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Well, Staples has no freakin' idea what they're doing.

I took them the PDF and told them to enlarge it 117% so that it would be 22 1/8" across. They tell me to come back in an hour and a half. I show up and I notice it looks a little small. I ask for a ruler and the thing is 18 1/2" across. How did it get smaller by increasing it 117%?

Can anyone explain to me what possibly went wrong, because I'd love to know.

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I had a similar experience to yours, (the operator didn't know how to enlarge) but she knew how to make it bigger on the large format copier which turned out very well. She just took the 19" version and enlarged it 137% for my size.

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Equipment Overload!
Kerry

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This is evidently not an everyday request. At the Kinko's I was at they had to get the boss over as I explained it is critical that the outer diameter be 22 1/8". It took him a couple of tries before he got it.

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I guess I just can't comprehend how hard it can be to understand that I want a file enlarged so that it has a particualr outside diameter.

Even if I didn't know the original size, the smart thing to do would have been to print the original file and see what size it prints out at. From there, take the final size, divide it by the size of the original print out and that gives you your enlargement percentage.

It's nothing harder than 5th grade math and a little time and effort.

-Fred

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Meade ETX-90 UHTC, AutoStar 497,
Right angle viewfinder
Deluxe field tripod

Zhumell 10" dob
Telrad finder
GSO 8x50 RACI finder
Too many special modifications to list

2" 32mm GSO,
9mm GSO,
26mm,15mm,12.4mm,6mm Meade SP,
5mm,7mm,9mm Burgess/TMB planetary
Meade 2X Barlow

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Now, lets get back on track here.

Carol

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Yes, very good idea.



I did a little experiment today regarding the finding of "day time" stars or Venus and maybe Mercury. I have heard of being able to see a handfull of stars during the day with a telescope. I was going to try it with my LX200 GPS, but never got around to it.
With this idea, I looked on my astronomy program (Starrynight) and discovered that it lists the Sun with coordinates of alt\az. I could set up my scope during the day and put on my custom 60mm finder scope with Baader solar film, cover the 12" LB main UTA with a cover, then scan toward the SUN and then set the Azimuth setting while checking the alt. reading. Once aligned you could find Venus and recheck the settings and adjust as needed.
Then your off to find those daytime stars!

Of course after uncovering the scope, you would want to be VERY carefull about scanning near the Sun while looking for those stars, or even Mercury!

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Equipment Overload!
Kerry

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I see that you wrote that the Lightbridge bearing is 0.155" thick, and the aluminium disc with circle laminated to it is 0.107” thick. But how thick is the aluminum setting circle disk itself?

What grade of aluminum did you use for the setting circle?

What size of thumb screw did you find worked well with the metal tab (bent over the edge of the bottom base melamine) thickness, to stop striping of the threads?

Do you find that there is any side to side wobble of the top and bottom melamine bases to be a problem with binding?

Any problems with the aluminum setting circle damaging or grooving the base melamine, or binding on the Lightbridge bearing?

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The aluminum disc is 0.090" as bought but actualy measures out at 0.094".

I believe the grade was 5053. Its a little softer and easier to work with, only because of the tab I had to bend. A higher grade would only be more money and a little tougher to work with.

The thumb screw I used is 1\4"x20tpi. Because of the thickness (or lack of), I JB Weld-ed a stainless steel jam-nut (they are 1\2 as thick as a normal nut) to the outside of the tab. You can see this in the picture. I still have to finish sanding it and shoot a little aluminum color paint on it.

I did take the wobble into account when designing it. By putting on the weight system and being able to perfectly balance any load, this has helped to minimize this greatly. Sunday night I put in my 4mm TMB\Burg. EP and tracked the core of M13 at 381x with ease.
No binding at all with these measurements. I originaly wanted 0.080" but that wasn't in stock. As a side note, I could have had the router table engrave the tick marks and the numbers on the plate with a 1\16th bit, but sadly didn't think of it till I was done.

Absolutly no binding on the LB's bearing. Once set, there is no movement of the setting circle for rubbing. There may be some on the bottom half of the base where the disk sets, but I de-burred it and sanded it with 600 grit wet\dry. This gave it enough stiction not to move, I really don't even need to set the 1\4x20 thumb screw. It will be a long, long time before there is any damage to worry about, and besides, a new base is probably in the works anyway.

Well, an engineer for sure, just not for NASA. Besides could you imagine what would happen if I got a hold of the Space Shuttle? You think it costs alot now...


(Here is the close up photo of the knob...which could be a little shorter now that I'm looking at it)

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Equipment Overload!
Kerry

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If anyone needs additional pictures\angles, just let me know and I will post them here.

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Wow. Very nicely done. I have a Z10 and this is definitely a future mod for me. A couple questions for you:

1. I love the insert viewport with the LED and switch. I intend to do this as well. Can you provide a part list?

2. Did you use your router table to make that big hole for the insert or a special drill bit?

3. Did you buy that leveler base or make it? If you made it, would you be willing to make another for profit?

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Zhumell 10" dob
4mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12.5mm, 32mm Plossls
26mm, 32mm, 38mm SWA GSO EPs

North Carolina

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Kerry,

AWESOME Job!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I definitely Second that!!! Absolutely Top Notch!

Carol

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Carol


AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35

DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2

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I really appreciate all your help to me the newbie!

Dark Sky’s: Cliff Dweller

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No problem, very glad to help!

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Equipment Overload!
Kerry

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Kerry,

AWESOME Job!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Tom

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Thanks Tom!

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I definitely Second that!!! Absolutely Top Notch!

Carol

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Thanks again Carol!

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Equipment Overload!
Kerry

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If anyone needs additional pictures\angles, just let me know and I will post them here.


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Wow. Very nicely done. I have a Z10 and this is definitely a future mod for me. A couple questions for you:

1. I love the insert viewport with the LED and switch. I intend to do this as well. Can you provide a part list?

2. Did you use your router table to make that big hole for the insert or a special drill bit?

3. Did you buy that leveler base or make it? If you made it, would you be willing to make another for profit?

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Thanks Mynok,

#1: That might be tough, as I have many boxes of electrical parts to work with...20+ years of collecting. I can tell you that I used a rocker switch, a 3 volt red L.E.D., some JB Weld, the "viewing port" was from Staples (saw MANY others but only theirs was the best), a couple of inches of 18 guage wire, a #2032 button cell battery, a #2032 button cell holder, and an aluminum strip that formed the pointer and circle that holds the L.E.D.
The aluminum is 0.027" thick by 5\8 th's" wide by 6" long.

#2: I used a hole saw, it was a 3 1\4". You could also use a Forstner bit too.

#3: The base leveler was my design but I had my buddy at the machine shop drill the lightening holes in the arms, and I finished the rest. To be honest, that leveler base even without a profit would be very expensive to recreate. If you are really interested, PM me and I'll let you know. Parts alone at cost would be close to $175...labor is the real killer.

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Equipment Overload!
Kerry

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