gsETX70
super member
Reged: 12/21/07
Posts: 114
Loc: Fort Worth, TX
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I decided to make my circle 22", which is the same as the rocker base. I picked up the printed and laminated circle from Alpha Graphics the other day. I don't know how ya'll got out for $8. It cost me $32 to have it printed and laminated.
Now I need to cut a back for it. The back board will not be thick. I plan on fastening it to the ground board. Any tips on cutting the back board? I plan on tracing the base of the rocker and cutting the board with a saber saw. After that, I guess I simply glue the circle to the back board.
Thanks again,
Glenn
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Orion XT-10 Classic Dobsonian 254mm
Meade ETX-70 70mm Refractor
Meade 70-AZ-A 70mm Refractor
Edited by gsETX70 (02/06/08 01:49 PM)
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MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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Just popped for the Cen_tech 25 buck tiltometer from Harbor Freight. When it shows up I'll post a pic or two and some comments on it.
On the rotary angle gauge az circle eliminator:
Three days ago I sent an email to Gemred corporation asking for a US vendor for the rotary angle encoder. I have not had a reply yet.
Here is their email address. Let's show them there is enough interest to get an answer back on this. I suggest simply writing a short note expressing interest in finding a US dealer, or a method of ordering directly from them.
Note that their internal designation for it is "Angle Sensor", part #82304-00.
sales@gemred.com
If and when I get one of these, I promise to do a photo thread on modding my Z12 for it.
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"Ignorant people think it's the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it's the sickening grammar they use." Mark Twain
Edited by MtnGoat (02/06/08 02:22 PM)
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MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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Oh yeah, if you do send them a note, PM me so we don't jam up this thread, and I'll tot up what kind of volume CN'ers can generate and report back from time to time.
Should be an interesting experiment in our market power.
My email starts the count at 1.
Edited by MtnGoat (02/06/08 03:03 PM)
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40148
Loc: montana
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Quote:
I don't know how ya'll got out for $8. It cost me $32 to have it printed and laminated.
Prices vary considerably throughout the country, for some reason. Mine was done at Staples for $2, laminated on both sides!! This was for an 8" Dob base.
Carol
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justabob
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/05/07
Posts: 1674
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Just had one printed at Kinkos 14" black and white laminated and mounted on foam board for my 12.5 Obsession, $13.50.
Drilled out a center hole and put an old socket though it. Set the whole thing on the azm pivot bolt, works like a charm. The whole circle is removable and completely non destructive. Mounted the wixey on the uta with velcro.
I am now working on wiring for secondary heater, primary cooling fan and red leds for wixey and setting circle. Also ordered round table eq tracking platform today. Hey it aint servo cat and argo navis but it's like waaay cheaper and I know from experience with my z10 that this system works quite well. When she is all done I will post pics. Thanks to Carol and all who have contributed to this great thread.
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http://www.pbase.com/rkn/astro&page=all
Vixen Sphinx SXW
Meade sn6
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Hutech 1000d
Self modded 350d
ST8300c on order
DSI PRO II
Bob
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stefanj
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/15/07
Posts: 1755
Loc: Western New York State
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Staples pegged me for over $40 for a Z10 base- Funny thing is the lady doing it asked me what size dob I had- and what program I was going to use to get Alt Az readings!!!! I figured I was a shoe in for a cheap price- WRONG! OH well it is all mounted- the base is cut the pointer is manufactered (I got a hold of some of those super condutor magnets- the ones that will not come apart but have to be slid apart! man it hold the pointer right were I want it to) Off to Harbor Frieght this weekend to look for the angle guage!
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Life is a circus- and I'm stuck in the FREAK TENT
If these are blue- it means the moon is full!
Meade ETX 90RA w/ tripod
Meade AZ 70 (now solar)
Meade DS 2130 AT
Zhumell 10" Dob
Simmons 10x50 Binoculars
GLPx8
LPI
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DwightX
member
Reged: 08/13/07
Posts: 60
Loc: Kentucky
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Quote:
OK I bite the bullet and went to a Staples HUGE MISTAKE!!! They did a BEAUTIFUL Job- laminated and everything- but I paid a small fortune for it- I'm embarrassed to say how much- But lets just say that my setup is going to approach a $100.
