I installed the spider first, about one inch down from the end of the square end of the tube. When you're ready to go on to testing with the windows driver, you want "myFP2_DRV8825_312-1", open that folder. I'll use an aluminum tube for the finished draw tube but for now the plastic tube . After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. 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. I attached them with very small brads, countersinking the brads. Perfect for astrophotography or during high power planetary observation. #@$%^#@!!!!! I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. 11 years ago Along with some silver bits you don't need to paint it (or worry about paint flaking off it). At their suggestion, I also ordered a 2.6 inch secondary mirror. 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. I'm also going to focus on only one version of Robert's focuser (there are many). 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. The focuser shaft on the telescope is 13.1mm in diameter. I used my router to "mill" a flat area for better contact with the focus adjustment rod. The pieces were cut down to 15 3/8 and 14 3/8, allowing just under 1/8 inch on each side. The hole did need to be enlarged slightly by moving the bit within the hole , but in the end, the fit seems right. And a couple of upright bearing blocks. narrow the frame. A Pocket Sundial From a Broken Pocket Watch! I used one of these scrap pieces to draw an angle of 70 degrees to the edge of the arc so that I could later place the teflon pads on the arcs. Home centers and hardware stores did not carry large sizes. 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. once. It has become an indispensable piece of equipment for me that so beats hacking and filing PVC pipes etc. 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. In amateur astrophotography, we run our telescopes overnight. All Orion 1.25" and 2" telescope focusers are engineered to provide smooth drawtube action to ensure you hit the exact focus point . Some quick tips to note if you are making a homemade telescope are: 1. I built mine entirely from CNC-cut plywood, and fastened it together with 2 bolts. We are now ready for some testing. My telescope is the Orion ED80T-CF. 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. So I was looking for a cheap, light-but-sturdy design for a scope, I only put knobs on the outsides. I have already seen some designs on CN, Stellafane and web but still checking if someone has recently made anything simpler. corners of the squares provide nice nooks for the eyepiece and eyepiece I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. When they arrived, they were beautifully and carefully packaged with the secondary already installed in its holder. It is not very powerful, it will not supply enough torque if you put any load on it or have a heavy optical train (like I do) and the focuser has to "pull" it upward when the telescope is vertical. I marked the expected position of the secondary by measuring 61 inches down from the end of the tube. 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. on Step 1, interesting build, its just like my old Odyssey brand scope from the mid 1990's. 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. Just as it was about to come into focus, the focuser bottomed out. My secondary is 4; for tips on choosing size, click here. A week later the cell arrived (on schedule) from University Optics. Not sure if it is available in the USA. You can easily, and economically (10$) build a Crayford Helical Focuser like the one pictured above in one evening with simple tools. I wanted to wrap the tube in veneer because I had seen a homemade telescope on a website that used veneer and I liked the look. After a few weeks of no communication from them, no ability to phone or email them, and no mirror cell arriving. Keeping with the 'simple ' part of your request, here is a helical 2"/1.25" focuser made from std plumbing parts. I was finishing this inner debate when I got a copy of the book The Dobsonian Telescope by Kriege and Berry as a Christmas gift. After the second call, I received a response that it would be ready at the end of the following week. 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. 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. I don't *do* pretty. A project collaboration and documentation platform. The Crayford focuser is a simplified focusing mechanism for amateur astronomical telescopes. needle to be just a little too flexible for the weight of a diagonal and Read the documentation though, there are a lot of functions and options. Some of these are essential for the basic functionalities of our websites. try { ASIAIR - Is there an easy way to load Messier catalog into Autorun? It may take you a while to adjust the image correctly, but it's not hard to do, just time consuming. This project is based on Robert Brown's "Arduino ASCOM Focuser Pro2 DIY". I tried to call, but the voice mail had a recording stating that the customer was unable to receive messages. Low, or Zero slop when changing direction. It's the same in form, but has a perfect, true 13.35mm hole. wobbly knob still works, and adds character. think that design would be rigid enough under the weight of a diagonal 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. I then attached the Ebony Star ring using contact cement. The part is very strong! 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. 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. It is used to setup water outlet from overhead water tanks. 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. The next day, I called back to ask their opinion about the kind of spider and secondary holder to order. It was easy enough to drill a hole and tap threads for a You need a drawtube of course. 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. Your design is simple and nice. stronger, but would give me a coarser focus action because of their I told them I was on my way. If you follow the procedures described above, your telescope's optics will be perfectly aligned. Position "0" is with the focuser all the way IN (at least for a refractor). 