There are some test sketches in the "Tests" folder, start with those. I call shenanigans on every picture in this post except for the the moon. Primary telescope mirror aftermarket, homemade, or custom-made. I tried to call, but the voice mail had a recording stating that the customer was unable to receive messages. drneilmb, thanks for sharing the focuser design. The next day my wife called me at work to tell me a box had arrived with telescope stuff. Position "0" is with the focuser all the way IN (at least for a refractor). Let me see if I can get similar plumbing parts here. I want to make this direct drive system work. I would also like to know about how you can take such fantastic pictures without a field rotator and an autoguider system. - Bill. Share it with us! Feel free to take on that part if you like, but you're on your own :-). Build a Backyard Dobsonian Telescope - Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Once Id built a CNC router, I embarked on my third telescope, featuring a 16 primary mirror with aluminum trusses, wide vertical bearing arcs, a steel front-adjustable mirror cell, and a rotating base. This motor is available on Amazon. While I applaud your building of a homemade Dob, (giving you the FULL benefit of the doubt here) your "friend" has provided photographs that make it look like you're trying to win by cheating. I did not wrap the tube until I had completed the base. I sourced my own Stepper motor and 1:150 reduction gearbox from RS, who are just up the road. These have slop as you change direction, you can't do fine adjustments, they weigh a ton, and can flex alarmingly over time. forward and back along with the drawtube when you focus, and you'll get Coupler for NEMA-17 Stepper Motor (also two choices, see below), LM7808 Voltage Regulator with TO-220 package -, Mini On/Off 3-pin 2-position slide switch -, Headers and wire (miscellaneous sizes and gauges), these are important so you can replace the component if it is damaged, LM7808 voltage regulator w/TO-220 heat sink package, 2-pin headers for 12V power and on/off switch. Not sure if it is available in the USA. A couple setscrews and you're up & running with an off the shelf solution. I have seen some VERY impressive photos similar to those, taken with Nikon D700 and D300 cameras, with the proper filters- and mounts- on a quality scope. A celebration of the Maker Movement, a family-friendly showcase of invention and creativity that gathers Here is what I was working on but looks like I need a better design. 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. Step 3The Side Bearings and Rocker Sides. Obviously an open truss telescope. Every primary telescope mirror has a fixed focal length thats usually 4 to 6 times the width of the mirror. Rack & Pinion: For many years the standard focuser was of the rack-and-pinion type - a small pinion gear moved the flat toothed rack that was attached to or built into the moving focusing tube that holds the eyepiece.However, this geared system was far from ideal, with some wobble due to the friction fit between the fixed and moving tubes and backlash due to the gears. accessible by all ages and skill ranges. It has a 6mm shaft. This scope was originally made as a travel scope using an eight inch mirror that I ground and polished at the St Pete Astronomy Clubs Mirror Lab. I am well versed in technology, have all the tools necessary to build my own! Once I decided to build a scope myself I had to decide on the aperture of the scope. If you follow the procedures described above, your telescope's optics will be perfectly aligned. Two inch internal diameter drawtube. stronger, but would give me a coarser focus action because of their Many sources point out that 10 inches is a kind of sweet spot in the balance between power and portability. This is the kind of simple off the shelf design I was looking for. The Focuser and other items: (Scope Stuff). I'd on Introduction. initiatives for the next generation of makers. Built one of these http://emediadesigns.com/focuser/ working really well only cost less than 40.00. Measure the diameter of the exposed shaft. The cutting diagram in (figure 1) shows how I cut the required pieces from two 60 X 60 pieces of Baltic Birch plywood, one inch thick, and one 5/8. After the second call, I received a response that it would be ready at the end of the following week. I ended up modifying it a bit after printing. together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators across the globe. Easy DIY motorized battery free telescope focuser - YouTube To get a slide-fit in a 3D printed part, you normally make the hole 0.5mm larger than the shaft. This is the mirror box for my 16", with Jim doing a bit of cleanup sanding. Building the mirror box is