stevecoe
"Astronomical Tourist"
Reged: 04/24/04
Loc: Arizona, USA
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: Scanning4Comets]
#5298382 - 07/01/12 07:00 PM Attachment (55 downloads)
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Here is my 16" f/4.5 Tectron scope at the site we named Fredericksen's Meadow, about 40 miles from Flagstaff, Az. I tracked the Milky Way for 90 seconds with a 14mm lens and then fired the flash. Needless to say, I was alone so no dark adaption was harmed in the making of this image. 
Clear skies;
Steve Coe
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: stevecoe]
#5298405 - 07/01/12 07:22 PM
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This thread is killing me. The mirror from my homemade 16.5" f/6.5 Dob in out for recoating. Hopefully it will be back next week. In the mean time I've been refurbing the scope and mount (it has been in storage for about 10 years). I'm looking forward to showing it off once I have it put back together. The weather forecast fir the next week is nothing but heat warnings and thunderstorms, which I take to mean that I will be getting my mirror back soon. 
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: stevecoe]
#5298422 - 07/01/12 07:31 PM
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wow... i'm so frustrated with the impossible views from my backyard... this pic from stevecoe just makes me realize how much.
I was in peace up until last year, had no one around me, this year, i'm completely surrounded!!! need to move to a farm or out to the boonies.. man!
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This thread is killing me. The mirror from my homemade 16.5" f/6.5 Dob in out for recoating. Hopefully it will be back next week. In the mean time I've been refurbing the scope and mount (it has been in storage for about 10 years). I'm looking forward to showing it off once I have it put back together. The weather forecast fir the next week is nothing but heat warnings and thunderstorms, which I take to mean that I will be getting my mirror back soon.
we'll be waiting  make it a good one
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Achernar
Postmaster
Reged: 02/25/06
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: JoeM101]
#5298435 - 07/01/12 07:42 PM Attachment (53 downloads)
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This is a picture of the 15-inch F/4.5 truss-tube I finished last year with me standing by it when I was doing a first light with it in the drive way. The primary mirror was made by Optic Wave Labs, the focuser is a Moonlite, and all other components except for the secondary mirror holder I either welded or made with my woodworking tools at home.
Taras
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rguasto
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/18/10
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: Achernar]
#5298500 - 07/01/12 08:43 PM Attachment (50 downloads)
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51 year-old OTA
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Scanning4Comets
Markus
Reged: 12/26/04
Loc: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: rguasto]
#5298575 - 07/01/12 09:41 PM
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You guys all sure have some really nice scopes and skies!
Cheers,
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: Scanning4Comets]
#5298713 - 07/01/12 11:22 PM
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Joe,
A bird in hand (10" portable dob that fits in your car that you could buy today) is worth more than two in the bush (big truss dob at your future loto won country observatory).
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5298728 - 07/01/12 11:39 PM
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Joe,
A bird in hand (10" portable dob that fits in your car that you could buy today) is worth more than two in the bush (big truss dob at your future loto won country observatory).
i couldn't have said it better myself! 
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HellsKitchen
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/05/08
Loc: Melbourne Australia
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: jgraham]
#5298975 - 07/02/12 07:19 AM
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Quote:
This thread is killing me. The mirror from my homemade 16.5" f/6.5 Dob in out for recoating. Hopefully it will be back next week. In the mean time I've been refurbing the scope and mount (it has been in storage for about 10 years). I'm looking forward to showing it off once I have it put back together. The weather forecast fir the next week is nothing but heat warnings and thunderstorms, which I take to mean that I will be getting my mirror back soon.
That sounds pretty nice, watching lightning on a steamy evening with a cold beer is the next best thing to sitting at the eyepiece 
This is my 12" SDM with Zambuto primary and 1/30 wave Antares secondary. Excuse the poor quality camera work 
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Bob S.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/14/05
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: NHRob]
#5298994 - 07/02/12 07:50 AM
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Rob, He is no crazier than the guy that sold it to him (me). This is a killer scope that I had purchased to do outreach with. One of the two times I used it for outreach, many of the novice viewers kept remarking that my views of a planet were better than the other scopes around. Well, this was not a surprise given that Ed Stevens figured the primary and his work was as good as it gets (it is sad for the astronomy community that he decided to hang up his commerical mirror making). The scope provides really spectacular views and is a 10" f/4.73 with a 1/20 wave Antares secondary. Doug is probably the only person locally that could have talked me into selling this to him because I know that he will appreciate the fine views. Bob Schilling
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Doug,
You crazy man! You bought another scope!!
