Standard Wedge???

[Ron]

I had always heard of recomendations of getting the Super wedge over the Standard wedge because of it's flimsiness, but thought I could get by until I could purchase the more expensive one.  

Never did I imagine how much a piece of junk this standard wedge really is.

I have read all of the modification to try and make it useable, and have made a few of those modifications, but this wedge is NOT made to use out of box. IMHO

Besides the shakiness of the whole set up, the Azimuth adjuster is giving me my biggest problem right now.  Short  of making the Azimuth mod, which I'm sure I don't have enough time before vacation, is there any other suggestions for a work around for cheesy adjuster.

Thanks for your help,

Ron

[dsnay]

Gee Ron,

I wonder if they've changed how they make the wedge since I got mine a couple of years ago. Mine seems pretty solid. Images are steady and adjustments seem okay. The azimuth adjustment isn't as steady as I'd like after I made one of the recommended mods, but it is much easier on my fingers.

Sorry to hear you're frustration.

Dave

[Ron]

Dave,

I don't know if it's the same wedge or not, but either there is something I don't understand or I have a faulty wedge.

If I tighten the central knob enough to make the tripod nice and sturdy, not wobbley and the cross bars nice and taught, I can't turn the Azimuth adjustment knobs.

If I loosen the central knob enough so I can turn the Azimuth adjustment knobs, still with much difficulty; the tripod is so wobbly and the cross bars loose, the whole set up is very shaky and not very sturdy.

Ron

[Ray Brooks]

The super wedge is undoubtedly better and the az adjust on the standard wedge leaves a lot to be desired. That being said, I have two standard wedges have no problems with either. My equipment is pretty old and maybe your tripod is different. The Meade field tripod that I got with my Meade Premier 2120 LX6 10"SCT does not use the center knob on top to lock up the tripod. The central 1/2 13 rod threads into the tripod head and the legs are locked out with a spreader bar and knob below the head. All the central knob on top does is hold down the wedge. I can remove my wedge completely and the tripod remains solid. It doesn't make sense that you cannot loosen the wedge without loosening the legs of the tripod. I am not familiar with the newer Meade tripods, but that sounds like a bad design.

Good luck,
Ray Brooks

[Ray Brooks]

I just downloaded the LX200 manual from Meade and looked at the tripod setup. It is different from mine. The center hole in my tripod head is threaded . It is not held in place with a retaining clip. Since my old scope never had alt/az ability the tripod was built to mount the wedge. Bummer. I'm trying to think of a viable solution but am stumped at this time.

Ray

[Grizz]

Ron,

Never seeing a standard wege, does it have the 3 holes around the outside of the center bolt hole?

[Ron]

Craig,

Yes it does.  Three slotted holes that I have put bolts in to help support the wedge but there again if they are too tight it still makes it hard to adjust the Az.  To get the wedge to rotate freely I have to leave the bolts and the central knob very loose.  I have sprayed teflon on both sides of my make shift bearing between the wedge and tripod and that has helped but still leaves the cross bars too sloppy.  

If I could find some larger knobs for the Az adjuster that might help a little.  The ones that are on there now are so small you can barely turn them.

Ron

[Ray Brooks]

The best idea I can come up with right now would be to take the tripod head to a machinist and have him fabricate a disk with a 1/2"-13 threaded hole in the center and have it attached to the tripod head. Three counter sunk bolts with nuts on the bottom of the head would anchor it securely and not interfer with the wedge base. The lack of the threaded center hole is the cause of the entire problem.
You may also try replacing the adjusting knobs with something you can turn with a wrench. Even though I can loosen my wedge completely it is still difficult to move the mass of a 10" SCT on a fork mount with the dinky finger knobs.

Ray

[Grizz]

It sounds like a lack of torque problem. I can crank down on all the bolts as tight as can be and still be able to adjust the wedge by turning the azimuth adjuster. The difference is the azimuth adjuster knob and bolt on the superwedge are huge.

A bigger knob sounds like it will work better. This way you can tighten the wedge to the tripod for stability and still be able to get it to adjust.

[Ron]

The best idea I can come up with right now would be to take the tripod head to a machinist and have him fabricate a disk with a 1/2"-13 threaded hole in the center and have it attached to the tripod head.
Ray

Ray,

That would definitely take care of the individual tightness of the tripod and telescope to wedge.  

It's a shame a company would design a product that can not be used right out of the box.

I can understand modifying something to make it better, but it should be useable out of the box,

Thanks for the suggestion,

Ron

[Ron]

It sounds like a lack of torque problem. I can crank down on all the bolts as tight as can be and still be able to adjust the wedge by turning the azimuth adjuster. .

Craig,

A bigger knob might help but at this point in time I might try Ray's suggestion of a bolt I can put a wrench on to make the turning easier.  I'm sure that the bolt that is in there now will not last because it is rather small and doesn't look like it can stand much torque!

Thanks,

Ron

[Ray Brooks]

I know you've already lubed the tripod head. Another idea is a teflon or polyethelene sheet. I know I've seen the teflon sheets somewhere but I can't  remember. You can get the polyethelene sheet at scopestuff.com.
It is 9"x9"x1/16" for 7 bucks. It is sold just for this purpose but you have to trim and punch it yourself.

Ray

[Grizz]

I just bought and installed that very sheet from scopestuff and it does work! It makes the az movement so much smoother. For the superwedge anyway.

[Ray Brooks]

Hey Ron, lookie at what I just found purely by accident.

http://www.atm-workshop.com/tripod-mods.html

This looks like it might just fill the bill and is easy to do.

Ray

[Ron]

Hey Ron, lookie at what I just found purely by accident.

http://www.atm-workshop.com/tripod-mods.html

This looks like it might just fill the bill and is easy to do.

Ray

Ray,

Sounds like that should work just fine.  I just might do that when I get back from vacation.

Thanks for the link and info.

Ron