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! The wood would cost the same, as would pretty much everything except the mirror, so why not spend a little more on the mirror and go BIG. experimented with various wires and rods and eventually decided that a It's the same in form, but has a perfect, true 13.35mm hole. Among amateur telescopes, the most common are focusers with landing diameters of 1.25 ", 2", rarely 0.965 ", and even less often - 3". Orion Dynamo Mini for powering a Nexstar 6SE? The pieces were cut down to 15 3/8 and 14 3/8, allowing just under 1/8 inch on each side. Just to make sure I liked the stain, I applied some to a piece of scrap wood. Then it was time to stain and finish. focuser. This proved fatal for the stepper motor! It is size 1.25 inch with a clear inside dia-meter. The focal length of the mirror is 61 inches. I file a dispute with Paypal to begin the process of getting my money back. I drew a guide line straight down the side of the tube and cut the veneer to length with one extra inch on each side68 inches long. on Step 5, 9 years ago Several functions may not work. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights. crafts, science & engineering, design, and technology. forward and back along with the drawtube when you focus, and you'll get These are mounted 120 degrees apart and use 4 inexpensive bearings to support the tube. A few months later I ordered some other things from Scopestuff, including strips of Ebony Star laminate for the side bearings, a ring of Ebony Star for the rocker bottom, a strip of teflon to cut pieces for the ground board and side bearings, and a new base for my Telrad finder. The only thing on the list that was a bit difficult to find was baltic birch plywood, which had to be special ordered from the lumber yard. 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. After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. When they arrived, they were beautifully and carefully packaged with the secondary already installed in its holder. The Artemis module works extremely well, and is to be strongly recommended. It seems to microcontrollers including Arduino and Raspberry Pi, Drones and 3D Printing, and more. Only problem is if I put a diagonal it wants to rotate the helical part. Attach the ball head to the top board. Very simple and portable. This simple homemade device will reduce star trails far better than if the camera was mounted on a tripod alone. It The side bearings are each made from 2 identical semicircles of 5/8 inch plywood glued together to make a thickness of 1 inches. 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. I did run into a small problem with the focuser. After a few weeks of no communication from them, no ability to phone or email them, and no mirror cell arriving. You need a drawtube of course. I had talked with their owner about mirrors and mirror cells once, and I was very impressed by his knowledge of telescope building. Fast forward a few months to the next time I had the tube outside. 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. . I pointed it at distant trees and had no problem bringing the image into focus with all of my eyepieces. I am using scrap upvc pipe material. Orient this assembly to allow you to view an object on the far horizon. When you're ready to go on to testing with the windows driver, you want "myFP2_DRV8825_312-1", open that folder. Star Adventurer Pro Pack Counter Weight Bar Thumb Screw Upgrade. As I mentioned on my binocular My homemade motorized telescope focuser for Celestron C8. Please explain, in detail, how you attached your tube to the very unique drive system of an XT12G mount. I call shenanigans on every picture in this post except for the the moon. With an outer diameter of 14 3/16, I cut the Tube Box sides 15 5/8 and 14 5/8slightly less than my extra inch extra on each side. and hope it doesn't fall off DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? flexing. Every primary telescope mirror has a fixed focal length thats usually 4 to 6 times the width of the mirror. They suggested a construction supply place on the other side of the city that I had not called yet. Im quite happy with the result, and the view in its large mirror is phenomenal. This combination has the best resolution (steps/revolution), so I didn't see any reason to build anything else. This can be shimmed out with paper wrapped around the Realizing that it could not be the University Optics cell already, I thought, Noit couldn't be but, in fact, it was. This makes for better sky photographs as the exposure time can be lengthened,. The pivot bolt consists of a 1 1/8 inch brass spacer with an 11/16 inch outer diameter, a 3/8 inch bolt 2 inches long, a stop nut, and two large washers. And a couple of upright bearing blocks. A celebration of the Maker Movement, a family-friendly showcase of invention and creativity that gathers I took the whole tube assembly outside. I had installed the mirror about an inch too far away from the focuser. 