7 replies to this topic

[sunrag]

I got a used Astrosystems Tele-kit 13.1"/F4.5 locally last month. The assembly is excellent, and the finish is still very good after 10+ years. I also read through the original assembly manual. It is very detailed but does require good carpentry skills and tools - something I don't have. Overall, I am very impressed by the design and documentation of Astro-Systems!

 

The primary and secondary appear to be excellent and well taken care of. Only thing stopping me from using it was the weather. Finally, weather cleared a bit yesterday, and I did my first light.  Everything worked great, but only thing that bothered me was it was a bit taller than my 12"/F5 Apertura, so I had to be on my toes from about 60 degrees to 80 degrees elevation to view through the eyepiece. Then I realized I could install the upper cage in any of 4 possible orientations which I am calling +45Left, +45Right, -45Right, -45Left. Left and Right are the standing locations when viewing. 45 is the degree orientation of the focuser when the telescope is horizontal.

 

I discovered that +45Left and +45Right are not symmetrical, meaning at the same declination angle, the eyepiece is at different heights. Not sure if it is intentional or not, but I find the +45Right allows me to view entirely without tip-toeing. Additionally in this orientation, the street light in front of my house will be behind me. And the -45Left allows me to be seated for most of the viewing angles. So, lot of good possibilities!

 

Started this topic, hoping to get more tips from other Tele-kit owners.

 

 

[RLK1]

I find that rotating the cage puts the finder in inconvenient locations and I prefer the standard orientation of the focuser on my 16" f4.5 astrosystems dob anyway. 

 

That said, I use a small step stool for various eyepiece heights when needed and I've been doing that for decades without issues. 

 

I'm not sure if placing the cage on different orientations as described by the OP could potentially cause collimation issues and I and other telekit users have numbered our astrosystems truss poles so we use same ones in the same connections each time we observe and then collimate the scope. 

[sunrag]

Yes I am going to collimate it each time I assemble it. I will let you know if it changes a lot. If I can collimate without rotating the secondary that won’t be too much work.

[sunrag]

From the photos included in the Telekit Manual, it appears that the focuser is intended to be on the Right side of the truss. The previous owner had it on the Left side so I continued to use it that way.

Can someone confirm which side the focuser goes?

[RLK1]

From the photos included in the Telekit Manual, it appears that the focuser is intended to be on the Right side of the truss. The previous owner had it on the Left side so I continued to use it that way.

Can someone confirm which side the focuser goes?

I have mine on the right side on my 16" astrosystems dob as have other astrosystems dobs that I've seen in the field. I note that the image of the finished telekits for sale on the astrosystems website also show the focuser mounted on the right side of the structure.

[sunrag]

I changed mine to the right side as well. I think that was the original orientation because the DEC encoder and the holder (for the SkyCommander computer) is on the right side as well.

 

One thing that surprised me was when I rotated the upper cage (left  to right), the secondary mirror shifted relative to the focuser drawtube. It is no longer centered under the focuser. Also loosening or tightening the spider attachment screws (to center the secondary) can cause the vanes to twist. Very difficult to untwist them. Wish they had been designed with two screws to prevent twisting.

Edited by sunrag, 12 April 2025 - 10:06 AM.

[RLK1]

I changed mine to the right side as well. I think that was the original orientation because the DEC encoder and the holder (for the SkyCommander computer) is on the right side as well.

 

One thing that surprised me was when I rotated the upper cage (left  to right), the secondary mirror shifted relative to the focuser drawtube. It is no longer centered under the focuser. Also loosening or tightening the spider attachment screws (to center the secondary) can cause the vanes to twist. Very difficult to untwist them. Wish they had been designed with two screws to prevent twisting.

Or, whoever mounted the focuser on the opposite side of the cage inadvertently messed-up the spider configuration in process of doing so. Additionally, the 15" and above spiders do have two screw attachment points.

[sunrag]

<p>Thanks for the info about the spider vanes. I am going to use a wrench to hold on to the hex standoffs at the tip of the vanes before adjusting the screws on the outside.</p>