This is precisely what is keeping me from going forward with this project. I'm in a fairly rural area with limited printing places.
Quote:
I don't know how ya'll got out for $8. It cost me $32 to have it printed and laminated.
Yep. My local OfficeMax wants $50!
Quote:
Prices vary considerably throughout the country, for some reason. Mine was done at Staples for $2, laminated on both sides!!
  
What about someone citing an online vendor that will do circles for a reasonable price? Even if they charge $10 for the circle and $10 to mail it rolled in a poster tube, that seems fair. I can't stomach giving more for the darn circle than the Wixley. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
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Dwight
Orion XT8
Meade LXD55 SC-8
Celestron C4R and 8SE
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Tom Andrews
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 1004
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM, cu...
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If you have a hometown print shop, you might find that they'll do it for less. Here in Red Bluff, CA (small town) there is a Staples and they did my neighbor's circle for a total of $8.00 but a hometown shop would have done it for less. You never know...
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Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
************************************************
2007 Discovery 12.5" PDHQ Split-Tube Dob w/manual setting circles/Telrad/Zhummel 8x50 RACI finder scope (*For Sale*)
Coulter Odessey 8" Dob
Celestron C11-SGT
Garrett Optical 15x70 Gemini Binoculars on homemade Parallelogram w/Setting Circles
The Albuquerque Astronomy Society (TAAS)
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rnabholz
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/25/04
Posts: 897
Loc: Iowa
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Dwight,
I have had mine done at Drafting service bureaus. They cater to architects, engineers, draftsman, etc who need drawings printed or plotted.
Instead of printing on paper and having it laminated, I have mine done on mylar using a xerographic process which makes it waterproof - no need for lamination.
The last one I had done cost $8.
A quick search turns up this company - their prices seem reasonable and they are relatively close to you in Akron OH. Understand, I know nothing about them, but post just to show you that they are out there.
As you can see they quote just $1.25 to $3 per square foot depending on the medium - 24" circle would be $12 worst case.
Good Luck with the search.
Good
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Rod Nabholz
Home Built Astronomy Projects
Wild Bird Photography
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MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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This morning I received an email from David at Gemred concerning my questions about the rotary angle sensor. Unfortunately it was him asking if I had received his prior email, which I had not received.
At least I have gotten a response, now hopefully he'll resend his first email and I can find out about possible other sources for this device. I will keep you posted .
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"Ignorant people think it's the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it's the sickening grammar they use." Mark Twain
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SkyArcher
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 3445
Loc: 9545' in Colorado
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I'm surprised that nobody has picked up the ball yet and started offering commercially made stickers yet. The PDFs are public domain and all we need is somebody to order and market the stickers. No laminating needed.
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Sir Skyler Archibald.....
An 8" Deep Space Hunter
4.5 w/ GOTO
4.5 newt w/ home built Dob mount
Omphaloskepsis - I didn't realize that there is a word for what I do while waiting for web pages to download 
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Don W
Postmaster
Reged: 05/19/03
Posts: 14616
Loc: Wisconsin, USA
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This thread is being unstuck.
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Don Wyman
Obsession 18" f/4.5 #1166
W/Argo Navis DSC and Torus Primary
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45294
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Over in the ATM forum we have our own thread on setting circles. One of our own wrote a very slick program where you can print out your in pdf format (or save it as a file and have it printed and laminated elsewhere).
Here is the Link.
I think many of you will be pleasantly surprised. This is an excellent little piece of freeware.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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nitroexpress
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/16/06
Posts: 538
Loc: Hemet, calif
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Look at these.......printed on mylar.........and some glow in the dark for stargazers..........what fun......gary 
http://www.oregonruleco.com/dials.htm
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"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
10in Zhumell-$15/ push to circles-flocked tube
8in-c8-on a Meade GoTo EQ mount with a cg-5 Tripod
5in Meade with goto...
