Look down through the empty focuser. I want to put my 12.5 mirror in a collapsible structure so I can haul it easy, Say a truss tube design, 7 years ago If not, you may need to design and print your own bracket(s), gears, and so on. And a couple of upright bearing blocks. Knitting needles are 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. I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators across the globe. Total cost for supplies for this project: It took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. A bit of a monster! 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. 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 then ran a bead of glue on the mark, and after it dried I cut out the nylon up to the glue. This simple homemade device will reduce star trails far better than if the camera was mounted on a tripod alone. I am thankful to enjoy the inspiration, and the details, that you provide, as I will soon be constructing a Dobsonian Telescope. the interior diameter is just a nudge over 2". I plan to use an FTA over it in case an extension is needed. All in all it seemed like a pretty robust design, so I gave it Having an RS trade counter 2 miles away is such a luxury! The focuser shaft on the telescope is 13.1mm in diameter. on Introduction, Very nice build nikon20. I found out pretty quickly that building my own telescope would only be a bargain if I made my own mirror and mechanical parts. Headers for the LEDs, buzzer (2-pin) and temperature probe (3-pin). Also no obvious diffraction spikes in the m31 photo. 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. See captioned photos 22-25 here:https://www.cloudyniractor-focuser/ for more detail on building a flush valve focuser, as Bob mentions. Post 10 of the same LSDF focuser thread also links to Art Bianconi's archived 2008 original flush valve focuser posts. Someone is pulling someone's leg here. with a genuine question or comment about the design. I decided that my best option was to scale up their 8 inch design for a 12.5 inch scope and sacrifice the portability and easier storage of a truss scope for something that I felt confident in building myself. All that remained was to design and print a bracket, and buy the needed parts. This allows for a small clearance between the outside of the tube and the inside of the tube box (14 3/8). A week later the cell arrived (on schedule) from University Optics. 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. was straight so I wouldn't get a wobbly knob. think that design would be rigid enough under the weight of a diagonal The extra force will also I have built a homemade electric focuser for my Celestron 8SE using a radio control hobby servo and some spare parts. Before you do this, the stepper motor will probably move, but it will make a 'stuttering' sound instead of moving smoothly. pageTracker._trackPageview(); 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. Edited by sunrag, 28 May 2020 - 10:44 PM. After cutting the circles for the side bearings, I set up the jig to cut the curved edges of the rocker sides. on Step 3. So I was looking for a cheap, light-but-sturdy design for a SDO/HMI Continuum Image on 2023.03.04 at 1259 UT, Remote computer working with no extra networking. 7 years ago weight. Over how many nights did this photography session take place? spambots that search the internet for addresses to send junk mail to.) One of the companies I had considered as a supplier for the primary mirror was Anttler's Optical. Once I decided to build a scope myself I had to decide on the aperture of the scope. The side bearings are each made from 2 identical semicircles of 5/8 inch plywood glued together to make a thickness of 1 inches. To cut the circles, I used a router with a straight cutting bit and a circle cutting jig. I set things up in daylight and collimated the scope. When I ordered the cell, I paid through paypal, which immediately deducts money from my checking account. The cost is a bit more than some of the other combinations, but by only $10 or $20. Low, or Zero slop when changing direction. 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. This motor is available on Amazon. The rocker sides are each made of two identical pieces of inch plywood glued together, creating two sides one inch thick. 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. 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. You can view and download the full file here. I've been using the above pair once. I 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. This project is based on Robert Brown's "Arduino ASCOM Focuser Pro2 DIY". : "http://www. I also wanted to buy the other mechanical partsmirror cell, spider, secondary holder, and focuserso that the performance of these pieces was not limited by my skills. It doesn't. A tilted focuser will have no effect on the image quality. 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. I did not wrap the tube until I had completed the base. 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. My telescope is the Orion ED80T-CF. Some of these are essential for the basic functionalities of our websites. Featured in the February, 2015 issue of Sky & Start with the small components first. Your design is simple and nice. by cranking I really had to, since the underside of my telescope's focuser is all curves, no flat area for attaching the mounting bracket. on Introduction. (Sorry you Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. To view, go here: http://emediadesigns.com/focuser/ Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. I'm' glad I did, because I didn't like the first color that I had chosen. Bill, Impressive work and great idea about LSDF focuser. 