Telescope Reviews: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Deluxe

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Deluxe
#3473004 - 11/28/09 05:59 PM Attachment (159 downloads)

I am the original owner of this '75 Cave and have used it a lot. It has moved around and been from Virginia, New York, England, New Mexico and now Arizona. It has held up well over the years without any damage. In the 80's, I set it up for astrophotography with a custom made RA/DEC slow motion control box, a Tangent Arm DEC motor mount, tube weights, guide scope with a finder and a low profile 2" helical focuser. It has had two paint jobs in the past and this time around, I decided to take the telescope back to it's pre-photographic mode, but keep the focuser and tube weights. I did not take any photos during this overhaul. Here's the Before Picture. It had a lot of weight on the tube, but gave some great pictures as long as there was no wind. It also had setting circle lights and a flimsy latitude adjustment toggle bolt.

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Lew Chilton
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/20/05

Loc: SoCal

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473015 - 11/28/09 06:06 PM

Panic,

A beauty and a true classic. Let's see the "after" pictures!

Edited by Lew Chilton (11/28/09 06:08 PM)

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Lew Chilton]
#3473018 - 11/28/09 06:08 PM

That would be an awesome planetary scope!

-Tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473019 - 11/28/09 06:08 PM Attachment (101 downloads)

After about 2 months a lot of work, I am really pleased with it. The telescope was =completely= disassembled, sanded, cleaned, lubed and more before putting it back together again. All the zinc-plated fasteners were replaced with stainless steel or hardened steel allen-head fasteners. The tubes were painted satin black while attaching hardware to the tube and finder along with the black paint on the mount were painted a textured black. The stand column and legs were painted silver.

Edited by Datapanic (11/28/09 06:10 PM)

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473027 - 11/28/09 06:14 PM Attachment (93 downloads)

The business end view shows a very black inside tube, I used some ultra-flat black spray paint and just sprayed it on, reaching inside from either end. Loose paint, mostly towards the middle of the tube was brushed out and as you can see, it's really dark in there!

The 4-vain spider hardware was replaced with stainless allen head fasteners and stainless acorn nuts.

Post Extras:

Lew Chilton
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/20/05

Loc: SoCal

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473028 - 11/28/09 06:14 PM

A beauty, indeed! You did a terrific job. (I'm in the middle of a resto on one of my old 8-inch Newts.) Are the optics pretty good in yours?

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Lew Chilton]
#3473033 - 11/28/09 06:18 PM Attachment (95 downloads)

Here is a view of the stand and mount. When the telescope was setup for photography, I moved the DEC circle to the lower end of the DEC shaft, to make room for the Tangent Arm motor assembly. Notice in the first picture that I had to offset the RA Housing mount to the stand head so that the Clockdrive Housing and DEC circle could clear the stand. Now, the DEC circle is back in the original position, which was the norm for the Cave Lightweight series. While the shafts were removed, I polished them up although they never really had much rust.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473037 - 11/28/09 06:21 PM Attachment (70 downloads)

The original setting circles are a little rough, I have been thinking about replacing them, but it would only be for cosmetics. From this view, you can see my new and improved lattitude adjustment toggle. A closeup of that comes later.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473045 - 11/28/09 06:28 PM Attachment (88 downloads)

The latitude adjustment system was rather expensive to make, but the end result is a very sturdy toggle. The two forks are 1/2" sailboat toggle forks while the adjustment shaft and rod ends are from a high performance automotive pulley system made by March Performance. The pins in this picture that hold the rod ends to the forks are going to be replaced with Kwik Lok pins.

