Thanks, Orin, I understand the basics of the fit. I think that what bothers me
is that I have a perfectly good polar scope and would encourage AstroTrac to
offer a fitting to permit me to use it. Seems relatively simple. Might encourage
more sales.

I will look around for a magnetized washer of the correct dimensions. Would you
happen to have the OD and ID of your washer?

Many thanks,
Ed



--- In astrotrac@yahoogroups.com, orink@... wrote:
>
> Ed:
>
> Imagine a big magnitized metal washer with a hole in the middle. The
AstroTec polar scope goes through the middle of the hole. The AstroTec has a
metal arm with an open metal circle on the end through which the polar scope can
be inserted. When it is thusly placed, the metal donut makes contact with the
perphery of the metal circle and is held in place by the magnetic force.
>
> The doughnut can be rotated with your fingers, against the bond of the
magnetic force, to properly align the star points on the reticle of the polar
scope yet be gently held in place by that force when not moved by your fingers.
If you leave the scope in place after you have completed your alignment, you can
knock it to the ground and it may be damaged by the impact. I have brushed
against mine hard enough to knock it loose from the magnetic coupling on several
occasions as I position my camera. So I always take the scope/doughnut off after
alignment and put it in a bubblewrap bag for protection. If you need to check or
realign, you just put it back in place.
>
> I imagine, if you threaded the outside of your polar scope so that it would
thread into a handmade metal doughnut of the correct outer dimension to match up
with the arm on the AstroTech, you could use your scope to do the job. I don't
know how thick the polar scope metal is. It could be that you could not make
those threads deep enough to be useful.
>
> As Ever,
> Orin Keplinger
> near Chicago
> ______________________________________________________________
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ed Wiley" <edwiley@...>
> To: astrotrac@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, July 3, 2009 9:56:40 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
> Subject: [astrotrac] New to Group with Question
>
> Hi to all:
>
> I am thinking of buying an Astrotrac to complement by DSLR imaging, Lugging
around my Losmandy G8 is getting tiresome.
>
> Two questions to experienced forum members.
>
> 1. Can I use my Losmandy polar scope rather than the Astrotrac polar scope
(why have two if I only need one...).
>
> 2. If I can, are there any modifications needed? (Hopefully mods that allow
continued use with the G8).
>
> Many thanks!
> Ed
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>