homemade telescope focuser

Use the externalMirror Edge Support Calculatorto decide whether to use a two-point, four-point (whiffletree), or sling support. I found a used 16 primary on eBay. Here we see the following components installed: Notice we are NOT populating the parts of the board intended for Wifi or BLED. both sides. SDO/HMI Continuum Image on 2023.03.04 at 1259 UT, Remote computer working with no extra networking. focuser. Low, or Zero slop when changing direction. I used one of the top scraps from the rocker sides to mark an angle of 70 degrees from the center of the arc to the curved cut in order to properly space 1 X 7/8 teflon pads on the arcs. Feel free to take on that part if you like, but you're on your own :-). 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. Since my plan called for purchasing the mirrors and mechanical parts there were several decisions to be made and several vendors to contact. 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 tried this one first and found it wouldn't work for my application. Above youll find an interactive 3D rendering of the Sketchup file I used to design and cut all of the parts for my telescope. There are a number of technical reasons why these photographs could not have come from this Optical Tube Assembly. After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. I So, as they say, "back to the drawing board". I have already seen some designs on CN, Stellafane and web but still checking if someone has recently made anything simpler. Here is a simple 3D printed helical focuser that cost just a few cents (assuming you have a 3D printer). 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. Depending on your telescope, one of the Brackets that Robert has may work for you. installations. my 12.5" trackball, but I didn't It is used to setup water outlet from overhead water tanks. The day I received the refund, I ordered a mirror cell from University Optics. PhotoPictureResizer_190723_214534574_crop_2558x3105_copy_1023x1242.jpg. More Homemade Refractor Telescope DIY Erecting Prism Binoviewer Focuser here: Did you make this project? Telescope Magazine. Drawing lines between opposite corners of the tube box sides allowed me to locate the center point on each side. I have several of the books on building a Dobsonian Telescope. So, I duplicated the aluminum gear pulley in SolidWorks, and printed it out. "); Yet I was also becoming infected with aperture fever. Maker-written books designed to inform and delight! 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. Dozens of projects in every issue covering electronics, craft, fabrication, and more, Learn tips and skill-building tutorials from experts in the maker community. Now attach the screw eyes and the rubber band on the side of the board. This one is based on the DRV8825 driver chip and a NEMA-17 stepper motor. Next, attach the eyepiece and the focuser to the top part of the telescope tube. I don't *do* pretty. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. Part numbers 351-4574 and 336-422. 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. To do this, the mirror cell needs to be supported by 3 large bolts, at least 2 of which are adjustable. Inside the OTA is a ring of tightly fitting flocking paper that prevents any light getting in around the drawtube. 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. (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.) 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. When you add the minimum distance from the eyepiece to the secondary mirror together with the distance from the secondary mirror to the primary, the total length should be the primary mirrors focal length. Some quick tips to note if you are making a homemade telescope are: 1. It interfaces to the computer via USB and comes with an ASCOM driver. Not sure how your toilets are built over there, but here they use what is called a tank flush valve. This motor has a 5mm drive shaft. Be creative! 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. 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. The drawings are only approximately to scale. In addition, we use third-party cookies to help us analyze and understand usage. I plan to use an FTA over it in case an extension is needed. 11 years ago The overall project is super cheap, we're building this thing for something like $50 in materials. Staples or finishing nails work fine, but be sure they dont bump up above the surface of the plastic. I made this Crayford style focuser using plywood scraps and surplus bearings. 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. This motor has a larger shaft diameter (8mm) and is quite a bit heavier overall than the direct drive motor, mainly because of the gearbox. 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. Im sorry to hear you couldn't make the contest. Since these focusers were going side-by-side on a binocular Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine today, Community access, print, and digital Magazine, and more. Along with some silver bits 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. The premier publication of maker projects, skill-building tutorials, in-depth reviews, and inspirational stories, 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. (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.) This is the upper tube that contains the flat secondary mirror, Telrad finder, and focuser. - Bill. Knitting needles are Membership connects and supports the people and projects that shape our future and supports the learning telescope page, I wasn't really eager to buy two commercial Crayford The secondary holder is adjustable, so I could didn't have to get the location perfect. The focal length of the mirror is 61 inches. Nice one. I will have a lot of fun building my homemade 12.5 inch Dobsonian Telescope!!! Participated in the Celestron Space Challenge. 