homemade telescope focuserhomemade telescope focuser

After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. The part is very strong! Picture of DS-4. Since my focuser shaft is 6mm, I ordered the coupler shown here in the 6mm to 8mm version from Amazon. As the telescope tilts toward the horizon, the mirror must be supported on its edge. I then attached the Ebony Star ring using contact cement. We tried this in our back yard, but found that it was too difficult to aim both the tube and the moving mirror at distant trees in our suburban yard. A project collaboration and documentation platform. 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. rod for the drive axle it would have a fairly fine motion. 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. 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. Download and unzip. Low, or Zero slop when changing direction. I have not yet figured out a better way to hold the tube. but try for a snug fit if you can. it sticks into your light path. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality. I also figured that the extra expense was worth it, considering the amount of money I was investing in the project overall. 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. 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. Just drill holes in both ends and mount the lenses. 1" Rack & Pinion Focuser. 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. Un-real!!! Very simple and portable. Drill a hole and attach the ball head using a shorter 1/4" 20 bolt. Nice one. Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine today, Community access, print, and digital Magazine, and more. The wide square footprint would make it pretty stable when mounted to 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. To do this, the mirror cell needs to be supported by 3 large bolts, at least 2 of which are adjustable. Given that you can make the drawtube any length you Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. There are a number of technical reasons why these photographs could not have come from this Optical Tube Assembly. I was annoyed to have made the mistake, but very glad that I checked the position on stars before wrapping the tube in veneer. However more than the focuser, I liked your scope. To test the concept I used a short piece of two inch PVC for the draw tube. I am well versed in technology, have all the tools necessary to build my own! I described it two years ago in this thread:https://www.cloudyniuser/?p=8879835 . 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. DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? Step 4Attaching the Side Bearings and assembling the Rocker. When they arrived, they were beautifully and carefully packaged with the secondary already installed in its holder. Then it was time to stain and finish. Next step, before my first acquisition of any parts, is to get with any amateur astronomers in Central Florida, so, wish me luck! 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. If you're going for simple, have you considered a helical focuser? Make sure the shroud can slip on and off of the assembled scope, and that it stretches along the circumference (not lengthwise). scope, I only put knobs on the outsides. I placed my telrad, optical finder, and an eyepiece on the focuser end of the tube and, using a broomstick as a balance point, found that the tube balanced 22 inches from the bottom. The motor is much lighter than the geared motor. As it turned out, the mirror cell was too large to fit into my 14 inch sonotube. Orion Dynamo Mini for powering a Nexstar 6SE? The Focuser and other items: (Scope Stuff). Building the mirror box is tricky, because the entire optical assembly (mirror cell, mirror box, trusses, secondary cage) must balance at the center of rotation of the arms. It stalled when tension on the belt increased. Trim off any unused fabric along the base. Attach the eye piece to another cardboard piece and pass it through the hole from the inside of the tube. That's pretty much the focuser. This was to allow the circle cutting jig to be attached to the board to cut the arcs from a center point of 25 inches above the ground. 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. Keeping with the 'simple ' part of your request, here is a helical 2"/1.25" focuser made from std plumbing parts. It turns out the the extra 1/16 allowed far too much side to side movement between the rocker and ground board. Below are cutting diagrams and diagrams of the rocker and tube box with side bearings. Our websites use cookies to improve your browsing experience. I tried to call, but the voice mail had a recording stating that the customer was unable to receive messages. Read the documentation though, there are a lot of functions and options. My homemade motorized telescope focuser for Celestron C8. Reply Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. I made this Crayford style focuser using plywood scraps and surplus bearings. Once Id built a CNC router, I embarked on my third telescope, featuring a 16 primary mirror with aluminum trusses, wide vertical bearing arcs, a steel front-adjustable mirror cell, and a rotating base. Slewing to find an object and then tracking an object on the sky, so when you make a homemade telescope on the motorisation process you will need high speed for slewing and low speed for tracking or fine movements. 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. But, like many of you I'm sure, the biggest reason I'm doing this is for the pure geeky fun of it! Remember: It is the quality and SIZE of the capture chip, NOT the megapixels that determines quality. 