The forecast was for clear skies last night so I headed up to Ron and Bev's farm in Northwest Georgia hoping to polish off a few more items on the Messier Catalog. Unfortunately this goal was thwarted by the treeline, the waxing moon and a bit of haziness in the West. I have not yet observed several objects near the Coma Berenices (M83 - M91, M98, M99, M100). These objects are best observed in June, but the weather and my schedule have both been generally uncooperative with observing. Ah, well - I'll just have to wait for next year.

On the positive side, I enjoyed viewing Jupiter and 3 of its moons, combing the Milky Way and observing a number of objects in its span. This was the first night out at the farm with the new telescope, and it validated the design and general quality.

Finally . . . it cleared up enough for me to give the telescope a second test. But just barely. The afternoon was clear as a bell, but the early evening brought wispy clouds.

I first pointed the scope at a hole in the clouds and made sure I could get clear, pinpoint stars with the 25mm eyepiece. I'm pleased with the position of the focuser now (had to adjust it slightly to get focus nearer the midpoint of the focuser travel), but there is a little more spikiness than I recall having before. I may need to revisit the spider design.

I noticed Mars was nearly right overhead, so I got it in the field of view and focused very clearly. I observed with the 15mm eyepiece and then the 9mm eyepiece, and it looked better and better. There was another planet low in the East, so I slewed over and found Saturn. It resolved very nicely with the 9mm. I could see a bit of contrast in the planet but not the gap in the ring. Last, I turned the scope on the Orion Nebula. By then the entire sky was covered and only the brightest stars and planets could be seen. Even so, I was able to view the nebula, which was faint but exceptionally clear given the poor conditions.

Overall, I'm satisfied. It will be good to get this scope out to the field for some real observing.

Done! This week I finished the final touches and the new scope is ready for the field. I painted and polyurethaned the struts and adjusted the focuser's distance from the secondary mirror. Overall I'm pleased with the rebuild; The scope is more functional, looks better, and is certainly a step up in craftsmanship. There are still small things that bug me, but they'll have to wait for the next rebuild - or the bigger scope project. Images documenting my progress on this Flickr photo set.

I calculated the strut length, cut and drilled, and assembled the primary mirror box, secondary cage and struts together. After mounting the reflex finder and putting my heaviest eyepiece in I found the scope a bit top heavy when tilted over to about 25 degrees above the horizon. To lighten up the top a bit I cut out reveals in the upper ends of the struts. This helped the balance a little (but not enough) and helped the aesthetics even more. Ultimately I had to add two pounds to the bottom, which I accomplished with a pair of small metal canisters with eight four-ounce fishing sinkers divided between them.

The extra weight not only helps the balance when the scope is tipped far over - it also improves the motion overall. I measured to ensure that my calculations for the strut length were correct, but I need some clear skies for a 'first light' test to make sure.

EDIT: On 2/6 the skies were clear, so around 9:00 PM I set the scope up just outside the garage in a spot with no direct light from the houses or streetlights. Light pollution is very bad here, but I could see Orion, the Pleiades and Mars clearly with my eyes. Using the 25mm eyepiece I observed all three and discovered that I could almost achieve focus with it turned all the way in. A little adjustment with the spacers on the HC-2 focuser and I had it. The views were very sharp, so the spider design appears to be alright.

I calculated and measured again to be sure I had the secondary mirror in the optimal position relative to the primary. What it appears that I didn't do was account for the 1.25" adapter, which adds a little over a quarter inch to the focuser height. So I moved the focuser in toward the secondary about 3/8". One more test when the skies are clear, one last report and I'll be done.

Then, no doubt, I'll start thinking about how to make this design even better.

Images of telescope v.2 are in this photo set.

The rocker box is complete, pretty much following the original design for it. Instead of cutting a concave semi-circle for the bearing supports, as seems to be the common practice, I mounted Teflon pads on a 22.5 degree angle to support each bearing at two points. With my toolkit and skill level this was more foolproof and, in my opinion, just as effective. I also used Teflon pads against the outer sides of the bearings (see photo set for images) to hold the mirror box steady horizontally. I discovered a flaw in my design - the front two struts will not fit onto the mounting bolts because the bearing is too close to the mounting bracket. I'll need to cut a channel for the mounting boltso that the strut can slide into the bracket from the top.

Dissatisfied with the original lid, which was made from Masonite and hinges that I had on hand at the time, I built a new one with quarter-inch sandply and more attractive cabinet door hinges.

Images documenting my progress building v.2 can be found in this Flickr photo set.

The altitude bearings are complete and attached to the mirror box. I used a bit more of the aluminum stock here to put decorative caps on the ends of the bearings, and also to space the bearings 1/8" from the mirror box to allow some 'slop' in the movement without rubbing between the mirror box and the rocker box. The next order of business is to design and build the rocker box, then cut the struts. Images of telescope v.2 are in this photo set.

This weekend I got started on the altitude bearings. This is fairly easy work, but requires a bit of patience. After cutting the bearings out of .75" plywood, I clamped them together and roughly sanded the out edges to match. I had a bit of excess Ebony Star laminate, so I decided to dress up the top edge of the bearings. Clamping the laminate on the outer edges of the bearings while the glue set was easily accomplished with a tie-down strap, but the concave upper edge presented a problem. The solution was to put the strip in place, slide in the cutout scrap and then wedge the whole business between two nearly full gallon cans of paint.

Next is to find someone with the proper tools and experience to neatly trim the excess laminate. On the previous scope I pre-cut the strips to size with a sabre saw. The results were something less than professional and I want to do better this time.

UPDATE: I discovered a Northern Tool nearby where I bought a rotary tool. The diamond cutoff disc was just right for trimming the laminate very close to the face of the plywood, and I finished off with sandpaper to get a flush, smooth surface.

Images documenting my progress building v.2 can be found in this Flickr photo set.