together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators across the globe. I attached them with very small brads, countersinking the brads. I have no idea how much mail this idea will generate, so I can't needle adds no friction that I can feel to the focus action. After looking at many focuser options with a big range of prices, I decided to order a GSO 2 speed Crayford focuser from ScopeStuff. I could not find a spacer to fit my 9/16 hole, so I bought the 11/16 spacer (1 1/8 long because that's what the store had) and a bit of the same size. (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.) eyepiece on the ground (or worse, on your primary mirror!) The extra force will also I'll use an aluminum tube for the finished draw tube but for now the plastic tube . 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. by cranking Carve out a hole on the top part of the sonotube first. We use cookies to continuously improve our websites for you and optimize its design and customization. Orion Dynamo Mini for powering a Nexstar 6SE? Telescope Electronic Focuser : 16 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables 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. The heaviest piece is 40 lbs, and the total scope weighs about 60 lbs (not counting the baffle). 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. In the "ARDUINO FIRMWARE" folder, in it you will find a ZIP file "myFP2-Firmware 312-1.zip". CNC files (optional) Download the Sketchup files. I only do functional. 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. 11 years ago The motor is much lighter than the geared motor. The version number "312" here may change if Robert posts new firmware. 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. I'm' glad I did, because I didn't like the first color that I had chosen. on my binocular scope for quite a while now and really like them. 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. I had already made a lightweight focuser for Let me see if I am able to collect all the parts needed. 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. This is the upper tube that contains the flat secondary mirror, Telrad finder, and focuser. The Dob is really a great design. My other telescope is a Celestron NexStar C6E. 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. To place the primary mirror, I installed the secondary and installed the primary in the mirror cell. 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. We all know the problems with focusing. 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. It's the same in form, but has a perfect, true 13.35mm hole. the nylon screws going up from the bottom, but I found the knitting 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. 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. think that design would be rigid enough under the weight of a diagonal This motor is available on Amazon. Start with the small components first. The dimensions of the Tube Box Sides are based on the outer diameter of my tube14 3/16. I'd be willing to bet that you could easily grind your own 12.5 inch next time and save some $$. If you follow the procedures described above, your telescope's optics will be perfectly aligned. Telescope Magazine. These will be stored in your browser only with your consent and you have the option to opt-out. . It took about 3 weeks but, since Anttler's did not even reply to the Paypal dispute, I received a Paypal refund. on Step 3. love to hear from people who are interested in this focuser design. 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. SDO/HMI Continuum Image on 2023.03.04 at 1259 UT, Remote computer working with no extra networking. control. This allows for a small clearance between the outside of the tube and the inside of the tube box (14 3/8). Meade Zero Image-Shift Electronic Micro-Focuser This high precision focuser allows you to obtain an extremely accurate image focus. As I read the book I decided that I should build a 12.5 inch truss tube scope. If you want a Crayford focuser with a knob instead of turning the draw tube, then Jerry Oltion's designhttp://www.jerryoltixycrayfords.htm using box frames and knitting needle drive shafts is also a fairly easy build. The Focuser and other items: (Scope Stuff). I'd Slide the eyepiece into the focuser and try it out. My first telescope I built was a 10" F8. Gift the gift of Make: Magazine this holiday season! Attach the ball head to the top board. It was May 12th. Unfortunately I don't have a 3d printer. My DIY Motorized Telescope Focuser - YouTube Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - DIY Craford Focuser - Google So I was looking for a cheap, light-but-sturdy design for a I suspected that the company was either in trouble or no longer in business. Sh2-169 and Sh2-168, IC5146 Cocoon Nebula, Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125. Thicker walls also required thicker side bearings so that the outside of the bearings would line up with the outside of the rocker sides. There are some test sketches in the "Tests" folder, start with those. Maker-written books designed to inform and delight! (Sorry you var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? I used the "LEDandBuzzer" and "TestStepsDRV8825" tests. How to make a $30 DIY star tracker for astrophotography the bearings, totally eliminating any flex. Nice one. Wooden Telescope Part 2: Tube and Mount - Instructables Ideally, the spacer would be 1 inch long and have a smaller diameter, but I didn't get this one right the first time. Home centers and hardware stores did not carry large sizes. Download and check them out, I just grabbed the first one and printed it. I wanted the long focal length for good contrast. . on Introduction, Very nice build nikon20. you could probably space the bearings 3/4" apart instead of 1" and mount If you wanted to really go low-profile with this design, 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. The cage should be a hollow cylinder about wider than the mirror, with the focuser mounted directly facing the secondary mirror. By adjusting the bolts, the mirror can be pointed toward the correct spot. 