Ray’s Brackets

Adding a 2″ diagonal and eyepiece caused a few problems: balance, and the new diagonal didn’t clear the scope base. Here’s the solution.

The N8 bracket from Ray’s Brackets solved both my problems easily. It places two aluminum brackets between the scope base and the Optical Tube Assembly. It was also pretty easy to install, taking less than a half hour. Now I can loosen two thumb screws and slide the OTA forward and back easily, to balance the scope easily. Honestly, I haven’t quite got it dialed in yet. It works great with the 2″ setup, but when I put a 1.25″ eyepiece and adapter into the 2″ diagonal, I get the slippage in the altitude axis again. In retrospect, I should have bought TeleVue’s heavier brass 1.25″-to-2″ adapter, which helps offset the loss in weight. But I can deal with adjusting the bracket in the field.

And, in the off-chance I go insane (or become insanely rich) and try my hand at astrophotography, I can slide the OTA far enough forward to mount and balance a camera on the NexStar 8i.

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