Hi Ridwan,

You got out and tested the SmartTool before I had a chance to. I am pleased to hear that it works properly even if tilted slightly off axis. I had suspected it would, but nothing beats a true field test.

$80 is a great buy on the level. I knew Sears carried them, but at the time I bought mine, their price was higher by $20. My guess is given a year, this tool will be in the $50 range.

The device is quite accurate, my experience matches yours, the error is very small, a quarter of a degree makes this part of the system well within acceptable tolerance. Add that to the resolution possible with a 20" azimuth dial and you have a system that works very well as you and those who have implemented it have discovered.

The whole thing can be done for about $100 to $125. Moving to additional scopes your cost is just that of the azimuth scale and a mount for the level ~$20 or so.

One other advantage this system has over traditional DSC is its ability to work with a scope that is not perfectly orthagonal. Any deviation from perfect orthagonality of the axis on a dob will cause a DSC to not perform up to its capabilities. This system is immune to that issue.

I am very interested to hear of your results with the total system on the platform. Please be sure and post your observations when you have the azimuth dial in place.

Thanks