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. Please explain, in detail, how you attached your tube to the very unique drive system of an XT12G mount. Deep space photos like these require HOURS of exposure for each one. Likewise, the side bearings are made of two identical semicircles of 5/8 inch plywood glued together, creating side bearings that are 1 inches thick. My DIY Motorized Telescope Focuser - YouTube I use a 3D printer and an old gear motor to create an electronic telescope focuser.This is my first attempt at voiceover, I'm using a headset. The mirror box encloses the mirror cell and allows the entire telescope to rotate vertically. Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine today, Community access, print, and digital Magazine, and more. And you can tell it's not a mosaic because the stars at the corners show coma/field curvature artifacts. It interfaces to the computer via USB and comes with an ASCOM driver. You will need to remove the regular focus knob on your telescope's focuser. That's pretty much the focuser. (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.) I tried to call, but the voice mail had a recording stating that the customer was unable to receive messages. Inside the OTA is a ring of tightly fitting flocking paper that prevents any light getting in around the drawtube. experimented with various wires and rods and eventually decided that a A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. Orion Dynamo Mini for powering a Nexstar 6SE? try { Two of the holes for the bolts were blocked by knobs. I have no idea how much mail this idea will generate, so I can't The back of the mirror floats on 3 or more support points (this build uses 6) that are calculated usinga software tool called PLOP. You really need a step ladder even for my 10" when pointed overhead. The one company that did provide a price quoted over $500more than I was willing to pay for cardboard! Sew the seam, and sew an elastic cord into the top to secure it to the secondary cage. But who cares, really? Robert Brown did an excellent video on how to work out your stepper motor requirements. Focuser minimum height is 50 mm and maximum a little over 90 mm so it is good overall. Because mirror flexure can distort an image, supporting the mirror properly involves building a flotation cell. I suspected that the company was either in trouble or no longer in business. Edited by howardcano, 24 May 2020 - 09:29 PM. The shroud made from two 22 inch tall containers came out short, so I had to add an eleven inch strip of nylon. Because thebasic movement and optics requirements are relatively simple, much of the design is left to the builder. 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. It is size 1.25 inch with a clear inside dia-meter. Next, attach the eyepiece and the focuser to the top part of the telescope tube. Download the Gerber Files. It may take you a while to adjust the image correctly, but it's not hard to do, just time consuming. These have slop as you change direction, you can't do fine adjustments, they weigh a ton, and can flex alarmingly over time. Telescope Magazine. Before I wrapped the tube (and before I discovered the problem with the primary placement) I determined the balance point on the tube. I told them I was on my way. Accordingly, with 1.25 focuser, you can use 1.25 eyepieces, with 2 focuser - both 2 eyepieces and 1.25 (through a special . Did you make this project? both sides. (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.) The focuser 'knob' on the Celestron is just a rubber sleeve that usually pulls off easily. This NEMA-17 direct drive stepper motor is available from Adafruit and many other sellers. I have not yet figured out a better way to hold the tube. Then it was time to stain and finish. A celebration of the Maker Movement, a family-friendly showcase of invention and creativity that gathers A couple setscrews and you're up & running with an off the shelf solution. widening the hole. ScopeStuff is awesome!! I ground and figured the mirror with little troubles, making my focault tester, etc. 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. Thin-wall aluminum tubing is used to attach the mirror box to the secondary cage. 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. - Bill. His passion is using CAD design and his homemade CNC router to bring large wood projects to life. On the bottom of the Bottom board is a ring of Ebony Star laminate that glides over the three teflon pads located directly above the feet on the ground board. Here are a few photos of the "bracket", which is a simple 3D printed plate that mounts to the telescope's focuser ring, and serves as a mount for the stepper motor. Many sources point out that 10 inches is a kind of sweet spot in the balance between power and portability. 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. Share a cool tool or product with the community. I installed the spider first, about one inch down from the end of the square end of the tube. I told them to take their time and get it right. Thanks Peter. 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. Once your telescope is assembled, drape black woven velveteen around the truss assembly, clipping it with safety pins. 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 holes in the main bracket the match the holes in the plate are oversize to allow for this alignment. I also decided to make a separate mounting plate for the stepper motor, since I figured aligning the shafts precisely would be all but impossible. 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. