Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

200P/ST80 flocking & mods

pritc

By pritc
in DIY Astronomer

Recommended Posts

pritc

pritc

Posted
Posted

Off work, suffering from a torn knee ligament ,I have decided to do a few mods to my 200P & ST80.

Inspiration has been taken Dion's YouTube tutorial's:

astronomyshed's Channel - YouTube

I took the brave decision to strip my beloved 200P down....:icon_eek:

First up, I ordered 2 rolls of flock from FLO:

First Light Optics - Flocking Material

Any fear I had about fitting this flock was soon alleviated...

It was a joy to fit,installation was easy.Just take your time,smoothing out any air bubbles you encounter as you go.

I was able to flock the inside of my 200P with a complete top and bottom continuous sheet.

All edges were then finally glued down with a thin line of superglue, to take away any fears of edge lifting at a future date.

All holes were then cut out with a sharp hobby craft knife.

I have taken the decision not to refit my 9x50 finder scope.:angry4:

1:After fitting a Telrad,I do not use it anymore.

2:I have never been happy with its position.You need to be a contortionist to look through it.(Should really be a right angled finder scope)

So I have left those holes uncut...

I will reattach my Telrad in that position.

Finally a quick vacuum to remove any loose fibres and flocking of my 200P is complete.

As already documented the difference in tube reflections is amazing and I would highly recommend everyone to flock their newtonian.

The best £14 I have spent!!

And I still have enough flocking material left over to do my ST80.:)

Next up:Focus tube/focuser mods.....

Wayne

post-18037-133877730757_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877730766_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877730773_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877730779_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877730786_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 45
  • Created
  • Last Reply
malc-c

malc-c

Posted
Posted

Flocking 'ell - that looks nice :)

I'll be interested to see the difference it makes. My only concerns are the fibers that could mean regular maintenance on the primary mirror. Does this stuff molt a lot ?

Hope the knee heals quickly mate

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Another nice flocking job :icon_eek: Sorry about you torn ligament Wayne - hope it heals up soon :angry4: Must be very painful :p

Thanks Gina..:(

Painful:YES!! :(

Keeping me awake at night:YES!!:(

My only concerns are the fibers that could mean regular maintenance on the primary mirror. Does this stuff molt a lot ?

It has had some positive reports about lack of molting.I do not think FLO would have decided to stock it if it did.

It has a moleskin texture and feel about it...

I still remember the feel of my mock moleskin jacket from my youth.....:)

The only fibre loss I encountered was from cutting it to size.

As it will be inside the OTA away from contact and rubbing,I cannot envisage a problem.

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wrinkly

wrinkly

Posted
Posted

No problem JamesJamJosephJoseph, sir.

Small dish of water with a drop of washing up liquid, sponge the back and if it does not go on correctly, lift off and reapply.

If an ancient negative IQ like me can do it, so can you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted
My only concern about flocking is how easy/hard it is to apply it smoothly in such a cramped area etc, especially when it's sticky backed.. kinda like trying to slide sellotape down a straw... :icon_eek:

The flock from FLO is not instant grab...

It does give you the chance to re-adjust a couple of times.:)

Just make sure to get the initial edge correct and the flock will follow the inside of the scope perfectly......

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

After flocking my 200P,The next mod was to improve the crayford focuser.

After watching Dion's tutorial,I stripped my focuser down.

As Dion pointed out,(plus you can see in my photo1)the focuser knob rod only makes contact with the outside edges of the focus draw tube (Two parallel black lines)???

So using a well oiled oil stone,I ground the surface to a flat.(photo 2)

Now the focuser rod glides better and makes contact with the entire surface....:icon_eek:

I then masked up the focuser draw tube and painted the protruding scope end with blackboard paint,to stop any light reflections.

Where the focuser bearings run,I left these two areas free of paint.

I then flocked the inside of the focuser draw tube.....:)

To finish off,I painted the inside part of the main focuser housing with the same blackboard paint.

Before reattaching the focuser assembly,I swapped the 4 shiny silver M4 x15 bolts for 4 black countersunk allen bolts.

Next up:secondary mirror mods

Wayne

post-18037-133877731709_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877731719_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877731726_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877731733_thumb.jpg

post-18037-13387773174_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877731747_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877731754_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Following Dion's tutorial,I decided to mod the secondary mirror assembly.

