Focuser rotation aid

[tomato]

Not sure if this idea is old hat, but thought I would post it anyway.

Since starting to use software to frame objects for imaging, I am now being frequently prompted to rotate the camera by x degrees in either direction. This is OK if it’s multiples of 45 degrees, but can be tricky to gauge numbers like 17 degrees, resulting in a drawn out and frustrating process, losing precious imaging time.

On the SW Esprit refractors, the whole focuser can be freely rotated by loosening a capstan threaded collar, so I have printed out a 360 degree protractor scale of the right size and attached this to a foam plastic backing ring which can be rotated to a reference position. 

It isn't super accurate, but should enable rotations to within a degree or two, which is all the software is asking for. 

Last time I looked, powered rotators were North of £3.5K😳

[Davey-T]

Could have done with that last night 😂

Dave

[tomato]

Tried it out tonight, SGP said "rotate 64.5 degrees counter clockwise," got there in one attempt😎

[lux eterna]

That looks great. I have a similar thing myself, and found it to be a huge time saver.

I searched the net for "scale" images and found one that could be resized in PS to fit the circumference of my focuser base. I also replaced the original grub screws with thumb screws (some of these I had to cut off the head a bit to allow for focuser rotation).

How did you produce your (more sophisticated) scale ?

Ragnar