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights. There are a number of technical reasons why these photographs could not have come from this Optical Tube Assembly. I gave them a call and they said they had one on the shelf14 inches in diameter and 12 feet long! Sh2-169 and Sh2-168, IC5146 Cocoon Nebula, Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125. Tips If you've got a 1.25 inch focuser, You can also use it for an objective. Like i said these are not my photos and i cannot coment on exactly how he set it up as i was not there all i can say is i saw the mount he used when he picked up the telescope. As the telescope tilts toward the horizon, the mirror must be supported on its edge. It just They eyepiece height ended up being about 5'10" high at zenith. Use the externalMirror Edge Support Calculatorto decide whether to use a two-point, four-point (whiffletree), or sling support. 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. ill ask him for a detailed list of what he used and when i get that ill post it here for you. Not sure how your toilets are built over there, but here they use what is called a tank flush valve. The focuser is the part of the telescope that holds the eyepiece or camera, and by moving in or out, closer or farther from the . can't click on it or copy and paste it; it's a graphic file to thwart initiatives for the next generation of makers. Whether you need a basic rack-and-pinion telescope focuser for your homemade telescope project or a premium Crayford-type model with dual-speed focusing as a performance upgrade, you have come to the right place. I pointed it at distant trees and had no problem bringing the image into focus with all of my eyepieces. too far. PVC pipe makes great drawtubes. I had already made a lightweight focuser for (I didn't have the primary mirror yet). There are sub-folders for the different versions. His project is very well documented. I phoned in the order in the last week of February and was told that it would take about 4 weeks to deliver the mirror. until a 2" eyepiece or 1.25" adapter is snug. I hate 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. Sonotube (14 inch diameter, 12 feet long): $70, Focuser (GSO 2 speed low profile Crayford): $139, Total cost for supplies for this project: $1700. Well, it sort of looks like a focuser.. See pictures below. It turns out the the extra 1/16 allowed far too much side to side movement between the rocker and ground board. on Step 1, interesting build, its just like my old Odyssey brand scope from the mid 1990's. Fast forward a few months to the next time I had the tube outside. 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. . A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. This arrangement turns 100% true, no wobble. a 3/4" thickness. Drill a hole and attach the ball head using a shorter 1/4" 20 bolt. 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. $299.99 More About Telescope Focusers CNC files (optional) Download the Sketchup files. Below are cutting diagrams and diagrams of the rocker and tube box with side bearings. 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. Similar photos at http://www.telescopegeek.com/gallery.htm require 100+ minute exposure times on his 20" telescope and $3200 camera. I decided to order an aluminum mirror cell from University Optics instead so that the mirror could be supported at 9 different points. help eliminate slippage when the focuser is pointed straight upward. needle adds no friction that I can feel to the focus action. Pierre's Helical Crayford gets my vote hands-down for elegant simplicity. Given that you can make the drawtube any length you I decided to use baltic birch because it is recommended by Kriege and Berry as well as many online sources. This is the mirror box for my 16", with Jim doing a bit of cleanup sanding. The 48 inch width of the veneer was close enough to the diameter of the tube that I used it as is. The focuser knob had two set screws. corners of the squares provide nice nooks for the eyepiece and eyepiece I am using scrap upvc pipe material. Both cameras have fairly small megapixels by todays' standards, and are certainly obsolete, but do the job extremely well! 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 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. To get this arc, I actually moved the radius of the jig in by 1/8 inch. Here is what I was working on but looks like I need a better design. A Pocket Sundial From a Broken Pocket Watch! I then attached the Ebony Star ring using contact cement. The motor is much lighter than the geared motor. The mirror cell: University Optics (eventually). And for those who like to work with 3D printers, both the single speed and dual-speed versions could easily be printed. 10 inch or 12 inch. The version number "312" here may change if Robert posts new firmware. The last time I checked, that particular SBIG camera used on TelescopeGeek had an eight month lead time.A 20" scope gathers 2.6 times more light than a 12.5" scope, therefore equivalent exposures on this one would take 200+ minutes, at least. Download and unzip. My plan for wrapping the tube seemed good, but I am not too pleased with the final result. 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 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. Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. } 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. Feel free to take on that part if you like, but you're on your own :-). At this point, the scope was pretty much finished. 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. Yet I was also becoming infected with aperture fever. I laughed, packed up the cell with a long letter describing the series of events that led to the return, and put it in the mail. I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. like, you can have as much focuser travel as you want no matter how work really well, for a fraction of the cost of a commercial Crayford 100A81BF-2145-44D5-BC76-66DBF43BAD58.jpeg. Another thing, the resolution on the Dumbell nebula seems a bit too high for that telescope. If you enter it in the next contest please let me know and i will make sure to vote for you. Another vote for Pierre's helical Crayford design. I also doubled the thickness of the rocker sides (not the front wall) to provide better support for the heavier tube. needle to be just a little too flexible for the weight of a diagonal and on Step 5. rod for the drive axle it would have a fairly fine motion. I had to take apart the focuser in order to get my bolts in place. 