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. I didn't bother reading his whole article to figure out what f/# he used) I am not trying to say that good AP isn't possible with a sonotube scope, (the 'friend' may very well have pulled it out of the dob mount, added rings and a dovetail, and mounted it on his CGE-Pro or comparable) but in this case it is unlikely.". The hole did need to be enlarged slightly by moving the bit within the hole , but in the end, the fit seems right. Several functions may not work. You should now be able to drill the 4 holes at each corner. All that remained was to design and print a bracket, and buy the needed parts. 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. I used the "LEDandBuzzer" and "TestStepsDRV8825" tests. I do it with aluminium alloy, aluminium tube and nice work. 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. stronger, but would give me a coarser focus action because of their Download and check them out, I just grabbed the first one and printed it. A couple setscrews and you're up & running with an off the shelf solution. The cost is a bit more than some of the other combinations, but by only $10 or $20. LVLaserTech is right please do not vote for the pictures my instructable is for the build of the telescope not the quality of the photos.and as i said before i was not there is there a possibility that he sent me the wrong photos sure is there a possibility that he used a different mount than the one i saw sure is there a possibility that he is lying to me me about what he did sure. Again from the main FILES page, go to "ASCOM DRIVERS" and download everything. Another thing, the resolution on the Dumbell nebula seems a bit too high for that telescope. Then it was time to stain and finish. Finally, I attached Keepers to the sides of the rocker at the bottom of the arcs using screws and glue. the side of a rigid secondary cage. my thoughts naturally gravitated toward a boxy focuser to go with it. You can easily, and economically (10$) build a Crayford Helical Focuser like the one pictured above in one evening with simple tools. You won't need to write any sketches from scratch, but you will at least need to figure out how to upload them to the Nano. was straight so I wouldn't get a wobbly knob. Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. I described it two years ago in this thread:https://www.cloudyniuser/?p=8879835 . I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. needle so the knitting needle will be snug against the drawtube without Upload that main sketch to the Nano. This extra space would allow the tube to be repositioned within the tube box to rotate the eyepiece or balance the tube. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. too far. pageTracker._trackPageview(); think that design would be rigid enough under the weight of a diagonal scope, I only put knobs on the outsides. I ordered the focuser, received an immediate email confirming the order, and it arrived two days later. on Step 5. As the authors describe the benefits of a truss design, it is hard to dispute their arguments. I installed the spider first, about one inch down from the end of the square end of the tube. This allowed me to cut perfect identical circles. Download the Gerber Files. Topics such as (I didn't have the primary mirror yet). One 6in dob I made was a complete failure. We then spread contact cement over the remaining veneer and tube surface, waited for the glue to dry, and carefully rolled the tube over the veneer. 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. until a 2" eyepiece or 1.25" adapter is snug. 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. Attach the ball head to the top board. A Pocket Sundial From a Broken Pocket Watch! They suggested a construction supply place on the other side of the city that I had not called yet. I am using scrap upvc pipe material. These will be stored in your browser only with your consent and you have the option to opt-out. Deep space photos like these require HOURS of exposure for each one. Also, I will work with my computer geek buddies, so that we eventually automate it using Linux on a Rock64, to run kstars for tracking, on INDI. However more than the focuser, I liked your scope. How to build a 12.5 inch closed tube Dobsonian telescope. Motion is very smooth. with a genuine question or comment about the design. The extra force will also It's the same in form, but has a perfect, true 13.35mm hole. The Dob is really a great design. 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! Thanks for the great comment. 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. I attached keepers 1 inches wide by 5 inches long, extending above the bottom of the arcs by about 1 inches. the nylon screws going up from the bottom, but I found the knitting I also have an extended photographic build diary of this telescope posted on Imgur. I had talked with their owner about mirrors and mirror cells once, and I was very impressed by his knowledge of telescope building. 