homemade telescope focuser

Your choice here will be recorded for all Make.co Websites. After looking at many focuser options with a big range of prices, I decided to order a GSO 2 speed Crayford focuser from ScopeStuff. Quick demo of my motorized focuser, and I will create a detailed tutorial if enough people are interested. I did find, though, that the 3D printed gear would slip on the shaft, so it needed a set screw. The bearings only need to be To get this arc, I actually moved the radius of the jig in by 1/8 inch. His passion is using CAD design and his homemade CNC router to bring large wood projects to life. I marked the spot and moved things back inside to install the mirror. Edited by Pierre Lemay, 25 May 2020 - 08:10 AM. The next day my wife called me at work to tell me a box had arrived with telescope stuff. 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. Our websites use cookies to improve your browsing experience. While I will freely admit that most astro-photography is WAY beyond me, you certainly do NOT need a $3200 camera to do so. 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. If you're not using heavy eyepieces, you probably don't need The next day, I called back to ask their opinion about the kind of spider and secondary holder to order. Position "0" is with the focuser all the way IN (at least for a refractor). I wanted the long focal length for good contrast. They suggested a construction supply place on the other side of the city that I had not called yet. When I looked at the costs, I seriously considered buying an Orion telescope instead of building my own. You should now be able to drill the 4 holes at each corner. I sanded all parts of the telescope with 220 grit sandpaper followed by 400 grit, making a very smooth surface to apply the stain. Both cameras have fairly small megapixels by todays' standards, and are certainly obsolete, but do the job extremely well! OK, no, I do not have a homemade Crayford focuser but am planning to build a 3 incher for next years 17" reflector telescope project and to hold my new 30mm ES 100 degree EP. Next, attach the eyepiece and the focuser to the top part of the telescope tube. Before you do this, the stepper motor will probably move, but it will make a 'stuttering' sound instead of moving smoothly. After the glue dried but before the clamps were removed, I added corner braces to all four corners of the tube using glue and brads to hold them in place. The focuser shaft on the telescope is 13.1mm in diameter. I then ran a bead of glue on the mark, and after it dried I cut out the nylon up to the glue. but try for a snug fit if you can. This simple homemade device will reduce star trails far better than if the camera was mounted on a tripod alone. Let me see if I can get similar plumbing parts here. To do this, the mirror cell needs to be supported by 3 large bolts, at least 2 of which are adjustable. I was annoyed to have made the mistake, but very glad that I checked the position on stars before wrapping the tube in veneer. } 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. the tube is cardboard as well, you can also get a quality mirror at telescope.com for much cheaper. Motorise Your Own Telescope (updated 10-19-2017). - Instructables The ARtemis module came in a kit form actually just two circuit boards one of which I had to source the parts, build and box myself. Tom's Homemade Telescope Page - Udder Nonsense - Google If you connect the 12V power with the barrel connector (right side of photo), the Nano should light up without the USB connection. Make the drawtube longer than you think you'll need, just in 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. The hole did need to be enlarged slightly by moving the bit within the hole , but in the end, the fit seems right. 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. Telescope Magazine. And a couple of upright bearing blocks. knob, and a drill press to make sure the hole for the knitting needle Slide the eyepiece into the focuser and try it out. I don't have the skills to build a focuser using a. The cage should be a hollow cylinder about wider than the mirror, with the focuser mounted directly facing the secondary mirror. on Step 5, 9 years ago I hate focusing. 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. SDO/HMI Continuum Image on 2023.03.04 at 1259 UT, Remote computer working with no extra networking. 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. You can easily, and economically (10$) build a Crayford Helical Focuser like the one pictured above in one evening with simple tools. forces the knitting needle against the drawtube and the drawtube against Staples or finishing nails work fine, but be sure they dont bump up above the surface of the plastic. The last chapter of the book describes a plan for an 8 inch sonotube dob with a few design elements from their truss design, and, as I read that chapter, the simplicity of its construction was very appealing. I attached keepers 1 inches wide by 5 inches long, extending above the bottom of the arcs by about 1 inches. My secondary is 4; for tips on choosing size, click here. More Homemade Refractor Telescope DIY Erecting Prism Binoviewer Focuser here: Did you make this project? 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. Fire up focusmax, and shoot some images! The glue should keep the nylon from fraying. Able to make myself using my own humble tools (or toys as the pros will call them!) I had some carboy caps that make good knobs. Again from the main FILES page, go to "ASCOM DRIVERS" and download everything. 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. Below are cutting diagrams and diagrams of the rocker and tube box with side bearings. I found a used 16 primary on eBay. 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. Carve out a hole on the top part of the sonotube first. I was still doing some construction on the morning of the event, but I succeeded in making first light on that clear, dark night in late July. But who cares, really? (actually, it ended up a smidge more than 2 inches). 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. 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. Someone is pulling someone's leg here. The lumber yard also gave me a lower price than I expected. After researching several possible sources for a primary mirror, I decided to order an f/5 12.5 inch mirror from Discovery Optics. When I ordered the cell, I paid through paypal, which immediately deducts money from my checking account. I marked the expected position of the secondary by measuring 61 inches down from the end of the tube. They eyepiece height ended up being about 5'10" high at zenith. crafts, science & engineering, design, and technology. 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. Similar photos at http://www.telescopegeek.com/gallery.htm require 100+ minute exposure times on his 20" telescope and $3200 camera. Newton, and others including James Gregory and Laurent Cassegrain, believed that a reflecting telescope would not be affected by the chromatic aberration that affected . A celebration of the Maker Movement, a family-friendly showcase of invention and creativity that gathers Thank you for your pages. 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. Two inch internal diameter drawtube. The focuser knob had two set screws. and an eyepiece. Plan ahead by carefully weighing all components and approximating the center mass of the optical assembly. 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. 