Attaching a right angle finder to a Skywatcher Star Adventurer's polar alignment scope

W5JCK · Jan 10, 2017

This thread is about easily attaching a right angle finder to a Skywatcher Star Adventurer's polar alignment scope or pretty much any similar scope.

In another thread we were discussing how siting in a polar alignment scope on a Skywatcher Star Adventurer was such a PITA, or more literally, a royal pain in the neck, back, knees, etc. It was suggested that a right angle finder for camera viewfinders could probably be adapted to work on the polar alignment scope. So I did some research, found a Youtube video of how one guy did it, then ordered a Seagull right angle finder from Amazon for $52. I had everything else I needed to adapt it to the polar alignment scope. The Seagull right angle finder came with multiple adapters to fit a variety of cameras. I selected the Olympus adapter because it had the largest surface area for gluing. The tools were a dremel tool, Old Timer pocket knife, tape, pencil, marker, glue, and that was it. I took an ordinary, common prescription pill bottle and cut the top 1-1/8 inches off of it to use for fashioning my adapter.

Rather than go into a lot of text, I'll just let the following iPhone photos show you most of the process. It took me about one hour, and cost me less than $60.

Getting ready to trim off the lip around the adapter to facilitate a better attachment point

Close up of Olympus adapter plate

Trimmed but needs sanding and cleaning

Ready to be glued to medicine bottle cap

Marking the cutout for the medicine bottle cap

Cutout finished

Custom adapter finished, sanded cap too then superglued the two together

Finished custom adapter attached to right angle finder

Right angle adapter installed on Star Adventurer

Here is the view (looks much better than this iPhone photo)

Any one able to read Chinese? (or whatever that is)

Right angle finder came with a pouch, and there is my custom adapter

Okay that is it. The custom adapter just slides over the eyepiece of the polar alignment scope. It is easy to take on and off. This was just a quick prototype to make sure it worked well, and it does. I plan to create a more permanent and robust custom adapter--some day...

And as a final note, the right angle finder does not flip or rotate the view from the polar alignment scope, so use the same settings in your alignment apps.

--
Jack Swinden
W5JCK, amateur radio operator
An astrophotography hobbyist and amateur radio instructor and examiner. Sony a7 and Sony a6000. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackswinden/albums

jammeymc · Jan 10, 2017

That's awesome Jack; i'm sure this is a great back and knee reliever! Glad your project went well and a great idea.

Rutgerbus · Jan 10, 2017

Always great to see people come up with such creative ideas. Yours is splendid and well executed. This will save you the pain in the neck for sure and as a bonus, you can keep the tripod as low as possible for more stability.

Well done and thanks for sharing Jack ;-)

tradesmith45 · Jan 11, 2017

Great to know the low cost Seagull finder does the job. Several online reviewers about using these on cameras are negative.

Thanks!

WildImages · Jan 11, 2017

W5JCK said:
This thread is about easily attaching a right angle finder to a Skywatcher Star Adventurer's polar alignment scope or pretty much any similar scope.

In another thread we were discussing how siting in a polar alignment scope on a Skywatcher Star Adventurer was such a PITA, or more literally, a royal pain in the neck, back, knees, etc. It was suggested that a right angle finder for camera viewfinders could probably be adapted to work on the polar alignment scope. So I did some research, found a Youtube video of how one guy did it, then ordered a Seagull right angle finder from Amazon for $52. I had everything else I needed to adapt it to the polar alignment scope. The Seagull right angle finder came with multiple adapters to fit a variety of cameras. I selected the Olympus adapter because it had the largest surface area for gluing. The tools were a dremel tool, Old Timer pocket knife, tape, pencil, marker, glue, and that was it. I took an ordinary, common prescription pill bottle and cut the top 1-1/8 inches off of it to use for fashioning my adapter.

Rather than go into a lot of text, I'll just let the following iPhone photos show you most of the process. It took me about one hour, and cost me less than $60.

Getting ready to trim off the lip around the adapter to facilitate a better attachment point

Close up of Olympus adapter plate

Trimmed but needs sanding and cleaning

Ready to be glued to medicine bottle cap

Marking the cutout for the medicine bottle cap

Cutout finished

Custom adapter finished, sanded cap too then superglued the two together

Finished custom adapter attached to right angle finder

Right angle adapter installed on Star Adventurer

Here is the view (looks much better than this iPhone photo)

Any one able to read Chinese? (or whatever that is)

Right angle finder came with a pouch, and there is my custom adapter

Okay that is it. The custom adapter just slides over the eyepiece of the polar alignment scope. It is easy to take on and off. This was just a quick prototype to make sure it worked well, and it does. I plan to create a more permanent and robust custom adapter--some day...

And as a final note, the right angle finder does not flip or rotate the view from the polar alignment scope, so use the same settings in your alignment apps.

--
Jack Swinden
W5JCK, amateur radio operator
An astrophotography hobbyist and amateur radio instructor and examiner. Sony a7 and Sony a6000. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackswinden/albums

Did I miss something? What is the black part that attaches to the cut off pill bottle and then slips over the polar scope? I follow the right angle Olympus adapter, the pill bottle top, the cut off pill bottle but not that black part.