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. 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. The company has a reputation for excellent optics, and it was neither the most expensive, nor the least. love to hear from people who are interested in this focuser design. And for those who like to work with 3D printers, both the single speed and dual-speed versions could easily be printed. The back of the mirror floats on 3 or more support points (this build uses 6) that are calculated usinga software tool called PLOP. Made of plywood, the rocker box supports the mirror box on 1 teflon pads, allowing it to rotate vertically. 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. Earthbound1 likes this #2 dave brock Mercury-Atlas We all know the problems with focusing. PhotoPictureResizer_190723_214534574_crop_2558x3105_copy_1023x1242.jpg. A free program that lights childrens creative fires and allows them to explore projects in areas such as arts & 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. I Hope to give you ideas if you are thinking about building one for yourself! Not sure how your toilets are built over there, but here they use what is called a tank flush valve. It may need some careful coaxing with a screwdriver. 4 years ago Thank you for your pages. 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. For about $3 we can buy a tank valve kit that has a threaded 2" i.d. I'm also going to focus on only one version of Robert's focuser (there are many). 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 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. (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.) Thanks Pinbout for sharing your design. The basic points I wanted to cover: What did I end up with? 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. help eliminate slippage when the focuser is pointed straight upward. Contact cement is permanent, so the only solution would be to replace the tube! I have no idea how much mail this idea will generate, so I can't It turned out that they had an incorrect zip code and the package was still waiting to be sent. Helical is one of the option i am considering. Many sources point out that 10 inches is a kind of sweet spot in the balance between power and portability. 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. 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'm' glad I did, because I didn't like the first color that I had chosen. Having an RS trade counter 2 miles away is such a luxury! Position "0" is with the focuser all the way IN (at least for a refractor). Carve out a hole on the top part of the sonotube first. 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. An Altitude Azimuth mount would also require a field rotator.There's no way these were taken with an Orion GoTo Mount. I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. The shroud made from two 22 inch tall containers came out short, so I had to add an eleven inch strip of nylon. My first telescope I built was a 10" F8. i am not trying to win this contest with photos. Given any mirror measurements, PLOP will provide the ideal support layout and how much distortion to expect for any number of flotation points. The blue pieces of the rocker box and ground board are arranged as in the diagrams in (figure 2). The overall project is super cheap, we're building this thing for something like $50 in materials. The day I received the refund, I ordered a mirror cell from University Optics. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); This sure is going to be a project I will work on. I am using scrap upvc pipe material. I'll use an aluminum tube for the finished draw tube but for now the plastic tube . really stiff and light for their size, and even though a #2 is pretty Those are the last screws to be tightened. I wasn't there so i can be 100% but i do not think my friend was lying to me and i believe the pictures are from my telescope my kids use it for stargazing a lot i have seen some deepspace but i use it mainly for sketching the moon and i like to view solar flares. Install on Windows 10, this part is pretty straightforward. try { This one is based on the DRV8825 driver chip and a NEMA-17 stepper motor. #@$%^#@!!!!! I'd be willing to bet that you could easily grind your own 12.5 inch next time and save some $$. But, especially on cold evenings, the focus may go out in the middle of the night. Two of the holes for the bolts were blocked by knobs. A bit of a monster! The hole did need to be enlarged slightly by moving the bit within the hole , but in the end, the fit seems right. adapter set screws to slide into. Share it with us! the bearings right at the edge of the frame, reducing the frame to 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. I installed the spider first, about one inch down from the end of the square end of the tube. One of the companies I had considered as a supplier for the primary mirror was Anttler's Optical. I carefully cut exactly through the center of each side bearing circle to make my semicircles. once. 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. This proved fatal for the stepper motor! (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.) 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. I have no dog in this hunt whatsoever, but if people are impressed by these photographs and vote for it because of them when there's no proof that this scope generated the photos and there IS data to the contrary (see below), then that's certainly not fair to the other contestants. More commercial crayford focusers are of a more enclosed form, whereas mine is more "open frame" approach. Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. The project creator Robert Brown made a good video on testing the board. 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. After cutting the circles for the side bearings, I set up the jig to cut the curved edges of the rocker sides. 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. I like the old way of using stepper motors and other stuff introduced years ago by Mel Bartels, he is a master for me. So I was looking for a cheap, light-but-sturdy design for a Download the Gerber Files. But I wanted a larger mirror, and, at that size, grinding my own was not an option. To place the primary mirror, I installed the secondary and installed the primary in the mirror cell. Until I see photos of this scope setup for these pictures and an explanation of the exact equipment used, I cannot believe that these pictures were taken with this OTA. I wanted to finish that instructable before the contest ended but was too late :-). Several of my Recent Images have been focused with this system. 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. I had considered a Moonlite or Featherlite focuser, but I knew from my experience with my 6 inch scope that I wanted a 2 speed focuser, and the price tag of their 2 speed focusers scared me away. until a 2" eyepiece or 1.25" adapter is snug. Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. 1N5408 3A Diode (you may need to make the pins smaller to fit through the holes in the board. 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. Thanks Bob. and an eyepiece. (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.) Topics such as 11 years ago This design could be adapted to practically any telescope or focuser, so I've kept my outline on the project brief. occurred to me that a square turned 45 degrees would give me two flat I had nearly completed the base and put things together for the first time. . It had been described by many as the most important recent volume for anyone planning to build a dob, and I have to agree. So, I duplicated the aluminum gear pulley in SolidWorks, and printed it out. To interface with the computer, I have used the Artemis Focuser module from Steve, Arthur and Co. Move the jigs until you can comfortably place a variety of eyepieces in the focuser and get a sharp image, then carefully measure the separation distances. The holes in the main bracket the match the holes in the plate are oversize to allow for this alignment. Attach the ball head to the top board. - Bill. The next day my wife called me at work to tell me a box had arrived with telescope stuff. an inch or so apart, so the focuser body could be pretty low profile. At their suggestion, I also ordered a 2.6 inch secondary mirror. 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. I hate focusing. tube and nut that fits the outside threads. too far. Electronics and software automate the process of taking pictures. Perfect for visual observations with very heavy mirrors. The silly colours are mainly due to me experimenting with various clothes dyes in the anodising. Plus it comes in black, so Another thing, the resolution on the Dumbell nebula seems a bit too high for that telescope. The premier publication of maker projects, skill-building tutorials, in-depth reviews, and inspirational stories, It is named after the Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society, Crayford, London, England where it was invented by John Wall, a member of the astronomical society which meets there. focusers for that project. In amateur astrophotography, we run our telescopes overnight. Once built, line the undersides of the arms with textured ABS plastic as a bearing surface. Before I wrapped the tube (and before I discovered the problem with the primary placement) I determined the balance point on the tube. I have already seen some designs on CN, Stellafane and web but still checking if someone has recently made anything simpler. 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. The drawings are only approximately to scale. Share a cool tool or product with the community. I would love to see your build when you are finished with it . 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. Deep space photos like these require HOURS of exposure for each one. Brandon Lawler is a hobbyist telescope Maker and an active member of the Central Texas Astronomical Society. Able to shift heavy loads of kit ie over 1000g. You need a drawtube of course. Save over 40% off the annual cover price for a full year (4 issues) of Make. The project took several months off and on to complete, although a skilled Maker could put a similar one together in a few weeks. 100A81BF-2145-44D5-BC76-66DBF43BAD58.jpeg. I had to take apart the focuser in order to get my bolts in place. a 3/4" thickness. I did not glue the bearings to the tube box in case I needed to adjust the position later. If your optical train is heavy and the focuser has to bear it (see above) then this motor may be a better choice. I ended up modifying it a bit after printing. This unit takes signals from your computer and drives the stepper motor on the focuser. I also wanted to strengthen and protect the cardboard tube. like, you can have as much focuser travel as you want no matter how 1/4" x 20 bolt, and the nylon bolt end against the smooth knitting I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. A wide hole will let the knitting needle creep It just Two such companies would not give me a price because the order of a single tube was too small. Only problem is if I put a diagonal it wants to rotate the helical part. Have you made any mods on it since you built it? I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. Able to make myself using my own humble tools (or toys as the pros will call them!). Frustrated by these difficulties, I stopped by one more hardware store to ask for advice. I was certain not to move the jig at all before cutting the second circle. I will get good 30-40 mm focusing range. 