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Originally Posted by astronut
There are a couple of changes I would make as soon as practicable.
1. The primary springs are too soft, this will make collimation tedious. I have the product code for these.
2. Change both the secondary and primary collimation knobs, this makes collimation toolless, a big improvement. Once you try to collimate withe originals you'll know what I mean.
3. Have the end rings powder coated black, as all four are WHITE on the INSIDE not good.
A shroud is another essential addition.
One last thing, a dew shield extending about 1.5x the aperture from the front of the tube will eliminate dew on the secondary.
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The springs are $30
Collimation Knobs, both sets $50.
Powder coat X4 $40.
Shroud $90.
Dew shield $20 High Impact Polystyrene Sheet, H.I.P.S.
Collimator $70 absolutely necessary.
Cheers, John  |
John,
Having also just bought an LB12 d/l, your list of mods is most welcome. Where did you get the shroud from? Astrozap in the US? How about the collimation knobs and springs?
What other mods have you made? (I notice the lead/acid battery which I plan to use too.)
One thing that could be worth a look is black felt inside the tube. I used this to great effect in a homebrew 6" f/4 years ago. It's a lot better than matt black paint and more robust than black flocking paper. And for the LB it looks quite easy to install because of the short tubes. (Completely impossible in a full tube 12" GSO dob). Cut the felt to size (or a few mm over for the circumference) and pre-spray the "outside" thoroughly with spray glue. "Dry" runs are important before the gluing! The only trick is to find really black felt. Velvet isn't as good as it frays at the edge.
DN