring them in after every
observing session?

Thanks,
================================================== ==========
Ray Porter
Applications Analyst Programmer
Administrative Information Services, UNC-CH
Phone: (919) 966-5878
Fax: (919) 962-5840
Email:
Web: http://www.unc.edu/~dragon

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons
for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:20:10 -0500, "Ray Porter" wrote:

I just installed a Le Sueur Astro Pier that I plan to eventually enclose in
an observatory of some sort. In the meantime, I was wondering if people
with exposed piers leave their Meade or Celestron wedges mounted all the
time and exposed to the elements or if they bring them in after every
observing session?

Before I built an observatory over it, I left the wedge and LX200 attached and
outside year-round. Just kept it covered. Never had a problem, but I live in a
dry area and condensation inside the cover was never an issue. That would be my
only concern. As far as the wedge itself is concerned, I'd replace the hardware
with stainless steel, but otherwise it can stay outside without problems.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Before I built an observatory over it, I left the wedge and LX200 attached
and
outside year-round. Just kept it covered. Never had a problem, but I live
in a
dry area and condensation inside the cover was never an issue. That would
be my
only concern. As far as the wedge itself is concerned, I'd replace the
hardware
with stainless steel, but otherwise it can stay outside without problems.


Thanks, Chris. I wouldn't dare leave my LX90 outside. The humidity is way
too high around here. I'd also be very concerned about theft since it is in
plain view from the road. The wedge is a much smaller investment though.
I'm willing to put it at risk some to shorten my setup time.

Ray Porter