Edited by Datapanic (11/28/09 06:29 PM)

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473053 - 11/28/09 06:32 PM Attachment (66 downloads)

The backplate of the clockdrive housing was cleaned up by replacing the brass knurl nut bolts with allen head sockets and plugging the drill-through holes used for the clock drive motor mount. In order to get to the guts, the latitude adjustment screw is released.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473060 - 11/28/09 06:38 PM Attachment (75 downloads)

The primary cell was also given a face lift with new stainless hardware and paint. The phillips head set screws in the center have acorn nuts on the end so they have good contact with the base without digging into the metal. That is the original 8" f/7 mirror. I added flat washers on either end of the adjustment screw springs.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473070 - 11/28/09 06:51 PM Attachment (82 downloads)

I just love this focuser - I don't remember who made it, that was at least 25 years ago. It is designed to allow a large range of focus distances. It can be as low as 1 1/8" to more than 5" from the outside of the tube. Shown is a 2" spacer with a 2" 38mm SWA Garrett eyepiece that was 1 lb 5 oz.

I followed Robert E. Cox's November '58 article, "Balancing the Tube of a Reflecting Telescope" to find the best position for the tube weights. On this telescope, there are two sets on either side of the rotating ring. I found that unless only one eyepiece is always used, the angle the tube weights are dynamic and change based on the weight and distance they eyepiece is from the tube. But, the end result is a tube that is balanced quite well and swings any way you want to with just the slightest push. Friction on the RA axis is only enough to keep the clock drive clutch engaged and only enough on the DEC axis to keep the wind from moving it now.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473074 - 11/28/09 06:55 PM Attachment (81 downloads)

Out in the field, I always set the telescope up for use of the setting circles. The mount head to column bolts are usually removed so I can adjust the azimuth and then lock it down with the thumbscrew. A nut was welded to the column to facilitate that.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3473093 - 11/28/09 07:11 PM

This was a fun project!

One of my goals was to reduce the number of tools needed to make adjustments on it in the field. Before, a crescent wrench, set of allen wrenches, large and small standard screwdrivers and a phillips screwdriver were needed to co anything. Now, just a crescent wrench and a set of allen wrenches are all that's needed.

The mirrors are actually in good shape for having never been recoated, however I plan on sending them off soon just because the technology now is a lot better than it was back when Pancro first coated them.

Last night I set it up in front of the house for testing, the DEC circle was set as well as the latitude and it worked great as always.

Something that is kind of disappointing, because this is, after all a Cave, is that almost every hole drilled at the factory seems to have been eyeballed. For example, the three bolt holes for the stand column to the mount base are not 120-degrees apart and can only line up one way. Same thing for the mirror cell to the tube, the clock drive clutch plate and more. Even the cradle is a little off, and has a north - south end and if the tube is put on the cradle 'backwards', it will be about 1 degree off from parallel to the RA axis. But, all this can be adjusted off and doesn't affect the end performance at all.

I live in Arizona and we go camping out in the desert quite often, I can't wait 'till the next trip! Out there, you can see your shadow from the milky way!

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Lew Chilton]
#3473114 - 11/28/09 07:26 PM

Quote:

A beauty, indeed! You did a terrific job. (I'm in the middle of a resto on one of my old 8-inch Newts.) Are the optics pretty good in yours?

Thank you! The optics have always been great. The telescope has always been stored inside and the tube ends plugged to keep dust off. I have only cleaned the mirrors about 10 times in all these years. There are no scratches, but there are some specs of light that come through when holding the mirror up to a bright light. Last night, after dialing in the mount, I tested it on the double cluster and was really pleased with the detail, even though the moon was out.

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deSitter
Still in Old School

Reged: 12/09/04

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3474682 - 11/29/09 07:34 PM

Nice work - remember not to tighten that turnbuckle too much, or you may crack the cast aluminum drive housing!

-drl

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: deSitter]
#3474751 - 11/29/09 08:10 PM Attachment (78 downloads)

A new DEC setting circle pointer was made out of plexiglass. The old one was short and the index line did not even reach the lines on the circle. The original RA setting circle pointer face was sanded down, then a narrow groove was cut with a jeweler's saw and the surface was painted. Then a sliver of white plastic was laid in the groove and then the face was painted with a clear satin finish.

Edited by Datapanic (11/30/09 01:26 PM)

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: deSitter]
#3474760 - 11/29/09 08:15 PM

Quote:

Nice work - remember not to tighten that turnbuckle too much, or you may crack the cast aluminum drive housing!

