My baby SDM is coming

[erick]

I cannot keep it a secret. My 12" GSO Mirror and all required bits (heater controller, heater straps, Encoders, Finderscope etc.) are packed in the car to be handed to Peter tomorrow.

I'm going to have the littlest SDM so far! This is so exciting!

SDM#039 12" f5 Turbo Star-Catcher

http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/projects.html

[spacezebra]

Hi Eric

Peter does beautiful work! Congrats on the project.

Say hello to Peter for me.

Cheers Petra d.

[PCH]

I agree, the cardboard box my Stellarvue binoviewers came in was beautifully put together and wrapped :P

Good on yer with the scope Erick. I'm sure it will be another masterpiece from the master himself :thumbsup:

[GrahamL]

pictures needed Eric:)

[xstream]

Eric you will love it!

[CoombellKid]

Congrats on the new scope Eric :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: so I suppose the "SDM" logo
on your scope stands for "Size Doesn't Matter" :whistle:

Look forward to seeing some pics

Cheers,CS

[stephenb]

Congrats, I am hoping for a similar delivery from Peter today.You're just as bad as keeping secrets as I am, Eric. :lol:

[wavelandscott]

Congratulations on your new scope...

[Rodstar]

Fantastic. It'll be the best 12 inch newtonian scope on the planet!

[erick]

I just checked it out Stephen! Peter wouldn't let me take bits off it as souvenirs :sadeyes:

[erick]

Being "Solid Does Matter" ;)

[JethroB76]

Theres a couple "Turbos" currently being constructed on the SDM site, what does this name signify?

[erick]

As in "Turbo"? Turbo-charge your existing scope. In my case a GSO 12" dob. Peter is advertising to soup-up 16" GSOs.

The brief is on his front page, about half way down:-

http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/

[JethroB76]

Ah ok, I assumed something like this

[stephenb]

You keep you're bloody dirty mits off my SDM, Mr K. :lol::lol:

He'll be here in an hour or so, and I'll be inspecting it for YOUR fingerprints. :lol:

[erick]

You'll find plenty! :ashamed:

[Quark]

Wow Eric,

Sounds like a great project, and it would fit in your car for a trip to Broken Hill.

Regards
Trevor

[ausastronomer]

Hi Erick,

Congratulations, you will really love your new SDM telescope. Enjoy it. An SDM structure with GSO Optics is an excellent cheaper cost pathway to a great telescope.

I have had SDM #33 for 2 weeks now and it is an absolutely outstanding telescope in every respect. Superb craftsmanship from both the telescope maker (Peter Read) and the mirror maker (Carl Zambuto). As I commented to Peter the other day on the phone, "This is likely to be the best 14" telescope on the planet at the present time".

Cheers,
John B

[iceworks]

Congratulations, I have an SDM scope and have never been happier. The build quality and craftmanship is superb. The scopes are also rugged. I left mine overnight in the vertical position and a wind gust blew it over. Didn't even lose collimation, how's that for amazing! However, I now make sure that I leave it in the horizontal position with the mirror-lock on. Just a hint if leaving the scope out overnight.

I have a paracorr, but to be honest I don't notice that much flaring without it. Peter Read builds THE BEST scopes.:)

[wavelandscott]

Wow! I ned to check the SDM website more often.

Congratulaions all for some great looking scopes!

He sure does fine work...

[erick]

Update :jump:

Peter and I are having regular phone calls working out placements, heights etc. that suit me and my observing style. We are getting into the final stretch. Maybe first light in a few weeks. :clap:

http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/ <=== Highly recommended!

Think you cannot afford a top quality scope? Check out "Turbo Charged GSO" at the bottom of this page:- http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/prices.html

[DavidU]

:thumbsup:Nice one Eric. We want plenty of pix when it arrives.

[erick]

Probably will all be of me hugging it!

[JethroB76]

Probably a bit off-topic, but on that SDM page it says he no longer offers the compact versions. That was a short run..

