Posts Made By: David Maron

Having a tough time focusing the DSI-C on our PST-Ha...and after hours of Internet research, and a little disassembly, we've arrived at two potentially conficting solutions...
Most of the advice given for this particular affliction revolves around using a Barlow with the DSI. As far as I know, this would work to push the focal plane out, reducing the effect of the lack of back-focus...but it hasn't given us good results.
However, by disassembling the nosepiece of the DSI, t-threads are revealed, which would allow the use of this: http://www.siebertoptics.com/PST%20focus%20adaptors.html, which looks as though it brings the DSI closer to the PST's focal plane. This approach seemed to be confirmed by one fellow on another forum that said he uses his DSI-Pro "with a low profile faceplate" on his PST.
Which direction should we be taking? Closer to the PST's eyepiece holder, or further away? (And I'm assuming that the Barlow works the way I think I does...) Or as these approaches essentially the same?

About to dive into finally polar-mounting my LX-200, and I notice that my Parks 8x50 illuminated-reticle finder has, not simply crosshairs, but also two circles with little marks placed every "half-hour" between the circles.
This looks suspiciously like marks used in certain polar-alignment techniques, but I can't find how this particular finder is used, and since the finder came with my scope as part of a floor-model package, I have no documentation on the finder. Parks Optical doesn't have any documentation separately available on their website, so I turn here for help...anyone know how these marks are used?

We mounted ours on an inexpensive alt-az with slow-motion controls, purchased right here off of Astromart...since imaging the Sun requires nice quick exposures, a motorized mount isn't required, and setting up a equatorial mount probably isn't necessary either.

We moved off of a camera tripod to an alt-az mount simply for the slow-motion controls - the smoothest camera tripod head we could find still made for some jerky motion when keeping up with the Sun...