The centre bolt was replaced with a stainless steel allen headed bolt.I also replaced the 3 grub screws for S/S cone tipped ones.

The secondary mirror was given a coat of blackboard paint to all surfaces(apart from the mirror :icon_scratch:)

The base of the secondary mirror was sanded flat with a sheet of medium wet/dry,to remove the burr left by the old grub screws digging in.

Using the spider vane assembly,I marked the position of the 3 grub screws on a M10 x 35 x 2mm S/S washer.

I then drilled 3 countersunk holes to accept the grub screw tips.

Using a 0.25mm PTFE sheet ,I also made a M10x35mm washer.

The secondary mirror assembly was put together,ready to go back in to the scope..

This mod allows smoother collimation of the secondary,without fear of anything moving once you re-tighten the secondary centre bolt.

Next up : Centring the focuser

Wayne

post-18037-133877732287_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877732297_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877732305_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877732312_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
perkil8r

perkil8r

Posted
Posted

I've got the same flocking material but off a larger roll so will just need 1 piece. I tried a small piece and it doesn't seem all that sticky, was this the case with yours? Does it stick well over time, would you advise using a little super glue on the corners?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I've got the same flocking material but off a larger roll so will just need 1 piece. I tried a small piece and it doesn't seem all that sticky, was this the case with yours? Does it stick well over time, would you advise using a little super glue on the corners?

I would always advise running a little super glue along the edges, just in case...:icon_scratch: (I did)

I don't think I could of done my 200P in one sheet!!

Runs more risk of wrinkling & a lot more tricky air bubbles to contend with...

2 sheets,one top and one bottom was manageable for me..

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Home stretch for the 200P mods....:)

Again using one of Dion's tutorial's,I measured and found the exact centre point,opposite to the focuser.

After an initial pencil mark,I permanently marked its position with a red coloured ring binder reinforcement.Glued down with super glue, so it does not come unstuck and float down on to my primary mirror....:)

I set up my laser collimator,using my 2" orion precision centering adapter.

As you can see from photo 2 my crayford focuser was slightly out...:D

Using the 3 adjustment allen screws I centred it on the mark(photo 3)

After replacing the spider vanes and getting all sides equal.I did one final check to make sure it was all centred.

I bolted a length of M4 rod to the centre point of the secondary and checked aligment...

Finally,all mirrors were put back in and collimated...:icon_scratch:

Next up: ST80 mods

Wayne

post-18037-133877732655_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877732664_thumb.jpg

post-18037-13387773267_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877732677_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877732684_thumb.jpg

post-18037-13387773269_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Again following Dion's Tutorial:

I set about tweaking my ST80.:(

First was to remove the lens elements and using a permanent marker,blacken the edges. (photo1)

These were then refitted(photo 2)

The rest of the ST80 was stripped down to it's separate parts.

The internal baffle was then given a couple of coats of blackboard paint.Once dry,I flocked both ends of the tube and also the dew shield..:)

The focuser assembly was stripped down,all internal parts were painted,again with blackboard paint.

The focuser mechanism was cleaned and thinly re-greased with TF2 lithium grease.

I then put all parts back together.

Lastly I replaced the 3 rear silver reflective screws for black button head allen head bolts.

Wayne

post-18037-133877733472_thumb.jpg

post-18037-13387773348_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877733489_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877733497_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877733503_thumb.jpg

post-18037-13387773351_thumb.jpg

post-18037-133877733517_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
malc-c

malc-c

Posted
Posted

Very nice......

It's my birthday in a couple of weeks so I've held off buying the flock etc and been dropping lots of hints to wife and the the kids :)

I'm looking to do a complete overhaul of my mount / 200P / ST80 too --- this time it will be me copying you :p:p :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pritc

pritc

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Very nice......

I'm looking to do a complete overhaul of my mount / 200P / ST80 too --- this time it will be me copying you :(:p:)

Still copying you Malcolm (and Gina for that matter)

I have just purchased a Watson W-8186 weather station...:p;)

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites
malc-c

malc-c

Posted
Posted
Still copying you Malcolm (and Gina for that matter)

I have just purchased a Watson W-8186 weather station...:(;)

Wayne

You may of thought you were obsessed with the weather before, now you have a weather station you'll find it's one hell of an addiction :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.