tricky, because the entire optical assembly (mirror cell, mirror box, trusses, secondary cage) must balance at the center of rotation of the arms. When the skies were dark enough for observing I found that the scope moves easily into position and holds that position well. The secondary holder is adjustable, so I could didn't have to get the location perfect. I could not find a spacer to fit my 9/16 hole, so I bought the 11/16 spacer (1 1/8 long because that's what the store had) and a bit of the same size. I wanted to wrap the tube in veneer because I had seen a homemade telescope on a website that used veneer and I liked the look. Homemade astronomy. Now attach the screw eyes and the rubber band on the side of the board. My homemade motorized telescope focuser for Celestron C8. You will need to order one sized for your telescope's focuser shaft size. In order to check your measurements, you can construct jigs for your mirror cell and secondary cage, positioning them on a straight, adjustable track such as 2 planks of wood. Crayford focusers are considered superior to entry-level rack and pinion Thanks for your article. These are mounted 120 degrees apart and use 4 inexpensive bearings to support the tube. Move the jigs until you can comfortably place a variety of eyepieces in the focuser and get a sharp image, then carefully measure the separation distances. Nice work and great instructable! DIY Electric Focuser - ATM, Optics and DIY Forum - Cloudy Nights By adjusting the bolts, the mirror can be pointed toward the correct spot. haven't yet found any design elements that need improvement. After you've done that, put a couple of tiny pan-head screws small, it's surprisingly rigid. To do this, the mirror cell needs to be supported by 3 large bolts, at least 2 of which are adjustable. This unit takes signals from your computer and drives the stepper motor on the focuser. Please explain, in detail, how you attached your tube to the very unique drive system of an XT12G mount. Did you make this project? If you are (for example) doing a focuser for a catadioptric telescope like a Celestron C-8 or similar, the focus knob has no load on it so this smaller, lighter motor will do the trick. The company has a reputation for excellent optics, and it was neither the most expensive, nor the least. I was inspired to build telescopes during a trip out to McDonald Observatory in west Texas, where I saw a 36 fork-mounted telescope, tiny in comparison to the huge research telescopes at the site. telescope page, I wasn't really eager to buy two commercial Crayford Install on Windows 10, this part is pretty straightforward. I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. The mirror itself must also be able to tilt in three dimensions in order to aim its light at the secondary mirror (a process called collimation). like, you can have as much focuser travel as you want no matter how I wasn't there so i can be 100% but i do not think my friend was lying to me and i believe the pictures are from my telescope my kids use it for stargazing a lot i have seen some deepspace but i use it mainly for sketching the moon and i like to view solar flares. Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine today, Community access, print, and digital Magazine, and more. my thoughts naturally gravitated toward a boxy focuser to go with it. The day I received the refund, I ordered a mirror cell from University Optics. I feel it is a wonderful thing to free oneself from the "store-bought" world, as Tombaugh did, and to use your imagination and skills to develop your own, personal way of viewing the sky. I would love to see your build when you are finished with it . Instead of the rack and pinion, they have a smooth spring-loaded shaft which holds the focus tube against four opposing bearing surfaces, and controls its movement. The back of the mirror floats on 3 or more support points (this build uses 6) that are calculated usinga software tool called PLOP. The focuser shaft on the telescope is 13.1mm in diameter. my 12.5" trackball, but I didn't Two such companies would not give me a price because the order of a single tube was too small. I also doubled the thickness of the rocker sides (not the front wall) to provide better support for the heavier tube. . The spider, or secondary mirror holder, will suspend the mirror in the optical path in order to direct light into the focuser. After the glue dried but before the clamps were removed, I added corner braces to all four corners of the tube using glue and brads to hold them in place. Contact cement is permanent, so the only solution would be to replace the tube! The arc at the top of the sides needed to have a radius 1/8 inch larger than that of the side bearings to account for the thickness