Charlie

W5JCK · Jan 11, 2017

tradesmith45 said:
Great to know the low cost Seagull finder does the job. Several online reviewers about using these on cameras are negative.

Thanks!

I haven't tried it on a camera because it does not have a Sony adapter. But keep in mind that using it on a polar alignment scope means you only need to use it for a very few minutes. It shouldn't take more than 3 to 5 minutes to achieve alignment. And if the edges of the image are not perfectly clear, we don't care because we only need to see the grid in the center. In other words, it only has to marginally work for it to be good on a polar alignment scope. And it performs well in that task. Whether it performs well on a camera is another thing.

W5JCK · Jan 11, 2017

WildImages said:
WildImages wroteid I miss something? What is the black part that attaches to the cut off pill bottle and then slips over the polar scope? I follow the right angle Olympus adapter, the pill bottle top, the cut off pill bottle but not that black part.

Charlie

Sorry, I made that the day before the right angle finder arrived, so I forgot to take photos of that process. The pill bottle is just a little bit too big to fit tight enough on the scope eyepiece, plus the plastic is really thin and prone to cracking. So I used a little bit of Gorilla tape around the outside and then folded the tape over the edges to stick it to the inside of the bottle. That made it tight enough to stay on the eyepiece.

WildImages · Jan 11, 2017

W5JCK said:
W5JCK said:

WildImages wroteid I miss something? What is the black part that attaches to the cut off pill bottle and then slips over the polar scope? I follow the right angle Olympus adapter, the pill bottle top, the cut off pill bottle but not that black part.

Charlie

Click to expand...

Sorry, I made that the day before the right angle finder arrived, so I forgot to take photos of that process. The pill bottle is just a little bit too big to fit tight enough on the scope eyepiece, plus the plastic is really thin and prone to cracking. So I used a little bit of Gorilla tape around the outside and then folded the tape over the edges to stick it to the inside of the bottle. That made it tight enough to stay on the eyepiece.

W5JCK · Jan 11, 2017

tradesmith45 said:
Great to know the low cost Seagull finder does the job. Several online reviewers about using these on cameras are negative.

Thanks!

I tried the Pentax adapter with my Sony a7, and that worked well enough to get a feel for using the finder with a camera. Well as I suspected it is not the best optics I've seen, not by a long shot. It works and focuses well, but you have to move your eye around the cup to get a good view all around, and the IQ is mediocre. But it is usable I guess. However, I'm not a viewfinder user. I hate viewfinders, especially for AP. I can imagine that using this right angle finder on my camera for a few hours would give me eyestrain and a headache. Plus it does not trip the sensor on my a7 that turns on my EVF when my eye gets close. So I had to set the EVF to always on. But I doubt any right angle finder would trip that switch since it keeps my face far away from the camera. However that is totally irrelevant to using it on a polar alignment scope where it takes only a few minutes and IQ is not important. I think an inexpensive right angle finder like this one is a very good choice for polar alignment scopes, as long as you don't want it to do double duty on your camera as well. If you want one to use with a camera too, then it is better to get a quality item, but expect to pay a lot more, perhaps triple.

Edited: I did think of one application where I would like to use it on my camera. Last night it dawned on me that it might work well for solar photography when using a static mount. Solar is so bright that the LCD gets washed out making it difficult to focus. With the right angle finder I think I could do a much better job since the sun cannot wash out its view of the EVF.

--
Jack Swinden
W5JCK, amateur radio operator
An astrophotography hobbyist and amateur radio instructor and examiner. Sony a7 and Sony a6000. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackswinden/albums

tradesmith45 · Jan 11, 2017

W5JCK said:
Edited: I did think of one application where I would like to use it on my camera. Last night it dawned on me that it might work well for solar photography when using a static mount. Solar is so bright that the LCD gets washed out making it difficult to focus. With the right angle finder I think I could do a much better job since the sun cannot wash out its view of the EVF.

tradesmith45 · Jan 11, 2017

W5JCK said:
W5JCK said:

WildImages wroteid I miss something? What is the black part that attaches to the cut off pill bottle and then slips over the polar scope? I follow the right angle Olympus adapter, the pill bottle top, the cut off pill bottle but not that black part.

Charlie

Click to expand...

Sorry, I made that the day before the right angle finder arrived, so I forgot to take photos of that process. The pill bottle is just a little bit too big to fit tight enough on the scope eyepiece, plus the plastic is really thin and prone to cracking. So I used a little bit of Gorilla tape around the outside and then folded the tape over the edges to stick it to the inside of the bottle. That made it tight enough to stay on the eyepiece.