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. a try. wobbly knob still works, and adds character. 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. From everything I had read, I expected that getting a sonotube would be as easy as running to any hardware store and picking it up. haven't yet found any design elements that need improvement. 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. We all know the problems with focusing. The next day my wife called me at work to tell me a box had arrived with telescope stuff. 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. By adjusting the bolts, the mirror can be pointed toward the correct spot. In the "ARDUINO FIRMWARE" folder, in it you will find a ZIP file "myFP2-Firmware 312-1.zip". In amateur astrophotography, we run our telescopes overnight. Thanks for your article. You should watch (and bookmark) this video. Connect the Arduino USB cable and upload some test sketches. 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.". It wouldn't be a two-speed design, but if I used a thin enough When you're ready to go on to testing with the windows driver, you want "myFP2_DRV8825_312-1", open that folder. Drill the holes for the knitting Here is a simple 3D printed helical focuser that cost just a few cents (assuming you have a 3D printer). Since these focusers were going side-by-side on a binocular focuser. Make the drawtube longer than you think you'll need, just in Place the focuser, draw the position of the screws with a pencil and remove the focuser. Two such companies would not give me a price because the order of a single tube was too small. So, I duplicated the aluminum gear pulley in SolidWorks, and printed it out. Frustrated by these difficulties, I stopped by one more hardware store to ask for advice. An electronic focuser, which moves the focus knob through a combination of hardware and software, solves this problem. I used the "LEDandBuzzer" and "TestStepsDRV8825" tests. 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 . how much travel you actually need, you can cut the tube off so none of Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. I didn't receive any confirmation email after a few days, so I tried to send them an email. 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. To cut the circles, I started with a depth of about 1/8 inch, then lowered the bit and cut a little more with each pass until I was through the board. really stiff and light for their size, and even though a #2 is pretty Obviously an open truss telescope. 8 years ago For about $3 we can buy a tank valve kit that has a threaded 2" i.d. The silly colours are mainly due to me experimenting with various clothes dyes in the anodising. Made of plywood, the rocker box supports the mirror box on 1 teflon pads, allowing it to rotate vertically. Finally it was etched in caustic soda, and anodised matt black. 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. It had been described by many as the most important recent volume for anyone planning to build a dob, and I have to agree. Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome of this project - focusing is now a joy. and hope it doesn't fall off 10 years ago 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. Staples or finishing nails work fine, but be sure they dont bump up above the surface of the plastic. I took the whole tube assembly outside. I started with a spacer that with a inch outer diameter. Motion is very smooth. If you wanted to really go low-profile with this design, I had chosen a boxy, rigid design for the binocular scope, so This is where you will use screws to strongly attach the focuser onto the tube. Coupler for NEMA-17 Stepper Motor (also two choices, see below), LM7808 Voltage Regulator with TO-220 package -, Mini On/Off 3-pin 2-position slide switch -, Headers and wire (miscellaneous sizes and gauges), these are important so you can replace the component if it is damaged, LM7808 voltage regulator w/TO-220 heat sink package, 2-pin headers for 12V power and on/off switch. Able to make myself using my own humble tools (or toys as the pros will call them!). As I read the book I decided that I should build a 12.5 inch truss tube scope. I had nearly completed the base and put things together for the first time. 3D Printed Futuristic Space Age Wall Clock, http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=4721255. Rather than use a sheet of plastic Kydex to finish the tube, as recommended in K/B, I ordered a sheet of birch veneer. Crayford focusers are considered superior to entry-level rack and pinion I marked the expected position of the secondary by measuring 61 inches down from the end of the tube. 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. I used my router to "mill" a flat area for better contact with the focus adjustment rod. Helical is one of the option i am considering. A neet site: http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/CAMERAS.HTM Cool instructable, Dude! telescope page, I wasn't really eager to buy two commercial Crayford Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality. I applied contact cement to the first inch of the veneer and the mating inch of the tube. "); The specific hardware used for this is described on the Building page. On that noteWARNING:do not look directly into the sun and never point a telescope into the sun without proper filtration you can damage your telescope and burn your retinas and possibly go blind i am not a astrophotographer so i cant comment on the quality of the pictures since there is so much doubt on the photos i will gladly take them down.