A-P pier questions

Hi, I have not seen a A-P pier in real life, but I heard it is extremely stable. My questions are
(a) how portable is this (48" height version)
(b) what is the setup and tear down time and effort involved(c) how many pieces does it disassemble to and finally
(d) rust resistance? Is it aluminum or steel?

Thanks very much, Ivan

Hi Ivan,

The 8" diameter 48" tall pier is very stable and portable. The center column is only about 41" long, and I store the legs and tensioning rods inside. The base the legs slide on rides in a separate bag.

The down side is assembly requires plopping the base down, slipping the three legs onto it. Getting the center column stacked on that, then inserting and tightening the tensioning rods to hold it all together. There is no ability to level other than blocks of 2x4 under a foot or two, and while not essential to level, I like to be within the latitude range without having to move the adjusting bar on my AP900 as that is a pain to do in the dark.

Most of the pier is aluminum, except the legs are steel, and tensioning rods are stainless. It is a relatively inexpensive very stable solution but lacking in creature comforts and is kindof akin to setting up a truss dob, then putting the mount and scope on top!

Dave

Ivan Ong said:

Hi, I have not seen a A-P pier in real life, but I heard it is extremely stable. My questions are
(a) how portable is this (48" height version)
(b) what is the setup and tear down time and effort involved(c) how many pieces does it disassemble to and finally
(d) rust resistance? Is it aluminum or steel?

Thanks very much, Ivan

The folks I know with AP mounts have been buying the ATS or Particle Wave piers.

Both are very easy to set up and adjust.

Thanks guys for the helpful replies. Seeing my concrete viewing pad outside my house is slopping and not completely flat, I will probably want to look for a more traditional 3-legged tripod.

Ivan