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. And for those who like to work with 3D printers, both the single speed and dual-speed versions could easily be printed. One of the companies I had considered as a supplier for the primary mirror was Anttler's Optical. too far. can't click on it or copy and paste it; it's a graphic file to thwart I drilled holes for the screws that avoided the location of the ring, and attached the rocker bottom. My wife helped me by moving the mirror into and out of the tube around the marked spot while I stood at the eyepiece trying to bring some distant trees into focus. Built one of these http://emediadesigns.com/focuser/ working really well only cost less than 40.00. Well, it sort of looks like a focuser.. See pictures below. But, like many of you I'm sure, the biggest reason I'm doing this is for the pure geeky fun of it! 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. This is the upper tube that contains the flat secondary mirror, Telrad finder, and focuser. Finally, attach your polar alignment device and align it with the hinge. I also wanted to buy the other mechanical partsmirror cell, spider, secondary holder, and focuserso that the performance of these pieces was not limited by my skills. The glue should keep the nylon from fraying. Rock on! Crayford focusers are considered superior to entry-level rack and pinion Here is a simple 3D printed helical focuser that cost just a few cents (assuming you have a 3D printer). 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 have not yet figured out a better way to hold the tube. This is the mirror box for my 16", with Jim doing a bit of cleanup sanding. 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 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. It doesn't. A tilted focuser will have no effect on the image quality. These will be stored in your browser only with your consent and you have the option to opt-out. 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. The secondary holder is adjustable, so I could didn't have to get the location perfect. Or rather, I hated it. This software creates a model of your telescope by measuring out of focus star sizes at various points. 1" Rack & Pinion Focuser. the bearings, totally eliminating any flex. To place the primary mirror, I installed the secondary and installed the primary in the mirror cell. with a genuine question or comment about the design. Make sure the shroud can slip on and off of the assembled scope, and that it stretches along the circumference (not lengthwise). I found a used 16 primary on eBay. how much travel you actually need, you can cut the tube off so none of I redrilled the holes for the mirror cell and got ready to wrap it. One 6in dob I made was a complete failure. And bolt to scope 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. It would cost less and they have a very good reputation. Secondary mirror with spider holder Search on eBay for a matched set. The kit just contains the electronics - it is up to the user to find a stepper motor and attach it to their own telescope focuser. Some quick tips to note if you are making a homemade telescope are: 1. 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. That is dirt cheap compared to the cost of commercially available focusers, which can top $1000 and are much heavier than what we will build. Share it with us! Unbelievable! forces the knitting needle against the drawtube and the drawtube against Focuser (GSO 2 speed low profile Crayford): $139 Ebony star strips: 2 @ $10 Ebony star ring: $59 Teflon strip: $11 Telrad base: $10 Baltic Birch " sheet (60X60): $42 Baltic Birch 5/8" sheet (60X60): $48 Circle cutting jig: $30 Birch Veneer (4X8 piece): $65 Hardware, stain, other supplies: $80 Total cost for supplies for this project: $1700 More Homemade Refractor Telescope DIY Erecting Prism Binoviewer Focuser here: Did you make this project? My other telescope is a Celestron NexStar C6E. Using a compass, I drew lines for the inside and outside of the Ebony Star ring on the top and bottom of the rocker bottom. on my binocular scope for quite a while now and really like them. 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. If you mess up, you can turn the hole into a slot, but avoid Use mild soap and distilled . Have you made any mods on it since you built it? The sides were attached with wood glue and clamps with a few small brads to hold everything in place. Link to the motor speed controller kit:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KC5225(a 5K external potentiometer will be required): http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=RP3508The drive motor:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=YG2734The gears:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=YG2736The motor forward/reverse switch:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ST0506The push button:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=SP0711 And a flat thing to put it all on 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. my 12.5" trackball, but I didn't If you're going for simple, have you considered a helical focuser? The extra force will also It's easy to shim it to Here is what I was working on but looks like I need a better design. 