Recent mods to my 12.5" PDHQ...

The weather prevents actual observing so there's not much left to do except play with the scope in the garage

I've flocked the tube wall opposite the focuser, installed a Protostar spider assy and piggybacked my 80mm f/5 shorty. I better think of some additional mods or She Who Must Be Obeyed will put me to work remodeling the bathroom or something equally annoying... :S

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Ed, don't forget a Telrad... which in my humble opinion is a "must have"... specially on Dobs and such...
Also, how about flocking around the primary mirror, and maybe making a dew shield/extension for your tube? 8)

So far, so good, but I haven't really put it to the test yet. It does seem to be a bit easier to achieve perfect collimation using an autocollimator with the Protostar adjustment scheme vs. the stock spider, and the secondary mirror fits better in the Protostar shroud.

The Protostar weighs a bit less too. Not much less, maybe an ounce?

The friction disk or clutch used in the Protostar allows easy rotational adjustment but seems holds collimation well when moved around. The real test will be driving the scope up to the mountains or out to the desert. The stock spider holds collimation very well.

The stock spider has a four screw tilt adjustment scheme (no tools needed) and the Protostar uses a three screw method that needs a small hex wrench but is, IMHO, actually easier to adjust.

I wouldn't expect to see any difference while actually observing though...