Birds homebrew 13.1" newtonian (merged) - Page 3

iceman (Mike) · #41 24-01-2006, 07:38 PM

It sounds like a workable plan Tony, it just means the cost will increase as the "middle man" (the person putting it together) does all the legwork, sets up the "business", sets up a website (?), gets the parts made, assembles it all and then ships it.

Would still be a very very nice custom built newt with high quality mirrors and high quality parts. For imaging, it looks great. For visual, you'd probably be better off getting a truss obsession or something.

I can see Bird's monster taking up a lot of space in the car.. no wonder his tube is in 2 parts.

Striker (Tony) · #42 24-01-2006, 07:56 PM

Thats fine....you expect to pay for the service..

Would love to see it in action at Lostock Anthony.

Come on bring it.

Orion · #43 24-01-2006, 08:01 PM

Congratulations on a job well done, it must be very satisfying looking at the finished product.
I hope the telescope works better than you expected.

bird (Anthony Wesley) · #44 25-01-2006, 01:40 PM

Well by some miracle it all fits in the car - albeit with a few tricks like packing stuff inside the empty tube, removing the floormat to gain extra height etc.

Will be leaving around 6.30am tomorrow morning, see you all at Lostock!!

Bird

bird (Anthony Wesley) · #45 25-01-2006, 01:43 PM

re: building high quality scopes commercially, it's something that I'd love to look into, but I think I already know the answer - the small(ish) australian marketplace for these items would make it very hard to break even, let alone make it worthwhile financially.

But I've not given up on the idea, first things first - lets wait and see how this design goes in practice. Those of you coming to Lostock will be amused by me still building & tweaking the scope while it's in use. I've already thought of a few small changes I want to make and I'm bringing my toolbox :-)

Bird

ving (David) · #46 25-01-2006, 02:45 PM

i hope none of this has impacted on your coriander anthony.... still growing well?

cant get on to your site to see the scope pics

sounds great tho

matt · #47 25-01-2006, 04:55 PM

I'm with you Tony.

It'd be great to be able to get something like this scope or even Bird's 10", complete with cooling system, all custom made and put together for you.

I'd grab one in a heartbeat. Be happy to wait 6 months or more for it to be made

ausastronomer (John Bambury) · #48 25-01-2006, 05:36 PM

Bird,

Beautiful piece of gear. Gotta be proud of that. With one of Mark's superb mirrors that should be an absolutely outstanding scope, photographically and visually.

Glad to hear it fits in the car and can't wait to see it (and through it) at Lostock.

CS-John B

PS: Do I need to train you to get the camera outta the focuser so I can get an eyepiece in it ?

BTW: What are the plans for the old 10" scope ?

bird (Anthony Wesley) · #49 25-01-2006, 05:58 PM

There ought to be an opportunity for visual use, but I can't fit my stepladder in the car so you'll be balancing on a plastic milk crate

Bird

Satchmo · #50 25-01-2006, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bird

There ought to be an opportunity for visual use, but I can't fit my stepladder in the car so you'll be balancing on a plastic milk crate

Just a note there after talking to Anthony , that its quite certain the mirror figure will be quite distorted for visual use( more so than if there were a natural air/mirror differential) while in a strong peltier cooling phase, particularly as the mirror has a 65mm cooled plug up its middle .

.... so don't be too eager

Mark

bird (Anthony Wesley) · #51 25-01-2006, 09:18 PM

Depending on the ambient conditions, and how quickly this new mirror recovers after I switch off the cooling (both unknown quantities) it should be possible to arrange a period of a couple of hours where the scope can be used visually before saturn gets close to transit at midnight.

Then there's the long wait for Jupiter to get to the zenith just before dawn... again probably a window of opportunity to use the scope for a couple of hours before the cooling is switched back on and the scope goes back to a purely photographic instrument.

regards, Bird

Satchmo · #52 25-01-2006, 09:36 PM

Sounds like a good plan. Wishing you some clear steady skies !

Mark

ausastronomer (John Bambury) · #53 25-01-2006, 11:56 PM

Mark/Anthony

I am a little confused here

, If the mirror is distorted by the cooling effect, is not its "out of figure" state the same for visual and photographic purposes ? Or are there other factors involved here as well ?

CS-John B

Satchmo · #54 26-01-2006, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ausastronomer

Mark/Anthony

I am a little confused here

, If the mirror is distorted by the cooling effect, is not its "out of figure" state the same for visual and photographic purposes ? Or are there other factors involved here as well ?

CS-John B

John

Yes, they are one and the same . I was simply warning that the visual views may be quite poor during the forced Peltier cooling phase ( more so than a natural cooldown). I new that Anthony would no doubt be busy imaging once the system was at optimal temperature, but looks like he anticipates a few windows of opportunity for visual observation.

Mark

bird (Anthony Wesley) · #55 29-01-2006, 08:48 PM

When the cooling is operating the scope is not suitable for use - either visual or photographic. I try to make sure that the cooling is switched off and the mirror allowed to sit and equalise for about half an hour before I try to use it, that's normally enough time for the mirror figure to return to its normal shape.

Bird