Attaching the Baader Clicklock Diagonal to an SCT using the Baader SCT Lockring

Text and photos by Agena AstroProducts. Copyright 2011. 

1. Remove the 2" nosepiece of the Baader 2" Clicklock Mirror Diagonal by unscrewing it. This will expose the female SCT thread ring on the diagonal body. Note that the diagonal cannot be simply screwed on the male SCT thread on the rear of your SCT yet since your SCT's focus knob will hit the 2" eyepiece holder of the diagonal.

2. Remove the 2" eyepiece holder from the diagonal by loosening the six tiny allen screws that connect the eyepiece holder to the diagonal body. However, be careful here as it is very easy to drop and loose the small screws in this step. [CORRECT IMAGE COMING SOON]

3. Fully screwing the diagonal directly on to your SCT telescope may result in the diagonal coming to rest at an inconvenient angle...

...or coming to rest at a completely unusable position (actual diagonal position on a Meade 8" LX200 telescope shown below!).

4. Even if you are willing to live with a +/- 10 degree skew in diagonal orientation, you have a greater than 94% chance of not getting the diagonal to point correctly upwards by itself. To alleviate this problem, you will need to use the optional Baader SCT Lock Ring for 2" Maxbright Diagonal. First, screw the SCT Lock Ring completely on to the rear male SCT thread on your scope.

5. Now screw the diagonal on to the SCT thread on your scope as far as it will go. Chances are that it will still not be oriented correctly upwards when it comes to rest again. Unscrew the diagonal a bit until you get it upright. At this point, turn the SCT Lock Ring counter-clockwise until it stops against the diagonal. The diagonal is now locked solidly into place in the correct orientation.

6. Finally, re-attach the eyepiece holder to the diagonal body using the allen screws/wrench and you are done. Be sure to tighten all the allen screws VERY securely to make sure there is no chance of the eyepiece holder coming off. Note that you will always need to remove the eyepiece holder every time you wish to remove the diagonal, which is why this is a semi-permanent installation.