Just ordered two matched 12" DSO mirrors for a binocular telescope
After being physically stunned by the images I saw at Lostock from Mark Suchting's dual-12" binocular telescope design, I have just gotten off the phone from him after ordering two of his matched DSO 12" f/5 mirrors. I can't wait to start co-designing the motor-driven co-collimated mirror cells and truss system with him. Mark has some very exciting ideas that we will no doubt spend hours discussing over the next few weeks. He will be building a dual 14" unit and hopes to be able to bring it to the South Pacific star party coming up. I hope that more people take the time to look through one of these units - as they have changed my view of the starts dramatically.
If you have made your own set of bino's - maybe you wouldn't mind imparting me some advice? There are so many designs that have been successfully built, it's staggering..... !
your a glutton, your wife told me you already had 5 scopes. Drought breaking soon. they were nice weren't they????
Drought???
They were amazing, huh! You had a good look through them at Lostock? Just having a whole 12" scope for each eye is somewhat lavish - but well worth the asking price I think.
Hi Chris, that sounds like one awesome setup, you'll have to keep us posted with progress details and pictures.
Hi Houghy, the rain is coming for this setup, it's started in Qld with cyclones and floods and will slowly work it's way down as Chris nears completion.
Hi Chris, that sounds like one awesome setup, you'll have to keep us posted with progress details and pictures.
Hi Houghy, the rain is coming for this setup, it's started in Qld with cyclones and floods and will slowly work it's way down as Chris nears completion.
Cheers
Absolutely Ric It's going to POUR!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm currently trolling through a bunch of designs from all over the place. A few nice examples to consider.......
So to change the pupil distance on these scopes, you have to slew the UTA ring around to where you need it, is this how it is done?
Looking at that last picture, its looks to be quite a pain to move those rings with all those bolts holding them but I am only guessing.
The only drawback that I can see is that if you have to refocus anything, this will also affect your pupil distances, therefore requiring you to move those top rings, possilbly putting it slightly out of collimation each time
So to change the pupil distance on these scopes, you have to slew the UTA ring around to where you need it, is this how it is done?
Looking at that last picture, its looks to be quite a pain to move those rings with all those bolts holding them but I am only guessing.
The only drawback that I can see is that if you have to refocus anything, this will also affect your pupil distances, therefore requiring you to move those top rings, possilbly putting it slightly out of collimation each time
Hi Mark
On the design that Mark brought to Lostock, the upper rings are mounted on teflon pads and are kept in place longitudinally by keeper roller bearings (see photo). A handle on each lets the observer just rotate them as they require. In situations like Lostock - where lots of different people look through them over a session - these are a boon. Rotating them does slightly affect collimation, but there are adjusters that are easily reached from the front to trim the mirrors on the fly. I suppose that the picture you refer to shows a scope that is more-or-less set for that individual.
Does 2 x 12" in the bi config, it is like looking through a 24" scope in terms of light gathering? do you get a bi more of a 3d look as it's using both eyes?
It is an Awesome Experience !
I spent a few hours with Mark, setting up & looking through this scope.
While it does not have the light gathering ability of say the 25" obsession that was there for the Camp, the views were in some respects equally satisfying !
Does 2 x 12" in the bi config, it is like looking through a 24" scope in terms of light gathering? do you get a bi more of a 3d look as it's using both eyes?
I've never used "bi" except in binoculars
Given comparative mirror surface areas, you will obviously still gather more light from a single 24" over a dual 12", (452 sq. in vs 225 sq. in) so resolving power, perse, is still superior using a larger mirror (not that two 12" mirrors should be considered "small"). Even though more light is hitting your EP, images still appear as a flat object. The binocular projects a seemingly 3-dimensional image onto a viewing plane several inches in front of your face. I mentioned to Mark that through his friends' scope I visualise globular clusters now in a multi-dimensional vista, where individual stars almost look "spherical". You have a perception of "depth" that you've never seen until you look through one. It's quite incredible.
A 24" dob requires a substantial platform from which to view objects at or near zenith. I'm not in favour of ladders in the dark. The bino system, at f/5 means that at zenith your eyepieces are about natural eye-height from the ground. Viewing is just sooooo comfortable because you look down into the unit - rather than crane your neck skywards.
The other thing: I'd find it much easier with a dual 12" setup to lug around in a car than a 24"......
It is an Awesome Experience !
I spent a few hours with Mark, setting up & looking through this scope.
While it does not have the light gathering ability of say the 25" obsession that was there for the Camp, the views were in some respects equally satisfying !
Ah-ha! The only other bloke in earshot of my first view through a bino scope! G'Day Ian!
We all would be aware that the subjects viewed are too far away to yield any kind of true stereoscopic vision, so what advantages does a binocular telescope give over a standard one fitted with a binoviewer?
Hi Chris, I haven't seen any mention of imaging through this setup. The fellow on the website you linked didnt mention it either.
I am assuming that you can but was wondering is there any advantage.
If you ever set it up at Cooma please let me know, I would quite happily walk there for a look.
thanks chris, sounds neat. keep us updated with how you go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omaroo
Given comparative mirror surface areas, you will obviously still gather more light from a single 24" over a dual 12", (452 sq. in vs 225 sq. in) so resolving power, perse, is still superior using a larger mirror (not that two 12" mirrors should be considered "small"). Even though more light is hitting your EP, images still appear as a flat object. The binocular projects a seemingly 3-dimensional image onto a viewing plane several inches in front of your face. I mentioned to Mark that through his friends' scope I visualise globular clusters now in a multi-dimensional vista, where individual stars almost look "spherical". You have a perception of "depth" that you've never seen until you look through one. It's quite incredible.
A 24" dob requires a substantial platform from which to view objects at or near zenith. I'm not in favour of ladders in the dark. The bino system, at f/5 means that at zenith your eyepieces are about natural eye-height from the ground. Viewing is just sooooo comfortable because you look down into the unit - rather than crane your neck skywards.
The other thing: I'd find it much easier with a dual 12" setup to lug around in a car than a 24"......
Starkler - In a word (as per the NZ site) a "feeling" is what you get. Although you won't get a true stereoscopic view in the proper sense because, as you say - objects are just too far away to get any real separation), just the fact that your two eyes are receiving data leads to a sense of depth - and moreso than viewing through just a bino attached to a monocular scope. I'm frustrated that I don't have, and can't give you a plausible technical explanation as to why it's so - Mark has a good grasp on a technical level how it works differently - and I invite him to post a response to this question here. Nebulous regions such as M42 and NGC2070 just have far more contrast for some reason - especially with twin OIII's on. As per all of the sites that rattle on about the virtues of bino vision - owners all universally have trouble putting the "it" into words. It's just one of those things you have to see. SPSP will be the go if you can make it!
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