homemade telescope focuser

Crayford focusers are considered superior to entry-level rack and pinion document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); Thank you for your pages. It took a lot longer than I expected to receive my mirror and other parts from Discovery. They suggested a construction supply place on the other side of the city that I had not called yet. narrow the frame. When I ordered the cell, I paid through paypal, which immediately deducts money from my checking account. I drilled the holes in the center of the ground board and rocker bottom using a 9/16 bit, thinking that I needed the extra 1/16 so that the spacer could move. Rather than use a sheet of plastic Kydex to finish the tube, as recommended in K/B, I ordered a sheet of birch veneer. These have slop as you change direction, you can't do fine adjustments, they weigh a ton, and can flex alarmingly over time. I gave them a call and they said they had one on the shelf14 inches in diameter and 12 feet long! And a flat thing to put it all on Download and check them out, I just grabbed the first one and printed it. 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. I even began taking careful notes about needed supplies and plans for each piece of the truss tube scope. This cost around $100 to build and all of the components came from. The focuser knob had two set screws. 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 48 inch width of the veneer was close enough to the diameter of the tube that I used it as is. 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. I brought a saw with me so that I cut it in half to fit in my minivan. I started by trying to drill out a metal gear for the focuser shaft. I will post the pic of final focuser once ready. And a couple of upright bearing blocks. 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. together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators across the globe. I suspected that the company was either in trouble or no longer in business. Save over 40% off the annual cover price for a full year (4 issues) of Make. I did not glue the bearings to the tube box in case I needed to adjust the position later. It turns out the the extra 1/16 allowed far too much side to side movement between the rocker and ground board. But, like many of you I'm sure, the biggest reason I'm doing this is for the pure geeky fun of it! There are some test sketches in the "Tests" folder, start with those. NEMA-17 Stepper Motor - see below, there are two options. Finally, attach your polar alignment device and align it with the hinge. I I have no idea how much mail this idea will generate, so I can't The one company that did provide a price quoted over $500more than I was willing to pay for cardboard! A free program that lights childrens creative fires and allows them to explore projects in areas such as arts & As it turned out, the mirror cell was too large to fit into my 14 inch sonotube. It has become an indispensable piece of equipment for me that so beats hacking and filing PVC pipes etc. The back of the mirror floats on 3 or more support points (this build uses 6) that are calculated usinga software tool called PLOP. I decided to use baltic birch because it is recommended by Kriege and Berry as well as many online sources. When you want to focus, you just open the program and press focus. Perfect for visual observations with very heavy mirrors. I only use the OTA. The belt and pulleys are off-the-shelf items available on Amazon. This motor is available on Amazon. I had installed the mirror about an inch too far away from the focuser. With the DRV8825 and Arduino Nano plugged in, the basic board is complete. We all know the problems with focusing. Funny how the bigger they are the better for dobs. 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. While I will freely admit that most astro-photography is WAY beyond me, you certainly do NOT need a $3200 camera to do so. Get hands-on with kits, books, and more from the Maker Shed, Skill builder, project tutorials, and more. It's easy to shim it to A wide hole will let the knitting needle creep Carve out a hole on the top part of the sonotube first. Once the pieces were cut and I held them around the tube, I decided to cut them a bit smaller because the extra space was too much. Thanks Bob. you could probably space the bearings 3/4" apart instead of 1" and mount I attached small felt pads to the inside of the keepers to protect the side bearings from scratches, but discovered that the side bearings would not fit because of the thickness of the pads. 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. 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. guarantee a response, but I'll do my best to answer everyone who writes A week after they said they would send the secondary and other parts, I called to ask if things had been sent. 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. drneilmb, thanks for sharing the focuser design. I'm' glad I did, because I didn't like the first color that I had chosen. control. 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. It my thoughts naturally gravitated toward a boxy focuser to go with it. So, for my telescope I used a 6mm to 5mm coupler available on Amazon. 1/4" x 20 bolt, and the nylon bolt end against the smooth knitting If you follow the procedures described above, your telescope's optics will be perfectly aligned. It's the same in form, but has a perfect, true 13.35mm hole. large in diameter (1.6") so that adds to the fine-ness of the focus The only thing on the list that was a bit difficult to find was baltic birch plywood, which had to be special ordered from the lumber yard. ASIAIR - Is there an easy way to load Messier catalog into Autorun? it sticks into your light path. 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. Since my focuser shaft is 6mm, I ordered the coupler shown here in the 6mm to 8mm version from Amazon. Edited by howardcano, 24 May 2020 - 09:29 PM. As I mentioned on my binocular 11 years ago 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. on Introduction. 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. Crayford-style design with four bearings and one driveshaft. It doesn't. A tilted focuser will have no effect on the image quality. I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. 