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...
Hi All
Wow, after a long hiatus, Chuan Yi, Wira and I finally met again last sunday to do some final assembly of the scope. As u can see from the photo below, the scope is more or less done. We are just waiting for the glue that holds the secondary and primary mirror in place to dry. We had wanted to take it out for a spin monday nite; and i guess that explains the heavy rain tonite!!!
Anyway, once first-light is ok (keeping our fingers crossed), we will do some finishing touches like giving it a coat of (black) paint and making a shroud.
cheers
cc
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WOOT~!!~!~ Gimme the Time and place, and i'll be there~! Maybe we should hold a ceremony for it! Like cracking a bottle of champange on it, but in this case, a Pentax or TV eyepiece will do! Suddenly, i hear Equipment Fest'04 around the corner...
and a giant baby is born...
Charlie
The gentle light of a distant galaxy
must needs pour into mine eye.
Or i shall with bent and turned,
fall me down, distraught..To die.
AT LONG LAST!!! The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and the train is coming into the station! Congrats men...!
BTW, whatever happened to that Name-The-Scope Contest??
Maybe instead of contributing an article, maybe you can change to name-the-scope instead?
As what weixing noted, I though previously the scope was supposed to be within a normal person's height but now it seems we may need a stool for zenith viewing...if only the picture was taken with someone like CC next to it, then we can appreciate its height better. With such a long body, will the scope slide down when viewing objects lower in the horizon using a Nagler?
Any intention to add a DSC for that optional goto capability?
Now if this 16.1 " is the biggest scope in Singapore, maybe we can get the media in again for "Saturn Watch 04"?
rich
The Boldly Go Where No Meade Has Gone Before Captain, RSS Enterprise NCC1701R United Federation of the Planets
I am pleased to announce that our 16" scope has been succesfully tested and commissioned on 21/22 Jan.
After a 1 hour final assembly/ fine tuning session at Wira's warehouse, the scope's first light was performed on an unknown (but very honored if he is to find out) neighbour's flat. We were all relieved to know that the scope can indeed come to focus.
Initial astro observation was then carried out in an empty field next to a school in the east. Detail seen in M42 was promising. Planets however were only satisfactory, however a fair amount good detail can still be seen when collimation was right.
A stool is required for anything above 30 deg. The scope is structurally sound and the truss is more sturdy than it looks. We were able to lift the entire telescope by holding on to the truss alone.
Wira and acc will continue on some scope improvement works - dotting the primary, securing the counter-weights, red-dot finder, shroud etc.. After that, its time to party.
Hi,
It is pleased to find out that the 16" scope project was a successful one...
Congratulations !!!!
By the way, are you guys plan to use a black canvas to cover the side of the scope to block out ambient light??? Look to me that the uncover side may affect the performance of the scope if not on a dark site.
Have a nice day and happy Chinese New Year!!!
Yang Weixing "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance."
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." 
Congratulations! 