Spent the morning removing the RC8 rear end plate to send to Josh, it was a straight forward, with a selection of Allen keys and a Philips head screwdriver being the only tools needed, plus a bunch of soft towels and such.
After removing the baffle tube and mirror retaining ring, using lots of care, the mirror slid out onto a soft cloth without any drama. It's still sitting up side down on the cloth in the pics, waiting for a clean. I put some red dots on the Backplate internal thread edge, mirror chamfer and back plate screw ear so they can all go back together in the same circular location.
Back plate and tilt adjuster have now gone off to Josh for the decoupler design phase.
Mike does that baffle run from the mirror to the focuser mount?
Maybe not a baffle but a sleeve from the mirror to where the threaded ring the extension tubes and focuser attach to.
That would mean nothing would be required between the mirror and any accessory focus holder I think?
Hi Leo,
No, the baffle, which btw is a simple one piece aluminium tube threaded at the mirror end, screws onto the top of the small mirror retaining ring which you can see at the bottom of the tube.
The small mirror retaining ring sits above the mirror and is threaded to the mirror adjustment collar shown in the front view of the 'Back plate less mirror' pic. The mirror slides over the white teflon washers, then the retaining ring is screwed down and two small hex screws lock to the adjustment collar. The baffle is then screwed on to the second top thread of the retaining ring. This also retains the mirror in position once hand tightened.
I'll attach some pics of the mirror retaining arrangement. No light leakage there, but since the new decoupler will sit just outside the periphery of the backplate mirror adjustment plate, there could be some potential for leakage there, but it will be a consideration factor in the design. Pic #4 shows the light path from the baffle to the imaging train. The new decoupler will separate the imaging train from the mirror adjustment plate thread.
Will Do Mark,
If Mike doesn't mind, we can all use this forum post to keep the conversation in one place, or we can start a new thread. Is this Okay with you Mike?
The more participants, the better the user experience for other RC8 owners, and the more potential business opportunities for you.
EDIT: forgot to answer the main gist of the question. The title of this thread is based on a rather painful attempt by me at humour and may be off-putting to some, so probably better to start a fresh thread with a more accurate descriptive title and perhaps (not sure how you do it) refer to this one if needed.
As Josh is the central contact point in this project, I'll leave it up to him to come up with a suitable thread title.
Ill start a new thread, with reference back to this thread. Anyone who is interested in getting this modification to their RC6, 8, 10 etc, can post in there, and we can go from there
Good to see Josh providing this service in Australia - I got a plate made for my RC6 by Nateman_doo on Cloudy Nights. Great guy and well made but US Postal prices were the killer for the return trip of the backplate.
2 nights of frustration have melted away with a 3rd glorious night (well, 10 minutes - clouds rolled in) of round stars.
The frustration came from winging it - so went back and read all the relevant CN posts and very happy with my brief glimpse (damn clouds) of what's possible with the added decoupler plate
Good to see Josh providing this service in Australia - I got a plate made for my RC6 by Nateman_doo on Cloudy Nights. Great guy and well made but US Postal prices were the killer for the return trip of the backplate.
2 nights of frustration have melted away with a 3rd glorious night (well, 10 minutes - clouds rolled in) of round stars.
The frustration came from winging it - so went back and read all the relevant CN posts and very happy with my brief glimpse (damn clouds) of what's possible with the added decoupler plate
I chatted with ND through PM several times, he seems like a very nice fellow. He'd suggested me sending my back plate and I explained return postage would be worth more than the job so decided not to go ahead with anything.
It does look like an impressive machining job nonetheless.
I chatted with ND through PM several times, he seems like a very nice fellow. He'd suggested me sending my back plate and I explained return postage would be worth more than the job so decided not to go ahead with anything.
It does look like an impressive machining job nonetheless.
Yep, I didn't do due diligence and was surprised that US Post could charge $100USD for return postage, but I was committed by that time - live and learn!!??
Sadly I've learnt that in the past with the US postage costs, even if Aus post do deliver signature required packages totally off the grid and 6 minutes from where you live (after seeing the delivery guy go past my house awaiting said delivery) and have to go around and find the package the next day, opened, touched and damaged (flexible circuit board material bent and covered in some mongrels grubby fingerprints despite the label not being addressed to him in a BIG box).
Aus post are IDIOTS, morons working for them can't read but they are cheap, sometimes.......
Things are moving along well in fabricating the adaptor, Joshua has completed the design, made the drawings, done the lathe work and is now into the milling stage.
While all this was going on, I started musing about fixing the design fault in the early GSO RC's baffle tube length, which can allow adjacent bright starlight to interfere with images. My CF OTA, bought used off IIS in 2011, no doubt suffers from this, although I haven't recognized it.
Anyway, I thought while I had the scope in pieces, it would be silly not to add the simple 3d printed extension which is available from overseas, so I rushed off and purchased one from the UK yesterday. (Cheapest postage). Then, chatting with Joshua today, he mentioned that he has a 3d printer and if anybody wants one for 6, 8 or 10" RC's, he could fab them.
Once I have installed it all, I will try and document the little adventure and post it here.
Thanks Mike and Joshua!
I've seen mention of those baffle problems in the past but my RC is one of the newer models and apparent;y GSO had rectified the issue by then.
And yes, postage from the UK is more than reasonable in comparison to from the US of A. I've often purchased from the UK in preference, especially with our weak dollar.
I'd love to see what the plate is looking like.
It’s great to see this work continuing!
When the plate is done, how do we attach it?
Also, I have a used carbon RC8, unknown year of manufacture . How do I check if I need the baffle extension ? FWIW, the central tube in my RC8 is a straight cylinder.
Cheers!
Mark
Once the completed adaptor and baffle tube extension both arrive, I'll be sure to document all the bits and steps involved in reassembling and testing/collimating the OTA. This is where the OCAL will come in handy. (See my original post in this thread)
Mark, I'll check my baffle tube dimensions and post here so you can compare. I also seem to recall there are some internet posts describing the new and old GSO tube designs.
Edit: The adaptor plate sits just proud of the existing rear 90mm thread and is attached to the black OTA backplate by 9 tapped screws, with a template to be used for hole location. Drawings and photos will be available (hopefully) soon
Last edited by mldee; 26-09-2023 at 11:51 AM.
Reason: Added info
The new plastic extension is just a push-fit into the mouth of the top step. I plan on using just a smidgin of Loktite or similar to ensure it doesn't want to fall out.
The tube is fully internally micro-ribbed and has threads at the bottom to attach to the mirror retaining ring.
Also, note in the pic the six attachment holes in the CF tube that align with the six threaded ears on the backplate. Two holes under each of the top and bottom mounting rail attachments plus one either side.
Carefully remove these six screws and the complete backplate + mirror + baffle tube assembly can be easily pulled out of the CF tube. Make sure you do it on some soft surface in case you slip/drop it!
Thanks for posting that picture! That is exactly what I have. I’ll need that baffle extension, sounds easy to install! I’m a little less certain about tapping the backplate, but I’m willing to give it a go!!
, but I was committed by that time - live and learn!!??