-drl

Thank you! It is always scary to me working with aluminum, because it's so easy to strip the threads or just break it. For the turnbuckle that mounts to the drive housing, I used a jam nut and flat washers on either side of the housing to spread out the load a little bit and only tightened them enough to be snug and not swivel without a lot of force.

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Jae
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 04/13/06

Loc: New England

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3476859 - 11/30/09 10:14 PM

Very impressive work and restoration over the years. Great stuff !

It's great to see the original owner put such care and love into a beauty of a scope. I always wanted a Cave, esp. an 8 inch but settled for an RV-6 back then.

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EddWen
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 04/26/08

Loc: Here or There

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Jae]
#3477596 - 12/01/09 11:25 AM

Good job !! Now you can enjoy it for another 40 years.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: EddWen]
#3478953 - 12/02/09 02:12 AM

Quote:

Good job !! Now you can enjoy it for another 40 years.

Thank you! If I live that long, I am sure I will drive my son and daughters nuts by then!

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3485192 - 12/05/09 04:14 PM Attachment (64 downloads)

The Kwik Lok pins arrived the other day, here's a shot of them on the latitude adjustment toggle setup. They are kind of big, but I like them better than a Clevis pin because they're easier to handle.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3485215 - 12/05/09 04:28 PM

Dan:

Did yours have the Dec pointer mounted on the dec housing? And was it a simple L-bracket looking thing?

My mound doesn't seem to have any mounting holes in the castings for a pointer, so I'm wondering where it might have been.

-Tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#3485236 - 12/05/09 04:41 PM Attachment (66 downloads)

Here's a closeup of the Dec circle pointer and mount. It is about 1/4" thick and 3/4" wide made of aluminum. #6 x 32 bolts hold it to the Dec axis housing and a #6 x 32 holds the pointer to the mount. Originally, it had #6 x 32 round head standard slotted bolts holding it on. It is about 2" long with a #6 flat washer spacer between the plexiglass pointer and the mount's end.

The plexiglass pointer is not the original, but the beveled edges are about the same as the original.

Edited by Datapanic (12/05/09 04:43 PM)

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3485241 - 12/05/09 04:44 PM

Okay, so that looks like something I could fabricate without too much trouble. So yours must be mounted just above the Dec lock knob? Funny my mount doesn't have any holes drilled in that area or on the other end (counterweight end) at all. Makes me wonder if it ever had a pointer!

-Tim.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#3485245 - 12/05/09 04:49 PM

I also wonder why Cave never made a driven pointer/circle arrangement for the RA circle, like OC did?

It should be easy to do. Instead of mounting the RA pointer on the back of the clock cover, mount it on a hollow hub mounted to the drive gear that pokes out the hole in the clock cover and has two pointers, 180 degrees opposite, attached to it, with the RA circle attached to the shaft (like it is).

That way, the pointers would be driven with the worm gear, and the user would only have to set the RA on the first object, and do simple "push-to's" after that, rather than having to set the RA again before leaving each object for the next.

Not saying I'm going to modify mine. Just saying.
-Tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#3485277 - 12/05/09 05:06 PM

I wish I had a machine shop! There was an article in Sky and Telescope a long time ago detailing how to make a drive RA pointer like that. It would be nice to have instead of always needing to set the RA every time you want to find a new object using the circles.

I haven't thought much on the mechanics of it, but it could be possible to use the 3 existing bolts on the clutch plate and not have to drill any new holes but all that may interfere with friction adjustment. Unless those bolts rattle loose, I rarely touch them once they've been set.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#3485299 - 12/05/09 05:20 PM

Quote:

Okay, so that looks like something I could fabricate without too much trouble. So yours must be mounted just above the Dec lock knob? Funny my mount doesn't have any holes drilled in that area or on the other end (counterweight end) at all. Makes me wonder if it ever had a pointer!

-Tim.