of the teflon pads that would fit between. This makes for better sky photographs as the exposure time can be lengthened,. We tried this in our back yard, but found that it was too difficult to aim both the tube and the moving mirror at distant trees in our suburban yard. The little app is simple and works great. And, once your telescope is finished, be sure to join a local astronomy club to learn more about the sky and share your hobby with others. That helps with low-profile If you're going for simple, have you considered a helical focuser? I used the "LEDandBuzzer" and "TestStepsDRV8825" tests. on Step 5, 9 years ago Before you do this, the stepper motor will probably move, but it will make a 'stuttering' sound instead of moving smoothly. You will look through these as you rotate the wheel. At some point in the building process, my goal became to finish the scope by RocheStar Fest, an annual event of the Rochester Astronomy Club. It turns out that sonotubes are a stock item in 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch, and sometimes even 16 inch diameters. If the telescope rotates forward or backward on its own, then the mirror box is too deep or too shallow. rod for the drive axle it would have a fairly fine motion. My plan for wrapping the tube seemed good, but I am not too pleased with the final result. We moved the operation to a nearby park and got a focused image of the most distant trees (300-400 yards away) quite easily. Page 1 of 2 - DIY focuser design - posted in ATM, Optics and DIY Forum: Hi I am working on a diy focuser design for my 6 F/8 telescope and asking suggestions for simple focuser. I told them to take their time and get it right. I suspected that the company was either in trouble or no longer in business. Someone is pulling someone's leg here. It may need some careful coaxing with a screwdriver. work really well, for a fraction of the cost of a commercial Crayford It uses a primary mirror to capture and reflect light, a secondary mirror to direct light into an eyepiece, and a focuser to make fine adjustments for viewing. This allows for a small clearance between the outside of the tube and the inside of the tube box (14 3/8). But who cares, really? For my project I needed a 14 inch diameter, and I had a tough time finding one. This is not recommended for shared computers. I bought a 4" PVC Sewer pipe cap, used a hole saw to cut a 2.25" hole then attached the helical thing to the PVC cap. Wooden Telescope Part 2: Tube and Mount - Instructables The holes in the main bracket the match the holes in the plate are oversize to allow for this alignment. The focuser is very smooth. Using a compass I drew circles on the top and bottom of the ground board to mark the inside and outside of the teflon ring on the bottom of the rocker bottom. flexing. I have several of the books on building a Dobsonian Telescope. Along with some silver bits Bore out some 2.5 inch bar and mill a flat down the side making sure it is lined up. As the authors describe the benefits of a truss design, it is hard to dispute their arguments. The Crayford focuser is a simplified focusing mechanism for amateur astronomical telescopes. Attach the eye piece to another cardboard piece and pass it through the hole from the inside of the tube. It seems to Once you get it working, there's some calibration you need to do. It features 2 semicircular arms, and mounting points for the trusses (T-nuts are fine), as well as a lid to keep the mirror safe when the telescope is not in use. (actually, it ended up a smidge more than 2 inches). Some quick tips to note if you are making a homemade telescope are: 1. If you want a Crayford focuser with a knob instead of turning the draw tube, then Jerry Oltion's designhttp://www.jerryoltixycrayfords.htm using box frames and knitting needle drive shafts is also a fairly easy build. I even began taking careful notes about needed supplies and plans for each piece of the truss tube scope. However more than the focuser, I liked your scope. This combination has proved to be effective for all positions except when the tube is pointed directly up. It took about 3 weeks but, since Anttler's did not even reply to the Paypal dispute, I received a Paypal refund. Fire up focusmax, and shoot some images! But -- you have to be careful that the mechanism is true and the motor does not have a load on it at any time, otherwise it will 'stall' and stop moving. During on-site assembly, attach each truss to its mounting T-nut using a bolt with a thumbscrew knob. What materials did you use? Staples or finishing nails work fine, but be sure they dont bump up above the surface of the plastic. LVLaserTech is right please do not vote for the pictures my instructable is for the build of the telescope not the quality of the photos.and as i said before i was not there is there a possibility that he sent me the wrong photos sure is there a possibility that he used a different mount than the one i saw sure is there a possibility that he is lying to me me about what he did sure. I was annoyed to have made the mistake, but very glad that I checked the position on stars before wrapping the tube in veneer. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - Udder Nonsense - Google Thank you for your pages. I wanted a tight / press fit, so I only added half that, 0.25mm. On the cutting diagram, you can see that the side bearings were cut 26 inches long. I had chosen a boxy, rigid design for the binocular scope, so A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. His project is very well documented. To cut the circles, I used a router with a straight cutting bit and a circle cutting jig. Reply Once built, line the undersides of the arms with textured ABS plastic as a bearing surface. The Crayford Focuser and DIY Focuser for Homemade Telescope how much travel you actually need, you can cut the tube off so none of With Simple, Homemade Telescopes, You Can Explore the Stars (Op-Ed) I did not glue the bearings to the tube box in case I needed to adjust the position later. It stalled when tension on the belt increased. a 3/4" thickness. In scaling up the K/B 8 inch design, I made a few changes that, I hope, will improve the design for 12.5 inch aperture. A homemade 16 inch dob lightweight telescope, DS-4 - XMission In order for the Rocker Box to pivot on the Ground Board, a center pin is placed in a hole at the exact center of the Ground Board and Rocker Bottom. I had talked with their owner about mirrors and mirror cells once, and I was very impressed by his knowledge of telescope building. I wanted to finish that instructable before the contest ended but was too late :-). But, especially on cold evenings, the focus may go out in the middle of the night. Crayford focusers are considered superior to entry-level rack and pinion focusers, normally found in this type of device. The base and the rocker box in my telescope are secured with a skate bearing assembly but could be more simply attached with a bolt through the center. With Simple | Space Finally, I attached Keepers to the sides of the rocker at the bottom of the arcs using screws and glue. The one company that did provide a price quoted over $500more than I was willing to pay for cardboard! and an eyepiece. Did you make this project? Here's my 8" f/6 travel scope with a 2" PVC draw tube and the helical Crayford focuser built right in the focuser board. I have built a homemade electric focuser for my Celestron 8SE using a radio control hobby servo and some spare parts. This is the upper tube that contains the flat secondary mirror, Telrad finder, and focuser. I have already seen some designs on CN, Stellafane and web but still checking if someone has recently made anything simpler. 24 T-nuts, with matching 2 bolts and knobs, 8 Aluminum tubing, thin wall, 1 square, 4 lengths I got mine from Cycle 24, Black woven velveteen, 68 Cut it so it stretches along the 6 axis. I centered the focuser 8 inches from the top of the tube, using a 2.5 inch hole drilling saw with smaller holes for the bolts that would hold the focuser. the nylon screws going up from the bottom, but I found the knitting a "rubbery" feel. The sides were attached with wood glue and clamps with a few small brads to hold everything in place. DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? Crayford-style design with four bearings and one driveshaft. Download and unzip. The original Crayford Focuser is on display there. Put it all together homemade Crayford focuser. corners of the squares provide nice nooks for the eyepiece and eyepiece They have many items for ATMers and I had frequently visited their website when planning my scope. Accordingly, with 1.25 focuser, you can use 1.25 eyepieces, with 2 focuser - both 2 eyepieces and 1.25 (through a special . The Crayford Focuser and DIY Focuser for Homemade Telescope By trukmeeilee in Circuits Cameras 3,461 3 1 Download Favorite By trukmeeilee Follow More by the author: The Crayford focuser is a simplified focusing mechanism for amateur astronomical telescopes. Having an RS trade counter 2 miles away is such a luxury! The email bounced back to me. } catch(err) {}, SH-232 Sharpless sh-232, sh-231, sh-233, sh-235, NGC2174 Monkey Head Nebula, Sharpless 252, Sh2-252, HDW3 Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger 3 PN G149.4-09.2, SH-198 Sharpless 198, Soul Nebula, IC1848, NGC281 IC11, Sharpless Sh2-184, Pacman Nebula, SH2-173 SH2-173 Phantom of the Opera LBN 593, SH2-168 Sharpless HII regions.
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