Pinnacle Support System
* US and International Patent Pending

Telescope pier

Since the introduction of Monolith portable telescope pier, many have asked us to develop a lower cost alternative to Monolith while still maintaining the superb quality, rigidity, strength, unique features and in general, characteristics of Monolith - we listened. We are proud to offer the" Pinnacle Support System" the result of over 18 months of design and testing.

Pinnacle Support System is a very light weight, very rigid platform (commonly referred to as telescope mount pier or tripod) for telescopes. It is fully engineered for rigidity, load carrying capacity, vibration dampening and portability. It is fully CNC machined to very tight tolerances from aircraft quality alloys such as 6061 and 7075. The tubular sections are machined from drawn tube (2x the cost of extruded tubes). All aluminum parts are hard anodized for durability and corrosion resistance. All bearings are made from composite material to afford long life and smooth operation of parts. All hardware is Stainless steel. Every effort was made to make the Pinnacle pier as light as possible while maintaining rigidity and high strength. Every effort was made to make it as maintenance free and user friendly as possible. The end result is one of the most capable, easy to use and adaptable piers ever made.

A few highlights

• computer aided design - fully engineered
• all CNC machined from aircraft quality aluminum alloys
• superb fit and finish
• extremely rigid and strong
• light weight and compact
• extremely portable
• corrosion resistance
• very low maintenance
• Open body design (the pier offer very little resistance to wind)
• available in permanent mounting or portable models
• available in different diameters and basic heights
• manual or electromechanical models
• available in variable height models
• computer controlled height adjustment (electromechanical model only)
• Manual or Full index pier adapter (360 rotate pier adapter)
• standard with many features such as individually adjustable legs and feet
• adaptable to many mounts
• user retrofitable to other models (convert from fix to adjustable height, convert manual to electromechanical model)

We designed the Pinnacle System with both the visual and ccd imagers in mind. Whether you are a visual or CCD imager, you will appreciate the easy setup, individually adjustable legs for leveling the Pinnacle on all types of terrain including uneven ground. Like Monolith, we also build-in a fine height adjustment into each foot. Pinnacle adapts to any terrain. The stability is increased by having a wide stance and a low center of gravity. The open body desing offers little resistance to wind which further increases the stability. The Pinnacle system offers our optional unique Full Index Adapter (FIA) which allows 360 degree rotation of the mount adapter. Pinnacle is engineered to offer rigid platform with quick vibration dampening and of course good looks and superb fit and finish. Proudly engineered and made in the USA .

The height adjustable models achieve the increase in height through a guided center column. What this means is that the center column can be raised and lowered to change the height while maintaining full alignment and trueness. The vertical height can be adjusted infinitely and can be locked in position at any height within the range of adjustment. One is able to target an object in the CCD or the eyepiece and then change the height precisely without loosing the object. This is especially important if different height observers use the same telescope. Imagers and photographers will appreciate the rigidity of the pier in down or up position or anywhere in between.

The Pinnacle System is available in fixed and adjustable height piers as well as fix and adjustable height permanent piers. It is offered in two diameters, 6" and 10" to provide best possible mounting platform depending on the size of the mounts. It is fully adaptable to German Equatorial and Alt-az and fork mounts and even large binoculars.

The fix height portable models are available in 28" and 38". The portable adjustable height models are available in 28" and 38" with 28" model offering 10" of height adjustment (total extended height of 38") and the 38" offering 16" of additional height adjustment (total extended height of 54").

The fix height permanent pier versions are available from 20" to 64 heights. The adjustable height version of the permanent are available in 24" to 60" with height adjustment of 10" and 20". The permanent pier version is only available with full index adapter.

The fixed height models are retrofitable to electromechanical operation by the user or they can be shipped back to us for the conversation. The electromechanical models can be operated with hand controller or remotely via computer connection. Both hand controller and the control software are included with the electromechanical versions.

10" x 32" Fixed Height Pinnacle

Mounting Recommendations:

Pinnacle 6" version is designed to accept mounts with approx. 6" or smaller base such as Vixen GP, GPDX, ASTRO-PHYSICS 400/600 and Mach1 GTO, Losmandy GM-8 and G11, Takahashi EM-10 and EM-11, EM-200 and NJP, Orion Atlas, Celestron CI-700 and CGE, Celestron C8, C9.25 and C11 Fork mounted SCTs, Meade 650/750, Meade LX-200 8" and 10", Discmount, binocular mounts, and etc.

Pinnacle 10" version is designed to accept mounts with approx. 12" or smaller base such as Software Bisque GT-1100 and Paramount ME, Losmandy HGM-200 and Titan, ASTRO-PHYSICS 900 and 1200, Mountain Instruments MI-250, Takahashi NJP, EM-400 and EM-500, Meade 12" and 14" fork mounted SCTs, and etc. The 10" version will accept smaller mount with the appropriate adapters.

We are currently accepting orders for the 6" portable models (manual height adjustment) and maintaining a wait list for the other models. We require a 50% deposit at the time of order.

Prices, specifications and availability subject to change without notice

Pinnacle Telescope Pier

Pinnacle portable pier

Pinnacle tripod