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.". case you need more focuser travel than you thought. I marked the spot and moved things back inside to install the mirror. (I didn't have the primary mirror yet). A large in diameter (1.6") so that adds to the fine-ness of the focus There are sub-folders for the different versions. 7 years ago Meade Zero Image-Shift Electronic Micro-Focuser This high precision focuser allows you to obtain an extremely accurate image focus. As I mentioned on my binocular I gave them a call and they said they had one on the shelf14 inches in diameter and 12 feet long! 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. We are now ready for some testing. 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. This software creates a model of your telescope by measuring out of focus star sizes at various points. We use cookies to continuously improve our websites for you and optimize its design and customization. Their step by step instructions were invaluable to me as I built this scope. Total cost for supplies for this project: It took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. Today I purchased what is called atank nipple in India. After researching several possible sources for a primary mirror, I decided to order an f/5 12.5 inch mirror from Discovery Optics. The heaviest piece is 40 lbs, and the total scope weighs about 60 lbs (not counting the baffle). 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. Pretty dry but important! Before attaching the sides and front to the bottom with wood screws, I wanted to make sure those screws would not interfere with the Ebony Star ring that would be attached to the rocker bottom. Thanks again for the 'ible. It was May 12th. My homemade motorized telescope focuser for Celestron C8. Once I had my design set, I was ready to buy the parts. For my project I needed a 14 inch diameter, and I had a tough time finding one. The hole is made slightly larger than the shaft, this is normal. Download and check them out, I just grabbed the first one and printed it. installations. Your choice here will be recorded for all Make.co Websites. Find a special something for the makers in your life. For a while I decided that 10 inch would be the best size. So, am curious to see what others have designed and built and proud to show off here on the homage to Crayford thread. If you're not using heavy eyepieces, you probably don't need That way you won't be dropping your drawtube and Orient this assembly to allow you to view an object on the far horizon. This NEMA-17 direct drive stepper motor is available from Adafruit and many other sellers. 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. To cut the circles, I used a router with a straight cutting bit and a circle cutting jig. After the second call, I received a response that it would be ready at the end of the following week. These will be stored in your browser only with your consent and you have the option to opt-out. DO NOT drill out the holes in the board! initiatives for the next generation of makers. Measure the diameter of the exposed shaft. You should now be able to drill the 4 holes at each corner. That helps with low-profile The lumber yard also gave me a lower price than I expected. The one company that did provide a price quoted over $500more than I was willing to pay for cardboard! Focuser minimum height is 50 mm and maximum a little over 90 mm so it is good overall. 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. A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. Another vote for Pierre's helical Crayford design. I built mine entirely from CNC-cut plywood, and fastened it together with 2 bolts. Most people will want a knob on A Pocket Sundial From a Broken Pocket Watch! All that remained was to design and print a bracket, and buy the needed parts. The little app is simple and works great. I paid the 50% deposit and dreamed of DSOs. The belt and pulleys are off-the-shelf items available on Amazon. 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. drneilmb, thanks for sharing the focuser design. If not, you may need to design and print your own bracket(s), gears, and so on. on Introduction. I'd knitting needle where it goes through the hole, so it's not a big deal, 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. 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. Dobsonians come in all shapes and sizes, from small 4-8 builds all the way up to massive 24-36 creations. The telescopes size is classified by the size of its mirror. This arrangement turns 100% true, no wobble. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. These are mounted 120 degrees apart and use 4 inexpensive bearings to support the tube. var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? Telescope Magazine. This is the first telescope that I have built. 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. Let me see if I am able to collect all the parts needed.
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