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Joe B
journeyman
Reged: 10/24/07
Posts: 6
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Hi All,
I have a 10" RCX that I use in Alt/Az mode. One little thing I did that has made my life a bit easier was to take a 1" PCV pipe, cut off about a 1" length, and then cut this piece in half lengthwise so that I have a semi-circle of PVC. I use this to hold the center bolt on the tripod out of the way while I lift the scope onto the tripod base. Once I have the scope centered on the base, I remove the PVC spacer and tighten the bolt into the scope. It is so much easier with the bolt level with the surface of the tripod. And since I am not a big guy, and lifting a 10" RCX is strenuous for me, every little bit helps. I've found this to be very helpful and easy, and it greatly reduces scratching the base of the scope.
Anyway, I've found this to be helpful. Hope someone else does.
--------------------
10" RCX400
Televue 31mm Nagler
Meade 24mm UWA
Televue 16mm Nagler
Televue 5mm Nagler
And a steep learning curve!
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Pess
(Title)
Reged: 09/12/07
Posts: 1753
Loc: Toledo, Ohio
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Hey Joe-
Welcome to cloudy Nights.
keep the tips coming.
pesse (Fellow member of RCX orphans club) Mist
--------------------
12" RCX400
WILLIAM OPTICS 110mm APO ZENITH STAR refractor
Custom Wyorock focuser for refractor
SBIG ST2000XM
CFW-10
Astrodon Series I LRGB
Douglas Schwan DC
Befuddled visual observer, bewildered astrophotographer, bemused tinkerer.
Purveyor of cognitive dissonance.
Todays Quote: "A friend will bail you out, but a great friend is the one next to you who thought your idea to drill through the bilge was inspirational!"
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LLEEGE
Running out of Oxygen
Reged: 03/03/05
Posts: 6535
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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Quote:
Hi All,
I have a 10" RCX that I use in Alt/Az mode. One little thing I did that has made my life a bit easier was to take a 1" PCV pipe, cut off about a 1" length, and then cut this piece in half lengthwise so that I have a semi-circle of PVC. I use this to hold the center bolt on the tripod out of the way while I lift the scope onto the tripod base. Once I have the scope centered on the base, I remove the PVC spacer and tighten the bolt into the scope. It is so much easier with the bolt level with the surface of the tripod. And since I am not a big guy, and lifting a 10" RCX is strenuous for me, every little bit helps. I've found this to be very helpful and easy, and it greatly reduces scratching the base of the scope.
Anyway, I've found this to be helpful. Hope someone else does.
Um, isn't the center bolt spring loaded? Mine was. The purpose was to have it "snap" in the base when centered.
--------------------
AP900,LXD75
AP140EDF, SN6-OTA, ZS80EDII, C8-OTA
Canon 20D, 350Hutech
PST, Lunt LD60T/DS (on order)
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Joe B
journeyman
Reged: 10/24/07
Posts: 6
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Yes, the bolt is spring loaded. And one would think it would be easy enough to just put the scope on the tripod head and move it around until the bolt snaps into the hole, but I found this to be very difficult in practice. So with this little thingy, I can position the scope on the tripod base, remove the PVC spacer, the bolt pops up, and screw the bolt in. It works well for me.
--------------------
10" RCX400
Televue 31mm Nagler
Meade 24mm UWA
Televue 16mm Nagler
Televue 5mm Nagler
And a steep learning curve!
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LLEEGE
Running out of Oxygen
Reged: 03/03/05
Posts: 6535
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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I see.
--------------------
AP900,LXD75
AP140EDF, SN6-OTA, ZS80EDII, C8-OTA
Canon 20D, 350Hutech
PST, Lunt LD60T/DS (on order)
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Pess
(Title)
Reged: 09/12/07
Posts: 1753
Loc: Toledo, Ohio
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The AUTOSTAR II handbox controller hates cold weather. You'' lose display, buttons get nutso, gibberish scrolls by etc.
I was in the habit of taking the controller into the house with me to keep it warm. but sometimes I'd forget or be out too long and the display would be hard to read or even gibberish.
My firs solution was to buy a Handbox cover from Scopestuff. This was a marginal improvement but the plastic kinda got stiff and made button pressing problematic.
Lately I hit on a perfect solution that solved all my problems. I bought some chem warmer packs for the 'toes.'
Just open the package and expose to air. Good for about 4+ hours.
I pull the ASII hand box out of the leather case and affix the sticky backed chem pack directly to the back of the hand box. Then I slide the hand box back into the leather case.
Works perfectly and display stays nice and bright and gibberish free.
Pesse (Toe Grabber Chemical heater Pac) mist
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12" RCX400
WILLIAM OPTICS 110mm APO ZENITH STAR refractor
Custom Wyorock focuser for refractor
SBIG ST2000XM
CFW-10
Astrodon Series I LRGB
Douglas Schwan DC
Befuddled visual observer, bewildered astrophotographer, bemused tinkerer.
