focusers for that project. A project collaboration and documentation platform. 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. Secondary mirror with spider holder Search on eBay for a matched set. I also wanted to strengthen and protect the cardboard tube. I Sh2-169 and Sh2-168, IC5146 Cocoon Nebula, Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125. Fairly easy to build and could be adapted to suit any SCT focuser. Inside the OTA is a ring of tightly fitting flocking paper that prevents any light getting in around the drawtube. 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. It doesn't. A tilted focuser will have no effect on the image quality. I am thankful to enjoy the inspiration, and the details, that you provide, as I will soon be constructing a Dobsonian Telescope. 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. widening the hole. After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. 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. was straight so I wouldn't get a wobbly knob. 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. Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome of this project - focusing is now a joy. Carve out a hole on the top part of the sonotube first. on Step 5. knitting needle where it goes through the hole, so it's not a big deal, I had chosen a boxy, rigid design for the binocular scope, so Remember: It is the quality and SIZE of the capture chip, NOT the megapixels that determines quality. I had installed the mirror about an inch too far away from the focuser. The silly colours are mainly due to me experimenting with various clothes dyes in the anodising. The project took several months off and on to complete, although a skilled Maker could put a similar one together in a few weeks. Thicker knitting needles would be even You need to order it sized for your focuser shaft size. The bearings only need to be Make an account on JLCPCB.com, upload the Gerber zip file, that's it! Two different construction supply companies told me that sonotubes were not available with a 14 inch diameter, even by special order. the side of a rigid secondary cage. I have one on my 12" f/5 truss dob and the focuser knob is on the top surface of the UTA. To test the concept I used a short piece of two inch PVC for the draw tube. and an eyepiece. on Step 5, 9 years ago Download the Gerber Files. 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. My other telescope is a Celestron NexStar C6E. Share it with us! To interface with the computer, I have used the Artemis Focuser module from Steve, Arthur and Co. All Orion 1.25" and 2" telescope focusers are engineered to provide smooth drawtube action to ensure you hit the exact focus point . The focuser is very smooth. Next step, before my first acquisition of any parts, is to get with any amateur astronomers in Central Florida, so, wish me luck! 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. My telescope is the Orion ED80T-CF. Since these focusers were going side-by-side on a binocular I was certain not to move the jig at all before cutting the second circle. It stalled when tension on the belt increased. I also figured that the extra expense was worth it, considering the amount of money I was investing in the project overall. Part numbers 351-4574 and 336-422. I ordered the focuser, received an immediate email confirming the order, and it arrived two days later. I welded mine from steel square tubing. There are some test sketches in the "Tests" folder, start with those. The Crayford focuser is a simplified focusing mechanism for amateur astronomical telescopes. You will need to order one sized for your telescope's focuser shaft size. DIY focuser design - ATM, Optics and DIY Forum - Cloudy Nights DIY Remote Telescope Focuser - YouTube Homemade DIY focuser for telescope with computer control - NEUTRAL.org But I wanted a larger mirror, and, at that size, grinding my own was not an option. A couple setscrews and you're up & running with an off the shelf solution. Let me see if I can get similar plumbing parts here. 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. They suggested a construction supply place on the other side of the city that I had not called yet. forces the knitting needle against the drawtube and the drawtube against 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. Plan ahead by carefully weighing all components and approximating the center mass of the optical assembly. This makes for better sky photographs as the exposure time can be lengthened,. It just larger diameter. I read the entire thread and surely its going to help me building my focuser. Not worth the effort, price is tooo high. 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. #2 knitting needle would be just about right. Cost is $25 - $30, and you will have 5 PCBs in about a week. We all know the problems with focusing. It seems to This Instructable describe the planning, design, and parts of the scope, as well as the process of building The scope. I redrilled the holes for the mirror cell and got ready to wrap it. If not, you may need to design and print your own bracket(s), gears, and so on. And the legs of the base should be as wide as possible to accommodate weight imbalance as the telescope is moved around, to avoid tipping. A wide hole will let the knitting needle creep 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. NEMA-17 Stepper Motor - see below, there are two options. This cost around $100 to build and all of the components came from. The blue pieces of the rocker box and ground board are arranged as in the diagrams in (figure 2). Attach the eye piece to another cardboard piece and pass it through the hole from the inside of the tube. exactly 2" with adhesive labels placed one at a time inside the tube The drawings are only approximately to scale. Make the hole diameter fairly snug, too. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. One 6in dob I made was a complete failure. I brought a saw with me so that I cut it in half to fit in my minivan. Our websites use cookies to improve your browsing experience. To get a slide-fit in a 3D printed part, you normally make the hole 0.5mm larger than the shaft. I did find, though, that the 3D printed gear would slip on the shaft, so it needed a set screw. This combination has proved to be effective for all positions except when the tube is pointed directly up. Did you make this project? At their suggestion, I also ordered a 2.6 inch secondary mirror. Staples or finishing nails work fine, but be sure they dont bump up above the surface of the plastic. Homemade Electric Telescope Focuser - Stargazers Lounge This is the upper tube that contains the flat secondary mirror, Telrad finder, and focuser. Finally, attach your polar alignment device and align it with the hinge. needle so the knitting needle will be snug against the drawtube without I do it with aluminium alloy, aluminium tube and nice work. This focuser (see pic at bottom) was motorised by me several years ago, but the motorised system didn't give me very fine control, and the motor running at fast speed tended to make the Artemis camera crash. More Homemade Refractor Telescope DIY Erecting Prism Binoviewer Focuser here: Did you make this project? You need a drawtube of course. I told them I was on my way. I applied contact cement to the first inch of the veneer and the mating inch of the tube. I started with a spacer that with a inch outer diameter. 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. Other supplies that I bought for this project include wood, various bits of hardware, stain and finishing supplies, and a circle cutting jig for a router. I ended up modifying it a bit after printing. This means you lose much of the night's images. 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. Featured in the February, 2015 issue of Sky & 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. During on-site assembly, attach each truss to its mounting T-nut using a bolt with a thumbscrew knob. Find a special something for the makers in your life. My wife helped me by moving the mirror into and out of the tube around the marked spot while I stood at the eyepiece trying to bring some distant trees into focus. These will be stored in your browser only with your consent and you have the option to opt-out. In my case I decided to make a custom bracket. on Introduction. I will post the pic of final focuser once ready. like, you can have as much focuser travel as you want no matter how LVLaserTech is right please do not vote for the pictures my instructable is for the build of the telescope not the quality of the photos.and as i said before i was not there is there a possibility that he sent me the wrong photos sure is there a possibility that he used a different mount than the one i saw sure is there a possibility that he is lying to me me about what he did sure. Thanks again for the 'ible. The basic points I wanted to cover: What did I end up with? Read the documentation though, there are a lot of functions and options. tube and nut that fits the outside threads. Stellafane The Focuser I had nearly completed the base and put things together for the first time. 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. That helps with low-profile I'm' glad I did, because I didn't like the first color that I had chosen. There are sub-folders for the different versions. If you're not using heavy eyepieces, you probably don't need 8 years ago For about $3 we can buy a tank valve kit that has a threaded 2" i.d. Once its cut to length, drill a hole through each end of the tubing with a drill press. This consists of a small black box of electronics. Along with some silver bits My DIY Motorized Telescope Focuser - YouTube I had already made a lightweight focuser for 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 decided to order an aluminum mirror cell from University Optics instead so that the mirror could be supported at 9 different points. A Today I purchased what is called atank nipple in India. case you need more focuser travel than you thought. The dimensions of the Tube Box Sides are based on the outer diameter of my tube14 3/16. Participated in the Celestron Space Challenge. The next day, I called back to ask their opinion about the kind of spider and secondary holder to order. I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. an eyepiece. The current needs to be adjusted on the DRV8825. But who cares, really? These are mounted 120 degrees apart and use 4 inexpensive bearings to support the tube. You should watch (and bookmark) this video. And a flat thing to put it all on I made this Crayford style focuser using plywood scraps and surplus bearings. 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. It was May 12th. We then spread contact cement over the remaining veneer and tube surface, waited for the glue to dry, and carefully rolled the tube over the veneer. Edited by sunrag, 28 May 2020 - 10:44 PM. If the telescope rotates forward or backward on its own, then the mirror box is too deep or too shallow. Motorise Your Own Telescope (updated 10-19-2017). - Instructables It's rigid, lightweight, and How to make a $30 DIY star tracker for astrophotography Trim off any unused fabric along the base. 