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 gave them a call and they said they had one on the shelf14 inches in diameter and 12 feet long! The bigger upvc nut will be attached to focuser plate and longer threaded side will be used on it for the focusing. I Did you make this project? The email bounced back to me. While round tubing is sturdy, square tubing is easier to work with. 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. The plate has slotted screw holes for tensioning the 6mm belt. This combination has the best resolution (steps/revolution), so I didn't see any reason to build anything else. $299.99 More About Telescope Focusers If you mess up, you can turn the hole into a slot, but avoid And for those who like to work with 3D printers, both the single speed and dual-speed versions could easily be printed. I took the whole tube assembly outside. It is used to setup water outlet from overhead water tanks. I decided to order a mirror cell from them because the owner had talked about a new cell he was excited about. 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. Now attach the screw eyes and the rubber band on the side of the board. This extra space would allow the tube to be repositioned within the tube box to rotate the eyepiece or balance the tube. Thanks for the great comment. Along with some silver bits 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. Perfect for visual observations with very heavy mirrors. I had to take apart the focuser in order to get my bolts in place. scope, I only put knobs on the outsides. Since my focuser shaft is 6mm, I ordered the coupler shown here in the 6mm to 8mm version from Amazon. A 10 inch scope would not be very much longer or heavier than my 6 inch, yet it would allow me to see much more. Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. This is the mirror box for my 16", with Jim doing a bit of cleanup sanding. This combination has proved to be effective for all positions except when the tube is pointed directly up. 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. One of the neat things about the square design is that the Pierre Lemay, thanks for sharing your simple and incredible design. When they arrived, they were beautifully and carefully packaged with the secondary already installed in its holder. It may need some careful coaxing with a screwdriver. Having an RS trade counter 2 miles away is such a luxury! So I decided to make my own, using my normal "blunder in naively and see what happens" approach to making things. I bought a 4" PVC Sewer pipe cap, used a hole saw to cut a 2.25" hole then attached the helical thing to the PVC cap. 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. weight. After the second call, I received a response that it would be ready at the end of the following week. I will post the pic of final focuser once ready. Every primary telescope mirror has a fixed focal length thats usually 4 to 6 times the width of the mirror. Then it was time to stain and finish. A bit of a monster! 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 hole is made slightly larger than the shaft, this is normal. small, it's surprisingly rigid. knitting needle where it goes through the hole, so it's not a big deal, Just to make sure I liked the stain, I applied some to a piece of scrap wood. 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. 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. In amateur astrophotography, we run our telescopes overnight. 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. Before you do this, the stepper motor will probably move, but it will make a 'stuttering' sound instead of moving smoothly. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - 14 inch dob - Google My secondary is 4; for tips on choosing size, click here. needle so the knitting needle will be snug against the drawtube without A smart collection of books, magazines, electronics kits, robots, microcontrollers, tools, supplies, and more The mirror box encloses the mirror cell and allows the entire telescope to rotate vertically. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - Udder Nonsense - Google 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! This allowed me to cut perfect identical circles. but try for a snug fit if you can. While I will freely admit that most astro-photography is WAY beyond me, you certainly do NOT need a $3200 camera to do so. The day I received the refund, I ordered a mirror cell from University Optics. The rocker sides are each made of two identical pieces of inch plywood glued together, creating two sides one inch thick. You should now be able to drill the 4 holes at each corner. I call shenanigans on every picture in this post except for the the moon. I have not yet figured out a better way to hold the tube. 