SVP IntelliScope upgradePosted By Kelly Davis |
Yes, its pretty simple actually. Takes about an hour..with most of this time allowing the loc-tite to harden the magnetic rings onto the threaded dec and RA inner shaft. The only "downside" is that you lose the ability to polar align, since the rear RA encoder is attached to the end of the RA casting and covers the hole. You could still use a drift alignment if you really needed the accuracy, so all is not lost.
Another thing..before doing the above..is that you need to make sure your OTA and RA axis are pointing at the same place when you rotate the scope thru 180degrees. The manual explains how to do this. I had to slightly shim how my refractor OTA was attached to it's dovetail with a thin metal washer under one of the screws, so that when i rotated the scope 180degrees on a distant light pole, it would still be in the eyepiece.
Sounds complicated? not really. The benefits are no loud motors and faster. You just move your scope until the readings in RA & DEC line up with "0"s on the handheld readout. More times than not the object would be in the eyepiece or VERY near the edge. A big help in light polluted areas.
Another thing..before doing the above..is that you need to make sure your OTA and RA axis are pointing at the same place when you rotate the scope thru 180degrees. The manual explains how to do this. I had to slightly shim how my refractor OTA was attached to it's dovetail with a thin metal washer under one of the screws, so that when i rotated the scope 180degrees on a distant light pole, it would still be in the eyepiece.
Sounds complicated? not really. The benefits are no loud motors and faster. You just move your scope until the readings in RA & DEC line up with "0"s on the handheld readout. More times than not the object would be in the eyepiece or VERY near the edge. A big help in light polluted areas.
