I ended up modifying it a bit after printing. and hope it doesn't fall off The focuser knob had two set screws. To cut the circles, I used a router with a straight cutting bit and a circle cutting jig. An electronic focuser, which moves the focus knob through a combination of hardware and software, solves this problem. The last chapter of the book describes a plan for an 8 inch sonotube dob with a few design elements from their truss design, and, as I read that chapter, the simplicity of its construction was very appealing. I had initially allowed for more of a gap, but realized once I cut the pieces and held the tube inside them that my gap was too large. I had considered a Moonlite or Featherlite focuser, but I knew from my experience with my 6 inch scope that I wanted a 2 speed focuser, and the price tag of their 2 speed focusers scared me away. They even offered to send the spider, secondary holder, and secondary mirror immediately so that I could begin working on the tube while I waited for the primary. Maker-written books designed to inform and delight! Total cost for supplies for this project: It took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. But, like many of you I'm sure, the biggest reason I'm doing this is for the pure geeky fun of it! Or rather, I hated it. The heaviest piece is 40 lbs, and the total scope weighs about 60 lbs (not counting the baffle). 1/4" x 20 bolt, and the nylon bolt end against the smooth knitting But by this time I had thought about building my own scope for several weeks, and getting one off the shelf seemed pretty boring by comparison! 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). Step 3The Side Bearings and Rocker Sides. You need to order it sized for your focuser shaft size. I'm also going to focus on only one version of Robert's focuser (there are many). You should watch (and bookmark) this video. The focuser 'knob' on the Celestron is just a rubber sleeve that usually pulls off easily. I called in the order and explained that I would be using a mirror two inches thick. the interior diameter is just a nudge over 2". The blue pieces of the rocker box and ground board are arranged as in the diagrams in (figure 2). large in diameter (1.6") so that adds to the fine-ness of the focus I applied contact cement to the first inch of the veneer and the mating inch of the tube. The version number "312" here may change if Robert posts new firmware. Once built, line the undersides of the arms with textured ABS plastic as a bearing surface. I marked the expected position of the secondary by measuring 61 inches down from the end of the tube. This will determine the size of the coupler you will use to connect the stepper motor. SDO/HMI Continuum Image on 2023.03.04 at 1259 UT, Remote computer working with no extra networking. on Introduction. I have already seen some designs on CN, Stellafane and web but still checking if someone has recently made anything simpler. Plus it comes in black, so with a genuine question or comment about the design. (Technically, it should have been 62.5 for a 12.5 inch f/5, but when the mirror came it had a note on the back that the focal length was 61 inches.) that is a great website that guy has some fantastic photos. The balance point determines the height of the rocker sides, so I had to get this far before I cut the wood for the base. Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. Fast forward a few months to the next time I had the tube outside. I am thankful to enjoy the inspiration, and the details, that you provide, as I will soon be constructing a Dobsonian Telescope. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); So, am curious to see what others have designed and built and proud to show off here on the homage to Crayford thread. The spider, or secondary mirror holder, will suspend the mirror in the optical path in order to direct light into the focuser. Attach the eye piece to another cardboard piece and pass it through the hole from the inside of the tube. surfaces to put the bearings in and a vee at the bottom that would hold My DIY Motorized Telescope Focuser - YouTube I use a 3D printer and an old gear motor to create an electronic telescope focuser.This is my first attempt at voiceover, I'm using a headset. The pieces were cut down to 15 3/8 and 14 3/8, allowing just under 1/8 inch on each side. I marked the spot and moved things back inside to install the mirror. I also doubled the thickness of the rocker sides (not the front wall) to provide better support for the heavier tube. I want to put my 12.5 mirror in a collapsible structure so I can haul it easy, Say a truss tube design, 7 years ago wobbly knob still works, and adds character. Thanks Bob. It's rigid, lightweight, and I'm only hoping to supplement it a bit with some info and pictures aimed at those with limited skills (such as myself) :-) I'm not an electrical engineer, I'm more of a software guy with some limited knowledge of electronics and basic soldering and assembly skills. Inside the OTA is a ring of tightly fitting flocking paper that prevents any light getting in around the