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Having an RS trade counter 2 miles away is such a luxury! 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. Whether you need a basic rack-and-pinion telescope focuser for your homemade telescope project or a premium Crayford-type model with dual-speed focusing as a performance upgrade, you have come to the right place. I suppose that one could complete this project without these two tools, but it would be difficult to cut the pieces accurately enough for a good fit. The bigger upvc nut will be attached to focuser plate and longer threaded side will be used on it for the focusing. Rather than use a sheet of plastic Kydex to finish the tube, as recommended in K/B, I ordered a sheet of birch veneer. 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. The part is very strong! A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); After a few weeks of no communication from them, no ability to phone or email them, and no mirror cell arriving. I file a dispute with Paypal to begin the process of getting my money back. Un-real!!! Before I wrapped the tube (and before I discovered the problem with the primary placement) I determined the balance point on the tube. An Altitude Azimuth mount would also require a field rotator.There's no way these were taken with an Orion GoTo Mount. The day I received the refund, I ordered a mirror cell from University Optics. During assembly, youll attach the trusses to the mirror box, then sit the secondary cage on top and bolt everything in place. once. This might have been tempting if I wanted to build a 6 inch scopeat that size, they say that first-timers do pretty well at grinding and figuring their own optics. A free program that lights childrens creative fires and allows them to explore projects in areas such as arts & I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. 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 arrangement turns 100% true, no wobble. I did not glue the bearings to the tube box in case I needed to adjust the position later. A celebration of the Maker Movement, a family-friendly showcase of invention and creativity that gathers Unbelievable! Start with the small components first. 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 wanted the long focal length for good contrast. 1N5408 3A Diode (you may need to make the pins smaller to fit through the holes in the board. I marked the spot and moved things back inside to install the mirror. Plus it comes in black, so Telescope Magazine. If you're not familiar with Arduino, watch some tutorial videos. So, am curious to see what others have designed and built and proud to show off here on the homage to Crayford thread. Dobsonian telescopes are popular with amateur telescope makers for their ease of design and construction, portability, and their use of large optical mirrors. I took the whole tube assembly outside. The email bounced back to me. I do have another tube that can be used around the drawtube, but it doesn't really add anything. I have already seen some designs on CN, Stellafane and web but still checking if someone has recently made anything simpler. Now I can simply insert the PVC cap on the end of a 4" pvc tube. Several of my Recent Images have been focused with this system. I made a similar helical focuser with a nice 2 inch thing I found in Classifieds. I suspected that the company was either in trouble or no longer in business. Share a cool tool or product with the community. I used my router to "mill" a flat area for better contact with the focus adjustment rod. but try for a snug fit if you can. Very simple and portable. an inch or so apart, so the focuser body could be pretty low profile. Using plywood, make 4 attachment blocks to pair the trusses together and create a small ledge for the secondary cage to rest on while you secure it. I also wanted to strengthen and protect the cardboard tube. both sides. If the telescope rotates forward or backward on its own, then the mirror box is too deep or too shallow. Someone is pulling someone's leg here. Perfect for visual observations with very heavy mirrors. I installed the spider first, about one inch down from the end of the square end of the tube. Motion is very smooth. 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. I described it two years ago in this thread:https://www.cloudyniuser/?p=8879835 . I tried to call, but the voice mail had a recording stating that the customer was unable to receive messages. I had chosen a boxy, rigid design for the binocular scope, so 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. 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. To interface with the computer, I have used the Artemis Focuser module from Steve, Arthur and Co. With the DRV8825 and Arduino Nano plugged in, the basic board is complete. I am thankful to enjoy the inspiration, and the details, that you provide, as I will soon be constructing a Dobsonian Telescope. Thanks Peter. Download and unzip. 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 next day my wife called me at work to tell me a box had arrived with telescope stuff. 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 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. Share it with us! Contact cement is permanent, so the only solution would be to replace the tube! I started by trying to drill out a metal gear for the focuser shaft. 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. Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. Finally, attach your polar alignment device and align it with the hinge. 