NavList:

A while back I put one together using a 10 x 10" first surface mirror, or at least that's what the seller claimed it was. I mounted the thing on a piece of 3/4" plywood, and installed 3 leveling screws,1/4" x 20 TPI round head machine screws in "T" nuts. I level the assembly with an Empire Torpedo Level, possibly not as accurate a level as might be desirable, but it cost slightly less than $10 at a nearby Loews.

One problem I had was sun shielding, the sun screens on my Astra didn't seem to do trick and some Sun Film that Greg Rudzinski was kind enough to send me seemed difficult to work with, possibly my fault. Anyhow, I had the brilliant idea of trying theatrical lighting gell material, with which to make my own sun shields.

I purchased a couple of sheets from Vincent Lighting Systems (www.vls.com or 1-800-922-5356) a mite darker than the plastic shields that came with a Davis AH, mounted pieces of gell material on picture frames and tried this lash-up today. It's chilly today in Pittsburgh, the sun is playing hide and seek in the clouds, but I did manage to get what seemed a couple of good sun shots, will try again on a sunny, hopefully warmer day. More later, should anyone be interested.

The lady at Vincent Lighting that helped me seemed fascinated with the idea of celestial navigation, when I described what I intended to use the gell material for. One finds pleasant, helpful people allover, especially when one takes the small trouble to say please and thanks.

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