Altair Pier Adapter (Orion Atlas 8 and SW EQ8)

Enhance telescope stability with the Altair Pier Adapter. Compatible with popular models like Orion Atlas 8, SW EQ8, and more. Achieve precise astrophotography and observation with this durable and reliable pier adapter.

This Altair Astro CNC machined aluminium pier adapter is used to secure your Skywatcher EQ8 Equatorial mounts to your Starbase CNC field tripod, or your own pier top plate.
 
It's flat and smooth, with a large 200mm / 8" surface diameter, allowing easy rotation and more accurate polar alignment, and is clear-silver anodised.
 
Q: Why use this pier adapter instead of just bolting your mount to a pier directly? Most piers do not have a completely flat surface and the flatter and harder it is, the better for accurate polar alignment. Any bumps, distortions, or "soft spots" on the pier adapter surface will reduce the "repeatability" and smoothness during polar alignment.
 
Q: I have seen plastic, Delrin and Teflon lined pier adapters on the market, why is this all-metal surface better? An all-metal surface is better because plastics deform slightly under pressure (often non-linearly), and behave differently according to environmental factors, such as temperature and moisture content. If the surface of the pier adapter is made from a relatively hard metal surface, which is of similar hardness to the mount base (also aluminium alloy), so in this case aluminium is the ideal material. The material must be smooth and hard for smooth rotation so we mill the surface flat on a CNC machine. This is the reason why engineers use flat milled steel slabs on their workbenches upon which to measure and align metal objects.
 
Q: What is the hole pattern for attaching to my pier top? The "Altair Astro" standard pier top hole pattern is 6x 8mm ID holes, arranged with 130mm PCD
 
Q: Can I use this pier adapter with other piers? Yes of course. There is plenty of space to drill and tap your own holes on the large 8" flat surface as required.
 
Included fixings: 

• 6x cap-head stainless steel bolts are included to fit the threaded holes in your Starbase field tripod.

Optional fixings (order in dropdown menu):

• For our Altair Astro / SkyShed Observatory Pier, order 6x optional additional Stainless Steel M8 nuts in the dropdown menu which will allow you to use the included bolts to attach to the pier (this is because unlike the Starbase field tripod, the SkyShed Observatory Pier isn't pre-threaded so you can use the buts under the pier-top to fasten the pier adapter).
• To attach the EQ8 mount head to the pier adapter, you can order 3x M8 bolts, 4x M8 Nuts, (2x nuts/bolts go each side of the mounts, and 1x bolt/2x nuts acting as the azimuth stop-post) plus 1x M12 centre-bolt which is fastened from the underside of the pier top-plate.
• If you do not have an Azimuth Stop Post with your EQ8 mount, you can order the Stainless Steel EQ8 AZ stop post which we make specifcally product code: AZPOST-EQ8 (order in dropdown menu or separately)
• Confused? Just email or call to determine what you need.

Hole and fixing dimensions:

• The pier adapter attaches with 6x M8 holes, equally spaced, with a 130mm PCD.
• The 6x 130mm PCD holes fit the Starbase and Altair SkyShed piers, and are countersunk to match the included 6x Stainless M8 cap-head set screws, so they do not protrude above the adapter surface.
• The pier adapter has 2x M8 threaded holes 160mm Centre to Centre for the Skywatcher EQ8 side-fixings.
• 1x M10 threaded hole for an Azimuth stop-bolt of your choice (54mm radius Centre to Centre).
• 1x M12 hole in the centre, through which you can attach an optional M12 bolt to protrude into your EQ8 mount form below. (For convenience, order it in the dropdown menu).