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. Before you do this, the stepper motor will probably move, but it will make a 'stuttering' sound instead of moving smoothly. The glue should keep the nylon from fraying. Also no obvious diffraction spikes in the m31 photo. Rock Paper Scissors Using Tinkercad Circuits and Arduino, Punchy the MECH & the Autonomous Fight Club, PCB (printed circuit board) - download the, DRV8825 - stepper motor driver chip/board - again, clones available on. Or rather, I hated it. I used a hole saw to cut a wooden plug to fit inside the the side of a rigid secondary cage. The drawings are only approximately to scale. Below are cutting diagrams and diagrams of the rocker and tube box with side bearings. As it turned out, the mirror cell was too large to fit into my 14 inch sonotube. But let me see what items I can arrange to make a helical. There are sub-folders for the different versions. love to hear from people who are interested in this focuser design. This design could be adapted to practically any telescope or focuser, so I've kept my outline on the project brief. You currently have javascript disabled. As I understand, you are using it for a refractor. Among amateur telescopes, the most common are focusers with landing diameters of 1.25 ", 2", rarely 0.965 ", and even less often - 3". on Step 5. For a while I decided that 10 inch would be the best size. The specific hardware used for this is described on the Building page. As I read the book I decided that I should build a 12.5 inch truss tube scope. I decided to order an aluminum mirror cell from University Optics instead so that the mirror could be supported at 9 different points. Similar photos at http://www.telescopegeek.com/gallery.htm require 100+ minute exposure times on his 20" telescope and $3200 camera. 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. We all know the problems with focusing. The holes in the main bracket the match the holes in the plate are oversize to allow for this alignment. Robert is a super guy and more than willing to help those who choose to follow in his footsteps. Two of the holes for the bolts were blocked by knobs. To do this, the mirror cell needs to be supported by 3 large bolts, at least 2 of which are adjustable. 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. DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? I will post the pic of final focuser once ready. Once the pieces were cut and I held them around the tube, I decided to cut them a bit smaller because the extra space was too much. Headers for the LEDs, buzzer (2-pin) and temperature probe (3-pin). I attached them with very small brads, countersinking the brads. They're fairly The cost is a bit more than some of the other combinations, but by only $10 or $20. The bearings only need to be This sure is going to be a project I will work on. 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. (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.) Total cost for supplies for this project: It took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. a 3/4" thickness. #2 knitting needle would be just about right. The base of the telescope should be a wide, sturdy square or circle of wood with teflon bearing pads matched to the ABS plastic ring of the rocker box. on Introduction. Able to make myself using my own humble tools (or toys as the pros will call them!) 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. DIY Craford Focuser. 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 took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. One of the neat things about the square design is that the This software creates a model of your telescope by measuring out of focus star sizes at various points. (I didn't have the primary mirror yet). Here's a detailed response from a thread at CloudyNights:http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=4721255 "The image scale is wrong on the M31 image, fits too much of the galaxy in for even a 35mm chip. 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. Some of these are essential for the basic functionalities of our websites. large in diameter (1.6") so that adds to the fine-ness of the focus 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! Several clamps were used to hold the pieces together overnight. Edited by Pierre Lemay, 25 May 2020 - 08:10 AM. You need to order it sized for your focuser shaft size. Brandon Lawler is a hobbyist telescope Maker and an active member of the Central Texas Astronomical Society. More commercial crayford focusers are of a more enclosed form, whereas mine is more "open frame" approach. Before finishing the tube with a wrap of veneer, I wanted to make sure that the primary was in the correct position. Bore out some 2.5 inch bar and mill a flat down the side making sure it is lined up. The secondary holder is adjustable, so I could didn't have to get the location perfect. Parts List (the full story of acquiring the parts), The primary, secondary, spider and secondary holderDiscovery Optics. a "rubbery" feel. Just to make sure I liked the stain, I applied some to a piece of scrap wood. That helps with low-profile I did not wrap the tube until I had completed the base. Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome of this project - focusing is now a joy. 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. And bolt to scope Once I had my design set, I was ready to buy the parts. Able to shift heavy loads of kit ie over 1000g. The mirror cell: University Optics (eventually). I like the old way of using stepper motors and other stuff introduced years ago by Mel Bartels, he is a master for me. This makes for better sky photographs as the exposure time can be lengthened,. The mirror box encloses the mirror cell and allows the entire telescope to rotate vertically. #@$%^#@!!!!! The flat wants to be running parallel to the long axis of the tube. 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. Upload that main sketch to the Nano. It wouldn't be a two-speed design, but if I used a thin enough Im quite happy with the result, and the view in its large mirror is phenomenal. . You can view and download the full file here. Although they don't usually sell these parts, because I had ordered the mirrors from them they offered to sell me the spider and secondary holder that they use in their scopes. 