Accessories Observatories Piers

Making Observing Comfortable

LATIWEDGE - EQUATORIAL WEDGE

Pier-Tech, Inc. is a US based manufacturing company. The company was established for the purpose of making fixed and portable Piers that can accept astronomical German Equatorial or Fork Mounts or other instruments. In time they expanded their production to develop astronomical observatories with slide-off roof, and most recently in 2008 they expanded production to include observatory domes for use by professional and home astronomical observatories, and planetaria constructed of galvanized steel in diameters from 8 feet (2.4m) up to 30 foot 6 inches (9.3 meters)! So by 2008 Pier-Tech was offering almost everything that an amateur or professional astronomer could want to house their telescope or other project.

Company Seven became aware of this developing company because of their increasing selection of roll-off roof observatories and telescope piers. And even though we do offer observatory domes for sale, and our own observatory is in a superb dome there were times when we deduced that our customer might be better served with a roll-off roof observatory and or an adjustable height Pier, and we therefore would recommend Pier-Tech as the first choice. While no observatory structural arrangement is a perfect solution since each brings with it some compromises, there are instances when the roll-off roof arrangement may be preferred over a dome.

Right: Pier-Tech 'Latiwedge'.
Click on image to see enlarged view (165,980 bytes).

The Latiwedge:

• The Latiwedge telescope wedge is a custom made wedge specifically engineered for use in an installation (a pier in an observatory for example) at the particular latitude where it made to be operated.

  If the equipment is relocated to another location, then the latitude setting can be changed for use at that other latitude simply by replacing the Latitude Risers.

• Unlike other telescope pier wedges whose tilt plate can be adjusted, Latiwedge eliminates the guess work of whether or not your tilt plate is truly set at the nominal angle since this is factory set for your latitude and any guesswork is eliminated.

  Latiwedge needs no tilt plate adjustment mechanism since minor adjustments can be made on the Pier. This lack of anything to work loose yields a more rock solid design overall; this attains one of the critical elements of success for precision pointing and tracking with astronomical instruments.

• Azimuth (left to right) adjustment slots and pivot pin with bushing facilitate fine Pole Alignment.

• Cable recess slots on the wedge body allow you to tuck away power cords, control and signal cables, and other loose wires from accessories such as CCD cameras, etc. thus presenting a cleaner and more professional appearance.

• This is an pleasing contemporary design made of aluminum with stainless steel fasteners. It is finished in Silver and with Black Top and Base panels. The finish is durably anodized and/or powder coated for durability and corrosion resistance.

• Includes a precision machined flat top plate to accommodate your telescope or equatorial wedge hole patterns (specify), this is included in price.

• Available in two sizes: LW-14 and LW-16. One to handle most common mass produced fork-mounted 8 to 14 inch aperture telescopes, and LW-16 to support heavier telescopes such as the Meade 16 LX200. Each supports payloads within its rating with consummate rigidity.

• Ready to attach onto your pier or onto the matching Pier-Tech 1 fixed height pier. For customers seeking the capability to change pier height we recommend our Pier-Tech 2, Pier-Tech 3, or Pier-Tech 4.