Super Wedge for LX200 series

My Superwedge is made from 12mm thick Durallumin plate. The wedge, base & side plates are C.N.C. waterjet profiled and assembled to a high standard in our workshop. Both the Azimuth and Declination shafts are of stainless steel and are fitted with thrust roller bearings to give smooth action. Each shaft is fitted with a large hand wheel for more precise control. Also after adjusting the polar alignment the screws in the end of the pivot shaft and the telescope mounting plate (these are the two that run in the adjustment slot) do not require tightening therefore no movement can occur after the pole star is in the required place in the eyepiece. The finish on my Superwedge is 15micron black anodize. All major parts are Duralumin or stainless steel. The screws are zinc plated and in total the wedge weighs around 12kgs, so as you may well imagine, it is very sturdy. You will see the screws that I refer to in the previous image, the top one is the right hand pivot screw and the bottom one is the telescope mounting plate screw. On the standard wedge supplied by Meade you are required to tighten these after you have polar aligned. This action always results in the telescope moving away from the position you set it to, therefore ruining your setup. In this image you can see the extent of the Declination angle adjustment slot, in total it will move through an angle of 55degrees. The reason I am able to claim the precise control that I have achieved in my superwedge is because of the lateral support bearings fitted to the tangent arm. The declination control is no problem, it goes up and down with no backlash at all. In general the azimuth control is a problem to a greater or lesser extent depending upon the design of the tangent arm. On the Astroparts Superwedge tangent arm linkage, I have fitted bearings to support the peg which transmits the motion from the tangent arm to the baseplate of the wedge. These ensure a smooth gliding motion when the baseplate turns on top of the tripod, thus eliminating any tremor through the telescope. The result is that you can adjust the position of the Pole Star in your eyepiece as accurately as I have claimed.