Purveyor of cognitive dissonance.
Todays Quote: "A friend will bail you out, but a great friend is the one next to you who thought your idea to drill through the bilge was inspirational!"
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LawrenceH
newbie
Reged: 06/19/08
Posts: 4
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I have a 12" RCX400 and live in UK. Can you detail the actual components that you use on your RCX400? I currently use a Meade f6.3 converter with SX SXV-H9C/SX AO unit. The native aperture causes vignetting, especially at f3.3 so I am interested in your comments. I could not locate all the components on your image.
Lawrence
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LLEEGE
Running out of Oxygen
Reged: 03/03/05
Posts: 6535
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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You will need the ADASCTLM27. This replaces the stock visual back and allows the use of AP 2.7" accessories. The reducer is an 27TVPH. You will also need the ADA2003. This screws into the reducer allowing the use of 2" accesories. (either EP's or camera nose pieces) All parts are listed on the Astro-physics web site in the price list tab.
NOTE:
You can also use just the ADASCTL27 and the ADA2003 without the reducer. This will act as the "eye opener" to reduce/eliminate vignetting with wide field AP's
--------------------
AP900,LXD75
AP140EDF, SN6-OTA, ZS80EDII, C8-OTA
Canon 20D, 350Hutech
PST, Lunt LD60T/DS (on order)
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LawrenceH
newbie
Reged: 06/19/08
Posts: 4
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The built-in visual back is not screwed on - it is gluewed on. Are you really saying that one should break the unit off in order to fit a replacement?
Lawrence
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LLEEGE
Running out of Oxygen
Reged: 03/03/05
Posts: 6535
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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It is threaded on. There may be some form of lock tite on it, but the do come off. If you contact AP and ask for Howard, he can walk you through the procedure.
--------------------
AP900,LXD75
AP140EDF, SN6-OTA, ZS80EDII, C8-OTA
Canon 20D, 350Hutech
PST, Lunt LD60T/DS (on order)
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Pess
(Title)
Reged: 09/12/07
Posts: 1753
Loc: Toledo, Ohio
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Luke is correct, the Visual back screws onto internal threads projecting from the rear of the RCX.
http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Strap-Wrench
You may need a strap wrench to get it off. If it is really tight, use a hair dryer on just the back piece to help expand it a bit.
Careful once you have it off. The protruding threads it attaches to can get pushed into the back end of the SCT. No big deal but it can be disconcerting to walk away and come back to see them missing.
A friend of mine momentarily thought he had broken off the threads of his 14".
A benefit of the AP reducer is that the adapter opens up the visual back to a full 2". Helpful with wide angle EP's
Pesse (Why Meade, in its infinite wisdom, designed this 2" back and then stepped it down to 1.25" is beyond me.) Mist
--------------------
12" RCX400
WILLIAM OPTICS 110mm APO ZENITH STAR refractor
Custom Wyorock focuser for refractor
SBIG ST2000XM
CFW-10
Astrodon Series I LRGB
Douglas Schwan DC
Befuddled visual observer, bewildered astrophotographer, bemused tinkerer.
Purveyor of cognitive dissonance.
Todays Quote: "A friend will bail you out, but a great friend is the one next to you who thought your idea to drill through the bilge was inspirational!"
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Joseph Gillman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/06/05
Posts: 2301
Loc: Boothwyn, PA
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Joseph (Meade has always done this, and it's 1.5" or so not 1.25" BTW, since they designed their SCT's to be a certain way - the baffling ridges in the SCT tube and the primary and secondary baffle tubes themselves are the source of the "Ultra high Cotnrast" label on some corrector plate rings not to be comnfused with UHTC coatings... Anyway the field of an SCT is only so flat and if you let the user see the complete light cone with a larger opening they might not be so happy with edge of field performance. But especially with the newer ACF and RCX scopes, yes the edge of field at the edge of the full 2" (or wider?) light cone is pretty good now. Maybe they just bought or made a million 1.5" SCT visual backs and want to use them all up?) Gillman
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Meade RCX400 30cm --
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LawrenceH
newbie
Reged: 06/19/08
Posts: 4
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Sorry - yes, I forgot. It is screwed on but fixed with lock-tite. With my previous RCX400 I broke the seal without realising it. I shall try to work out what is involved cost-wise in replacing this with the adapter and reducer mentioned. BTW I live in UK.
Lawrence
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LawrenceH
newbie
Reged: 06/19/08
Posts: 4
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I wonder whether I can identify all the componets here to fit my SX AO unit? I don't know whether the SB AO unit has identical threads to the SX AO unit?
Lawrence
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