Help with Celestron wedge

[Zuts]

Hi,

I wonder if one of you guys can help me.

I have a Celetron C11 and the heavy duty wedge. The wedge has the 'wedge upgrade kit' which allows for fine tuning of the polar alignment.

The top of the tripod has 6 evenly spaced holes. 3 are for the securing the scope to the tripod, the other 3 are for securing the wedge to the tripod. They are different diameters.

When i use the supplied bolts and appropriate tripod holes for the wedge, the azimuth adjustment knob sits directly over the tripod leg and cannot be readily adjusted. If i use the other 3 holes the supplied bolts do not fit. I could go and get some but in the pictures these are not the holes to use. And i am worried about unbalancing the scope on the wedge. Although at least i could adjust the azimuth knob.

Does anyone have a heavy duty wedge on the C11 tripod. If so what bolt holes did you use and how do you properly go about adjusting the azimuth control.

Hope someone can help

Paul

[jase]

Hi Paul,
I use to place plastic washers between the heavy duty tripod and wedge. The azimuth knob does not require much elevation to clear the leg if I recall correctly... its been sometime since I've used the wedge. Hope this helps.

[Zuts]

Thanks Jase,

I tried 4 cds under the wedge and this was still not enough clearance. But i will go andtry your idea with some thicker washes.

It works fine if i use the other holes with some bolts (the holes for the scope). Do you think this would be dangerous; in that the scope may be unbalanced?

[jase]

Yeah, I know what you mean. There are two ways you can mount the wedge. Either way will work. Keep the tripod legs retracted (short) to keep your center of gravity low. This will provide better stability which is desirable for the long exposures. 4 CD's - I didn't recall it needed that much. Let me know how you get on.