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The POD has allowed me to have my mount and scope set up more or less permanently and image much more often than I would have otherwise - heck, with the overly complicated setup I have now, it would take me 2 hours to set it up each night and another hour to break down. It became obvious very early on, however, that imaging certain parts of the sky was going to be problematic.

With my particular setup, anything north or Leo was going to be obstructed by the dome of the POD a good hour and a half prior to zenith and longer after zenith. While I couldn't do without my POD, I had to come up with a solution before summer with Cygnus and Cassiopeia being right in the problem zone.

My first attempt at a zenith solution was a miserable failure. I made it out of plywood and before I even finished it, I had a twisted wreck of screws, glue, wood, and braces that ended up in the burn pile.

After some baby-like whining and bitching on the POD Yahoo Group, Eric B. came up with his own version of the Zenith Truss, and I emailed him for a consultation and built my own truss modeled after his design Version II.

Zenith Trusses in Place with Dome Closed

Zenith Trusses in Place with Dome Closed

End of the Truss

End of the Truss

End of Other Truss

End of Other Truss

Starting End of Truss

Starting End of Truss

End of Truss Brace

End of Truss Brace

Clearance of the Dome Lip

Clearance of the Dome Lip

Final Resting Place of the Dome

Final Resting Place of the Dome

Removing the Brackets

Removing the Brackets

Hex Head on Drill

Hex Head on Drill

Dome Lip Unseated

Dome Lip Unseated

Dome Lip Unseated - Other Side

Dome Lip Unseated - Other Side

Closer View

Closer View

Closer View - Other Side

Closer View - Other Side

Dome Approaching Stop

Dome Approaching Stop

Dome Approaching Stop - Other Side

Dome Approaching Stop - Other Side

Dome at Stop

Dome at Stop

Dome at Stop - Other Side

Dome at Stop - Other Side

Dome Resting on Truss

Dome Resting on Truss

Dome Resting on Truss. Lower View.

Dome Resting on Truss.  Lower View.

Support Points

Support Points