Something is seriously wrong with the installation to require that much
weight to balance a gimballed system. The manufacturer should be consulted
before any modifications are made to compensate for so great an error. In
order to use the same language when discussing the problem, you might
consider the following genrally accepted descriptions.

Univ Marine Slang (bad)
-- ---- ------ -----

X ROLL HEEL Lean

Y PITCH RISE Tilt

Z YAW HEADING Point

\ |
\ |
\|
X -------------
|\
| \
| \
| \Z
Y

Best regards,

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia


wrote

I'm down in Guatamala installing a Questus hydraulically damped
self-leveling radar mount for a new RayMarine radar. Not that it
matters, but this was a back-stay mount version for which I made an
adapter to mount it on a radar mast. That part works fine. For an
idea as to how the radar is mounted, see:
http://www.questusmarine.com/2kwradars18diameter10.html

When I mounted the 2 KW radome, I found that it was tilted about 5
degrees. When I placed a 2 lb dive weight on the outer edge of the
higher side, it leveled out. It appears that the weight of the radome
isn't equally distributed.

I really don't want to place anymore weight on the mount, so I was
thinking about bolting the radar platform so that it was level. The
arm will be at a 5 degree angle, but I'm not worried about aesthetics.
However, I am wondering if the dome will remain level at all degrees of
heel. My physics are pretty rusty.

So, all your people who remember your physics, how about engaging that
portion of your brain for me!

Thanks in advance, Geoff