Build a Backyard Dobsonian Telescope - Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? my thoughts naturally gravitated toward a boxy focuser to go with it. There are some test sketches in the "Tests" folder, start with those. The focuser is very smooth. I would love to see your build when you are finished with it . Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. After the pieces were glued together, I used a belt sander to smooth out any rough edges, being careful to keep both rocker sides and both side bearings exactly the same. 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. too far. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - Issac Newton Scope - Google This motor has a 5mm drive shaft. I would also like to know about how you can take such fantastic pictures without a field rotator and an autoguider system. See the images how I plan to assemble it. $299.99 More About Telescope Focusers a 3/4" thickness. forces the knitting needle against the drawtube and the drawtube against can't click on it or copy and paste it; it's a graphic file to thwart I had talked with their owner about mirrors and mirror cells once, and I was very impressed by his knowledge of telescope building. You should now be able to drill the 4 holes at each corner. Homemade 12.5 Inch Dobsonian Telescope - Instructables Yet I was also becoming infected with aperture fever. A celebration of the Maker Movement, a family-friendly showcase of invention and creativity that gathers
I added three inches for a margin of error and in case I need to rebalance the tube in the future, making a distance of 25 inches from the balance point of the tube to the rocker bottom. Thanks Pinbout for sharing your design. The Dob is really a great design. widening the hole. After a dry fit of the rocker to make sure that the tube box with side bearings would fit well, I glued the rocker sides to the rocker front, holding them in place with small nails and clamping overnight. I attached small felt pads to the inside of the keepers to protect the side bearings from scratches, but discovered that the side bearings would not fit because of the thickness of the pads. We moved the operation to a nearby park and got a focused image of the most distant trees (300-400 yards away) quite easily. Bill, Impressive work and great idea about LSDF focuser. Obviously an open truss telescope. After waiting for the contact cement to dry to the touch, and with my wife's help, I carefully aligned the edge of the veneer with the guideline on the tube and pressed the first inch together. They have many items for ATMers and I had frequently visited their website when planning my scope. I called to express my concern and was told that it had all been packaged a few weeks ago and that it should have been sent. 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. 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. was straight so I wouldn't get a wobbly knob. I The mount and tripod are pretty much useless for astrophotography. The focuser shaft on the telescope is 13.1mm in diameter. A decent machinest will do a far better job, but, there is always a lot more pleasure to be gained per astrophoto when you make bits yourself. How To Build A Dobsonian Telescope [Guide 2022] - DopeGuides If you're going for simple, have you considered a helical focuser? All i did was supply the telescope as far as his camera equipment i dont know what he used i never saw it all i know is he had my scope for about a month while i was traveling and he gave me these photos. 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. Drill a hole and attach the ball head using a shorter 1/4" 20 bolt. Once I had my design set, I was ready to buy the parts. Now I can simply insert the PVC cap on the end of a 4" pvc tube. Well, it sort of looks like a focuser.. See pictures below. To get this arc, I actually moved the radius of the jig in by 1/8 inch. 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. 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. So I was looking for a cheap, light-but-sturdy design for a Several clamps were used to hold the pieces together overnight. The cage should be a hollow cylinder about wider than the mirror, with the focuser mounted directly facing the secondary mirror. adapter set screws to slide into. Or rather, I hated it. I really had to, since the underside of my telescope's focuser is all curves, no flat area for attaching the mounting bracket. It took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. To test the concept I used a short piece of two inch PVC for the draw tube. Drill the holes for the knitting I have no idea how much mail this idea will generate, so I can't Here are a few photos of the "bracket", which is a simple 3D printed plate that mounts to the telescope's focuser ring, and serves as a mount for the stepper motor. Then it was time to stain and finish. Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); Two different construction supply companies told me that sonotubes were not available with a 14 inch diameter, even by special order. You need some purple bits The scope including the optics, truss tubes, and eye pieces all stored in a single box making it easy to store and transport by car, but it was a little too big to fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat on most aircraft. The sides were attached with wood glue and clamps with a few small brads to hold everything in place. how much travel you actually need, you can cut the tube off so none of Today I purchased what is called atank nipple in India. I'd I only do functional. Ideally, the spacer would be 1 inch long and have a smaller diameter, but I didn't get this one right the first time. The Crayford focuser is a simplified focusing mechanism for amateur astronomical telescopes. Crayford focusers are considered superior to entry-level rack and pinion Pretty dry but important! the bearings, totally eliminating any flex. Over how many nights did this photography session take place? I also decided to make a separate mounting plate for the stepper motor, since I figured aligning the shafts precisely would be all but impossible. wobbly knob still works, and adds character. Tips If you've got a 1.25 inch focuser, You can also use it for an objective. I wanted the long focal length for good contrast. Deep space photos like these require HOURS of exposure for each one. 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. You will have to line up the diagonal and primary so that you see a centered image of the sonotube opening and the spyder in the eyepiece hole. Not sure how your toilets are built over there, but here they use what is called a tank flush valve. Building a Homemade Telescope Eyepiece - HubPages focusers for that project. The version number "312" here may change if Robert posts new firmware. Their step by step instructions were invaluable to me as I built this scope. initiatives for the next generation of makers. 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. DIY focuser design - ATM, Optics and DIY Forum - Cloudy Nights I redrilled the holes for the mirror cell and got ready to wrap it. Focuser minimum height is 50 mm and maximum a little over 90 mm so it is good overall. I built a second set of electronics, and I had the NEMA 17 Direct Drive motor left over since it didn't work for my Orion ED80T-CF refractor. I did not own all of the tools that I needed for this project, particularly a table saw and router, so I did a lot of work while visiting my Dad. I have one on my 12" f/5 truss dob and the focuser knob is on the top surface of the UTA. Position "0" is with the focuser all the way IN (at least for a refractor). installations. From everything I had read, I expected that getting a sonotube would be as easy as running to any hardware store and picking it up. 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. More commercial crayford focusers are of a more enclosed form, whereas mine is more "open frame" approach. I brought a saw with me so that I cut it in half to fit in my minivan. it sticks into your light path. It has reminded me of one of my long term aims to make a telescope that has been buried by the demands of the rest of my life! Save over 40% off the annual cover price for a full year (4 issues) of Make. I'm also going to focus on only one version of Robert's focuser (there are many). I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. All Dobsonian telescope projects are unique buildshere are the notes from my latest version to help get you familiar with the process and determine how youll design yours. But, especially on cold evenings, the focus may go out in the middle of the night. by cranking A neet site: http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/CAMERAS.HTM Cool instructable, Dude! and hope it doesn't fall off I had considered using a clear finish alone, but decided to use a dark red finish on the base and a clear finish on the tube, just because I like the look. It doesn't. A tilted focuser will have no effect on the image quality. And a flat thing to put it all on I did not wrap the tube until I had completed the base. While round tubing is sturdy, square tubing is easier to work with. microcontrollers including Arduino and Raspberry Pi, Drones and 3D Printing, and more. It turns out the the extra 1/16 allowed far too much side to side movement between the rocker and ground board. 11 years ago As I set of the scope, several club members came over to check things out and it was nice to hear the positive comments on the appearance of the scope. A Homemade Crayford Focuser