Pimp My Scope

[TopHouse]

During this cloudy and rather poor weather, I'm assuming a few people are like me and start tinkering with their kit or applying 'add on's' etc. I thought it might be fun for people to list what they've done to their scope and even rate/pass comment on the results if tested or what they'd have done differently etc So I'll start with mine, I'm also thinking it best to stick to observation and not photo as it could get complicated and messy if all the photo kit was added :-

Scope

Skywatcher Explorer 200P On EQ5

Mods/add ons

Flocking

I used Protostar flocking to do mine, two sheets allows the full tube interior to be done and the inside of the focuser tube with still a little left over. I also used International paints one coat blackboard paint on the back & side edges of the secondary, the spider and any exposed bolts/nuts on the inside, ie finderscope shoe bolts.

Result, a definite noticeable improvement in 'picture quality' things looked more detailed even though technically they weren't, but the added contrast I feel definitely made a difference, my wife likes a look too and she agrees.

Secondary Boss Mod

I had a washer made up for my by an engineering friend, it's stainless steel and has 35mm outside diameter with 10mm bore and is 2mm thick. I removed my secondary and place this in between the secondary and the spider, (the 10mm bore allows the spring to still be against secondary boss to prevent overcompression of spring. The idea being to prevent the 'dig in' that gets caused by the secondary adjustment screws on the secondary boss making precise adjustments difficult it also just tightens that whole mechanism up a little with regards that 'gap' between spider boss and secondary boss.

result, it definitely smooths out the 'rotating' of secondary when adjusting alignment, a negligable improvement but I thought worthwhile since the washer cost me nothing and it gave me something to do.

Bolt Replacements

One of my little pet hates is cheap quality bolts/screws, the philips heads that chew up and the hex bolts where the corners round. I'm lucky in that i have a really good place near me where I can get propper hardened steel hex bolts of practically any size/length/thread and even head shape for peanuts, so bit by bit i've been replacing the bolts on mine, for instance the 3 socket headed adjustment bolts on my stock crayford cost me 30p to replace with quality ones. next time I'm passing i'll be replacing the ones that hold the 'ends' on the scope tube with quality socket heads. If anyone has a requirement for anything in this line, gimme a shout.

result, probably extremely negligable but gives me peace of mind and stopped a niggle

Orion Precision Self Centering Eyepiece Adapter

Best just to provide a link to this as it's self explanatory:-

Orion Precision Eyepiece Centering Adaptor

result, one of the best £30's I've spent on my scope, can't recommend enough, not only does it ensure your eyepieces or laser collimater is centered, it's a lot easier to operate with cold hands, and for the particualrly fussy, no little screw marks on eyepiece barrels.

Telrad

A must have in my opinion, especially for the newbie as just using standard scope finder can get very complicated (it did for me anyway) I now use a combination of both telrad and finder to hit my targets.

Auto Focuser

Motorised focusing especially at high mag just makes things soooo much easier, for instance looking at mars, you get the 'wobble' when you manualy focus, so it's move a bit, let go, move a bit more, let go etc etc, non of that with the motor and at it's slowest speed it's very very fine so i find i actually a achieve sharper focus with it than by manual.

EQ5 Motors

Bit of a love/hate with these really, the tracking is a huge bonus, as is hunting round the moon etc at high mag, I just wish the skywatcher ones had a higher top speed as they're very slow, also a better clutch system would be nice as i find when re-engaging the clutch wheels after manually moving, it nudges the scope out a bit and i have to start messing with the motors just to get back on target.

Slowmo Extenders

The EQ5 comes with just two knobs on the adjusters, no flexible stalks, which if working manually is a total PITA and could require the services of a chiropractor. Again a very worthwhile add on.

Think that's about it for me.

[thunor]

What auto focuser are you using with that?

[TopHouse]

It's just the Skywatcher autofocuser, i did a review on it some time ago. :-

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/97578-skywatcher-auto-focuser.html

I'm really really pleased with it.

[Astro_Baby]

Lord - mines modified beyond belief really.

Scope SW 200 P

Flocking - no idea if its improved the views but it looks cool.

Moonlite Focuser - its the business. No more focusing or collimation woes. Smoothness itself and looks classy too.

Second Vixen Accessory Mount - handy to have two finders available.

Baader Sky-Surfer V - Its the business for red dot finders. Love it ! Great for GoTo alignment when the scope gets it wrong on the firts star by a mile.

Stellarvue F50M Finder - Right angled corrected image finder with illuminated cross hairs that pulse - absolutely brilliant but costs almost as much as the scope tube. Precsion for aligning the GoTo with.

Stellarvue F50M Finder Holder - Scopestuff collimating rings added as a holder for the Stellarvue F50M which gives the finder a lower profile closer to the scope.

Fan - home made fan assembly mounted to rear with variable pitch control - everything from a hurricane to a gentle breeze on tap.

Improved dovetail - Milamber custom made dovetail to get rid of nasty flex in the extruded ally one supplied.

Rotating tube rings - home made rotating tube ring system. Works beautifully and cant wait to give it a go. Rings were refelted at the same time.

Secondary improvement #1 Steel Washer waiting to be abbplied to secondary foir better adjustment. Will be sandwiched with a fibre washer to provide some 'spring' into the system.

Secondary Improvement #2 - shoulder of secondary mirror painted with blackboard paint along with spider fittings and all internal screws, washers etc.

Mount HEQ5

Dovetail saddle - Original one replaced with ADM mounting. Much firmer and more piece of mind as it holds on tights and doesnt mar the finish of the Milamber dovetail.

HEQ5 Tuning - HEQ5 strip down and complete rebuild/tune - quietest, smoothest HEQ5 you will ever see.

Polar Scope Dimmer - Home made project to allow polar scope to be dimmed with a tuning pot. Looks neat - as if the factory fitted it.

Alt/Az Bolts - Alt and Az bolts replaced with Astro Engineering replacements.

Pimping - index markers painted red to show up a bit better.

Thats about it really. JUst goes to show how much you can add/improve to the basic kit given time.

[A McEwan]

Phew, where to start?

My GSO 680 8" f6 Dob has been totally transformed! You can read all about most of it here: http://stargazerslounge.com/members-equipment-gallery/55223-my-repainted-dob.html. But basically...

• Hi-Lux coated the mirrors.
  
• Motorised Moonlite focuser.
  
• Telrad.
  
• Magnetic counterweights.
  
• Painted inerior in blackboard paint.
  
• Added flocking to area opposite focuser.
  
• Added a "Dob-Knob" (Furniture knob for steering the tube around).
  
• Repainted and rust-treated entire tube.
  
• Added Ebonystar disc to rocker box for perfect azimuth motion.
  

Oh, and sometimes I use it too!