Nice looking piece of equipment. Might I suggest a couple of 13mm diam. black poly "hoops" of the garden irrigation variety placed around the trusses would keep a shroud well clear of the light path.
Might I suggest a couple of 13mm diam. black poly "hoops" of the garden irrigation variety placed around the trusses would keep a shroud well clear of the light path.
Thats what I was going to suggest in the previous thread where these trusses were mentioned... Everyone was wondering how to shroud them, I figured just cutting 2 rings from plywood that locked together with latches or some such (for easy removal) and then wrap a sheet around it...
Seemed simple enough to me..
Wouldn't mind some 16" aperture action in my back yard I tell you what! Anyone care to venture a guess as to how much we'll be expecting to pay for one of these bad boys??
I had heard/read that they may be at a slight premium to the Lightbridge ($100-$200)...not sure if there is any validity to that or not.
The limited understanding/rationale that I heard is that this is related to manufacturing agreements/license and ownership of the basic design by Meade...
Again, I can not vouch for this as fact just a recollection...
A shroud with some (or maybe one circular) battens (as used in sails) to keep the fabric out of the light path wouldn't be that hard to make.
You could use some heavy duty Velco dots and some of that plastic yellow
tounge and groove you can get (it's quite flexible) from a hardware store.
You could use that to make battens, maybe only need one. Plus about $6
worth of rip-stop nylon (Spotlight) would have enough to make a good
light shroud.
I had heard/read that they may be at a slight premium to the Lightbridge ($100-$200)...not sure if there is any validity to that or not.
The limited understanding/rationale that I heard is that this is related to manufacturing agreements/license and ownership of the basic design by Meade...
Again, I can not vouch for this as fact just a recollection...
Yup! that would be Meade for you, I wonder if they ever thought about a
similar payment to Ritchie Chretien
Hi Carol,
I saw your "curse" hopefully it will stop snowing soon.
Unfortunately the Moon will continue to be a curse for a couple of weeks.
Enjoy your new baby and make sure that you share with your astronomical family.
16", three strut. Listed at A$2,750 - several hundred more than people were expecting? (cf 16" Lightbridge listed at $2,495 at Bintel) Roger tells me the bundled eyepieces add to the cost relative to the Lightbridge.
Roger told me that fitting the secondary cage is a one person job and quite easy to do. The three struts, connected to the mirrorbox, bend slightly inwards so the secondary can be placed safely on them while the screws are fitted.
While Roger wasn't watching (), I gave the secondary a good twist and I didn't feel any "give" at all. A very crude test, but the struts seem to be doing a good job.
Yes, the base is huge, like the 16" lightbridge. I cannot see that fitting into a back seat!
The bearings are adjustable to move the centre of gravity back and forwards, some centimetres along the OTA axis, relative to the pivot point. It doesn't look like a task one would attempt in the field - probably a setup one does at home to suit most commonly used eyepiece/paracorr/barlow whatever setup on the focusser (plus telrad etc.)
Only took a brief look at the mirror mount. Sorry, I didn't count the mounting points. I'm not an ATM'er, obviously.
It'll be interesting to see how popular these become.
Location: Tucson, before that Wisconsin, before...
Posts: 231
Look at those itty-bitty altitude trunnions...are they proposing springs again, like in the other GSO dobs? If not, that thing better be balanced perfectly...Mighty heavy assembly for those small trunnions, I'd say [insert old man grumpy sounds from back of throat - harrumph]
Thanks for the man-on-the-scene report, Eric...
Scott
Currently in Tucson, AZ, within spitting distance of the U of Arizona Mirror Lab...
Yes, I would have thought that anyone buying a 16" scope will already have a collection of eyepieces, probably better than the bundled ones - so I'd sell the scope without eyepieces. Does anyone really enter the hobby with a 16" reflector purchase?
