From: Milton Aupperle <milton@outcastsoft.com>

Date: February 15, 2008 9:47:30 AM MST

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] Re: Off Axis Guider Rig

Hi Tim;

I haven't used the Lumicon, just the Celestron.

One other thing I like about the Celestron is that it can rotate the guider through 135° around the axis without having to untighten and then rotate the whole guider. And I switched to a 1.25" attachment for the Flea Imaging Camera because using the TS camera threads means I need to use a jeweler screw driver to loosen the TS rings to get the camera oriented the way I want it to. Now I can rotate it anyway I want.

My problems with using a Guide Scope has been flexure, mirror movement and the extra weight on an HEQ 5 mount. My guide scope had a really crappy focuser with lots of play and I have basically built a "Rail" with scopes lens on it instead. But that doesn't address the Mirror movement.

Milton J. Aupperle

On 15-Feb-08, at 9:31 AM, Tim wrote:

Milton:

I find these kinds of pictorials very helpful.  I don't have a

Celestron OAG, but I do have a Lumicon Easy Guider.  I don't like the

way it has to be locked down - with a tiny set screw bearing on the

threads on the back of the OTA, so I don't use it much.  I've tended

to prefer Guide scopes, but these can be tricky to mount securely

enough to eliminate flexure.

-Tim.