Overcoming Barriers: My Secret to Mounting Telescope Accessories!
I remember the first time I had to figure out how to mount all of the gadgets onto my telescope optical tube assembly: guide scopes, cameras, Telrads, USB hubs, dew strips, focus motors, power distribution blocks, environmental sensor, cameras, etc.
It was sort of like hanging Christmas ornaments on a tree with no branches!
As I worked through it - some things were straightforward:
Guidescopes had to be bolted onto the scope so they were solid and avoided flexure.
Camera had to be affixed to the main scope and guide scopes with a solid fitting to again avoid motion or flexure.
Focus motors have to bolt solidly to the focuser.
The dew straps had only one right place to go and they wrapped around and pretty much held themselves into place.
But what about things like USB hubs, Power distribution boxes, and environmental sensors? There are a lot of places you could mount those - which one is right? In some cases, the routing of cables drove placement but if you have not figured out the cabling yet - how do you know how it will all work out?
Then I had a flash of insight. A while back I had discovered Gel Tape. This miraculous stuff would stick anything to anything - AND still allow you to remove it without marring the mounting surface! I love this stuff and use it a lot.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XDNZ6L2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I decided to try various mounting positions with this tape, route the cables, and then once I had it all worked out, I could remove the tape and do the final mounting.
So that’s just what I did. It worked great - so well that I never removed the tape and those items are still mounted using just the tape! In some cases, I added accessories that required me to change my entire configuration. No problem! I just pulled off the components from where there were (it holds well so you have to work at it), and moved things around!
I have never had it mar a mounting surface, and when removing the tape any residual rubs off similar to rubber cement, leaving no trace behind!
I have had things mounted over two years in this fashion with no problems. Freezing nights in the winter? No Problem. Super hot days stored in my garage in the heat of summer? No problem!
Here is a list of things I have mounted this way:
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox
Pegasus Astro Powerbox Advanced
Pegasus Astro Environmental sensor
Startech 7 port USB 3.0 Hub
Rigel Quickfinder
Telrad Finder
A security camera to my Astrocart
Cable Tie attachment points,
30A Power supply to my Astrocart
Mounting Powerstrips to my Astrocart
Mounting my GPS module to my CEM 26 mount.
This was the original configuration of my WIlliams Optics 132mm FLT Platform.
Later I changed the configuration dramatically - this was easy to do because of the use of Gel Tape.
This is my current configuration on my Astro-Physics 130mm Platform
I even used it on my Astro cart!
I have many that I have not listed here. I love this Gel Tape so much that I always have a roll stored with my Astro gear - ready for quick use.
Better than the Alternatives?
Obviously, Gel Tape is not appropriate for all applications, but for some, I have found it to be a huge help!
Before using Gel Tape I tried many common alternatives:
Double-Sided Sticky Tape: Often fails in heat and leaves messy adhesive residuals that are hard to clean off.
Velcro: I used velcro a lot before this. But I found there were a few things I did not like about velcro. The mount could be wobbly when trying to remove an item, often the velcro part was sticking together better than the adhesives that mounted it onto the mating surfaces. I also saw problems with the adhesives failing in hot weather. I even tried an industrial-strength version of velcro that worked much better but turns out to be sure expensive. I am sure that a lot of people use velcro with great success but for me - I found that I prefer the Gel Tape solution.
Given that a roll of tape is only $10, why not give it a try?