So many DIY things require finding a plastic/cardboard/metal tube of just the right diameter-

W5JCK · Jan 12, 2017

tradesmith45 said:
Have had similar thoughts Jack. Have done white light solar a few times getting ready for the eclipse. Had no sun spots for couple of those. Focus is harder of course at least at the mag. I'm using - FOV is 3 solar diameters. Found I could use the sun's edge but that was pretty hard when the seeing was poor. Worked great w/ good seeing. So I suspect a soft angle finder may be a problem in those conditions. Will be interested in what you find. Not sure how the daytime moon edge during an eclipse will work.

I'm traveling now. When I get home, I'll post something similar to yours about adapting a Universal LCD Viewfinder to tilt LCD monitors. This will help w/ the sore body problem only if the monitor on an AP camera has a tilt screen of course. Have only tried it in the house (we have snow) but the 3x view looked sharp & helpful for solar

Cheers,

I'm interested in what you did to adapt a universal LCD viewfinder. For the Mercury transit on 9 May 2016 I built a rectangular cardboard tube about a foot long. It was just tight enough to stay on my a6000 tilt out LCD. It was clunky to use but it did work. In the past I've used a large towel and even a garbage bag once. I draped those over the camera body and placed my head under the towel or garbage bag similar to the old fashioned cameras from the 1800s. It didn't work that well because it was awkward and hot, especially during summers in Texas. I won't be able to travel to the Midwest to photograph the full eclipse on 21 Aug 2017, but I plan to photograph the lesser eclipse that I will see from north Texas. Better than nothing I guess. So I want to work out a good method for focusing and also for using my Star Adventurer. I guess I'll get up early before sunrise and align the Star Adventurer, then place a cover over it until around 11:00 CDT. Augusts in Texas are notorious for popup thunderstorms.

--
Jack Swinden
W5JCK, amateur radio operator
An astrophotography hobbyist and amateur radio instructor and examiner. Sony a7 and Sony a6000. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackswinden/albums

W5JCK · Feb 4, 2017

I finally got around to making a better adapter to attach the right-angle finder to the polar scope on my Skywatcher Star Adventurer. Although attaching it directly to the polar scope worked, it did cause it to rotate as the axis rotated during the shoot, and it was rather wobbly. So I decided to use the polar scope cover that came with the SA to fashion an adapter. I used the same steps as I did in the first post of this thread, except they were performed on the polar scope cover. The result is quite nice. The adapter is very stable, especially if you use a couple small strips of Gorilla Tape to ensure the polar scope cover stays on. I've tested this setup and wow it was so much easier to align than before when I had to contort my body to look through the polar scope! Here is a photo of the finished project.

tradesmith45 · Feb 4, 2017

Thanks for the tip Jack. I'm considering getting the SA myself. Got a question that's had some discussion before but would help me if you could give your experience. The iOptron I own has some backlash even when everything is tightened down. The thumb screws & tilt lock on both the wedge & top cap do not lock everything in place even when tightened hard by hand. So it is possible to knock your alignment off when making an adjustment to the camera after mounting it.

How's the SA wedge & top plate clamp?

W5JCK · Feb 4, 2017

tradesmith45 said:
Thanks for the tip Jack. I'm considering getting the SA myself. Got a question that's had some discussion before but would help me if you could give your experience. The iOptron I own has some backlash even when everything is tightened down. The thumb screws & tilt lock on both the wedge & top cap do not lock everything in place even when tightened hard by hand. So it is possible to knock your alignment off when making an adjustment to the camera after mounting it.

How's the SA wedge & top plate clamp?

For the most part it locks down very tight. However, some of the pieces are connected to other pieces with allen screws. Those tend to stay tight, but they can loosen up over time. So periodically check them. Since those parts don't need to be adjusted, you could even use Lock-Tite to keep them secured.

If you look at the image in my last post, you can see everything except the camera and lens are attached to the Star Adventurer. What I do is set up the rig and go ahead and attach the camera and lens and point the SA in the general direction of Polaris and the camera in the general direction of my target in the sky. With the SA, you can site in the polar scope with everything attached. The ball head mounting plate has a slot in the center so the scope can site through it. Therefore you can have everything already attached before you align the mount. It also means that it is easy to periodically verify the alignment.

W5JCK · Feb 4, 2017

Here is a time lapse video of me and my SA. I had already aligned the mount. I was adjusting the camera. All this and the mount stayed aligned.

tradesmith45 · Feb 4, 2017

[No message]

Merlin66 · Nov 2, 2017

I had the same idea about using a right angle finder...

I found a 35mm film canister fitted neatly and tightly onto the eyepiece of the SW polar scope....

Tom59 · Jan 30, 2019

Jack, I realize this is an old thread but wondering if this mod is still working for you? Need to do something similar. Just ordered a right angle eyepiece. Thanks for any input.

W5JCK · Jan 30, 2019

Tom59 said:
Jack, I realize this is an old thread but wondering if this mod is still working for you? Need to do something similar. Just ordered a right angle eyepiece. Thanks for any input.

Yes, it works very well and it saves my old bones from hurting as much!

Attaching a right angle finder to a Skywatcher Star Adventurer's polar alignment scope

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

New member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Similar threads

Keyboard shortcuts