Equatorial platform

This gave the mount a few minutes of equatorial tracking to allow stars in the field of view to be imaged as points for accurate measurement.

It is a very simple design for amateur telescope makers that used a pivot point and an inclined plane that made a very low profile "table".

The model Poncet demonstrated was very simple plywood construction, using a nail pivot and a Formica covered inclined plane with plastic 35 mm film canisters as the platforms bearing feet, on which he mounted a 6" newtonian telescope.

Users simply place their telescope on top of it to get the added feature of tracking in the direction of right ascension accurate enough for work at higher magnification or astrophotography.

[9] In 1988 Georges D'Autume proposed a more sophisticated design which used conical bearing surfaces all around to raise the height of the "virtual polar axis" to make the mount better balanced for heavier loads.

Since the Poncet platform has no roller bearing surfaces that can be driven, the clock drive mechanism itself has posed some design difficulty for telescope makers.

High mechanical loadings from heavy telescopes or using them at low geographic latitudes can cause the mount to bind up, requiring more complicated improved bearing surfaces to overcome this.