[ausastronomer]

Hi Jethro,

The problem with the compact versions is they are very time consuming to build, compared to the classic Obsession style scope. With the market being what it is in Australia it would be cost prohibitive to charge "the right price", reflecting the labour component that goes into building an ultra compact scope. Charging the same price as a classic style scope, which is what Peter does, he is working for about $5 an hour, if that. On top of that, making the ultra compact style scopes significantly affects Peter's available time and hence his ability to supply the classic style scopes on a timely basis to meet customers needs.

Cheers,
John B

[Paddy]

Very exciting, Eric. I'm looking forward to some pics

[erick]

OK, here are some. The UTA "in the raw". Peter is experimenting as he builds. He has described the experience as fun :P

He has completed the UTA to get a weight so he can design the mirror/rocker box to a desired altitude pivot height.

Isn't that a lovely sight? Red (:D) Moonlite focusser with filter slide which he has located out of the light path. Moonlite now provide a heater for the filter slide so that is going on.

How about that curved spider! :eyepop:

It turns out there was no easy way to fit the GSO holder to the spider, so Peter will put in a Galaxy secondary. Looks like the primary mirror and the finderscope dovetail foot will be the only things that carry over from the original GSO 12" dob. :)

(So there will be a GSO secondary in holder already fitted with a DG-1 heater coming to the IIS Classifieds soon!)

Total UTA weight, all fitted out and with 17mm Nagler - 5Kg.

I'm also going to get his new Delrin pole blocks (see his home page for details).

This is all good! :thumbsup:

[DavidU]

Severe jealousy has set in!:thumbsup:
She's going to be a beauty

[tnott]

Looks great Eric.

Should be a lot easier than lugging a 12" solid tube plus base around!

Interesting to hear about Peter not continuing with the Compact style. I found the 22" compact less time consuming than the 16" Tridob, but it did require a lot of shaped steel components that had to be laser cut, welded, bent at specific angles, drilled and tapped etc.

His were an excellent design too I thought - not having the fold-over altitude bearings would have simplified construction as well.

Anyway, at a 12" size the classic design would be plenty portable enough.:thumbsup:

[erick]

Goodbye trailer! Goodbye increased petrol consumption due to trailer canopy! :)

[norm]

Looking great Eric :thumbsup:
I really like the full ply UTA...very, very nice:D

Are you planning to have it stained?

Cheers, Norm

[erick]

Not my build Norm - I can only saw up pine chunks! :shrug:

Peter Read (SDM Telescopes) is building it. The photos are in the raw state. He'll stain, then put several layers of something (two pack polyurethane?) on it.

[lacad01]

Looking good Eric. Am positively green with envy :)
I can imagine the anticipation on getting the beastie is worse than a kid's excitement before Christmas :)

[Louwai]

When it grows up Eric. When it grows up!!!! :P

What can I say..............:shrug:

Other than , it's looking a little more advanced than mine. :confused2:

I'm obviously mistaken when thinking that 31 comes before 39 in the general sequential numbering system........:sadeyes:

[erick]

Well some people have to order these fancy mirrors, while some walk in the door with one under their arm! :D

[StarGazing]

Well said Erick, when do you receive it ?????
:)

[Louwai]

Yeah true Eric, but Peter already had my mirror before I ordered the scope;).



At least you'll be getting yours soon.....
I'm hoping to get down & catch up with you guys soon....... Maybe early next yr..
B

[erick]

Ooops! Sorry Bryan :)

Peter is a telescope builder in demand! He has a few windows of opportunity in which to finish mine - let's see how we go. It will be worth the wait. :thumbsup:

[erick]

Let me tell a bit more about my scope. I've been quite fortunate, knowing the workload Peter has on as he does his best to deliver to his customers.

I cannot remember exactly when I first contacted Peter, but I took my GSO for a visit to his place later in January 2009. My earliest email on file is Peter giving me directions in early January. On the evening, after inspection, he told me that he believed the mirror to be worth placing into a better telescope. We agreed to talk later on in the year, if I was in a position to proceed.

