ETX TECHNICAL TIPS Last updated: 27 July 1999

Alternative Finder Mounting

Thanks for such a great web site. It has made owning my ETX 90EC so much more enjoyable. As with so many other ETX users, it did not take long to discover how inadequate the Meade supplied finder scope is. I decided to buy Orion's EZ Finder and would like to share how I mounted it.

I purchased 3/4" diameter PVC electrical conduit from my local Home Depot. The plumbing department only had white while the electrical material is grey. Looks better with the scope. From the face of the bell end, measure back four and a half inches and cut this piece off. The base of the EZ Finder will be mounted on the bell as this larger bell radius conforms to the EZ Finder's base much better than the 3/4" tube diameter. Holding the forward edge of the base flush with the end of the bell, mark the EZ Finder's bolt hole locations on the pipe. Drill the holes being careful not to press to hard since PVC is brittle. Using the two longer bolts supplied with the EZ Finder, attach the base to the pipe. Please note that, while the forward bolt will be going through the bell wall, the rear bolt will be going through the pipe at the neck down. Do not over tighten the rear bolt since this will cause a bending stress in the finder's base. Now, attach the EZ Finder to its base. The EZ Finder is now mounted on the bell of the PVC pipe parallel to its centerline. Remove Meade's finder and insert the PVC pipe, with the attached EZ Finder, into the ETX's finder's bracket. I used the Meade finder's adjustment screws to align the EZ Finder with the main scope. The EZ Finder is now easily removable and can be slid forward and back as well as rotated about the PVC tube's centerline. I just finished testing this and it seems to work well. As soon as I have some clear skies I want to try this on all sectors of the sky to make sure there is adequate clearance all around with no eyepiece position conflicts.

Purchased the wide field adapter. Works very well with Lanthanum eyepieces. The 20mm provides sharp, wide views.

Again, thanks for a terrific web site. I hope this information is helpful.

Vic Palmieri vpalmieri@adelphia.net

Go back to the Tech Tips page.

Go back to the ETX Home Page.