Dimming a Red-Dot Finder

The red-dot finder, which was supplied with Sky-Watcher's SK8035, is a little nbit too bright in it's original state. Also red light could be uncomfortable during night, especially when it is too intense... The potentiometer was measure to have a maximum Ohmic resistance of 4.15kOhms. A first attempt with a 2k2 resistor in series to the LED gave no satisfactory result... still the LED was a little bit too bright. The next trial with a 10k resistor gave a red-dor being faint enough for my taste. On the other hand, the influence of the potentiometer is somewhat minimized...


Original red-dot finder, clearly visible are the potentiometer on the right side, the vertical adjustment screw and a black wire connecting the potentiometer to the red LED located in the housing

After modification a 10kOhms resistor is inserted between the red LED and the black wire.




Last modified Apr. 5th 2003