P3D Viewer modification update

["Grant C. Campos" <gccampos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well I finally did it.  I've been wanting to have the best viewer, but didn't
want to shell out $900 for the Comby lighted viewer, so I tried Hastings
triplets from Edmund Scientific, and that didn't work.  I then looked into
designing new lenses for my Kodaslide.  I bought a little lens design book from
Edmund Scientific, but just couldn't get motivated.  I then looked into getting
loupes to somehow hack into my viewer.

To make a long story short, I ended up buying the 45 mm lenses for the Comby,
which are the best lenses for a viewer, from Jon Golden.  After much dremeling
(I had to open up the eye openings for the new lenses to stick out because the
focal length as measure from the front of the lenses is much more than 45 mm, I
had to widen the area around where the lenses go in, I had to saw off about 6 mm
of the end of the lens housing, I had to grind down the threads and make a divot
in the top of the lens housing, I had to grind the spring that holds the old
lens housing racks in place, I had to completely cut off the old lenses from the
racks) , and a little epoxy (I epoxied the old racks to the new lens housings),
and some redesigning (I had to reverse the spring that holds the focus knob rod
down).

Now all that's left is to do is a little more dremeling to make a little more
clearance to allow the lenses to get closer together without any interference (I
have narrow set eyes).  The biggest challenge is keeping the lenses parallel.

Grant