Telescope Reviews: Post your home made scope

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Equipment Discussions >> ATM, Optics and DIY Forum

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NHRob
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/27/04

Loc: New Hampshire

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: droid]
#5646467 - 01/27/13 05:16 PM

Love these kind of threads!

Post Extras:

Dick Jacobson
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 12/22/06

Loc: Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: droid]
#5646776 - 01/27/13 07:39 PM Attachment (126 downloads)

Here's my 14" equatorial Newtonian. Ever since I bought it as a Dob in 2001 I've been repeatedly rebuilding and remodeling it, trying out new ideas. The most unusual features of the current version are:
- a rotating secondary cage with seven focusers so I can change eyepieces in 2 seconds;
- the entire tube rotates on a single Lazy Susan;
- a truss-style mirror box with a "naked mirror" for faster cooling;
- vibration dampers (when I added the 7-focuser cage I doubled the weight of the tube without making the mount stiffer, so it developed a vibration problem);
- a fork equatorial mount with a pyramid shaped polar axis;
- low friction bronze or roller bearings carry all the weight, with additional friction provided by polyethylene pads against aluminum;
- two concentric polar axes using a Lazy Susan at the north end. A motor drives the inner ring of the Lazy Susan, while the outer ring is hand driven and rests against roller bearings (this was by far the hardest part!)

Post Extras:

astrobeast1
super member

Reged: 09/28/10

Loc: leicester england

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: Dick Jacobson]
#5647361 - 01/28/13 02:35 AM

Hi Dick, I had seen just your secondary cage in another post, and thought it was an amazing concept and absolutely unique as far as I,m aware .Stunning piece of kit that .
Is your twenty the same ?

admiring Dan

Post Extras:

Dick Jacobson
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 12/22/06

Loc: Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: astrobeast1]
#5647585 - 01/28/13 08:34 AM

Quote:

Hi Dick, I had seen just your secondary cage in another post, and thought it was an amazing concept and absolutely unique as far as I,m aware .Stunning piece of kit that .
Is your twenty the same ?

admiring Dan

Thanks, I am currently rebuilding the 20" along similar lines, except it will not have the rotating secondary cage. The rotating cage would be difficult to handle at that size and would be difficult to integrate with my periscope accessory. My original 20" build is described at 20" equatorial.

Post Extras:

droid
rocketman

Reged: 08/29/04

Loc: Conneaut, Ohio

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: Dick Jacobson]
#5647655 - 01/28/13 09:30 AM

Dick your 20 inch is phenominal, I hope youll post it here too.
You havent gone larger have you?

Post Extras:

PrestonE
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 04/29/05

Loc: San Miguel de Allende,Mexico

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: droid]
#5647908 - 01/28/13 11:43 AM Attachment (101 downloads)

Hi Everyone,

Here is a pic of our 20 inch RC about to leave our old home in Houston.

It still is not at it's permanent home in Granite Gap, as they still do not have all of the utilities in and ready

We have now been waiting for over 3 years

Best Regards,

Preston

Edited by PrestonE (01/28/13 11:48 AM)

Post Extras:

Dick Jacobson
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 12/22/06

Loc: Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: droid]
#5648172 - 01/28/13 01:25 PM

Quote:

Dick your 20 inch is phenominal, I hope youll post it here too.
You havent gone larger have you?

I hope to have the rebuilt 20" done in a couple of months, then I'll post a picture. I've had thoughts of building something around 30" but it would most likely be an altazimuth on a built-in equatorial platform.

Post Extras:

StarWrangler
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 09/03/04

Loc: Three Rivers, MI U.S.A>

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: PrestonE]
#5648444 - 01/28/13 03:10 PM

Preston,

Now that is what dreams are made of!!

Alan O.

Post Extras:

ccaissie
sage

Reged: 09/13/10

Loc: Whitefield, Maine

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: StarWrangler]
#5648517 - 01/28/13 03:37 PM Attachment (86 downloads)

8" f/7 flex mirror scope. Clouded up before optical judging, but Bill Kelley (rest his soul) checked it out and was thrilled.

