15" ZOC dob : DIY Project

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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shirox
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Post by shirox »

big giant cannon loaded and ready to fire at the skies!
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Mersing finally installed some water sink!
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wucheeyiun
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Post by wucheeyiun »

kensou wrote:[smilie=admire2.gif] tonight is clear! very nice.. dobs!!
Yes, last night is like one of the clearest for the year :) , multiple magnitudes star cluster visible to eyes ... one of those nights you can spot Omega Centauri with your naked eyes.
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Tachyon
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Post by Tachyon »

Wow! FINALLY the Zambuto is ready to be commissioned! The other twin has emerged!
[80% Steve, 20% Alfred] ------- Probability of Clear Skies = (Age of newest equipment in days) / [(Number of observers) * (Total Aperture of all telescopes present in mm)]
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rlow
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Post by rlow »

We had first light with this 15" dob on last Friday 24 June 2011 at the Science Centre. This scope is working quite well, and the public were amazed to see a high-contrast, colourful Saturn, sharp and steady at 563x magnification, in spite of the poor cloudy skies and that the optics was not yet optimized, maybe at 90-95% of it's full potential. I will do some improvement modification work shortly.
rlow
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wucheeyiun
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Post by wucheeyiun »

Good job Richard ... :)

How often do u wash the mirror ... ?
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rlow
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Post by rlow »

Clean only when it is very dirty, ie, not too often. Approximately the same frequency as for your scopes and optics.
rlow
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starfinder
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Post by starfinder »

Congrats RLow!

Looks very good.

Looking forward to seeing through it one day!
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rlow
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Post by rlow »

Here's a photo of the 'first light' event for this 15" dob at the Science Centre on 24 June 2011.

Lady viewing Saturn: "Wow! ...Saturn looked so unreal..."
Dr K.K. Cheong (point to top of dob & laughed): "Yes, we placed a sticker up there..."

Image
rlow
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Robin Lee
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Post by Robin Lee »

Hahaha... that's the impression we got from the public too. "This couldn't be real!", "Did you put a photo inside your scope?". ;)
Clear skies,
Robin.

Cyclops Optics - QHYCCD, William Optics, Televue, STC & Optolong filters
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shirox
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Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 12:21 am
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Post by shirox »

I'm sure the viewers who peep thru it can never forget how fantastic it looked. Great work!!!
**************************************************************
http://eltonastronomy.blogspot.com/

Mersing finally installed some water sink!
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