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. 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 current needs to be adjusted on the DRV8825. Two inch internal diameter drawtube. knob, and a drill press to make sure the hole for the knitting needle Once you get it working, there's some calibration you need to do. a try. until a 2" eyepiece or 1.25" adapter is snug. 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. I pointed it at distant trees and had no problem bringing the image into focus with all of my eyepieces. I waited until dark and pointed the scope at the sky. can't click on it or copy and paste it; it's a graphic file to thwart At their suggestion, I also ordered a 2.6 inch secondary mirror. I'm also going to focus on only one version of Robert's focuser (there are many). Use mild soap and distilled . I wanted to finish that instructable before the contest ended but was too late :-). It I told them to take their time and get it right. Fire up focusmax, and shoot some images! The focuser knob had two set screws. Dozens of projects in every issue covering electronics, craft, fabrication, and more, Learn tips and skill-building tutorials from experts in the maker community. Easy DIY motorized battery free telescope focuser - YouTube Thanks Bob. The Crayford focuser is a simplified focusing mechanism for amateur astronomical telescopes. Bill, Impressive work and great idea about LSDF focuser. I brought a saw with me so that I cut it in half to fit in my minivan. I built mine entirely from CNC-cut plywood, and fastened it together with 2 bolts. work really well, for a fraction of the cost of a commercial Crayford on Step 5. Upload that main sketch to the Nano. 100A81BF-2145-44D5-BC76-66DBF43BAD58.jpeg. Edited by howardcano, 24 May 2020 - 09:29 PM. astronowanabe, Pierre Lemay, LarsMalmgren and. "https://ssl." Finally, I glued a strip of Ebony Star laminante to the curves edge of each side bearing using contact cement, using a flush edge bit on a router to bring the edge of the laminate even with the edge of the wood after the cement had set. 4 years ago crafts, science & engineering, design, and technology. The belt and pulleys are off-the-shelf items available on Amazon. The core of the telescope, the steel mirror cell holds and adjusts the heavy, curved primary mirror. Bore out some 2.5 inch bar and mill a flat down the side making sure it is lined up. Finally it was etched in caustic soda, and anodised matt black. The length of the Rocker Front also had to be changed so that the outside edge of the Side Bearings matched the outside edge of the Rocker Sides precisely. DIY Electric Focuser - ATM, Optics and DIY Forum - Cloudy Nights I got a different stain, tested it, and went back to work. There was the expense, for one, but also the 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 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. I would love to see your build when you are finished with it . Participated in the Celestron Space Challenge. 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. A Beginner's Guide to Collimation - Gary Seronik A Pocket Sundial From a Broken Pocket Watch! 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. I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. You really need a step ladder even for my 10" when pointed overhead. I Hope to give you ideas if you are thinking about building one for yourself! I didn't receive any confirmation email after a few days, so I tried to send them an email. Once its cut to length, drill a hole through each end of the tubing with a drill press. This is the first telescope that I have built. But, especially on cold evenings, the focus may go out in the middle of the night. Make sure the shroud can slip on and off of the assembled scope, and that it stretches along the circumference (not lengthwise). 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. Pretty dry but important! on Step 1, Richards in our local astronomy club. The basic points I wanted to cover: What did I end up with? This proved fatal for the stepper motor! After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. Finally, attach your polar alignment device and align it with the hinge. 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. Stellafane The Focuser 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. This arrangement turns 100% true, no wobble. Orient this assembly to allow you to view an object on the far horizon. Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome of this project - focusing is now a joy. Total cost for supplies for this project: It took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. To view, go here: http://emediadesigns.com/focuser/ 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. You will look through these as you rotate the wheel. While a sling or whiffletree provide the best edge support, a two-point edge support is much easier to construct. case you need more focuser travel than you thought. 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. I paid the 50% deposit and dreamed of DSOs. It doesn't. A tilted focuser will have no effect on the image quality. Frustrated by these difficulties, I stopped by one more hardware store to ask for advice. 