Sunspot tripod mount
| When we travel to see solar eclipses, I carry this simple setup.
It is always a hit, and hardly takes up any space or weight in
our carry-on luggage.
The picture on the right was taken during the annular eclipse of 2023, in Campeche, Yucatan. Below: observing the transit of Mercury in 2019.
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| Most binoculars have a screw point somewhere. Sometimes it is hidden behind a decorative cap. | 
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| A small piece of wood, a screw and a wingnut mount to this point. | 
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| On the bottom, I have a T-nut to mount to the screw of the
tripod. I added a piece of aluminum to reinforce this.
Here is another version:
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| Now the binoculars mount on the tripod.
The hole is where the stick mounts. | 
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| The stick is about 25×13 mm. It mounts with a 1/4-20 bolt with a wingnut. I glued some sandpaper to make sure this joint does not slip. | 
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| The stick is about 95cm from this bolt to the back. This is too long to fit in my bag, so I cut it in the middle, and it re-assembles with 2 wood screws. | 
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| On the back is the screen, a little bigger than a sheet of paper. It mounts with a small bolt and a wingnut | 
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| Here is the setup. All that is needed is a piece of cardboard to
cast a big shadow.
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| I made some caps that fit over the front of the binocs.
The one on the left has a small opening, to restrict the amount
of light entering. This is to prevents overheating of the
lenses and prisms inside the binocs. My binocs have a 32mm front
aperture, and the seem to be fine without this cap.
The cap on the right has an opening covered with a filter cut from eclipse glasses. | 
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