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. Put it all together . The next day, I called back to ask their opinion about the kind of spider and secondary holder to order. It would cost less and they have a very good reputation. the bearings, totally eliminating any flex. 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 also wanted to strengthen and protect the cardboard tube. I do it with aluminium alloy, aluminium tube and nice work. How to build a 12.5 inch closed tube Dobsonian telescope. We use cookies to continuously improve our websites for you and optimize its design and customization. I didn't receive any confirmation email after a few days, so I tried to send them an email. 1N5408 3A Diode (you may need to make the pins smaller to fit through the holes in the board. The box should be deep enough to allow the mirror box to swing all the way down. Thin 1/16 Kydex plastic should be cut to length to line the inside of the cage as a baffle to block outside light. Line the underside of the rocker box with a ring of ABS plastic to allow it to ride on the base. Here is a link to the main FILES area on Robert Brown's site. 3D Printed Futuristic Space Age Wall Clock, http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=4721255. on Step 5, 9 years ago Plus it comes in black, so you don't need to paint it (or worry about paint flaking off it). Low, or Zero slop when changing direction. When they arrived, they were beautifully and carefully packaged with the secondary already installed in its holder. I really had to, since the underside of my telescope's focuser is all curves, no flat area for attaching the mounting bracket. 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. You need some purple bits The base of the telescope should be a wide, sturdy square or circle of wood with teflon bearing pads matched to the ABS plastic ring of the rocker box. the nylon screws going up from the bottom, but I found the knitting Plus it comes in black, so I was concerned that it would be difficult to find, but I was able to order it from a local woodworking shop. The hole is made slightly larger than the shaft, this is normal. DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? (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.) 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. Thanks Peter. Drawing lines between opposite corners of the tube box sides allowed me to locate the center point on each side. The specific hardware used for this is described on the Building page. This is the kind of simple off the shelf design I was looking for. I would love to see your build when you are finished with it . To get this arc, I actually moved the radius of the jig in by 1/8 inch. All Orion 1.25" and 2" telescope focusers are engineered to provide smooth drawtube action to ensure you hit the exact focus point . Finally it was etched in caustic soda, and anodised matt black. Actually getting the parts into my hands turned out to be more of a challenge than I would have expected, but in the end, I have a wonderful telescope that I enjoy very much. the interior diameter is just a nudge over 2". 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. I am working on a diy focuser design for my 6" F/8 telescope and asking suggestions for simple focuser. 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.". Download and unzip. Slide the eyepiece into the focuser and try it out. By adjusting the bolts, the mirror can be pointed toward the correct spot. on Step 5. During assembly, youll attach the trusses to the mirror box, then sit the secondary cage on top and bolt everything in place. Crayford focusers are considered superior to entry-level rack and pinion focusers, normally found in this type of device. Primary telescope mirror aftermarket, homemade, or custom-made. Share it with us! I attached them with very small brads, countersinking the brads. 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. I got a different stain, tested it, and went back to work. I sanded all parts of the telescope with 220 grit sandpaper followed by 400 grit, making a very smooth surface to apply the stain. Secondary mirror with spider holder Search on eBay for a matched set. After cutting the circles for the side bearings, I set up the jig to cut the curved edges of the rocker sides. Rock Paper Scissors Using Tinkercad Circuits and Arduino, Punchy the MECH & the Autonomous Fight Club, Soft-sensor-saurus | an E-textile Soft Sensor Soft Toy With LED Light. 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. Please explain, in detail, how you attached your tube to the very unique drive system of an XT12G mount. I like the old way of using stepper motors and other stuff introduced years ago by Mel Bartels, he is a master for me. 7 years ago It seems to Participated in the Celestron Space Challenge. The Dob is really a great design. 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. The cutting diagram in (figure 1) shows how I cut the required pieces from two 60 X 60 pieces of Baltic Birch plywood, one inch thick, and one 5/8. PhotoPictureResizer_190723_214534574_crop_2558x3105_copy_1023x1242.jpg. This is the upper tube that contains the flat secondary mirror, Telrad finder, and focuser. If you're not using heavy eyepieces, you probably don't need After going over the surfaces with a tack cloth to pick up the saw dust, I applied the stain and went over it with cheese cloth rags for an even finish. 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. It turns out that sonotubes are a stock item in 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch, and sometimes even 16 inch diameters. flexing. The bigger upvc nut will be attached to focuser plate and longer threaded side will be used on it for the focusing. 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. (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.) 