Track the Stars TTS-160 Panther Telescope Mount User Manual

June 15, 2024
Track The Stars

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Track the Stars TTS-160 Panther Telescope Mount

Track-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-
product

Product Information

Specifications

  • Pier Capacity: 80 kg
  • Pier Height (w/ pier extension): 78 cm/30″ (100 cm/40″)
  • Pier Weight: 12 kg
  • Transport Bag Size: Length 60cm/24″, Diameter 18cm/7″
  • Materials: Stainless Steel, Black anodized Aluminum. 100% Water resistant.

Product Usage Instructions

Setting up the Folding Pier

  1. Unfold the legs and place them on the ground.
  2. Take the pier from the transport bag and place it with the red handle upwards.
  3. Remove the pier base from the pier tube by lifting it using the red handle.
  4. Unfold the legs and place the pier base on the ground. The ground must be approximately horizontal.

Leveling the Pier

  • When placing the pier on the ground, ensure that the surface is hard and fairly level. If the ground is soft, place a wooden plate or stone beneath each pier foot. If the ground is not level, use wood or stone to create stable and almost level stands.
  • Now, level the pier precisely by adjusting the feet on the pier. The feet can be adjusted by rotating them on the threaded bushing. Each foot can be adjusted up to 15mm.

Installation of the Mounting Head

NOTICE:
The Pier Adapter must be installed on the Mounting head before installing the mounting head on the pier. See Appendix A.

  1. Place the mounting head on the pier. When the mounting head is placed on the top of the pier, the locking screw of the pier adapter automatically catches the threaded hole in the top of the pier.
  2. WARNING: Be careful not to knock over the mounting head before the locking screw is tightened. Hold on to the mount head until it is fixed.
  3. The mounting head and the pier are locked together by tightening the locking screw with the handle inside the pier adapter. Do not over-tighten the screw.

FAQ

  1. Q: What is the maximum capacity of the Folding Pier?
    A: The maximum capacity of the Folding Pier is 80 kg.

  2. Q: How do I level the pier?
    A: To level the pier, adjust the feet on the pier by rotating them on the threaded bushing. Each foot can be adjusted up to 15mm.

  3. Q: Can I use a mounting head that is not listed in the manual?
    A: Yes, you can contact us for solutions for other mount heads.

Introduction

  • TTS-160 Panther Folding Pier is a stable and compact telescope mount pier. It is designed with ultimate transportability in mind. It comes in one compact bag and can be set up in seconds. When used with the TTS-160 Panther mount head no leveling is needed. When used with other mount heads the pier can be leveled with adjustment feet on the pier legs.
  • To complete the easiness of transport and setup the pier uses a fast lock rotatable adapter to fix the mount head. This adapter is installed on the mount head and stays there. Attaching the mount head to the pier only takes very few seconds.
  • This manual primarily describes how the Folding Pier can be used with other telescope mounts. The use of the TTS-160 Panther mount is described in the Panther user manual.

Product Safety

  • Always set up the Pier on a level surface so that it cannot fall over.
  • When installing the mount head always hold on to it until the lock screw has been tightened.

Receiving the Folding Pier

The Folding Pier is unpacked from the shipping box and is immediately ready for use.

Specifications

Pier Capacity 80 kg
Pier Height (w/ pier extension) (see appendix B for details) 78 cm/30” (100

cm/40”)
Pier weight| 12 kg
Transport bag size| Length 60cm/24”, Diameter 18cm/7”
Materials| Stainless Steel, Black anodized Aluminum. 100% Water resistant.

Setting up the Folding Pier

  1. Unfold your legs and place them on the ground.

    • Take the pier from the transport bag and place it with the red handle upwards. Remove the pier base from the pier tube lifting the red handle.
    • Unfold the legs and place the pier base on the ground. The ground must be approximately horizontal.Track-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig- \(1\)
  2. Setup the pier tube

    • The pier is placed on the pier base. Position the slots above the legs. Raise and extend the three tension rods.
    • Tilt the pier tube a little and insert two of the hooks in the slots in the pier tube.
    • Extend the third tension rod by turning the hook until it can be inserted into the slot. If needed extend the other tension rods.
    • Now tighten the tension rods by turning the black cylindrical handles. See to it that the tension rods are kept the same length (watch how much of the thread is visible on the hook).
      NOTICE:
      Tighten until the pier feels stable but do NOT over-tighten the handles .Track-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig-
\(2\)
  3. Level the pier (not needed for Panther Mount Head)

    • When placing the pier on the ground the surface must be hard and fairly level. If the ground is soft place a wooden plate or stone beneath each pier foot. If the ground is not level use wood or stone to create stable and almost level stands.
    • Now level the pier precisely by adjusting the feet on the pier. The feet are adjusted by rotating them on the threaded bushing. Each foot can be adjusted to 15mm.Track-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig- \(3\)

Installation of the mounting head

NOTICE
The Pier Adapter must be installed on the Mounting head before installing the mounting head on the pier. See Appendix A.

  1. Place the mounting head on the pier
    When the mounting head is placed on the top of the pier the locking screw of the pier adapter automatically catches the threaded hole in the top of the pier.

WARNING:
Be careful not to knock over the mounting head before the locking screw is tightened. Hold on to the mount head until it is fixed.

The mounting head and the pier are locked together by tightening the locking screw with the handle inside the pier adapter. Do not over-tighten the screw.

Track-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig-
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  1. Paramount MyT with Pier adapter installedTrack-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig- \(5\)
  2. Paramount MyT on TTS-160 Folding PierTrack-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig- \(6\)
  3. Paramount MyT, Celestron C9.25

Installation of Pier adapter on Mount Head

The Pier adapter allows for a very quick and simple fixation of the mount head to the folding pier. It is installed on the mount head and stays there during transport.

Pier Adapter

Track-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig-
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The Pier adapter is fixed with screws to a standard adapter made for the mount head in scope. We can deliver solutions for the following mount heads:

Manufacturer Mount name
Astro-Physics 400, 600, Mach-1 AP-900
Avalon Instruments M-Uno, M-Zero Linear
Celestron CGX, CGX-L CGEM

CGE, CGE-PRO

Ioptron| CEM60, CEM120 IEQ45
Losmandy| G8, G11
Sky Watcher| EQ6 EQ8
Software Bisque| Paramount MyT
Vixen| Sphinx

Atlux AXD

10 Micron| GM1000, AZ1000

If your mount head is not in the list, please contact us. We can make solutions for other mount heads.

Pier Height, Pier Extension

The Folding pier has a basic height of 78cm/30”. It is possible to use an optionable Pier Extension to increase the height to 100 cm. Special height Piers can be custom-made. Contact us for details.

Track-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig-
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  • Folding Pier Height: 778 mm
  • With Extension: 1008 mmTrack-the-Stars-TTS-160-Panther-Telescope-Mount-fig- \(9\)
  • Folding Pier footprint

Part Numbers

Part Number Description Comment
TTS160JA TTS-160 Folding Pier with adjustable feet.
TTS160K TTS -160 Pier Adapter This part is needed to fix the mount head
TTS160Q Pier Extension Tube An extra Pier adapter is needed together with

this part.
MHADAP| Adapter for the specific mount head to be used on the pier.| This part is customized per order. Contact us for details.

www.trackthestars.com.

References

Read User Manual Online (PDF format)

Read User Manual Online (PDF format)  >>

Download This Manual (PDF format)

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