One of the very finest tripod-piers in the world; The Monolith Pier. Worthy to be called art!

[Music] a legend among tripods the monolith Pier manufactured by particle wave technology and probably the best made piece of astronomical gear that I have ever purchased the attention to detail is outstanding Beauty and functionality have been merged to the finest level possible the CNC Machining is a work of art truly worthy to be displayed at some NASA Space Museum engineered with computer optimized design for maximum strength rigidity and weight savings fully CNC machined from 6061 and 7075 aircraft quality aluminum and 17-4 pH stainless steel which is a precipitation hardening materialistic stainless [Music] steel typical usage is seen in applications requiring high strength and a modest level of coron erosion resistance the three legs start as 220 lbs of solid billets of aircraft aluminum they are precisely machined at a CNC machine Mill and extensive Milling to provide good strength and rigidity where needed and lighten the weight where possible in time the parts begin to resemble components of a tripod [Music] [Applause] the legs lock into place once extended or retracted with a lever that uses a positive tension on solid machine to stays which run from the bottom of the pier main body to the support feet the ergonomically designed carry handle reversible in orientation to maintain center of gravity if an adapter plate is attached it's a great design Hardware that is required for transportation the adaptation of good ideas into Sound Engineering occur quickly as evidenced by the carrying handle provided with each monolith tripod that is carefully made and M to preserve strength but also eliminate unnecessary weight one of the legs the opposite to the handle extends an extra 8° of travel or the equivalent of another 6 in of drop to simplify the task of leveling on uneven ground Teflon coated bearings for effortless opening and closing of the legs are present the leg system is completely foldable in parallel to the pure body while remaining attached this feature makes the system extremely convenient for transportation or storage without requiring disassembly each one of the legs is equipped with two plugs that are used for safety stops these prevent legs and Main body from becoming scratched and damaged when folded and transported this just illustrates the meticulous designing process that particle wave technology underwent in order to achieve this level of [Music] perfection [Music] the support feed pivot for use on uneven [Music] surfaces adjustments to the leveling can be made through a very smooth and well-designed mechanism built into the feet making the task of fine-tuning the leveling process effortless the set of three 6-in CNC machined flat surface pads to fit the base of the monolith feed were an accessory that I just had to get for an additional cost of $100 all three pieces weigh 2 [Music] lb at this point I would recommend to verify that the pier is level before mounting the payload such as the telescope Mount and other [Music] Hardware in order in order to fit my astrophysics Mount to this pier I was required to purchase from astrophysics a 14 12 lb Precision adjust rotating Pier adapter with Azimuth bearing that has been [Music] discontinued now it's just a matter of matching the pre-drilled holes from the monolith Pier to The astrophysics Pier adapter [Music] [Music] using quick release knobs from particle wave technology will secure the hardware in [Music] place I just can't stress enough the attention to detail that went into this project the knobs are aesthetically pleasing don't require tools for tightening and were well worth the extra 100 that I [Music] paid I also ordered in Black three astrophysics quick release knobs to alternate in between they are knurled for an excellent grip and of good quality but surely don't come close to the [Music] others [Music] n the pier has extra holes to accommodate a variety of different adapters to fit different [Music] mounts now it's time to install the asimuth adjuster block to the astrophysics adapter that will allow for fine-tuning when Polar aligning the astrophysics mount a long 532 allen wrench will do the job nicely in particular if it has the ball head [Music] feature [Music] this small sideways movement is very useful and allows for fine adjustments when looking through the polar scope to Polar align the [Music] mount the 10-in monolith Pier weighs 34 1/2 lb and stands 47 1/2 in when fully [Music] extended if we measure from the top of the astrophysics flat adapter then the pier stands at 50 and a qu in in [Music] height talking to particle wave technology back then only 200 were ever made and I was assured that this was one from the last batch of 29 to be released definitely a piece of History to be treasured and enjoyed under the night [Music] skies the main body is constructed out of 6061 T6 aluminum [Music] tubing the modular design incorporating structural reinforced and ribbed delivers maximum strength rigidity and weight savings it is also internally baffled to reduce dampening time [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] a when I purchased my monolith Pier I was told that it would support a weight of 2,000 [Music] lb I cannot confirm this but I did put it to the test at just over 400 lb when I mounted a side by side setup consisting of my both ocrat refractors see n c tmbb 88 in and astrophysics 6.3 in AP 160 [Music] EDF I ordered my 10-in monolith Pier for just below $6,000 Canadian dollar by the end of 2009 and I didn't take the delivery till 2 years after in November of 2011 my peer came from the last patch that would ever be shipped out particle wave technology closed down shortly [Music] after being a limited production commodity however means these products appeal to a most demanding clientele help but one that is patient to wait and get it right to their [Music] satisfaction I somewhat feel identified with this so I guess you could say I belong to that group please let me know what you think in the comments below wishing you clear skies stay tuned for my next next Astro gear [Music] [Applause] [Music] video

Channel: Edgar’s Life Journey Vlog

Views: 760

Keywords: telescope, Pier, Tripod, Takahashi, Astrophotography, Orion, Meade, Celestron, Kendrick, Lumicon, Far Point, Skywatcher, Stargazer, Coronado, Lunt, Binoculars, Televue, Baader, Astrozap, Explore Scientific, William Optics

Id: oeaeXom52NM

Length: 14min 11sec (851 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 21 2024