Wedge for precise polar alignment
- Free worldwide shipping above $99
HANDLE TIME
All orders will be scheduled for shipment in 1 to 3 business days, excluding holidays.
COUNTRIES
We ship worldwide.
WAREHOUSES
Currently, we have 4 warehouses.
🇺🇸 US warehouse, for our US users, parcel usually arrives in 1-7 days.
🇪🇺 EU warehouse, for most EU countries, parcel usually arrives in 1-7 days.
🇦🇺 AU warehouse, for our Australia and New Zealand users, parcel usually arrives around 1-7 days.
🇨🇳 CN warehouse, for all countries, parcel arrives in 4-7 or 8-20 days, please check below for details.
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS
Wedge:
- Total height: 77.5 mm
- Base diameter: 58.8mm
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Net weight: 0.70 pounds (318.2 g)
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Maximum load: 11 lbs (5 kg)
- Arca Swiss Plate: Included
- Screw Hole on the bottom: 3/8 Screw Hole
GENERAL TECHNICAL DATA
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Color: Black
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Material: CNC-Milled Aluminum Alloy
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Tilting Adjustment: 0°-60°
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Compatibility: Any Rig with ARCA Swiss on the Bottom, for example, MSM Rotator, MSM NOMAD, Seestar S30, Seestar S50, Dwarf 2, Dwarf 3 and so on.
Panning Base
Diameter of the base: 60mm
Height:19mm
Weight: 13.5g
Scale markings:
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Each major gap represents 15°
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Each minor mark represents 2.5° (15° divided into 6 equal parts)
The adjustment knob of the panning base extends slightly below the base, so it may not be compatible with tripods that have a large, flat mounting surface, as the knob could come into contact with the tripod.
Description of Wedge
The MSM Wedge is designed for precise polar alignment, similar to a ballhead but with finer adjustment capabilities. It features four knobs and one handle, for multi-directional adjustments, allowing you to set your tracker or camera at various angles. On top of the Quick-Release Plate has a standard 1/4"-20 threaded screw so that you can attach anything with a 1/4"-20 threaded screw upon it.
How to set up NOMAD with MSM wedge:
How to use it?
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Knob A Lock or Unlock the Quick-Release Plate on the top
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Knob B & Handle:
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Knob B controls the altitude adjustment.
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The handle locks and unlocks the altitude adjustment when turned in the direction of Knob B or the opposite direction, respectively. Simply pull the handle out to adjust its direction and this action will not affect the locked or unlocked status.
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Knob C & Knob D adjust the azimuth for precise left and right movements in tiny increments.
- Knob E Factory screw for base connection only, no user function
Wedge + Panning Base. Why this combo?
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The panning base lets you rotate your gear freely in any direction without moving the tripod—perfect for quick setup, especially in unfamiliar locations.
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The wedge provides fine-tuned, precise adjustments, making polar alignment smoother and more accurate.
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Together, they simplify both coarse and fine alignment, saving you time and effort in the field.
How to use Panning Base with Wedge?
Customer Reviews
I was surprised by the size, smaller than I had imagined, but that's not a flaw, as the wedge is quite firm and gave more stability to my setup. The panorama screw seems a bit fragile compared to the others, but I'll check it better in the field. Now it's time to carry out field tests and check for better results.
Wedge for precise polar alignment
This is the perfect solution to the problem that I had which was an EQ mounting arrangement for my Seestar S30 "smart" telescope. It's very well made, with a precise "feel" to it's operation. I wish all my astro gear was built to these standards. No regrets, other than not finding it sooner.
I'm using this with a couple of different camera tripods, one attached to the usual head with a 1/4"-20 screw and the other directly connected to the top of the tripod with the 3/8 stud. The adapters I also ordered make this easy to do.
Before sharing my experience, here are my observed measurements:
MSW wedge net weight: 325g
MSW wedge with 1/4” to 3/8” adaptor: 327g
Panning base: 130g
MSM wedge with panning base: 457g
Making fine tilting and panning adjustments is essential when using the equatorial mode (EQ) for astrophotography. I have bought the MSW wedge with the panning base for setting up a smart telescope in EQ mode. Besides enabling tiny controlled movements using a screw-based mechanism, this package is light, compact, sturdy and reasonably priced. I have found it easy to use the MSM wedge with the panning base to quickly achieve polar alignment.
The panning base is not a must for using the MSM wedge but may be complementary. I have bought the panning base after a friend’s advice and I have not regretted. By considering the direction of force from the weight of the smart telescope, a screw-based mechanism may be more important for making fine tilting than fine panning adjustments. The panning base is not screw-based, but it enables both big (hence quick) and fine adjustments in the panning plane. Without the panning base, the MSM wedge can only make tiny controlled panning adjustments.
Although it has been suggested that the tripod should be horizontally levelled in EQ mode and the MSW wedge may not be used when the latitude is less than 30 degrees, I have successfully used the MSW wedge in Hong Kong (latitude is 22°08′ North to 22°35′ North) by deliberately and slightly shortening the tripod leg pointing towards the North.
If your tripod comes with a ball head that does not allow controlled tilting and panning movements, you may find the MSM wedge and panning base very useful for astrophotography in EQ mode.
I'm overall very satisfied with this product, its only issue is something that is an unavoidable feature when designing for small weight and compactness. Due to how small the wedge is, with the rotator, polar scope and laser attached, it can be tedious to make fine adjustments using the small screws while looking through the polar scope but it is nothing that you can't get used to.
For what it is designed for (more precise alignment while maintaining transportability), it does its job extremely well. I was able to capture a detailed deep-sky image of the Orion Nebula using this wedge, the original MSM Rotator and a 210mm lens, which, I believe is safe to say was pushing the limit of what MSM products are generally designed for.
For shorter focal lengths (85-135 mm), I believe the level of precision this product offers is more than adequate, and for wide-field images with shorter focal lengths, the finnickiness becomes a non-issue. If you are trying to use the MSM wedge and polar scope for proper deep-sky astrophotography, you might be a bit frustrated with the small knobs and how close together everything is but bear in mind that you are using the product for more than it was designed for.
However, even in such cases, you can achieve decent results with experience and some experimentation. This product is adequate for wide-field deep-sky imaging (135-200 mm) and excellent for Milky Way or other types of wide-field astrophotography at shorter focal lengths (35-85 mm).
Excellent return and replacement warranty service.
I'm primarily a macro photographer and do a little astrophotography. When I saw this precise wedge, I was thrilled because achieving the final, exact polar alignment with conventional tripod heads is always very impractical in extreme macro photography. It's an excellent piece of equipment for my needs.
I'll also use it with my tracker, but I haven't had time for that yet. I think the precise adjustment will work just as well.
Con la cuña de alineación el trabajo alinear el tracker se hace mas llevadero y preciso
This is the best wedge I have used with my smart scopes, I already own 3 of these and will soon be adding a forth, as a society we do a lot of public outreach, and these make setting up easy and we always recommend there for use when people are buying Seestars Dwarfs etc, a few images below taken in EQ mode using these.
This wedge is a must have for Nomad tracker! Its very solid and sturdy but at the same time very small! It could be used also for other star trackers such a: Swsa, Fornax and Ioptron portable trackers. Love it for hiking when each kg counts at the end.