2in Gilbert reflector (1955 or so)
7x35 binos
Orion 100mm X 600mm Achromatic Refractor
Sac8-2 ccd camera
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gsETX70
super member
Reged: 12/21/07
Posts: 114
Loc: Fort Worth, TX
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Well I've gathered all the materials, except the magic sliders. And since it is cloudy for the next few nights, there is no sense putting it off any longer.
I traced the base of the rocker onto some plywood. Then cut the plywood to form a ( rough) circle. Did a test fit of the setting circle back board to the setting circle as well as the rocker base. Sanded and painted the setting circle's back board.
Once the back board is dry, do I glue or tack the setting circle to the board? If glue, what kind will adhere to both the enamel painted wood and the laminated setting circle?
After that I guess I screw the setting circle board to the ground board. Then do I glue the magic sliders to the circle or rocker base? The notch in the rocker base needs to be centered with the center of the OTA's rocker arms. Is that right?
Thanks,
Glenn
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Orion XT-10 Classic Dobsonian 254mm
Meade ETX-70 70mm Refractor
Meade 70-AZ-A 70mm Refractor
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EXT64
sage
Reged: 12/15/07
Posts: 204
Loc: Virginia Tech, VA, USA
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Well, if you are especially brave and dedicated you can do what I did and get them for essentially free. I just digitally divided up the circles and printed them out on an everyday 8 1/2 x 11 printer. Then I cut out and put the pieces on cardstock and wrapped them with packaging tape. It doesn't look to bad, especially for being free 
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Zhumell 10 inch Dob
Orion 5mm Stratus
Zhumell 9mm 1.25" Plossl
Zhumell 32mm 2.00" Wide Angle
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gsETX70
super member
Reged: 12/21/07
Posts: 114
Loc: Fort Worth, TX
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My degree circle is installed. So far is working well. My analog pitch indicator is not as accurate as I hoped. I guess I'll have to find a digital one.
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Orion XT-10 Classic Dobsonian 254mm
Meade ETX-70 70mm Refractor
Meade 70-AZ-A 70mm Refractor
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Tom Andrews
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 1004
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM, cu...
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Quote:
My degree circle is installed. So far is working well. My analog pitch indicator is not as accurate as I hoped. I guess I'll have to find a digital one.
Here's a great digital level, normally inexpensive but is on sale right now to boot. It's very light and has strong magnets.
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Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
************************************************
2007 Discovery 12.5" PDHQ Split-Tube Dob w/manual setting circles/Telrad/Zhummel 8x50 RACI finder scope (*For Sale*)
Coulter Odessey 8" Dob
Celestron C11-SGT
Garrett Optical 15x70 Gemini Binoculars on homemade Parallelogram w/Setting Circles
The Albuquerque Astronomy Society (TAAS)
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justabob
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/05/07
Posts: 1674
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Ok got the degree circle and wixey mounted on my 12.5" Obsession. The goal here was to be completely non destructive. Only one hole was drilled that being for the clock hand pointer. Total cost about 15$, as I already had the inclinometer. The clock hands are $1.99 a set at Michaels craft store.
When the scope is pointed anywhere off of zenith the clock hand pointer is visible to my red flashlight.
Used the system last night, worked very well.
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http://www.pbase.com/rkn/astro&page=all
Vixen Sphinx SXW
Meade sn6
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Hutech 1000d
Self modded 350d
ST8300c on order
DSI PRO II
Bob
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Tom Andrews
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 1004
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM, cu...
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Looks good and glad it's working. It should offer you hours of object locating. Without trying, I have almost completed the Messier and Caldwell lists in just under a year. It's a great system!
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Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
************************************************
2007 Discovery 12.5" PDHQ Split-Tube Dob w/manual setting circles/Telrad/Zhummel 8x50 RACI finder scope (*For Sale*)
Coulter Odessey 8" Dob
Celestron C11-SGT
Garrett Optical 15x70 Gemini Binoculars on homemade Parallelogram w/Setting Circles
The Albuquerque Astronomy Society (TAAS)
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