1/4" x 20 bolt, and the nylon bolt end against the smooth knitting Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. Start with the small components first. Just to make sure I liked the stain, I applied some to a piece of scrap wood. The rocker sides are each made of two identical pieces of inch plywood glued together, creating two sides one inch thick. Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome of this project - focusing is now a joy. Inside the OTA is a ring of tightly fitting flocking paper that prevents any light getting in around the drawtube. on Step 5. Here is a simple 3D printed helical focuser that cost just a few cents (assuming you have a 3D printer). One of the companies I had considered as a supplier for the primary mirror was Anttler's Optical. His project is very well documented. Finally, attach your polar alignment device and align it with the hinge. It had been described by many as the most important recent volume for anyone planning to build a dob, and I have to agree. Next, attach the eyepiece and the focuser to the top part of the telescope tube. I will post the pic of final focuser once ready. I set things up in daylight and collimated the scope. Measure the diameter of the exposed shaft. While I will freely admit that most astro-photography is WAY beyond me, you certainly do NOT need a $3200 camera to do so. 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. A Your astrophotographer friend may have included his own images from his setup. More commercial crayford focusers are of a more enclosed form, whereas mine is more "open frame" approach. 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. occurred to me that a square turned 45 degrees would give me two flat The focal length of the mirror is 61 inches. the side of a rigid secondary cage. Connect the Arduino USB cable and upload some test sketches. DIY Craford Focuser. Topics such as I'm' glad I did, because I didn't like the first color that I had chosen. weight. 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. Share it with us! They use a simple plywood mirror cell, stating that for an 8 inch mirror this cell will be adequate. Install on Windows 10, this part is pretty straightforward. They have many items for ATMers and I had frequently visited their website when planning my scope. homemade Crayford focuser. PVC pipe makes great drawtubes. I had the thought that as long as I was going to build it I should build it as big as I could afford. 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! Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. 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. Before you do this, the stepper motor will probably move, but it will make a 'stuttering' sound instead of moving smoothly. This is the upper tube that contains the flat secondary mirror, Telrad finder, and focuser. I hate focusing. I decided to order a mirror cell from them because the owner had talked about a new cell he was excited about. Lining up this center point with the center of the top of the side bearing, I brought the corner of the side bearing up to the edge of the tube box and attached it with screws. 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 Introduction. Deep space photos like these require HOURS of exposure for each one. but try for a snug fit if you can. I got a different stain, tested it, and went back to work. Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. 4 years ago Here is what I was working on but looks like I need a better design. I marked the spot and moved things back inside to install the mirror. After the second call, I received a response that it would be ready at the end of the following week. The mount and tripod are pretty much useless for astrophotography. I didn't receive any confirmation email after a few days, so I tried to send them an email. If you're not using heavy eyepieces, you probably don't need The flat wants to be running parallel to the long axis of the tube. I plan to use an FTA over it in case an extension is needed. 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. 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. Electronics and software automate the process of taking pictures. You can view and download the full file here. It just 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. I will have a lot of fun building my homemade 12.5 inch Dobsonian Telescope!!! Thin 1/16 Kydex plastic should be cut to length to line the inside of the cage as a baffle to block outside light. It took yet another call a week later for the items to actually be mailed. 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 There was the expense, for one, but also the This motor is available on Amazon. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); This motor is available on Amazon. focusers for that project. - Bill. 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. Did you make this project? OK, no, I do not have a homemade Crayford focuser but am planning to build a 3 incher for next years 17" reflector telescope project and to hold my new 30mm ES 100 degree EP. I only do functional. My other telescope is a Celestron NexStar C6E. Realizing that it could not be the University Optics cell already, I thought, Noit couldn't be but, in fact, it was. This NEMA-17 direct drive stepper motor is available from Adafruit and many other sellers. 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. This allowed me to cut perfect identical circles. Thin-wall aluminum tubing is used to attach the mirror box to the secondary cage. You need some purple bits Sonotube (14 inch diameter, 12 feet long): $70, Focuser (GSO 2 speed low profile Crayford): $139, Total cost for supplies for this project: $1700. I decided to use baltic birch because it is recommended by Kriege and Berry as well as many online sources. I then temporarily installed the secondary mirror so that I could measure the approximate distance to the center of the secondary in order to locate the holes for the focuser. DO NOT drill out the holes in the board! Nice one. Cost is $25 - $30, and you will have 5 PCBs in about a week.