Starblast 4.5 Degree Circle

Due to the fact that the Starblast only came with a red dot type finder I thought it would make finding objects easier and faster by adding a degree circle to the base.

 I found the circle on the Cloudy Nights forum and had it resized to 12 1\2" and laminated.

 Since the circle rotates under the pointer the direction of the degrees have to be counter clockwise. 

 I used a pick tool for the pointer.
 I cut the pick in half with a dremel tool then painted it black and orange.
 I then drilled a hole in the base and put the pick in with a drop of super glue.

A compass is used to align the base.

The base is turned until zero is under the pointer.

The compass declination is set to True North and then placed against the base handle.  

The whole base is then turned until the compass needle lines up to North.

I use the same Wixey digital angle guage as my AD10 to get the correct altitude.

To use the degree circle I first find the object I'm looking for on Skysafari and get the Alt-Az readings. 

Turn the base until the azimuth reading on the degree circle is under the pointer and then move the tube in altitude to the correct alt reading on the Wixey. 

 I find that the object is never perfectly centered in the eyepiece but is close enough to find it easily!