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Old 11-10-2019, 07:57 AM
Allan_L's Avatar
Allan_L (Allan)
Member > 10year club

Allan_L is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Central Coast NSW
Posts: 3,339
Hi Steve,
Congratulations on buying a great scope.
And it sounds like you already have done most of the worthwhile modifications.

I've completed many of those myself.
The focuser mod I found to be a big improvement, like you. It shows your serious. Well done.

If its GoTo, I am wondering why you want setting circles?
I found a post years ago with a bunch of setting circle print files. Including one for a 10" SW, which I took to a Print Shop to have printed and laminated.
I'll see if I can find the link.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...etting+circles

I used a little magnetic inclinometer for the altitude settings.
But again, GoTo should make this unnecessary.

A valuable addition to my setups has been a red dot finder. I use it first to get in the right area, then use the finder scope to line up precisely.

Speaking of finder scope, I have swapped the straight through for a 90 degree finder. Saves a lot of wear and tear on my old back.

Speaking of back savers, I totally recommend an adjustable observing chair. They are expensive, but I wouldn't be without it nowadays. I have seen some home made ones if you need to minimize the spend, but truly they are worth it.

I also have a removable cooling fan for the primary.
Cut into a base cover made from that yoga mat stuff.
Attach with Velcro, and switchable (as vibration can cause observing distortion).

Portable battery? Jaycar sell a small light bunch of batteries (home alarm backup batteries). I think a 7Ah is around $49 and sits nicely on the dob base. It can power the fan and some dew heaters.

Some other mods I've done aren't really suitable for GoTo.

BTW, I haven't heard of the Mike Salway door stop? Whats that do?

Any further questions, fire away.
Good luck with it all.
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