Rigel QuickFinder Battery Replacement Modification

This was an easy one. The Quick Finder runs off of a CR2320 button battery, something that neither Pete's Trading Post (at Ft. McKavett) nor Porter's Grocery (at Ft. Davis) sell. Experience has shown me that an QuikFinder accidentally left turned on in an eyepiece case will exhaust this little battery before the next observing session.

While sitting around Ft. McKavett one day waiting for the dark to get there, Bob (the Sultan of Slew) Taylor mentioned that we should convert these things to AA cells. He only had to tell me once.

The conversion is very simple. Radio Shack sells little box that holds 2 AA batteries. Simply epoxy one to the side of the QuikFinder and drill a small hole through the QuikFinder's side into the area that contains the current button battery. Next, thread the wires through the hole and solder them to the button battery holder's contacts. If you are careful, you can still use a button battery, though I don't know why you'd want to.

I have already left the QuikFinder turned on for over a month, accidentally of course, and it still works. In over 3 years I have yet to change the batteries.

Update: Some of the vendors at TSP are now selling modified QuickFinders, so if you don't want to do it yourself, you can just buy one already done. Camera Concepts

Update: It's been over 10 years now and I still have not replaced the batteries!