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 This combination has proved to be effective for all positions except when the tube is pointed directly up. 1N5408 3A Diode (you may need to make the pins smaller to fit through the holes in the board. You need to order it sized for your focuser shaft size. you could probably space the bearings 3/4" apart instead of 1" and mount 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 focuser shaft on the telescope is 13.1mm in diameter. on Step 1, interesting build, its just like my old Odyssey brand scope from the mid 1990's. Two inch internal diameter drawtube. 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. Home centers and hardware stores did not carry large sizes. 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. on Step 3. When I ordered the cell, I paid through paypal, which immediately deducts money from my checking account. As the authors describe the benefits of a truss design, it is hard to dispute their arguments. I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. As I continued to read, however, I was struck by the many complications of the design and, frankly, how many ways I could screw it up. My guess is that photo was taken with a refractor. Sh2-169 and Sh2-168, IC5146 Cocoon Nebula, Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125. stronger, but would give me a coarser focus action because of their If you enter it in the next contest please let me know and i will make sure to vote for you. Since my focuser shaft is 6mm, I ordered the coupler shown here in the 6mm to 8mm version from Amazon. exactly 2" with adhesive labels placed one at a time inside the tube Or in my case, back to SolidWorks :-). Thanks Bob. but try for a snug fit if you can. You can view and download the full file here. There are some test sketches in the "Tests" folder, start with those. Once I had my design set, I was ready to buy the parts. Maker-written books designed to inform and delight! on Step 5, After much debit and doubt i have taken the photos down cause i cannot be 100% sure that they were taking from my scope as i was not there to verify them and i do not want my contest entry to be based on photos and not the build process. It takes the unknown out of focusing, and is easy to re-focus between filters, or refocus several times during a long exposure run as the world cools down. (actually, it ended up a smidge more than 2 inches). 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. It wouldn't be a two-speed design, but if I used a thin enough If you don't want to go that route, contact me at gary.hethcoat@gmail.com since I have a lot of spare parts and I can sell you a "kit" with a PCB and only the parts you need. 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. Please feel free to email me at the address on the right. Thicker walls also required thicker side bearings so that the outside of the bearings would line up with the outside of the rocker sides. 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. In the sub-folder "Cases" you will see many variants of the case for the DRV8825 based focusers. #2 knitting needle would be just about right. Interfaced with a computer, so the computer can make the decisions about where the best focus is. I set things up in daylight and collimated the scope. on Introduction, Very nice build nikon20. The Crayford focuser is a simplified focusing mechanism for amateur astronomical telescopes. 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. Finally, I attached Keepers to the sides of the rocker at the bottom of the arcs using screws and glue. 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. Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. The ARtemis module came in a kit form actually just two circuit boards one of which I had to source the parts, build and box myself. I like the old way of using stepper motors and other stuff introduced years ago by Mel Bartels, he is a master for me. Rather than use a sheet of plastic Kydex to finish the tube, as recommended in K/B, I ordered a sheet of birch veneer. The current needs to be adjusted on the DRV8825. curated by us, the people behind Make: and the Maker Faire. $299.99 More About Telescope Focusers It took about 3 weeks but, since Anttler's did not even reply to the Paypal dispute, I received a Paypal refund. This unit takes signals from your computer and drives the stepper motor on the focuser. After looking at many focuser options with a big range of prices, I decided to order a GSO 2 speed Crayford focuser from ScopeStuff. The shroud made from two 22 inch tall containers came out short, so I had to add an eleven inch strip of nylon. 