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Figure 10: Tightening the clamp nut.
When the legs are fully extended (Figure 9), the arms must be parallel to the ground. Once the
legs are in the fully-extended position, tighten the clamp nut to compress the three arms
between the center dish and the clamp nut itself (Figure 10). You can rotate the center dish
clockwise to perform the last bit of tightening as it provides a convenient surface to grasp.
During normal use, always fully extend the pier legs.
•
Leveling the top plate must be done using the coarse and fine
levelers, not by partially expanding the legs.
•
The tripod is in the most stable position when all three the legs are
fully extended, and the clamp nut is tight.
Leveling the Top Plate
There are several benefits from leveling the top plate before placing the mount on top of the
Pyramid Portable Pier, including:
•
Doing so ensures that the load is stable once the mount and other equipment are
added.
•
When altitude and azimuth adjustments are made during polar alignment, a level tripod
insures the adjustments to one axis do not change or pollute the other axis.
•
If you frequently observe at the same remote location, after the mount is leveled and
aligned with the celestial pole the first time, mark the altitude of the polar axis using a
piece of tape so that it can be restored later. On subsequent visits to the site, carefully
level the mount, then place the altitude of the polar axis on the mark. From here, polar
alignment can be accomplished by rotating the azimuth axis, only.
