Bahtinov fix & trick

[lux eterna]

Long ago, I used to put the Bahtinov mask inside the dew shield so it rested on the top of the OTA, but I found it could be tricky to place it there and also to remove it. So I put three of these metal brackets on it and now the mask is sitting on top of the dew shield. Works perfectly. I also fitted some glow-in-the-dark tape on them.

But. In spite of the glow tape, I kept forgetting to remove the mask and I was running out of bad words when I finally noticed it was still there... So now I have placed a big enough magnet on the inside of one of these brackets, and that is forcing me to remove the magnet before using the mask. And here is the trick - I keep the magnet in my hand until I have removed the mask, never ever put the magnet in my pocket or elsewhere. So no more bad words over the Bahtinov mask from me.

Oh, another trick is to always rotate the mask identically in relation to the camera. By doing that you can tell from the diffraction pattern if current focus is inside or outside the sweet spot.

Ragnar!

[Synchronicity]

Another trick which is used by virtually every aircraft operator is to have a strip of cloth or ribbon attached to the mask, such that it is visible when it's in place.  In aviation these identify covers etc which must be removed before flight, and the crew know how many they should have collected. 

Something like that, or your magnet can also be the trigger to do a checklist. When I remove the mask I always check...whatever.

All the best

Michael