The back of it, where it meets the setting circle is beveled a little so it wont hit the Dec circle.

Be careful if you make one - when drilling the hole into the Dec axis housing, the bearings are right at that same location! I used a 1/2" long #6 x 32 fastener. I can't tell if the hole was drilled all the way through or not, it is only 1/4" deep. The issue is having enough depth to tap the hole. If there isn't enough, you might have to take the bearing out to do this. That could be a bear because it's been in there for 35 years, but it might be the way to go.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#3485311 - 12/05/09 05:25 PM

I think what I'll do is make a clamping ring to go over the turned portion of the housing and either machine the dec pointer as an extension of that ring (neatest) or mount an l-bracket to it. That way, I could put it on the counterweight end if I manage to make or find a dec drive someday. It's funny looking at the Cave catalogs. They seemed to make these things in all possible combinations of stuff. Mine doesn't even match the description of the lightweight deluxe in the 74 catalog very well, as it has 6" circles and stuff.

-tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#3485341 - 12/05/09 05:48 PM Attachment (64 downloads)

When I ordered mine, I assumed it would look just like the picture, so it was a bonus that it came with the 6" circles. The mount I have looks exactly like the 10" Super Compact Deluxe on page 11 of the catalog.

If you go for moving the Dec circle to the other end, you may run into clearance problems like I did. A 4" circle may be needed so it wont hit the stand column. The Lightweight has shorter RA/DEC shafts than the 1 1/2" version.

I took the pointer off to have a look, I haven't calibrated the Dec circle to the mount yet, so it's no big deal. It measures 2" x 1" and is 1/4" thick. On the back, there is some sort of thin material that shapes to the curvature of the Dec housing so it is more flush. I don't know what it's made out of and it's only about 1/32" thick. Here's a pic.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5301333 - 07/03/12 09:58 PM Attachment (19 downloads)

So, 2.5 years later, I decided it was time to modify my homemade Dec Tangent Arm I made for it back in 1984 so that it would bolt on to the mount. With that, it makes imaging a lot easier with NSEW guiding via my dual axis controller.

Originally, it was mounted on the upper end of the Dec Shaft Housing and the arm was attached to the upper cradle mounting bolt. Now, I have it mounted on the lower end of the Dec Shaft Housing and the arm is attached to a 1" collar that is secured to the Dec Shaft itself. I also shortened up the who contraption. It still has the original 1 RPM motors.

There are two benefits of using 2 motors - first, they are heavy and if only one reversible motor were used, it would always cause balance problems depending on the position the rotating tube along the optical axis and which way the the motor hangs. The other benefit is that the non-energized motor acts as a brake or dampener for the active motor when it is turned off.

The Tube has already been balanced both around the optical axis and along it longitudinally and it was a simple matter to adjust the tube weights for the extra weight forward of the Dec Shaft by moving the weights towards the mirror end.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5301337 - 07/03/12 10:02 PM Attachment (16 downloads)

A split ring clamps onto the lower end of the Dec Shaft Housing is adjustable with a bolt and on the other end, another bolt is used to control tension on the 1/2" worm in it's block.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5301352 - 07/03/12 10:08 PM Attachment (15 downloads)

Large teflon washers are used to provide good "slide" between the arm and the worm block as well as provide the proper distance. I could probably make a different sized block so that a less thick washer could be used, but this is using the original material and it's home made!

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5301366 - 07/03/12 10:14 PM Attachment (18 downloads)

On the underside, you can see the fat bolt that connects the arm to the worm block. The arm has a slot so that the bolt can move to and from the Dec Shaft depending on it's position along the worm bolt.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5301405 - 07/03/12 10:33 PM

The other night, when I finished up this little project, I laser aligned the mirrors and rolled it out onto the driveway. It was partly cloudy, hot and the seeing was not so good. But, taking a peek at Saturn using a 12.5mm Ortho showed excellent detail along with several of the smaller moons.

