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I have finally gotten around to undertaking this excellent modification to my 12" GSO Newtonian. Rather than replace the fan, I left the original in place and just fixed the neoprine gusset over the back of the scope with velcro as Scott's article suggests, with a hole as an inlet for the fan. I also put the ring baffle on the inside of the OTA about 10 mm above the primary, as Scott describes.
AND WHAT A DIFFERENCE!
Firstly, there were no vibration issues with the standard GSO fan. There was a marked improvement in seeing. I was observing Jupiter still fairly low in the sky with good detail at 165x and even 300x - cloud belts and GSR clearly visible. When I turned the fan off, seeing deteriorated rapidly and I was looking at a pale blur. I was amazed. I also found that DSOs were also clearer. I also found that when the fan was on I could feel the movement of air out of the front of the scope. I am hoping that this will reduce dew formation on primary and secondary mirrors.
I thoroughly recommend this modification for these scopes and many thanks to Scott for a very readable and comprehensive account.
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