Newbie Qn: How to make my own refractor??

Wanna make a scope? Or better still, grind a mirror yourself. Or, you have some good tips in making a really useful accessory? This is the place to show what your hands can do...
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Airconvent
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Post by Airconvent »

weixing wrote: By the way, I wonder who had successfully built his/her own telescope in SingAstro??
Kay Heem has. He built a Truss Dob some time back but has since sold it off.
Chuang Yee did not build a scope from scratch but he did convert a 10" Dob into a truss version.

rich
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MooEy
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Post by MooEy »

ok, just for fun.

go to a stationery store, find the biggest magnifying glass u can get, preferably those wif the metal ring holder and the detachable handle.

now go borrow a eyepiece from a friend.

holding the magnifying glass in ur left hand and the eyepiece on the right, slowly move the magnifying glass towards and away from the eyepiece until u reach focus.

remember the distant from then eyepiece to the magnifying glass. mine is a 90mm magnifying glass with a focal length of roughly 250mm.

now go get a tube that would fit the eyepiece and another for the magnifying glass.

find a way to attach the magnifying glass to the tube. then find another way to attach the 2 tubes together, then figure out how to fit the eyepiece in. the eyepiece must be movable to allow focusing.

once all can be done, paint everything black and write ur name on it. tada, a toy refractor. it's so lousy that it can't be even called an achromat.

it's not a substitute for a true scope, just that it's cheap and fun to play with. false colour is expected to be world class, nothing will be able to beat it. =D

~MooEy~
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IceAngel
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Post by IceAngel »

yeah.. tat will be a very fun way.. and u can build alot of scopes use diff eyepieces... lolz... from 5mm ~ 40mm... there will be at least 4 or 5 telescopes will be made.. and u can still add a barlow to it.. so one scope will have two magnification... lolz...
should try it some day when there is an eyepiece and a barlow that i dun wan... and make it into a DIY scope... :D :D :D
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Leslie
*Owner of Antares 93mm Achromat Refractor* :)
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*Owner of Takahashi SKY 90 Fluorite Doublet Apochromat Refractor* :D
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Airconvent
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Post by Airconvent »

MooEy wrote:ok, just for fun.

go to a stationery store, find the biggest magnifying glass u can get, preferably those wif the metal ring holder and the detachable handle.
now go borrow a eyepiece from a friend.
holding the magnifying glass in ur left hand and the eyepiece on the right, slowly move the magnifying glass towards and away from the eyepiece until u reach focus.
=D

~MooEy~
Hi Mooey,
Good idea for a crude scientific experiment but the problem is keeping your hand steady. I bought that US$25 Surplus shed telescope kit and assembled it sometime back. It used a 50mm objective, PCV (literally!) piping and a russian rifle sight as eyepiece! Even that was not easy to use due to focussing issues...

rich
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