I can't wait to hook up my homemade HD webcam made from a Logitech HD C615 webcam and see what this scope can do. But alas, it's monsoon season now and it's been cloudy every night since

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GeneT
Ely Kid

Reged: 11/07/08

Loc: South Texas

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Deluxe new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5302320 - 07/04/12 02:14 PM

Beautiful job restoring a great classic!

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GeneT
Ely Kid

Reged: 11/07/08

Loc: South Texas

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5302326 - 07/04/12 02:16 PM

I miss the old setting circles. They were easy to use, and got me close to the object I wanted to view.

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orion61
Vendor(Clear Edge Optical)

Reged: 10/20/07

Loc: NW Iowa BURRRR

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5304130 - 07/05/12 05:58 PM

Did you do the Wrinkle paint? what brand if so?
did you have to bake it on?
Last time I baked Enamel in my oven I was warned with no uncertain terms not to do it again!

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amicus sidera
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/14/11

Loc: East of the Sun, West of the M...

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: orion61]
#5304233 - 07/05/12 07:18 PM

Dan, my heartfelt (if belated!) congratulations on a job well done! A beautiful telescope, an excellent restoration, with an equally excellent writeup - you're a credit to the Classics forum!

Here's hoping you've been able to enjoy that wonderful instrument out under the desert skies.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: GeneT]
#5304431 - 07/05/12 09:45 PM

Quote:

I miss the old setting circles. They were easy to use, and got me close to the object I wanted to view.

I use setting circles all the time. Once a scope has been celestial aligned, star charts or star hopping aren't even needed - just dial the object in and there it is! With computerized goto systems, I think it's becoming a lost art to actually use them anymore!

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: orion61]
#5304439 - 07/05/12 09:52 PM

Quote:

Did you do the Wrinkle paint? what brand if so?
did you have to bake it on?
Last time I baked Enamel in my oven I was warned with no uncertain terms not to do it again!

I used Rustoleum Textured "Aged Iron" for the black which gives a sandy sort of textured finish and the silver - forget the brand. I usually have a spare can laying around, but apparently not for that color. The tubes are Rustoleum Satin Black.

I use either black or gray primer (3 coats) and then 3 coats of the color paint and let the parts bake in the Sun for a while.

Not the stock colors, but a nice combo anyways.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: orion61]
#5304598 - 07/05/12 11:29 PM

Quote:

Did you do the Wrinkle paint? what brand if so?
did you have to bake it on?
Last time I baked Enamel in my oven I was warned with no uncertain terms not to do it again!

I had to dig to find the brand name of the stuff I bought, because Mac's Antique Ford Parts put their own label on right over the manufacturer's!

Anyway, it's Seymour of Sycamore, Inc. Black Wrinkle Paint

The price I paid for 6 cans from Mac's was about $6/can, IIRC.

You don't need to cure it in an oven, but it speeds up the drying time considerably if you do. If you spray it on a cool or overcast day, you might need to put it away for a day or two before handling it. I seem to remember still finding the paint soft a day later when I sprayed it on a cool or overcast day.

In an old toaster oven, I can cure the stuff in about an hour at 150 degrees or so. I recently saved an old electric oven for curing paint on parts too big for the toaster oven, but I haven't used it for that yet.

-Tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#5304664 - 07/06/12 12:15 AM

Just got back in from some Saturn imaging! Took about 15 videos using my home-made Logitech HD C615 Webcam at prime and with a 2x barlow. Seeing wasn't so good (maybe a 2), but once I finish copying the files from my pokey laptop to my faster desktop, I can run them through Registax and see what they can do.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5304738 - 07/06/12 01:19 AM Attachment (29 downloads)

Here's one through this scope at prime focus with WxAstroCapture and Registax @ 1280x720 HD 30/750 Frames.

