Extension for AVX Tripod (for a Giro NOT an AVX mount)

[Commanderfish 211]

Hi there,

I'm looking for an extension tube to put on top of my Tripod.  It's an AVX Tripod, but I won't be using it with an AVX head; it'll be used with a Giro Ercole mount.  Both the Tripod and the Ercole Mount have 3/8" threads on the connector.

I know it's difficult to get an extension to which the AVX mount itself will fit, because it requires a North peg in a different location from the usual Skywatcher types, but that's not an issue here as I'm attaching a Giro mount,  which as far as I can tell does not require a North peg, but tell me if I'm wrong.

All I really need is an extension which will physically fit on the AVX Tripod, not the AVX mount.

Any ideas?

[Commanderfish 211]

Did a lot of research and it seems the answer is the Orion SkyView Pro extension.  This fits on the AVX Tripod.  It has a North pin in the top plate which won't fit the AVX mount without modification, but the pin can be removed.  Once removed, the Ercole Giro (and presumably other mounts not requiring a North pin) will fit on.  Presumably the extension has the 3/8"/M10 thread as it fits onto the AVX Tripod.

 

Will confirm when I've got it and tested it.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Commanderfish

[Commanderfish 211]

Just to confirm, I got the Orion SkyView Pro Extension and the Ercole mount attached to the AVX tripod with no problems.  As above, I just had to take the north peg off the extension tube (this is accessed by removing the top plate of the tube with an allen key, and removing the peg with a different sized allen key - so make sure you have a set handy).  The top plate of the mount then screws on to the base of the Ercole mount using the Orion extension's built in 3/8" thread.  

Job done in a few mins.

The thread of the AVX tripod also screws onto the bottom of the extension perfectly. In fact the Skyview Pro extension fits beautifully on the AVX tripod - without removing the north peg from the tripod head.  The Ercole fits on top of the extension perfectly too, and they are all in matching black.  When they are assembled it looks like one piece of professional shop-bought kit, not 3 different bits from 3 different companies

The extension is essential for anyone with a scope in the 1 metre long range.  My ED127 Apo has a focal length of 952mm and is about 900 mm long including diagonal, PLUS the length of the dew shield which is around another 300mm.  With this set up, even if you accidentally let the clutch/top lock slip whilst an eyepiece is out, the scope can swing round as much as it likes and it still won't hit the tripod legs.    You're also going to set up the tripod legs around half retracted, which means they stick out a lot less, which is a boon as otherwise you'd definitely be tripping over them when viewing near the zenith.

The stability of the tripod/mount is very good, even with the clutches unlocked there is little vibration on bumping at x200 magnification.  The AVX has 2" steel legs, whereas most Ercoles I have seen have been mounted on shorter 1.75" legs from the EQ5.

Only one downside, for travelling purposes the extension tube is pretty heavy, about 4 Kg I'd say.  This brings the combined weight of the Ercole, AVX tripod and Orion extension to about 16Kg.  However this is still a weight improvement on the standard AVX mount and tripod combination, which weigh 16Kg without an extension and then require 5-10Kg of counterweight.

All in all a very good Alt-Az set up, I will review properly once there's some clear sky and I've got my Baader 1kg counterweight on to a long dovetail.