I contacted Peter late July and he was happy to proceed. I gathered a 12" was an experiment for him, a much smaller aperture that his usual scopes. It is interesting therefore to see that he is working on a 10" for John. I honestly don't know whether these small apertures are a worthwhile proposition for Peter - his labour/materials don't go down as a linear function of aperture size- we shall see what he advertises to do in future, I expect.

So we have been working since then with Peter fitting mine around his other commitments. If I take delivery this year, I will consider myself fortunate - an SDM from conception, through build, to delivery in about 12 months - yes, fortunate. :)

[ausastronomer]

Hi Erick,

The 12" will be an experiment for him because he has only done a small part of my scope to date. Peter did the mirror cell and split blocks about 18 mths ago and it hasn't progressed from there because he doesn't have the mirror. The mirror weight will determine some of the design parameters for the mirror box, rocker box and UCA. Consequently your mirror box, rocker box and UCA will be the first he has done in this size class.



Clearly they are not because as you correctly point out the costs are not a linear function of aperture. It takes almost as long to build a small truss scope as it does a big one. Peter however is trying to build his business in a very small Australian market, by having as many of his scopes "out in the field" as he possibly can. Consequently he is happy to "build what the customer wants", notwithstanding that some jobs are not very profitable. Further he is just a very obliging accomodating person and wants every customer to be happy. While he doesn't advertise scopes under 14" on his website he will build them as a one off, if his workload and timeframe allows.

Cheers,
John B

[erick]

I hope Peter has success with his offer of the 16" scope incorporating GSO optics. I'm sure that he will be very critical on the mirrors that go in his scope (only the best examples, I expect) and the price he is quoting is very competitive compared with a specialist mirror scope. It looks like one could retrofit options later (Argo, dew prevention) as finances permit.

[Satchmo]

I assumed that price was for a user supplied GSO mirror and the $4950 was for the structure ? I could be wrong.

[erick]

Since I raised it, I'll find out, Mark. I thought it was optics included.

[AstroJunk]

Mark is correct - GSO optics are user supplied for the Turbo.

[erick]

Re the 16" Turbo/GSO optics, Peter tells me there is a typo on the price page which he will get corrected. Yes, he does intend that purchaser supplies the 16" primary mirror. So watch the site for a revision or give Peter a call if you are interested.

[AstroJunk]

Site revised: http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/prices.html

[erick]

Getting close. Sneak preview!

[Paddy]

Looks mighty fine, Eric. Good to see the heated eyepiece box still has its place.

[pgc hunter]

she's a beaut Eric. Love the onboard eyepiece box idea!

[erick]

Just lazy! Don't want to get out of my wheelie chair once I get going! :P

[pgc hunter]

:lol:
It also needs a KFC dispenser. Not to mention some onboard RPG launchers to destroy streetlights.

I noticed that the UTA and spider on the assembled scope looks completely different to the one in the pics you posted on the first page...

[erick]

Yes, Peter wasn't satisfied with the UTA performance and has gone through some developments.

[Louwai]

Looking good Eric !!:thumbsup:

[richardda1st]

Can't see anyone putting a lowly plossl,.... a plossl.......:P on an SDM.:eyepop::eyepop::eyepop:

[erick]

12 more sleeps!:face:

[mbaddah]

I can't wait to see it Erick :D

[erick]

3 more sleeps :cool:

[lacad01]

Lookin very nice indeed :thumbsup:

[pgc hunter]

Love that deep reddish stain. Make sure you take lots of pics and post a first light report when it arrives!

[erick]

Peter told me his stains is the same on all scopes, but it photographs differently by flash, in daylight etc. I think this is the reason for the variation that is seen in photos?

[AstroJunk]

Two SDM births in as many weekends - how exciting is this :thumbsup:

I recon there are enough of us for a dedicated SDM Star Party now.