The camera is a cannibalized Logitech HD C615 that I documented over on the Imaging Forum here: Convert a Logitech HD C615 Webcam for Imaging Use

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5304743 - 07/06/12 01:32 AM Attachment (29 downloads)

Same setup with 37/750 and a 2x Barlow:

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Nave
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/23/10

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5304790 - 07/06/12 02:33 AM

Awesome, Dan.
Fantastic write up on the camera modification.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Nave]
#5593641 - 12/29/12 12:26 AM Attachment (19 downloads)

Recently, I got a Canon 3Ti DSLR. This scope was setup for Astrophotography about 30 years ago, but that was with film and a Pentax K1000. It still has the super short Novak 2" focuser and tuber weights. Back then, it was very frustrating because the film had to be developed and then there was only a small chance that the pic would turn out right. Well, with Digital, it's all instant! So, here's a Full Moon shot from tonight.

1/500 second, ISO 400 single frame shot, no touch-ups.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5593649 - 12/29/12 12:33 AM

Hi Dan:

Beautiful shot! One thing you might try is stacking multiple shots and adjusting the color saturation. The moon is actually pretty colorful, especially when full!

-Tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#5593673 - 12/29/12 12:55 AM Attachment (27 downloads)

Thanks Tim! I ran an .avi I made with 37/500 @ 1/400 sec/frame ISO 100 and can't seem to get any color out of it. This image is more sharp after using the default wavelet settings in Registrax, but having to resize it to post on CN caused some jagginess on the rim. Next time, I might have to speed up the shutter speed a little bit more to draw out the color. I did have color turned on

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5593688 - 12/29/12 01:07 AM Attachment (17 downloads)

Second time around - a little colour!

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5593703 - 12/29/12 01:19 AM Attachment (17 downloads)

And one last pass - a little more subtle....

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5593991 - 12/29/12 09:32 AM

Hi Dan:

Here's a link to a thread I posted a while back of a gibbous moon shot with a T1i and TV NP101IS (that I've since sold). Second post shows where I've adjusted the color saturation up a bunch!

Color moon

-Tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#5616462 - 01/10/13 11:09 PM Attachment (6 downloads)

Shot on Dec 28th, here's one of M42 - this was another first run test and I wasn't going for gold, but it came out pretty good for just a 30 second ISO 800 prime focus shot. No filters were used and this was taken just north of Tucson in the Suburbs early in the evening.

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Da Bear
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 11/21/06

Loc: Kali-Forn-Ya

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5617030 - 01/11/13 10:54 AM

Wonderful lunar shots..... great scope.

Da Bear

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Da Bear]
#5617060 - 01/11/13 11:11 AM

See everybody? Newtonians make GREAT deep sky cameras!

-Tim.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: tim53]
#5617612 - 01/11/13 05:14 PM Attachment (5 downloads)

Quote:

See everybody? Newtonians make GREAT deep sky cameras!

-Tim.

For Prime Focus, I replaced the stock focuser with a Novak super short helical focuser a long time ago. Novak is gone, but there may be other focusers out there with this low of a profile. Sometimes you can find the Novak focuser on CN Classifieds, S&S, etc. Otherwise, the mirror needs to be moved up the tube.

This picture shows the camera at focus. My old Pentax K1000 film SLR did not need to go in as far.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5617647 - 01/11/13 05:40 PM Attachment (3 downloads)

Back in the Film days, it was always hit or miss for me. Even with the LFK Exposure Guide, I never knew if I got a shot right using the Pentax K1000 until after the whole roll was done and I got the prints back from the developer. Usually, I was lucky to get 2 or 3 good ones out of 1 roll. Here's a scan of one taken many moons ago (1984 or so) @ 1/250 sec ASA 400 color.

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Datapanic
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/17/09

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Delue new

[Re: Datapanic]
#5617656 - 01/11/13 05:47 PM Attachment (3 downloads)

Of course like it was back then and as it is now, proper tube weight counter-balance is required to offset the weight of a camera at the eyepiece end. The DSLR is a lot lighter than the old Pentax and only required about 5lbs of tube weight altogether. About 4lbs in this picture with the other 1lb on the upper end of the tube. With the right amount of tube weight in the right place, the scope is perfectly balanced and moves freely to any position and stays there with very little friction on the RA and Dec shafts.

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