The fully transformed Ranger

This is raining, was raining, and will probably continue to rain for a few more days at least, so it might be a good chance to report the detail of the fully transformed Ranger. I have been using it for some moments and it's just great! Optically, it's fantastic when used with a Solarmax, I used it frequently at f/60 and it's just perfect!



This is the focuser end. The original focuser is placed side by side for comparison. The NGF-CM allows manual focusing and it's even lighter in weight than a NGF-S due to the smaller motor. Of course, the NGF-CM or the NGF-S has far less travel when compared with the original focuser. But on the other hand, it allows more in-travel which is great when used with a focal reducer, etc.

The reason why I have replaced the focuser is for two reasons:

1. Motorized focusing, this is very important for H-alpha solar imaging due to poor day time seeing and the low contrast of the image.

2. 2" capability, this is great for wide field scanning. I'm having my Ranger upgraded to a poor man's Pronto.

After the transformation, I found that the weight of the whole scope is reduced a little bit. So, it's actually now a Pronto with the weight advantage of the Ranger.

The NGF-CM can be removed easily for a shorter OTA for transportation.

I can put it inside my Fast Pack 350!


A real nice project which makes my Ranger useful again! Whenever it's sunny, I will use it. And whenever I cannot bring anything bigger, I will use it. It's just perfect since I love my Ranger, it reminds me of great memories and it is now generating great images and even keep generating more great memories again!