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. When the skies were dark enough for observing I found that the scope moves easily into position and holds that position well. Connect the Arduino USB cable and upload some test sketches. The next day, I centered the rocker on the rocker bottom (which had been cut using the same method as the side bearing circles), drawing perpendicular lines through the center of the rocker bottom to use as a guide, and tracing the position on the rocker bottom. (actually, it ended up a smidge more than 2 inches). The box should be deep enough to allow the mirror box to swing all the way down. A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. To place the primary mirror, I installed the secondary and installed the primary in the mirror cell. 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. 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. With adapters for any Meade 1x200-ACF or LS model, and chord to plug into focuser port. large in diameter (1.6") so that adds to the fine-ness of the focus 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. Measure the diameter of the exposed shaft. To glue the side bearings and rocker sides to full thickness, I covered a side with wood glue, then carefully lined up the pieces and put two small nails into the pieces to hold them in place. You should watch (and bookmark) this video. This design could be adapted to practically any telescope or focuser, so I've kept my outline on the project brief. 1/4" x 20 bolt, and the nylon bolt end against the smooth knitting I decided to order a mirror cell from them because the owner had talked about a new cell he was excited about. 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. Plus it comes in black, so you don't need to paint it (or worry about paint flaking off it). Download and unzip. They're fairly 1" Rack & Pinion Focuser. surfaces to put the bearings in and a vee at the bottom that would hold To get a slide-fit in a 3D printed part, you normally make the hole 0.5mm larger than the shaft. The specific hardware used for this is described on the Building page. 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. Newton, and others including James Gregory and Laurent Cassegrain, believed that a reflecting telescope would not be affected by the chromatic aberration that affected . When I ordered the cell, I paid through paypal, which immediately deducts money from my checking account. Once your telescope is assembled, drape black woven velveteen around the truss assembly, clipping it with safety pins. I would love to see your build when you are finished with it . I waited until dark and pointed the scope at the sky. Or in my case, back to SolidWorks :-). It stalled when tension on the belt increased. I applied contact cement to the first inch of the veneer and the mating inch of the tube. Edited by Pierre Lemay, 25 May 2020 - 08:10 AM. They eyepiece height ended up being about 5'10" high at zenith. If the telescope rotates forward or backward on its own, then the mirror box is too deep or too shallow. This unit takes signals from your computer and drives the stepper motor on the focuser. I am working on a diy focuser design for my 6" F/8 telescope and asking suggestions for simple focuser. This software creates a model of your telescope by measuring out of focus star sizes at various points. 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. I paid the 50% deposit and dreamed of DSOs. Several of my Recent Images have been focused with this system. 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. I read the entire thread and surely its going to help me building my focuser. More commercial crayford focusers are of a more enclosed form, whereas mine is more "open frame" approach. By adjusting the bolts, the mirror can be pointed toward the correct spot. I attached three feet equally spaced on top of the ring, and on the opposite side attached teflon pads 1 X 1 directly above the feet using very small brads and countersinking the brads below the surface of the teflon. Accordingly, with 1.25 focuser, you can use 1.25 eyepieces, with 2 focuser - both 2 eyepieces and 1.25 (through a special . Homemade astronomy. They use a simple plywood mirror cell, stating that for an 8 inch mirror this cell will be adequate. We are now ready for some testing. I hate focusing. adapter set screws to slide into. Crayford-style design with four bearings and one driveshaft. 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. small, it's surprisingly rigid. } 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. I am thankful to enjoy the inspiration, and the details, that you provide, as I will soon be constructing a Dobsonian Telescope. Earthbound1 likes this #2 dave brock Mercury-Atlas This Instructable describe the planning, design, and parts of the scope, as well as the process of building The scope. This is my copy of the telescope that Sir Isaac Newton presented to the Royal Society of London in 1671, and is considered to be the first successful reflecting telescope. Before you do this, the stepper motor will probably move, but it will make a 'stuttering' sound instead of moving smoothly. an inch or so apart, so the focuser body could be pretty low profile. You can see that my Moonlite focuser was slightly larger than the sides of the tube. A smart collection of books, magazines, electronics kits, robots, microcontrollers, tools, supplies, and more

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homemade telescope focuser