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. Best Wishes, Reply Gift the gift of Make: Magazine this holiday season! I will have a lot of fun building my homemade 12.5 inch Dobsonian Telescope!!! When the skies were dark enough for observing I found that the scope moves easily into position and holds that position well. I hate focusing. Over how many nights did this photography session take place? my thoughts naturally gravitated toward a boxy focuser to go with it. Telescope Magazine. The plastic will ride on teflon pads, creating just enough traction for the telescope to avoid sliding on its own while not making it too difficult to point at things in the sky. The sides were attached with wood glue and clamps with a few small brads to hold everything in place. 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. However more than the focuser, I liked your scope. After the second call, I received a response that it would be ready at the end of the following week. Two of the holes for the bolts were blocked by knobs. Both cameras have fairly small megapixels by todays' standards, and are certainly obsolete, but do the job extremely well! The overall project is super cheap, we're building this thing for something like $50 in materials. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights. initiatives for the next generation of makers. homemade Crayford focuser. Telescope Focusers | Orion Telescopes: Shop Step 3The Side Bearings and Rocker Sides. My plan for wrapping the tube seemed good, but I am not too pleased with the final result. Step 4Attaching the Side Bearings and assembling the Rocker. Or in my case, back to SolidWorks :-). It's easy to shim it to Save over 40% off the annual cover price for a full year (4 issues) of Make. I sanded all parts of the telescope with 220 grit sandpaper followed by 400 grit, making a very smooth surface to apply the stain. It took yet another call a week later for the items to actually be mailed. 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. The rocker sides are each made of two identical pieces of inch plywood glued together, creating two sides one inch thick. Have you made any mods on it since you built it? 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. 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. Some of these are essential for the basic functionalities of our websites. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - Issac Newton Scope - Google 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. You should now be able to drill the 4 holes at each corner. Most of these have one or two set screws. large in diameter (1.6") so that adds to the fine-ness of the focus 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. An Altitude Azimuth mount would also require a field rotator.There's no way these were taken with an Orion GoTo Mount. I had to take apart the focuser in order to get my bolts in place. until a 2" eyepiece or 1.25" adapter is snug. Also no obvious diffraction spikes in the m31 photo. When I ordered the cell, I paid through paypal, which immediately deducts money from my checking account. Here's a detailed response from a thread at CloudyNights:http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=4721255 "The image scale is wrong on the M31 image, fits too much of the galaxy in for even a 35mm chip. I then attached the Ebony Star ring using contact cement. Maker-written books designed to inform and delight! can't click on it or copy and paste it; it's a graphic file to thwart A week later the cell arrived (on schedule) from University Optics. That's pretty much the focuser. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality. experimented with various wires and rods and eventually decided that a The Dob is really a great design. A free program that lights childrens creative fires and allows them to explore projects in areas such as arts & Yet I was also becoming infected with aperture fever. 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. 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. 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 Building Your Second Homemade Telescope - Part 1 - HubPages The cost is a bit more than some of the other combinations, but by only $10 or $20. You will need to order one sized for your telescope's focuser shaft size. When you figure out small, it's surprisingly rigid. 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. 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. The part is very strong! 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. I then temporarily installed the secondary mirror so that I could measure the approximate distance to the center of the secondary in order to locate the holes for the focuser. SDO/HMI Continuum Image on 2023.03.04 at 1259 UT, Remote computer working with no extra networking. Below are cutting diagrams and diagrams of the rocker and tube box with side bearings. 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. Low, or Zero slop when changing direction. I wanted to finish that instructable before the contest ended but was too late :-). We moved the operation to a nearby park and got a focused image of the most distant trees (300-400 yards away) quite easily. . 