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. I'll use an aluminum tube for the finished draw tube but for now the plastic tube . After waiting for the stain to dry for a day, I applied polyurethane in two coats, going over the surface with 0000 steel wool between coats. There are a number of technical reasons why these photographs could not have come from this Optical Tube Assembly. . Accordingly, with 1.25 focuser, you can use 1.25 eyepieces, with 2 focuser - both 2 eyepieces and 1.25 (through a special . It has become an indispensable piece of equipment for me that so beats hacking and filing PVC pipes etc. Gift the gift of Make: Magazine this holiday season! I got no response to phone calls or emails after another week, and decided to wait until the primary would be finished in another two weeks. This extra space would allow the tube to be repositioned within the tube box to rotate the eyepiece or balance the tube. Several clamps were used to hold the pieces together overnight. 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. That's pretty much the focuser. Rock Paper Scissors Using Tinkercad Circuits and Arduino, Punchy the MECH & the Autonomous Fight Club, Soft-sensor-saurus | an E-textile Soft Sensor Soft Toy With LED Light. This will determine the size of the coupler you will use to connect the stepper motor. A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators across the globe. I The company has a reputation for excellent optics, and it was neither the most expensive, nor the least. You will need to order one sized for your telescope's focuser shaft size. PVC pipe makes great drawtubes. My first telescope I built was a 10" F8. adapter set screws to slide into. They're fairly See above, this motor does not produce a lot of torque, but you don't need much for this application since there is no 'load' on the focusing shaft. A project collaboration and documentation platform. It interfaces to the computer via USB and comes with an ASCOM driver. Membership connects and supports the people and projects that shape our future and supports the learning A I got a different stain, tested it, and went back to work. Use the externalMirror Edge Support Calculatorto decide whether to use a two-point, four-point (whiffletree), or sling support. The part is very strong! The overall project is super cheap, we're building this thing for something like $50 in materials. 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. It was May 12th. I wanted a tight / press fit, so I only added half that, 0.25mm. Finally it was etched in caustic soda, and anodised matt black. Crayford-style design with four bearings and one driveshaft. 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. This is because my router bit was inch and the arc would be cut by the outside edge of the bit (where the circle had been cut by the inside edge.) 11 years ago I ordered the focuser, received an immediate email confirming the order, and it arrived two days later. work really well, for a fraction of the cost of a commercial Crayford 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. 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. I wanted to finish that instructable before the contest ended but was too late :-). The last time I checked, that particular SBIG camera used on TelescopeGeek had an eight month lead time.A 20" scope gathers 2.6 times more light than a 12.5" scope, therefore equivalent exposures on this one would take 200+ minutes, at least. Pierre Lemay, thanks for sharing your simple and incredible design. NEMA-17 Stepper Motor - see below, there are two options. Put it all together You should now be able to drill the 4 holes at each corner. A couple setscrews and you're up & running with an off the shelf solution. on Introduction. Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome of this project - focusing is now a joy. larger diameter. Made of plywood, the rocker box supports the mirror box on 1 teflon pads, allowing it to rotate vertically. To cut the circles, I used a router with a straight cutting bit and a circle cutting jig. 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 ground and figured the mirror with little troubles, making my focault tester, etc. try { Another thing, the resolution on the Dumbell nebula seems a bit too high for that telescope. See captioned photos 22-25 here:https://www.cloudyniractor-focuser/ for more detail on building a flush valve focuser, as Bob mentions. I Hope to give you ideas if you are thinking about building one for yourself! If the telescope rotates forward or backward on its own, then the mirror box is too deep or too shallow. 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. Once I decided to build a scope myself I had to decide on the aperture of the scope. To hold the tube in place within the tube box, I used a combination of pieces of felt inside the box and wooden shims between the tube and the box. DO NOT drill out the holes in the board! I applied contact cement to the first inch of the veneer and the mating inch of the tube. After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. Several of my Recent Images have been focused with this system. And the legs of the base should be as wide as possible to accommodate weight imbalance as the telescope is moved around, to avoid tipping. I also doubled the thickness of the rocker sides (not the front wall) to provide better support for the heavier tube. I tried to call, but the voice mail had a recording stating that the customer was unable to receive messages. Electronics and software automate