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. Funny how the bigger they are the better for dobs. Primary telescope mirror aftermarket, homemade, or custom-made. drneilmb, thanks for sharing the focuser design. Thanks for your article. Just drill holes in both ends and mount the lenses. Sew the seam, and sew an elastic cord into the top to secure it to the secondary cage. (actually, it ended up a smidge more than 2 inches) Lighter than the existing focuser. in the tube so they'll hit the knitting needle before your drawtube runs 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); 11 years ago If you're going for simple, have you considered a helical focuser? More commercial crayford focusers are of a more enclosed form, whereas mine is more "open frame" approach. I am thankful to enjoy the inspiration, and the details, that you provide, as I will soon be constructing a Dobsonian Telescope. Crayford-style design with four bearings and one driveshaft. 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. You can see that my Moonlite focuser was slightly larger than the sides of the tube. 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. I found a used 16 primary on eBay. Obviously an open truss telescope. With the DRV8825 and Arduino Nano plugged in, the basic board is complete. 11 years ago This design could be adapted to practically any telescope or focuser, so I've kept my outline on the project brief. The bearings only need to be Because thebasic movement and optics requirements are relatively simple, much of the design is left to the builder. Another thing, the resolution on the Dumbell nebula seems a bit too high for that telescope. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - Issac Newton Scope - Google I ground and figured the mirror with little troubles, making my focault tester, etc. Make an account on JLCPCB.com, upload the Gerber zip file, that's it! I marked the expected position of the secondary by measuring 61 inches down from the end of the tube. on Introduction. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. A neet site: http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/CAMERAS.HTM Cool instructable, Dude! pageTracker._trackPageview(); I carefully cut exactly through the center of each side bearing circle to make my semicircles. on Step 1, interesting build, its just like my old Odyssey brand scope from the mid 1990's. This makes for better sky photographs as the exposure time can be lengthened,. 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. 1/4" x 20 bolt, and the nylon bolt end against the smooth knitting 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. You will need to order one sized for your telescope's focuser shaft size. This sure is going to be a project I will work on. If you look in the FILES area on Robert Brown's site (see link above) you will see a sub-folder "3D Printed Parts". 3D Printed Futuristic Space Age Wall Clock, http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=4721255. You currently have javascript disabled. Feel free to take on that part if you like, but you're on your own :-). Star Adventurer Pro Pack Counter Weight Bar Thumb Screw Upgrade. I described it two years ago in this thread:https://www.cloudyniuser/?p=8879835 . What materials did you use? All that remained was to design and print a bracket, and buy the needed parts. Here we see the following components installed: Notice we are NOT populating the parts of the board intended for Wifi or BLED. Several functions may not work. Very simple and portable. Homemade Electric Telescope Focuser - Stargazers Lounge How to make diy focuser pvc - YouTube More Homemade Refractor Telescope DIY Erecting Prism Binoviewer Focuser here: Did you make this project? The mirror itself must also be able to tilt in three dimensions in order to aim its light at the secondary mirror (a process called collimation). initiatives for the next generation of makers. 7 years ago If you're not using heavy eyepieces, you probably don't need Similar photos at http://www.telescopegeek.com/gallery.htm require 100+ minute exposure times on his 20" telescope and $3200 camera. 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. Your choice here will be recorded for all Make.co Websites. Share it with us! The blue pieces of the rocker box and ground board are arranged as in the diagrams in (figure 2). 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. 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. Parts List (the full story of acquiring the parts), The primary, secondary, spider and secondary holderDiscovery Optics. I am well versed in technology, have all the tools necessary to build my own! A homemade 16 inch dob lightweight telescope, DS-4 - XMission Put it all together Inside the OTA is a ring of tightly fitting flocking paper that prevents any light getting in around the drawtube. My guess is that photo was taken with a refractor. Headers for the LEDs, buzzer (2-pin) and temperature probe (3-pin). 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. After researching several possible sources for a primary mirror, I decided to order an f/5 12.5 inch mirror from Discovery Optics.

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homemade telescope focuser

homemade telescope focuser