Your most useful scope modification is........

[Doc]

I'm bored as it's another cloudy night. So I was wondering what is the most useful modification that you have performed on your scope.

Mine is adding wheels and wheelbarrow handles to my dob. Has made life so much easier, takes just a few moments and I'm viewing.

Whats yours?

[saturn5]

Dont know if this is exactly a scope mod but i got rid of the tripod for a pier.

If not then it would be a handle on my 250xp.

[SteelRat]

Wooden legs on my SLT.

[ringz]

I think my most useful mod was to remove my ancient Celestron C8 OTA from its fork mount add a dovetail bar, and use it with my CG-5GT mount.

--

Martyn

[NickH]

Turning two astigmatic rusting PST's in to 90-102mm aperture beasts which can in the case of the CaK model, easily match any CaK scope on the market.

[Astronut]

Adding industrial strength handles to the OTA has to be the most useful - a long one on the top for carrying and a shorter one under the focuser as an aid in carrying the tube vertically through 2 doorways and for moving the tube when observing.

[Doc]

Wooden legs on my SLT.

Is that the TAL wooden legs. I have the ones that are fitted to the TAL 100r and they are fantastic. Built really well.

[Doc]

Adding industrial strength handles to the OTA has to be the most useful - a long one on the top for carrying and a shorter one under the focuser as an aid in carrying the tube vertically through 2 doorways and for moving the tube when observing.

I've also got industrial handles. One on the upper OTA and one on the lower OTA.

Makes life alot easier.

[SteelRat]

Is that the TAL wooden legs. I have the ones that are fitted to the TAL 100r and they are fantastic. Built really well.

Setup properly the Tal tripod is a great piece of kit. Best not to get a small child with weedy arms to tighten everything up

The legs on my SLT aren't as long as they used to be though;

Tal1 SLT

[Doc]

How do you join the SLT Mount to the tripod. As my tripod has a long bolt that secures the tripod to the Tal mount.

[SteelRat]

Had to take the cup section off the top of the tripod - and that Tal centre bolt is way too big for the job.

[Doc]

Two more questions Matt.

What SLT mount is it (Which scope). To take the weight off the TAL1. And would this mount take the 100R.

Thanks

[SteelRat]

As far as I know all the SLT mounts are the same - none of em particularly happy lugging a 100r around. Long heavy bazookoid that 8)

[Talitha]

Mine was actually a dual-mod but it was done at the same time, so I guess it counts as one mod.

I dis-assembled the LX-10 and replaced the factory glue grease with snowmobile grease so the worm gear wouldn't stop when it got down to the freezing point outside. At the same time, I moved the potentiometer from the (inaccessible ) bottom of the base to a spot on the front of the base where it can be adjusted easily during a session.

[Psychobilly]

Probably the Pier Wedge...

Then the focus masks, observatory, counterbalance

[iancandler]

With my current set up changing to the skywatcher pedestal/pier, the best ever was adding the WO micro focuser assy to my old antares sentinal 80mm that mark now has, it made a sub £300 scope feel like a £1000 scope.

[supernova]

A credit card, it seems to sort all my probs

[Tim]

bit of insulation tape that goes between my SCTs rear thread and the skylight filter. It stops the filter sticking to the focal reducer or focusser and coming off with them.

luminous tent pegs (for star parties)