drawtube. Since my plan called for purchasing the mirrors and mechanical parts there were several decisions to be made and several vendors to contact. After picking up a copy of The Dobsonian Telescope by David Kriege, I built my first telescope with a 12-diameter mirror, then later tackled a 12 lightweight scope. If you found some good surplus lenses, you will have made a stunningly good objective for your scope. Line the underside of the rocker box with a ring of ABS plastic to allow it to ride on the base. My guess is that photo was taken with a refractor. I called to express my concern and was told that it had all been packaged a few weeks ago and that it, For complete instructions on building a telescope such as this one, I strongly recommend buying a copy of, After cutting the circles for the side bearings, I set up the jig to cut the curved edges of the rocker sides. The holes in the main bracket the match the holes in the plate are oversize to allow for this alignment. What materials did you use? Download and check them out, I just grabbed the first one and printed it. an inch or so apart, so the focuser body could be pretty low profile. Slewing to find an object and then tracking an object on the sky, so when you make a homemade telescope on the motorisation process you will need high speed for slewing and low speed for tracking or fine movements. Drill a hole and attach the ball head using a shorter 1/4" 20 bolt. 11 years ago knitting needle where it goes through the hole, so it's not a big deal, The one company that did provide a price quoted over $500more than I was willing to pay for cardboard! Primary telescope mirror aftermarket, homemade, or custom-made. I do have another tube that can be used around the drawtube, but it doesn't really add anything. The cost is a bit more than some of the other combinations, but by only $10 or $20. I was certain not to move the jig at all before cutting the second circle. Because thebasic movement and optics requirements are relatively simple, much of the design is left to the builder. If the telescope rotates forward or backward on its own, then the mirror box is too deep or too shallow. Concluding that I would not be able to buy a tube off the shelf, I found a couple of companies that took special orders on cardboard tubes. i got a email that someone built a telescope close to mine that has seen the stuff in the photos here is a link to his site http://www.synapticsystems.com/sky/scopes/Dob.htmlif i seem a bit rude please forgive me i just spent 12hrs in a plane i have jetlag and im sitting in a airport.i would like to thank lvlasertech for keeping this instructable lively and informative. To get this arc, I actually moved the radius of the jig, At some point in the building process, my goal became to finish the scope by RocheStar Fest, an annual event of the. var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-1008534-4"); I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. Meade Zero Image-Shift Electronic Micro-Focuser This high precision focuser allows you to obtain an extremely accurate image focus. One of the neat things about the square design is that the New Creation Tamil 6.96K subscribers Welcome to New Creation Tamil Our Channel include of Guiding Videos: 1.DIY Projects 2.Awesome Ideas 3.Tips You are inter with New Creation Tamil you can enjoy. I sanded all parts of the telescope with 220 grit sandpaper followed by 400 grit, making a very smooth surface to apply the stain. Put it all together microcontrollers including Arduino and Raspberry Pi, Drones and 3D Printing, and more. You reach a point where the picture doesn't seem to change much, so you never know where the very sweetest spot in the focus is. Nice looking telescope. During on-site assembly, attach each truss to its mounting T-nut using a bolt with a thumbscrew knob. To make the hole for the focuser, I used the focuser tube to mark a circle in the shroud. With adapters for any Meade 1x200-ACF or LS model, and chord to plug into focuser port. Your astrophotographer friend may have included his own images from his setup. This means you lose much of the night's images. For complete instructions on building a telescope such as this one, I strongly recommend buying a copy of The Dobsonian Telescope by David Kriege and Richard Berry. A 10 inch scope would not be very much longer or heavier than my 6 inch, yet it would allow me to see much more. If you mess up, you can turn the hole into a slot, but avoid 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. They suggested a construction supply place on the other side of the city that I had not called yet. I decided to order a mirror cell from them because the owner had talked about a new cell he was excited about. Other supplies that I bought for this project include wood, various bits of hardware, stain and finishing supplies, and a circle cutting jig for a router. 11 years ago This is where you will use screws to strongly attach the focuser onto the tube. Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. I then ran a bead of glue on the mark, and after it dried I cut out the nylon up to the glue. There are sub-folders for the different versions. needle so the knitting needle will be snug against the drawtube without I did find, though, that the 3D printed gear would slip on the shaft, so it needed a set screw. I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. I decided that my best option was to scale up their 8 inch design for a 12.5 inch scope and sacrifice the portability and easier storage of a truss scope for something that I felt confident in building myself. I told them to take their time and get it right. My concern turned to alarm when my wife told me that Discovery had charged the balance due on all items to my account a few weeks earlier. Install on Windows 10, this part is pretty straightforward. And for those who like to work with 3D printers, both the single speed and dual-speed versions could easily be printed. I decided to use baltic birch because it is recommended by Kriege and Berry as well as many online sources. I want to make this direct drive system work. 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. 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. This allowed me to cut perfect identical circles. The cell from Anttler's, for which I had received a refund, had arrived. I'm' glad I did, because I didn't like the first color that I had chosen. After going over the surfaces with a tack cloth to pick up the saw dust, I applied the stain and went over it with cheese cloth rags for an even finish. I carefully cut exactly through the center of each side bearing circle to make my semicircles. Similar photos at http://www.telescopegeek.com/gallery.htm require 100+ minute exposure times on his 20" telescope and $3200 camera. And a flat thing to put it all on That's pretty much the focuser. The core of the telescope, the steel mirror cell holds and adjusts the heavy, curved primary mirror. on Introduction, Very nice build nikon20. Only problem is if I put a diagonal it wants to rotate the helical part. Shorter thread side will be used to attach the eyepiece. I Plus it comes in black, so you don't need to paint it (or worry about paint flaking off it). 11 years ago 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. Robert Brown did an excellent video on how to work out your stepper motor requirements. It is size 1.25 inch with a clear inside dia-meter. Two such companies would not give me a price because the order of a single tube was too small. We were careful to press out any bubbles as we went, but when the job was done we found that there were multiple bubbles in the veneer. The plastic will ride on teflon pads, creating just enough traction for the telescope to avoid sliding on its own while not making it too difficult to point at things in the sky. control. Perfect for visual observations with very heavy mirrors. on Step 3. Position "0" is with the focuser all the way IN (at least for a refractor). See captioned photos 22-25 here:https://www.cloudyniractor-focuser/ for more detail on building a flush valve focuser, as Bob mentions. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights. 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. } 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. forces the knitting needle against the drawtube and the drawtube against After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. on Introduction. I found out pretty quickly that building my own telescope would only be a bargain if I made my own mirror and mechanical parts. In amateur astrophotography, we run our telescopes overnight. An Altitude Azimuth mount would also require a field rotator.There's no way these were taken with an Orion GoTo Mount. 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. Low, or Zero slop when changing direction. If you follow the procedures described above, your telescope's optics will be perfectly aligned. Given that you can make the drawtube any length you Helical is one of the option i am considering. I even began taking careful notes about needed supplies and plans for each piece of the truss tube scope. The premier publication of maker projects, skill-building tutorials, in-depth reviews, and inspirational stories, Edited by howardcano, 24 May 2020 - 09:29 PM. var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? It has a 6mm shaft. For a while I decided that 10 inch would be the best size. Over how many nights did this photography session take place? Trim off any unused fabric along the base. Accordingly, with 1.25 focuser, you can use 1.25 eyepieces, with 2 focuser - both 2 eyepieces and 1.25 (through a special . Ask Question Step 5: Stepper Motor Choice #2 - NEMA-17 Geared Stepper Motor If your optical train is heavy and the focuser has to bear it (see above) then this motor may be a better choice. Make the hole diameter fairly snug, too. A All Orion 1.25" and 2" telescope focusers are engineered to provide smooth drawtube action to ensure you hit the exact focus point . I am a retired USAF electronics engineer, and might even do much of the construction of the base with welded structural tubing, as, I do have a complete metal working shop besides my wood shop, here. I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. 