Ealing finderscope repair

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Ealing finderscope repair

Status: Resolved

The Ealing finderscope adjustment screws were noticed to have started falling out of the ring mounts in late March, 2008. The ring mounts are made of a kind of plywood, and are not very strong. The screws consist of a thumbscrew and and holder that grips the screw threads on the inside and the ring mount on the outside. There are 6 thumbscrews. Our first attempt at repair consisted of replacing the screw mounts, but the replacement parts were a bit too large. Father Fahey volunteered to manufacture a new set of ring mounts, and he and Darin may replace the entire finderscope. I removed the finderscope and gave it to Father Fahey on May 2, 2008.

Images of the finderscope may be found here:
(Caution: very large images)
EalingFinderscopeImages

Update July 10, 2008

The new brass finderscope and rings have been installed, but some new holes will need to be drilled in the telescope to mount the rings securely. Right now they are just held on by 2 screws. The finderscope looks and works great. I will get some photos of it next time I go to the observatory.

Update Aug 3, 2008 Father Fahey reports that the Ealing finderscope replacement is complete, and the Ealing has been rebalanced.