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. If you found some good surplus lenses, you will have made a stunningly good objective for your scope. This design could be adapted to practically any telescope or focuser, so I've kept my outline on the project brief. my thoughts naturally gravitated toward a boxy focuser to go with it. Thin-wall aluminum tubing is used to attach the mirror box to the secondary cage. Realizing that it could not be the University Optics cell already, I thought, Noit couldn't be but, in fact, it was. Post 10 of the same LSDF focuser thread also links to Art Bianconi's archived 2008 original flush valve focuser posts. 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. Thicker walls also required thicker side bearings so that the outside of the bearings would line up with the outside of the rocker sides. 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. I do it with aluminium alloy, aluminium tube and nice work. 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. This resulted in a gear that wasn't true and "wobbled" a bit. 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. In order for the Rocker Box to pivot on the Ground Board, a center pin is placed in a hole at the exact center of the Ground Board and Rocker Bottom. drneilmb, thanks for sharing the focuser 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. I had designed the tube box so that there would be an extra inch around the tube. 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. Share it with us! Thanks for your article. 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. To interface with the computer, I have used the Artemis Focuser module from Steve, Arthur and Co. This is not recommended for shared computers. A free program that lights childrens creative fires and allows them to explore projects in areas such as arts & It may take you a while to adjust the image correctly, but it's not hard to do, just time consuming. So, as they say, "back to the drawing board". 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. The extra force will also 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. Easy DIY motorized battery free telescope focuser - YouTube Several clamps were used to hold the pieces together overnight. Also no obvious diffraction spikes in the m31 photo. Here is what I was working on but looks like I need a better design. So, for my telescope I used a 6mm to 5mm coupler available on Amazon. There was the expense, for one, but also the To get a slide-fit in a 3D printed part, you normally make the hole 0.5mm larger than the shaft. 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. Perfect for visual observations with very heavy mirrors. Plus it comes in black, so : "http://www. Since my plan called for purchasing the mirrors and mechanical parts there were several decisions to be made and several vendors to contact. 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. Since these focusers were going side-by-side on a binocular Un-real!!! I will have a lot of fun building my homemade 12.5 inch Dobsonian Telescope!!! Share a cool tool or product with the community. the drive shaft close against the drawtube. i am not trying to win this contest with photos. Several functions may not work. We are now ready for some testing. (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.) DIY focuser design - ATM, Optics and DIY Forum - Cloudy Nights A couple setscrews and you're up & running with an off the shelf solution. It took yet another call a week later for the items to actually be mailed. I had considered using a clear finish alone, but decided to use a dark red finish on the base and a clear finish on the tube, just because I like the look. Drill the holes for the knitting try { Thicker knitting needles would be even 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. If your optical train is heavy and the focuser has to bear it (see above) then this motor may be a better choice. PhotoPictureResizer_190723_214534574_crop_2558x3105_copy_1023x1242.jpg. the interior diameter is just a nudge over 2". It's rigid, lightweight, and Given any mirror measurements, PLOP will provide the ideal support layout and how much distortion to expect for any number of flotation points. I had nearly completed the base and put things together for the first time. #@$%^#@!!!!! I waited until dark and pointed the scope at the sky. But I wanted a larger mirror, and, at that size, grinding my own was not an option. I'll use an aluminum tube for the finished draw tube but for now the plastic tube . 11 years ago At this point, the scope was pretty much finished. After the second call, I received a response that it would be ready at the end of the following week. Two inch internal diameter drawtube. The shroud made from two 22 inch tall containers came out short, so I had to add an eleven inch strip of nylon. Sew the seam, and sew an elastic cord into the top to secure it to the secondary cage. To make the hole for the focuser, I used the focuser tube to mark a circle in the shroud. Just as it was about to come into focus, the focuser bottomed out. I am well versed in technology, have all the tools necessary to build my own! 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. If you're not familiar with Arduino, watch some tutorial videos. 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. I didn't receive any confirmation email after a few days, so I tried to send them an email. 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. by cranking 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. Very simple and portable. Showcasing amazing maker projects of 2022. Nice one. Build a Backyard Dobsonian Telescope - Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for After picking up a copy of The Dobsonian Telescope by David Kriege, I built my first telescope with a 12-diameter mirror, then later tackled a 12 lightweight scope. 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. Most of these have one or two set screws. After another 3 weeks, I was concerned that I had not received the mirror. This is where you will use screws to strongly attach the focuser onto the tube. With adapters for any Meade 1x200-ACF or LS model, and chord to plug into focuser port. I'd be willing to bet that you could easily grind your own 12.5 inch next time and save some $$. 1N5408 3A Diode (you may need to make the pins smaller to fit through the holes in the board. 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. 100A81BF-2145-44D5-BC76-66DBF43BAD58.jpeg. DIY Craford Focuser. 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. This was to allow the circle cutting jig to be attached to the board to cut the arcs from a center point of 25 inches above the ground. We use cookies to continuously improve our websites for you and optimize its design and customization. I have several of the books on building a Dobsonian Telescope. rod for the drive axle it would have a fairly fine motion. 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. As the authors describe the benefits of a truss design, it is hard to dispute their arguments. I used a hole saw to cut a wooden plug to fit inside the This motor is available on Amazon. Bore out some 2.5 inch bar and mill a flat down the side making sure it is lined up. I told them to take their time and get it right. (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.)

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homemade telescope focuser

homemade telescope focuser