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. Share it with us! Some of these are essential for the basic functionalities of our websites. For the ATMer I do find that there are an endless number of parts that can be designed and printed for home built telescopes and binoscopes. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. I built mine entirely from CNC-cut plywood, and fastened it together with 2 bolts. When you're ready to go on to testing with the windows driver, you want "myFP2_DRV8825_312-1", open that folder. Once its cut to length, drill a hole through each end of the tubing with a drill press. I ground and figured the mirror with little troubles, making my focault tester, etc. Crayford-style design with four bearings and one driveshaft. I'd This book describes in great detail the steps to build a large aperture truss tube dob, focusing on scopes with a 12.5 to 40 inch mirror. It's easy to shim it to exactly 2" with adhesive labels placed one at a time inside the tube until a 2" eyepiece or 1.25" adapter is snug. Picture of DS-4. Place the focuser, draw the position of the screws with a pencil and remove the focuser. These have slop as you change direction, you can't do fine adjustments, they weigh a ton, and can flex alarmingly over time. You currently have javascript disabled. drneilmb, thanks for sharing the focuser design. I also wanted to strengthen and protect the cardboard tube. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality. Able to make myself using my own humble tools (or toys as the pros will call them!). DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? I began building it in the spring of 2008, but the bulk of the work was done in July of 2008 with first light occurring on July 25. My first telescope I built was a 10" F8. Funny how the bigger they are the better for dobs. (A badly tilted focuser may subtly alter the illumination pattern of the focal plane to a degree that would be impossible to perceive visually but that's about it.) One of the companies I had considered as a supplier for the primary mirror was Anttler's Optical. You will look through these as you rotate the wheel. This motor is available on Amazon. Likewise, the side bearings are made of two identical semicircles of 5/8 inch plywood glued together, creating side bearings that are 1 inches thick. in the tube so they'll hit the knitting needle before your drawtube runs While a sling or whiffletree provide the best edge support, a two-point edge support is much easier to construct. Like i said these are not my photos and i cannot coment on exactly how he set it up as i was not there all i can say is i saw the mount he used when he picked up the telescope. The flat wants to be running parallel to the long axis of the tube. I made a similar helical focuser with a nice 2 inch thing I found in Classifieds. I then attached the Ebony Star ring using contact cement. Having an RS trade counter 2 miles away is such a luxury! I had talked with their owner about mirrors and mirror cells once, and I was very impressed by his knowledge of telescope building. However more than the focuser, I liked your scope. Upload that main sketch to the Nano. I waited until dark and pointed the scope at the sky. Next step, before my first acquisition of any parts, is to get with any amateur astronomers in Central Florida, so, wish me luck! the tube is cardboard as well, you can also get a quality mirror at telescope.com for much cheaper. I had cut the 12 foot tube in half in order to get it home in the first place, and a 6 foot section was the right size to work with for my f/5 12.5 inch. The dimensions of the Tube Box Sides are based on the outer diameter of my tube14 3/16. Dobsonian telescopes are popular with amateur telescope makers for their ease of design and construction, portability, and their use of large optical mirrors. Post 10 of the same LSDF focuser thread also links to Art Bianconi's archived 2008 original flush valve focuser posts. It was important that the two circles be identical because the edges had to match perfectly when glued together and the two side bearings had to be identical in order for the altitude motion to work well. try { To view, go here: http://emediadesigns.com/focuser/ ASIAIR - Is there an easy way to load Messier catalog into Autorun? I also have an extended photographic build diary of this telescope posted on Imgur. 3D Printed Futuristic Space Age Wall Clock, http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=4721255. Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. So, as they say, "back to the drawing board". It has become an indispensable piece of equipment for me that so beats hacking and filing PVC pipes etc. This makes for better sky photographs as the exposure time can be lengthened,. We are now ready for some testing. i am not trying to win this contest with photos. Once your telescope is assembled, drape black woven velveteen around the truss assembly, clipping it with safety pins. obituaries easley, sc,