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I am getting ready to setup my permanent (SkyShed) pier and I am a little confused by the Losmandy pier adapters / extensions.

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I have the G11G HD mount with a 4" pier adapter. Using my SVX102T with SFFX1, FW, and OAG, I cannot really rotate my camera without the FW bumping into a leg of the tripod. Without having actually tested, it appears the top plate of the pier sticks out further than the legs of the tripod so I was thinking I'd get the 12" extension. Re-reading the website though, it appears that the extension may actually be just that - an extension mounted on top of the pier adapter.

Do the Losmandy extensions *replace* the pier adapter or just... heh... *extend* the pier adapter?

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Thanks,

Joel

extends

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Edward

Visual to add to Edwards reply (Base/Pier adapter and Extension)

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Just so I'm clear, the three bolts from the top of the base/pier adapter hold the extension in place?

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Thanks,

Joel

Yes? - same as the top of the extension that secures the mount -

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Joel,

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I did this same thing several years ago. I pulled the MAL adapter head off the tripod and bolted it to the top of my pier with the center bolt hole. However, I did use a rat-cage with two aluminum plates on top of the pier with three bolts around the outside for leveling. The extensions are just hollow tubes as far as I know, so there may not be anything on the bottom end to bolt through. You want the mount high enough so the polar scope holes will align with a point in the sky above the walls, or your PAs will be more difficult. Besides the center bolt (1/2"?) I put in three smaller cap screws through the other MAL holes into the aluminum plate below, but after I did one PA. After that you have no AZ adjustment other than what the mount AZ knobs will do, so you need to get as aligned with that center screw shaft as possible before drilling more holes. I'll try to find some pics later.

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Regards,

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John

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Losmandy G11G2 on pier; refurbed Losmandy G11 with OnStep controller; SkyShed design roll-off observatory; ZWO ASI2600MM-P; ZWO ASI071MC; Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 ED with field flattener; Celestron C925 Edge HD with 0.7XFR, William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO; PHD2, NINA, Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight user

Hi Joel,

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Some pics of my pier attached. Below the rat-cage, I have a 4" OD solid aluminum cylinder bolted to one side of railroad track cemented into the ground, and another 2x3" aluminum bar on the other side. The aluminum plates under the pier head are 3/4" x 7" OD which are not easy to find. But you can see I drilled and tapped them so they can be leveled as needed - it's hard to get a pier perfectly level so some adjustment is often needed.

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Regards,

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John

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Losmandy G11G2 on pier; refurbed Losmandy G11 with OnStep controller; SkyShed design roll-off observatory; ZWO ASI2600MM-P; ZWO ASI071MC; Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 ED with field flattener; Celestron C925 Edge HD with 0.7XFR, William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO; PHD2, NINA, Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight user

I appreciate all the replies and the pictures. It helped quite a bit. I ordered the 12" extension.

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Thanks,

Joel

Oberon510’s picture shows the hand knobs at the top of extension and hex bolts on the adaptor. You can also switch these bolts so that extension stays attached to the RA rather than tripod/pier when you disassemble (as I do)

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Either way, you need to move the mounting horns for the Gemini from the adaptor to the extension if using the original RA and DEC motor cables.

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Edward