[erick]

:thumbsup:

Pretentious?? Nous SDM owners??? Mais Non! :D

[Rodstar]

I guess we would converge on Peter Read's place for such a big reunion?? I reckon it's a great idea!!

[Satchmo]

I think you guys have started a new product line...the 'Size Doesn't Matter' line. :)

[AstroJunk]

Slightly Downsized Masterpiece

[pgc hunter]

lol

Eric, make sure you spam this thread with pics when you get it :party:

[mbaddah]

Eric how did it go? I am waiting in anticipation for some photos :D

[erick]

Done - no more sleeps, just sleepless nights now!

http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/SDM039.html

All looking very very good!

Has pride of place in the centre of the living room as of 2am this morning!

More pics and discussion later.

[wavelandscott]

Congratulations!

It sure looks pretty, I hope you get many dark nights of enoyment from it.

Well done Eric and Peter at SDM!

[mbaddah]

Congratulations Eric looks excellent :D Another superb job by Peter.

[issdaol]

looks great :thumbsup: SDM seem to make very nice Dob's. Hope you have lot's of good sleepless nights :)

[erick]

"Now, remember, I said no taller than this!"

"First alignment star - ACRUX - up there!"

[DavidU]

VERY nice Erik:thumbsup:

[richardda1st]

Well worth the wait Eric, very nice indeed.:thumbsup:

[Dave47tuc]

Very nice Eric :thumbsup:

I hope you have many enjoyable nights with it. :)

[mbaddah]

Eric correct me if I'm wrong but is that a Mitsubishi Lancer you have placed your scope in? If so that's very impressive portability for a 12"er!

[Paddy]

Woo-hoo and yip-yoo Eric - congratulations!

[erick]

Sure is! Peter doubted I could get the Rocker/Mirror box combo into the back seat. It was easy but I had to do it in two lifts - partly weight (30+Kg all up) and partly maneuvering through the door. Seat belt just fitted over/around it.

But I did get my 12" solid tube in it once!

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=27687 see post #26

[erick]

Thanks everyone for your interest. I think it is time for the thread to pass into the mists of time.

So final image. SDM#039 was named last night :thumbsup:



(I'll just have to start a new thread on the features of my new "Turbo Starcatcher"! :D )

[astroron]

Looks Nice Erick:), I don't see any way of moving it , do you have to take it apart to take it outside:question:
cheers:thumbsup:

[erick]

Yep Ron, it breaks down into these manageable pieces. I didn't go for wheels since I could easily lift all bits.

I can move the Rocker/Mirror boxes together. Last night I found I could lift the whole scope for a short move. Two people with a little muscle could easily lift and move the entire assembly - with a little care. Peter has provided oval cutouts each side of the rocker that make very robust and easily used "handles".


(OK, one more pic then............ :D )

[astroron]

Thanks Erick, I hope you have many happy night's observing with it:stargaze::astron:

[pgc hunter]

I agree the cutout in the rocker makes it convenient to carry but also saves weight.

[Satchmo]

What a classic...you blanked your surname out on the SDM nameplate in the picture so that no one online could look you up and come and steal your new SDM ..thats saying something :lol:

[Starkler]

There's something else he should have blanked out also :lol:

Nice scope there Mr K ;)
Congrats:D

[mbaddah]

I just seen the pic of the 12" solid tube! lol not my idea of portable but it fits :D

[erick]

What did I miss :confused2: :sadeyes:

Still have to reorganise my insurance so it is covered when I take it away from home - what a pain - I have to list everything, values etc. take them out of my total contents value so I'm not paying twice.................groan :mad2:


How about a big chain - through the UTA, through the Mirror Box bolted to a light post? :thumbsup:

[pgc hunter]

Only the license plate number of your scope :poke: :lol:

[GrahamL]

Yep Petes website dosn't say Eric Blank ;)

great looking scope !.. as they all are

[Louwai]

Looks absolutly awesome Eric......