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Just a thought regarding the balance mate, Maybe try to attach the finder/guider underneath the OTA as opposed to on top. This will keep the setups center of gravity lower, requiring less counter weight to balance, and therefore, hopefully better tracking.. I've made a REALLY REALLY bad MS Paint diagram..
In this scenario, you wouldnt need the top dovetail plate, instantly reducing weight, and the weight from the finderguider and the electronics boxes could be moved from above the OTA to underneath it... Obviously, the finder guider would have to be offset to one side a bit so that the focuser/camera setup did not obscure its view. However this could be done by either rotating the newts tube a little, and having the guider slightly offset so their lateral weight distribution is even, or alternatively, it could be offset a little more to one side, and the lateral difference would be made up by the scopes visual finder scope...
Just a thought but I reckon thats a much better plan than adding more counterweight..
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