Is that a lego man on your telescope? Yes, that is Winston, my lego astronaut buddy! :^)
Why are you calling me vintage? I'm sorry, I thought vintage made the title more interesting ;(
What can you photograph with this? This telescope isn't really suitable for deep sky astrophotography, it's aimed for visual astronomy. However, I can do planetary shots with it!
What can you see with this? This telescope has a limiting magnitude of 16-17, so anything under that magnitude is visible. However, some of my favorites to look at are globular clusters and galaxies.
Where can I find information to make my own? I've mentioned this in a few comments, but check out Stellafane's website to get started. I'd also recommend Cloudy Nights forums; lots of helpful people on there! Also read "The Dobsonian Telescope" by Richard Berry and David Kriege.
Where can you find mirrors like this? You can find them on Cloudy Nights Classifieds or Astromart, have them custom made by optical manufacturers, or grind one yourself!
Did you really make this yourself? Yes, but not without the advice of my fellow amateur telescope makers! Other than that, I built this bad boy in 6 weeks out of my garage from optics, a few custom made parts, and hardware store supplies.
Is this 17.5" tall? Yes, sadly I am only a foot tall :( Just kidding, 17.5" refers to the aperture. The scope is actually almost 7 feet tall.
What would you like to do with this in the future? After fixing some mechanical stuff like balance, I plan on adding digital setting circles and a DIY goto/tracking system using OnStep and an Arduino board.
Brisby2 on February 28th, 2021 at 21:30 UTC »
After about 2 months of working obsessively on this, I finally completed my 17.5” f/4.5 Dobsonian telescope! If you’d like to see the progress from start to finish, feel free to read through my Cloudy Nights thread: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/746807-175-f45-truss-tube-dobsonian-build-first-build/
There is still some work to be done, like varnishing the wood and working out some mechanical stuff... but the “Mark I” of it is complete!
IronRT on February 28th, 2021 at 22:01 UTC »
this picture looks like it was taken in the 80’s. Just replace the watch with a Casio calculator watch
Brisby2 on March 1st, 2021 at 02:09 UTC »
Also an FAQ:
Is that a lego man on your telescope? Yes, that is Winston, my lego astronaut buddy! :^)
Why are you calling me vintage? I'm sorry, I thought vintage made the title more interesting ;(
What can you photograph with this? This telescope isn't really suitable for deep sky astrophotography, it's aimed for visual astronomy. However, I can do planetary shots with it!
What can you see with this? This telescope has a limiting magnitude of 16-17, so anything under that magnitude is visible. However, some of my favorites to look at are globular clusters and galaxies.
Where can I find information to make my own? I've mentioned this in a few comments, but check out Stellafane's website to get started. I'd also recommend Cloudy Nights forums; lots of helpful people on there! Also read "The Dobsonian Telescope" by Richard Berry and David Kriege.
Where can you find mirrors like this? You can find them on Cloudy Nights Classifieds or Astromart, have them custom made by optical manufacturers, or grind one yourself!
Did you really make this yourself? Yes, but not without the advice of my fellow amateur telescope makers! Other than that, I built this bad boy in 6 weeks out of my garage from optics, a few custom made parts, and hardware store supplies.
Is this 17.5" tall? Yes, sadly I am only a foot tall :( Just kidding, 17.5" refers to the aperture. The scope is actually almost 7 feet tall.
What would you like to do with this in the future? After fixing some mechanical stuff like balance, I plan on adding digital setting circles and a DIY goto/tracking system using OnStep and an Arduino board.