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. Pierre's Helical Crayford gets my vote hands-down for elegant simplicity. Attach the ball head to the top board. off the bearings. (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.) Knitting needles are While round tubing is sturdy, square tubing is easier to work with. 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. 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. Unbelievable! accessible by all ages and skill ranges. All Orion 1.25" and 2" telescope focusers are engineered to provide smooth drawtube action to ensure you hit the exact focus point . Since there is no drill bit that exactly matches the 13.1mm of the shaft, I had to do some rough enlargement of the hole. Just drill holes in both ends and mount the lenses. Then it was time to stain and finish. It take automatic control of the CCD camera and focuser, and dances around magically on the screen, arriving at perfect focus within about 30s to 3 minutes depending on where you started from. On the cutting diagram, you can see that the side bearings were cut 26 inches long. DIY Truss Dob input: How to design truss? ScopeStuff is awesome!! 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. 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. Using heavy grit sandpaper I brought back the surface of the keeper enough for the side bearings to fit inside the felt pads. Here is what I was working on but looks like I need a better design. on Introduction, Very nice build nikon20. This software creates a model of your telescope by measuring out of focus star sizes at various points. Here we see the following components installed: Notice we are NOT populating the parts of the board intended for Wifi or BLED. Finally, I attached Keepers to the sides of the rocker at the bottom of the arcs using screws and glue. on Step 1, interesting build, its just like my old Odyssey brand scope from the mid 1990's. Since my plan called for purchasing the mirrors and mechanical parts there were several decisions to be made and several vendors to contact. I gave them a call and they said they had one on the shelf14 inches in diameter and 12 feet long! #@$%^#@!!!!! This one is based on the DRV8825 driver chip and a NEMA-17 stepper motor. 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. 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. 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. How to make diy focuser pvc - YouTube I file a dispute with Paypal to begin the process of getting my money back. It turns out the the extra 1/16 allowed far too much side to side movement between the rocker and ground board. This motor is available on Amazon. 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. Now attach the screw eyes and the rubber band on the side of the board. Fire up focusmax, and shoot some images! . I built mine entirely from CNC-cut plywood, and fastened it together with 2 bolts. I have not yet figured out a better way to hold the tube. New Creation Tamil 6.96K subscribers Welcome to New Creation Tamil Our Channel include of Guiding Videos: 1.DIY Projects 2.Awesome Ideas 3.Tips You are inter with New Creation Tamil you can enjoy. together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators across the globe. Several clamps were used to hold the pieces together overnight. 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). Upload that main sketch to the Nano. Edited by howardcano, 24 May 2020 - 09:29 PM. My guess is that photo was taken with a refractor. With Simple | Space 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. Telescope Electronic Focuser : 16 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. The next day my wife called me at work to tell me a box had arrived with telescope stuff. I do have another tube that can be used around the drawtube, but it doesn't really add anything. I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. Once I decided to build a scope myself I had to decide on the aperture of the scope. I wanted a tight / press fit, so I only added half that, 0.25mm. Look down through the empty focuser. 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. 5 weeks after I had ordered the mirror, I called to ask about its status. Make sure the shroud can slip on and off of the assembled scope, and that it stretches along the circumference (not lengthwise). Line the underside of the rocker box with a ring of ABS plastic to allow it to ride on the base. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - Udder Nonsense - Google CNC files (optional) Download the Sketchup files. 4 years ago Having an RS trade counter 2 miles away is such a luxury! I also doubled the thickness of the rocker sides (not the front wall) to provide better support for the heavier tube. I did run into a small problem with the focuser. In my build, the cage was cut on a CNC router from plywood, with threaded T-nuts added to support a truss assembly. guarantee a response, but I'll do my best to answer everyone who writes When you want to focus, you just open the program and press focus. This is because my router bit was inch and the arc would be cut by the outside edge of the bit (where the circle had been cut by the inside edge.) 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. If you go to buy all of the components for this project from dealers, you will see that you mostly have to buy at least 5 parts, sometimes bags of 50 parts! It's the same in form, but has a perfect, true 13.35mm hole.