Thanks, Rob, I'll stick with the GSO on the 100mm ED. That bit of info is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. I'm going to do the retrofit on my 80mm ED, as well. On 5/27/10, Rob Ratkowski Photography <ratkwski@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:
Chuck
My GSO focuser on my 80mm Orion is a fine unit, the 2 speed focuser w/ my Williams 80mm sticks here and there, mostly in cold weather. I've taken it apart, cleaned and adjusted the focuser and still some places it will not draw out. I think you are fine w/ the GSO plus all Williams repairs are now thru Taiwan.
I picked-up another short Losmandy dovetail plate for the C-5, but it's not so straightforward as using the Vixen dovetail. I'm going to have to make an adapter to mate the round casting on the C-5 with the flat plate. On the Vixen, the top of the dovetail bar is actually a pair of shallow rails, and the cylindrical tube nests right between them. Shouldn't be a problem, but it's another project. I also ordered the Parallax rings for my 6" Newtonian. This is my "Woodshop" design, with 1" secondary and low-profile helical focuser, optimized for excellent planetary imagery, with internal primary fan. If the Parallax rings are too heavy, I'll make a new set of PVC rings, modified to fit the Losmandy dovetail plate, since my current ring jigs are for home-made 1/4" thick aluminum bridge plates that are a tad wider than the Losmandy plate. If the mount will carry the weight, an ideal setup would be the 6" Newt with either the 4.25" f/5 Newt (vintage Jaegers mirror) or the 80mm ED or 100mm ED refractor riding on top.
I found another way to mount the C-5 OTA to the Losmandy plate, without having to turn the scope upside-down and use the accessory rail. Both Parallax and Orion sell 5.5" ID tube rings, so I bought the $40 Orion pair instead of the $160 Parallax pair. They will bolt-up nicely to the short Losmandy dovetail plate, and I can still use the accessory rail for mounting other things. I added an aftermarket dovetail, as previously mentioned, and now have my choice of several different Orion finders in place of the stock 8 x 20mm "golf scope" finder. Cute, but not very practical. Actually, that's not fair. If used on a GoTo mount, any small finder is sufficient, even a red-dot reflex sight. Another possible configuration is the C-5 mounted piggyback on the 6" f/8 Newtonian, giving me the option of using either as a "super guide scope", or just tandem scopes for public star parties, allowing two people to have similar views at the same time.
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Chuck Hards