I've added a number of new things as of June 19, 2004. I put a light baffle on the
back of the scope, behind the tailgate. It's just a sheet of cardboard painted
flat black, with a large hole to allow access to the collimation screws, etc.
I also wired up the cooling fan for the primary, and put a dust filter on it so
that it won't pump dust into the scope.
The biggest addition, however is the laptop table. Back in 2003 I bought a
laptop
desk to install in my van. This allows you to keep your laptop computer securely
mounted to the floor of your vehicle, but raises it high enough to use from the
seats. I used it thusly to hold the laptop on my trip to Wisconsin to pick up the
telescope, using the laptop for GPS mapping.
I modified the mount so that it fits into one of the wheelbarrow handle brackets on the
side of the scope. I just drop a pin into the hole to keep it in place.
Here you see the scope, set up at my sister's place in the
round riding ring. You can see the light baffle and the filter covering the fan,
and on the side of the scope is the laptop table.
Here you see me sitting at the laptop, pretending to use it.
Here's a closeup of the table. The ArgoNavis handpad gets velcro'd to the underside
of the table.
Here's a closeup of the mount. The two long threaded pieces you see at the bottom
are adjustable feet. I screw them in once the pin is in place, and they help keep
the mount from wiggling.