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. Motion is very smooth. I started with a spacer that with a inch outer diameter. Make the drawtube longer than you think you'll need, just in Picture of DS-4. I will have a lot of fun building my homemade 12.5 inch Dobsonian Telescope!!! If you look in the FILES area on Robert Brown's site (see link above) you will see a sub-folder "3D Printed Parts". $299.99 More About Telescope Focusers Not worth the effort, price is tooo high. That's pretty much the focuser. Here is a simple 3D printed helical focuser that cost just a few cents (assuming you have a 3D printer). Using a compass I drew circles on the top and bottom of the ground board to mark the inside and outside of the teflon ring on the bottom of the rocker bottom. It was easy enough to drill a hole and tap threads for a Given that you can make the drawtube any length you Dobsonian telescopes are popular with amateur telescope makers for their ease of design and construction, portability, and their use of large optical mirrors. Once you get it working, there's some calibration you need to do. It was important that the two circles be identical because the edges had to match perfectly when glued together and the two side bearings had to be identical in order for the altitude motion to work well. Able to shift heavy loads of kit ie over 1000g. The heaviest piece is 40 lbs, and the total scope weighs about 60 lbs (not counting the baffle). Here's my 8" f/6 travel scope with a 2" PVC draw tube and the helical Crayford focuser built right in the focuser board. To do this, the mirror cell needs to be supported by 3 large bolts, at least 2 of which are adjustable. I have built a homemade electric focuser for my Celestron 8SE using a radio control hobby servo and some spare parts. think that design would be rigid enough under the weight of a diagonal Nice work and great instructable! And bolt to scope Once its cut to length, drill a hole through each end of the tubing with a drill press. Over how many nights did this photography session take place? I waited until dark and pointed the scope at the sky. I attached three feet equally spaced on top of the ring, and on the opposite side attached teflon pads 1 X 1 directly above the feet using very small brads and countersinking the brads below the surface of the teflon. You will need to order one sized for your telescope's focuser shaft size. I plan to use an FTA over it in case an extension is needed. The lumber yard also gave me a lower price than I expected. Im sorry to hear you couldn't make the contest. Home centers and hardware stores did not carry large sizes. Along with some silver bits Download the Gerber Files. To get a slide-fit in a 3D printed part, you normally make the hole 0.5mm larger than the shaft. on Step 1, Richards in our local astronomy club. a try. Your design is simple and nice. The part is very strong! Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. I had the thought that as long as I was going to build it I should build it as big as I could afford. Their step by step instructions were invaluable to me as I built this scope. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights. larger diameter. However more than the focuser, I liked your scope. This motor is available on Amazon. Above youll find an interactive 3D rendering of the Sketchup file I used to design and cut all of the parts for my telescope. Best Wishes, Reply on Introduction. This extra space would allow the tube to be repositioned within the tube box to rotate the eyepiece or balance the tube. "https://ssl." I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. 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. I described it two years ago in this thread:https://www.cloudyniuser/?p=8879835 . 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. The hole did need to be enlarged slightly by moving the bit within the hole , but in the end, the fit seems right. 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. with a genuine question or comment about the design. Two of the holes for the bolts were blocked by knobs. In addition, we use third-party cookies to help us analyze and understand usage. telescope page, I wasn't really eager to buy two commercial Crayford 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. Interfaced with a computer, so the computer can make the decisions about where the best focus is. I welded mine from steel square tubing. 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. 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. I ended up modifying it a bit after printing. The version number "312" here may change if Robert posts new firmware. You currently have javascript disabled. 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 marked the spot and moved things back inside to install the mirror. This is the mirror box for my 16", with Jim doing a bit of cleanup sanding. I have already seen some designs on CN, Stellafane and web but still checking if someone has recently made anything simpler. More Homemade Refractor Telescope DIY Erecting Prism Binoviewer Focuser here: Did you make this project? Realizing that it could not be the University Optics cell already, I thought, Noit couldn't be but, in fact, it was. The core of the telescope, the steel mirror cell holds and adjusts the heavy, curved primary mirror. For the ATMer I do find that there are an endless number of parts that can be designed and printed for home built telescopes and binoscopes. haven't yet found any design elements that need improvement. When you figure out 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. corners of the squares provide nice nooks for the eyepiece and eyepiece Let me see if I am able to collect all the parts needed. So, as they say, "back to the drawing board". 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. The basic points I wanted to cover: What did I end up with? 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. 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. So, I duplicated the aluminum gear pulley in SolidWorks, and printed it out. To place the primary mirror, I installed the secondary and installed the primary in the mirror cell. For about $3 we can buy a tank valve kit that has a threaded 2" i.d. 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. Newton, and others including James Gregory and Laurent Cassegrain, believed that a reflecting telescope would not be affected by the chromatic aberration that affected . The day I received the refund, I ordered a mirror cell from University Optics.

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