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. The company has a reputation for excellent optics, and it was neither the most expensive, nor the least. Staples or finishing nails work fine, but be sure they dont bump up above the surface of the plastic. I'll use an aluminum tube for the finished draw tube but for now the plastic tube . We use cookies to continuously improve our websites for you and optimize its design and customization. Let me see if I can get similar plumbing parts here. Their step by step instructions were invaluable to me as I built this scope. The focal length of the mirror is 61 inches. I call shenanigans on every picture in this post except for the the moon. on Step 5, 9 years ago Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights. I am well versed in technology, have all the tools necessary to build my own! I brought a saw with me so that I cut it in half to fit in my minivan. Or in my case, back to SolidWorks :-). I'm also going to focus on only one version of Robert's focuser (there are many). I will have a lot of fun building my homemade 12.5 inch Dobsonian Telescope!!! My secondary is 4; for tips on choosing size, click here. Thanks for the great comment. Not worth the effort, price is tooo high. The basic points I wanted to cover: What did I end up with? I tried this one first and found it wouldn't work for my application. Drill the holes for the knitting 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. wobbly knob still works, and adds character. I waited until dark and pointed the scope at the sky. - Bill. Share it with us! The Artemis module works extremely well, and is to be strongly recommended. The core of the telescope, the steel mirror cell holds and adjusts the heavy, curved primary mirror. curated by us, the people behind Make: and the Maker Faire. Every primary telescope mirror has a fixed focal length thats usually 4 to 6 times the width of the mirror. I really had to, since the underside of my telescope's focuser is all curves, no flat area for attaching the mounting bracket. I had to take apart the focuser in order to get my bolts in place. you could probably space the bearings 3/4" apart instead of 1" and mount Electronics and software automate the process of taking pictures. control. To place the primary mirror, I installed the secondary and installed the primary in the mirror cell. pageTracker._trackPageview(); Our websites use cookies to improve your browsing experience. 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. Carve out a hole on the top part of the sonotube first. Depending on your telescope, one of the Brackets that Robert has may work for you. 1/4" x 20 bolt, and the nylon bolt end against the smooth knitting Finally it was etched in caustic soda, and anodised matt black. Let me see if I am able to collect all the parts needed. 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. And a couple of upright bearing blocks. When they arrived, they were beautifully and carefully packaged with the secondary already installed in its holder. What materials did you use? knitting needle where it goes through the hole, so it's not a big deal, the bearings, totally eliminating any flex. (The 8 inches from the center of the secondary to the field stop in the focuser is the same 8 inches from the center of the focuser to the top of the tube.) Primary telescope mirror aftermarket, homemade, or custom-made. It took about 3 weeks but, since Anttler's did not even reply to the Paypal dispute, I received a Paypal refund. 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. After cutting the circles for the side bearings, I set up the jig to cut the curved edges of the rocker sides. 4 years ago The project took several months off and on to complete, although a skilled Maker could put a similar one together in a few weeks. As I mentioned on my binocular Fast forward a few months to the next time I had the tube outside. This resulted in a gear that wasn't true and "wobbled" a bit. If you follow the procedures described above, your telescope's optics will be perfectly aligned. 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. Finally, I attached Keepers to the sides of the rocker at the bottom of the arcs using screws and glue. This project is based on Robert Brown's "Arduino ASCOM Focuser Pro2 DIY". The silly colours are mainly due to me experimenting with various clothes dyes in the anodising. Nice looking telescope. The overall project is super cheap, we're building this thing for something like $50 in materials. The arc at the top of the sides needed to have a radius 1/8 inch larger than that of the side bearings to account for the thickness of the teflon pads that would fit between. It's the same in form, but has a perfect, true 13.35mm hole. Knitting needles are Whether you need a basic rack-and-pinion telescope focuser for your homemade telescope project or a premium Crayford-type model with dual-speed focusing as a performance upgrade, you have come to the right place. Rock on! The cutting diagram in (figure 1) shows how I cut the required pieces from two 60 X 60 pieces of Baltic Birch plywood, one inch thick, and one 5/8. While a sling or whiffletree provide the best edge support, a two-point edge support is much easier to construct. I wanted to finish that instructable before the contest ended but was too late :-). This motor has a 5mm drive shaft. If your optical train is heavy and the focuser has to bear it (see above) then this motor may be a better choice. I was certain not to move the jig at all before cutting the second circle. I centered the focuser 8 inches from the top of the tube, using a 2.5 inch hole drilling saw with smaller holes for the bolts that would hold the focuser. Link to the motor speed controller kit:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KC5225(a 5K external potentiometer will be required): http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=RP3508The drive motor:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=YG2734The gears:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=YG2736The motor forward/reverse switch:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ST0506The push button:http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=SP0711 Make the drawtube longer than you think you'll need, just in The Dob is really a great design. As the thread shows you could also build the dual speed version, all made of plywood, if you feel ready to tackle a slightly more complex project for a cost of about 5$ more. 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. Post 10 of the same LSDF focuser thread also links to Art Bianconi's archived 2008 original flush valve focuser posts. initiatives for the next generation of makers. PVC pipe makes great drawtubes. 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. Above youll find an interactive 3D rendering of the Sketchup file I used to design and cut all of the parts for my telescope.