Post Extras:

PrestonE
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 04/29/05

Loc: San Miguel de Allende,Mexico

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: StarWrangler]
#5648532 - 01/28/13 03:45 PM

Thanks Alan,

It is headed to the Texas Star Party again on the 5-12 of May and then

Hopefully Granite Gap will have everything ready...

What good are 7.4 mag skys, if there is no internet for operating remotely

Best Regards,

Preston

Post Extras:

piaras
professor emeritus

Reged: 01/26/09

Loc: Niagara Region

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: PrestonE]
#5648693 - 01/28/13 04:53 PM Attachment (76 downloads)

This one started as a 90 Red tube Coulter Odyssey 13.1 and I have gone from a split tube to 8 tube truss to this. The only parts original are the base and primary mirror. The mirror is next in 30-60 days, Zambuto will be in it's place. I will make a new base and bearings more appropriate for the scope.

Post Extras:

Tavi
member

Reged: 10/11/09

Loc: Romania, EU

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: droid]
#5648821 - 01/28/13 05:48 PM

Thank you, Rob!
The classic cass is great! A little bit heavy (7.5Kg) but very strong, no need to recolimate frequently. The mirrors are from our local optician, Tavi Stanescu, the best choice for romanian ATM'ers. So, the sky is the limit of the beauty of its images.

Post Extras:

StarStuff1
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/01/07

Loc: South of the Mason-Dixon Line

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: Tavi]
#5648890 - 01/28/13 06:22 PM Attachment (65 downloads)

One more small project finished last year. A 70mm f/13 achro in a Berry style tube and mount riding on a re-furbished WW II tripod made of oak, brass and bronze.

Post Extras:

droid
rocketman

Reged: 08/29/04

Loc: Conneaut, Ohio

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: piaras]
#5649746 - 01/29/13 06:30 AM

piaras : nice rebuild(s) , do you have problems with the open design of your dob? mine is a six truss and is a nightmare near any bright lights at all.

Post Extras:

piaras
professor emeritus

Reged: 01/26/09

Loc: Niagara Region

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: droid]
#5649773 - 01/29/13 07:06 AM

I use a shroud to remove the stray light problems. I have used it without at times but making sure I have any light source at my back, and only a few times.
Pierre

Post Extras:

kfrederick
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 02/01/08

Re: Post your home made scope new

[Re: piaras]
#5649878 - 01/29/13 09:00 AM Attachment (78 downloads)

A 20 inch f5 newt with a 20 inch f8 CHief

Post Extras:

Sean Cunneen
Let Me Think

Reged: 08/01/07

Loc: Blue Island Illinois

Re: Post your home made scope [Re: kfrederick]
#5650124 - 01/29/13 11:42 AM Attachment (69 downloads)

My latest... Still working on the dewshield but the rest is put together. This is my 3" f15.3 Brandon Refractor on an Edmund mount and Dietzen Tripod. The focuser is a custom brass Crawmach. I consider it a period-repro-franken scope.

Post Extras:

droid
rocketman

Reged: 08/29/04

Loc: Conneaut, Ohio

Re: Post your home made scope [Re: Sean Cunneen]
#5650228 - 01/29/13 12:40 PM

Sean, looks a bit like an Edmund mount, the counter weight looks like the one my 6inch f/8 mount had.

Post Extras:

Sean Cunneen
Let Me Think

Reged: 08/01/07

Loc: Blue Island Illinois

Re: Post your home made scope [Re: droid]
#5650237 - 01/29/13 12:44 PM Attachment (50 downloads)

Yep, it sure is. Great heavy iron construction, built like a tank. Undermounted my 6" reflector, but for this job, it's a cinch!

Post Extras:

StarWrangler
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 09/03/04

Loc: Three Rivers, MI U.S.A>

Re: Post your home made scope [Re: PrestonE]
#5650274 - 01/29/13 01:01 PM

Have fun at Texas Preston,

Alan O.

Quote:

Thanks Alan,

It is headed to the Texas Star Party again on the 5-12 of May and then

Hopefully Granite Gap will have everything ready...

What good are 7.4 mag skys, if there is no internet for operating remotely

Best Regards,

Preston

Post Extras:

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