Telescope Reviews: Overhaul of a Cave 8" Lightweight Deluxe

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Equipment Discussions >> Classic Telescopes

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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 [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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