the process of taking pictures. The dimensions of the Tube Box Sides are based on the outer diameter of my tube14 3/16. The 2-1.25" adapter is a sink drain slip fitting in 1-1/4" size that slips into the large tube for 1.25 EP's. until a 2" eyepiece or 1.25" adapter is snug. I had chosen a boxy, rigid design for the binocular scope, so The flat wants to be running parallel to the long axis of the tube. When you figure out The plate has slotted screw holes for tensioning the 6mm belt. This means I can use FocusMax to do the focusing. Thanks for your article. (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.) As it turned out, the mirror cell was too large to fit into my 14 inch sonotube. My secondary is 4; for tips on choosing size, click here. Knitting needles are 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. You simply glue or screw the 'nut' part to your scope OTA, and thread the tube part in/out to focus. Pretty dry but important! Reply Earthbound1 likes this #2 dave brock Mercury-Atlas Over how many nights did this photography session take place? Before finishing the tube with a wrap of veneer, I wanted to make sure that the primary was in the correct position. Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine today, Community access, print, and digital Magazine, and more. I was concerned that it would be difficult to find, but I was able to order it from a local woodworking shop. The next day my wife called me at work to tell me a box had arrived with telescope stuff. This is not recommended for shared computers. Nice looking telescope. 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. A free program that lights childrens creative fires and allows them to explore projects in areas such as arts & So, for my telescope I used a 6mm to 5mm coupler available on Amazon. The mount and tripod are pretty much useless for astrophotography. But, especially on cold evenings, the focus may go out in the middle of the night. Because thebasic movement and optics requirements are relatively simple, much of the design is left to the builder. I tried all of my other eyepieces and found that I could bring the image into focus in the other eyepieces, but it was very near the bottom of the focuser travel. I will get good 30-40 mm focusing range. The one company that did provide a price quoted over $500more than I was willing to pay for cardboard! Download and unzip. This allowed me to cut perfect identical circles. Make the hole diameter fairly snug, too. The cage should be a hollow cylinder about wider than the mirror, with the focuser mounted directly facing the secondary mirror. installations. The focuser is the part of the telescope that holds the eyepiece or camera, and by moving in or out, closer or farther from the . Here is what I was working on but looks like I need a better design. Look down through the empty focuser. I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. If you go to buy all of the components for this project from dealers, you will see that you mostly have to buy at least 5 parts, sometimes bags of 50 parts! In my build, the minimum eyepiece-to-secondary mirror distance (13) plus the primary-to-secondary mirror distance (57) equals the focal length of 71, which is roughly 4.5 times the width of the 16 mirror. It turns out the the extra 1/16 allowed far too much side to side movement between the rocker and ground board. You can see that my Moonlite focuser was slightly larger than the sides of the tube. It take automatic control of the CCD camera and focuser, and dances around magically on the screen, arriving at perfect focus within about 30s to 3 minutes depending on where you started from. eyepiece on the ground (or worse, on your primary mirror!) The email bounced back to me. an inch or so apart, so the focuser body could be pretty low profile. I described it two years ago in this thread:https://www.cloudyniuser/?p=8879835 . When I looked at the costs, I seriously considered buying an Orion telescope instead of building my own. homemade Crayford focuser. that is a great website that guy has some fantastic photos. Position "0" is with the focuser all the way IN (at least for a refractor). The project took several months off and on to complete, although a skilled Maker could put a similar one together in a few weeks. Here we see the following components installed: Notice we are NOT populating the parts of the board intended for Wifi or BLED. This motor is available on Amazon. This is the kind of simple off the shelf design I was looking for. Helicals are adaptable to both refractors and reflectors, but do not "play nice" with zoom eyepieces because "zooming" becomes a two handed operation to avoid changing focus. The mirror cell: University Optics (eventually). After cutting the circles for the side bearings, I set up the jig to cut the curved edges of the rocker sides. 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. Once built, line the undersides of the arms with textured ABS plastic as a bearing surface. 10 years ago The hole did need to be enlarged slightly by moving the bit within the hole , but in the end, the fit seems right.