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PWTEC Introduction
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PARTICLE WAVE TECHNOLOGIES - PINNACLE MODEL TRIPODS
The Pinnacle is a series of tripods developed by the application of innovative and aesthetically pleasing technologies. A lightweight and mobile platform, Pinnacle supports astronomical telescope mounts and other payloads with excellent rigidity, good damping properties, and superb wind resistance. The design is based upon a pier post that is made featuring honeycomb and milling to provide good strength and rigidity where needed, and light weight where possible. The pier post is built onto an open truss framework that is designed to evenly distribute the forces on the pier down through the three extending legs. The legs fold in for travel, and extend as necessary to form a wide and stable footprint. Each of the three legs is extended independently, and so the pier can be leveled by changing the angle of the leg and the extension of each.
Right: 10 inch aperture Cassegrain telescope on Astro-Physics 1200 GTO German Mount supported by Pinnacle tripod. The PWTEC tripods are made so that one size of pier can be used to support any one of a number of mounts attached to it. To install a mount onto the tripod one must first bolt the appropriate optional Pier Adapter onto the top of the tripod's open pier post. These fully machined adapter plates are made in either a circular, square or rectangular profile fitted to accept any one or more of the poplar mounts made by Astro-Physics, Losmandy, Mountain Instruments, OGS, Software Bisque, Takahashi. Furthermore, there are Universal Adapter Plates that can accept or be easily modified to fit many other custom instruments.
Some of the Pier Adapters are made to accommodate more than one model of mount. For example, we offer a Rotating Pier Adapter made to support either the Astro-Physics 900GTO or the 1200GTO mount heads. And the adapters work with any fine azimuth adjustment mechanisms provided with the mount. So there is no need to buy several tripods, and you may need only Pier Adapter. This versatility is among the long term benefits made possible by intelligent engineering. The Pier Adapter incorporates a bubble level so that when working in conjunction with the leg extensions then the fine adjustment Leveling Feet one can attain remarkably good accuracy. So while it is not absolutely necessary to level a platform to support a German Mount (the head can be adjusted to compensate), by doing so then one will have minimal need of changing the tilt (elevation) of the mount head as long as it is used at the same site or at a similar latitude.
Left: top view of Pier Adapter for Astro-Physics 900 GTO or 1200 GTO German Mount (26,732 bytes). The Pier Adapter construction is fully nonferrous and so to aid in setting up the tripod to be Pole Aligned a simple magnetic compass is installed recessed into the plate. This aid is coarse in resolution but it will get you started, pointing close enough to make fine adjustments at the mount head, or if you ordered it so equipped (as illustrated below) by unlocking and then rotating the entire Pier Adapter with payload. Note the accuracy of finding a celestial pole with a magnetic compass varies by region and by Longitude, so consult area topographic charts to obtain the local magnetic deviation if you wish to learn more about using a compass to assist in Pole Alignment. Furthermore, the Pier Adapters permit the tripod to accommodate much smaller mounts and other components than those that the tripod is engineered to support. So if one buys the 10 inch diameter Pinnacle then it can also be used to support larger mounts including the 1200GTO, but with a Pier Adapter then the same tripod can be used to support a much smaller diameter head such as the Losmandy G-11, or the Celestron CGE. And the Pier Adapters are so well thought out that the larger diameter Pier will not interfere with the operation the mount or typical attached payloads.
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For those who wish to use their Pinnacle with several telescopes that vary in physical length, then one can attach an optional Pier Extension to provide the added elevation of the platform to suit the observers comfort. For those who seek either the ultimate in observing comfort, or the convenience of remote control in an observatory, we also offer the option of an electromechanical elevation adjustment of the Pinnacle. Fine adjustments to the leveling of the system can be made with Leveling Feet provided as standard equipment by Company Seven. The feet provided with these tripods will have the customers choice of either a flat or spiked bottom; flat for hard surfaces and spiked to dig into dirt and other soft surfaces. And adapting one of the features developed by Company Seven working with PWTEC, either foot arrangement can be bolted in place onto a platform or slab.
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Above Left to Right: Flat Leveling Feet installed on Pinnacle tripod, Spiked Leveling Feet installed on Monolith tripod. Particle Wave Technologies again came to our mind when Company Seven was looking for solutions to support some of our larger industrial and government products. Our requirements went beyond those of our typical amateur consumer and were not constrained by budget; we were pushing the envelope balancing rigidity with light weight while also factoring in resistance to high wind loading and endurance to environmental extremes from seashore to desert environments. With some cooperation PWTEC was able to start with one of their products and gradually evolve it to meet our requirements. We were so impressed with the desire of the founder of PWTEC to work with us to make a successful product that we decided to offer some of his consumer oriented product for sale to our amateur astronomy clients. And so today we consider these to be the most sophisticated and elegant products of their class, well at home with our premium Fork and German Equatorial Mounts mounts by Astro-Physics, Losmandy, Optical Guidance System (OGS), as well as for those who demand better for their Celestron and Meade Instruments telescopes.
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Several of the ideas that came out of the joint R&D efforts with Company Seven for our industrial products are now incorporated into the tripods we offer to our amateur customers. The features common to the Particle Wave Technologies platforms include:
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• Fully CNC machined from 6061 and 7075 aircraft quality Aluminum and 17-4ph Stainless Steel - machined to extremely close tolerances • Optional construction of some components from composites providing even lower weight • Corrosion resistant materials and finish • Modular design incorporating structural reinforced and ribbed for maximum strength, rigidity and weight savings • Internally baffled to reduce dampening time • Interference fit, zero play leg pivots - Teflon coated bearings for effortless opening and closing of the legs • Legs adjustable in spread - tripod can be leveled then locked in virtually any position • Fully supported leg design • Four surface positive leg lock mechanism - no knobs • Fine height adjustment built-into the feet for accurate leveling • Interchangeable shoes for the feet - adapts to different surfaces • Lightweight and compact for transport • Superb machining and assembly quality control • Stunning looks • Low maintenance • Available in clear, red, blue, or black anodized - custom colors quoted by request
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