How are you liking it so far?
Clear skies to you, my friend.
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I already posted a photo of my Starmaster in the Show us your Newtonian thread. Here is my Orion XT10i with Ed Stevens primary, Antares secondary and Moonlight focuser that I just bought from a good buddy.
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crazyqban
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/16/08
Loc: Miami, Florida
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: JoeM101]
#5299024 - 07/02/12 08:24 AM
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crazyqban, that is one awesome looking scope, must of set you back quite a bit! looks like you got the goto option
I have a question for the ones that don't have shrouds on their truss scopes (pics), do you have any issues at all with light scatter? Or do you use a shroud when actually viewing?
Joe, yes it did set me back quite a bit but it was very well worth it. GOTO & Tracking are the only way to go in my opinion. I always use the shroud when viewing. I only removed it for the photo.
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bob midiri
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/17/04
Loc: pa 19320
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: stevecoe]
#5300821 - 07/03/12 03:25 PM Attachment (31 downloads)
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My 16"F6 !!
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bob midiri
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/17/04
Loc: pa 19320
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: bob midiri]
#5300824 - 07/03/12 03:27 PM Attachment (28 downloads)
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My 10"F7.2 at Stellafane
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John K
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/26/05
Loc: Vernon BC Canada
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: bob midiri]
#5301220 - 07/03/12 08:28 PM Attachment (26 downloads)
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here is my 15"
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Houdini
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/13/07
Loc: Europe
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: John K]
#5301237 - 07/03/12 08:48 PM
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Wow, so many beautiful telescopes!
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demiles
sage
Reged: 11/07/06
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: John K]
#5301238 - 07/03/12 08:49 PM Attachment (24 downloads)
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My 15 inch on top EQ platform
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: demiles]
#5301254 - 07/03/12 09:05 PM Attachment (33 downloads)
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My Homebuilt 16.5” f/6.5
This telescope was built in 1998 right before I started my second pass through graduate school so I knew that I was going to be too busy to even think about starting this scope. I had been hording the blank since 1986 waiting for the opportunity to tackle this project and I snuck it in just in time. (Graduate school ended up taking 8 years to complete, so this turned out to be a wise choice.) The driving force behind the design was keeping it simple, inexpensive, and robust. I ground the mirror fairly long to make it easy to figure and to reduce the size and cost of the secondary. To further squeeze as much as I could out of the small secondary I dispensed with the focuser and went with a simple 1.25” drawtube slide (a bit of 1.25” chrome drain pipe slipped through a beefed up section of the side wall). The secondary holder is a twin-stalk post design and the mirror cell is a robust six-bolt push-pull system. The only serious goof was an error in calculating the allowable weight of the upper tube assembly, hence the lightening holes and 25 pounds of lead hiding behind the lower tube assembly. The four-strut design looks too light, but they’re actually quite stiff and there is very little flexure. Still, the long-range plan is to rebuild the upper tube assembly to make it much lighter and to convert the 4-strut truss to a more conventional 8-strut truss. I also want to shorten the tube a bit, buy a larger secondary, and add a Moonlite focuser, but that’s for another day.
Note that when in use I close the truss with a lightweight shroud. Sadly, when the telescope was originally completed we tried to coat the mirror ourselves using a vacuum chamber we had at work. The coating was never very good and quickly corroded so the telescope has spent the last 10 years in storage. A couple of weeks ago the pieces finally fell into place to have a real coating applied to the mirror and I just got it back from Clausing today. The scope is sitting outside right now and as soon as I’m done here I’m going to go out, install the shroud, and have a great evening!
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: jgraham]
#5301327 - 07/03/12 09:56 PM
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impressive John... or should i say Doctor John 
How easy is it to move that beast, or are those wheels under there just for show?
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: JoeM101]
#5301420 - 07/03/12 10:51 PM
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Welll, actually I cheat. When I roll the scope out I lay out a track of 2'x8'x1/2" plywood. And yes, it rolls quite easily. However, I would like to put a wider set of wheels on it.
Whew, it's hot outside, but it works great! The azimuth circle and digital inclinometer are proving to be very effective.
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rflinn68
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/09/12
Loc: Arkansas
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Re: Post your Dob pics
[Re: JoeM101]
#5302415 - 07/04/12 03:05 PM Attachment (20 downloads)
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My Orion XT10i
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