GasGiant

Probably 8"

@Mr H in Yorkshire That would be a undertaking ! :-0 Ive started building a full size Dob, lol. However, I really do need to pencil some ideas down before I go too much further.

good shout. I think I will turn up some ali and give that a good polish 🙂

Thank you guys, very kind. ☺️ @Mr H in Yorkshire It took about three-ish days. Started Thursday and finished yesterday. Id like to find a small round mirror and plop it in the bottom but apart from that its done.

Hi folks Telescopes have long interested me from an engineering point of view, there is just something inherently 'cool' about how they look. Well, I think so anyway 😀 In my spare time I make things in metal. Mechanical things that interest me or I find visually appealing. I have a small workshop with a lathe, a mill and a couple of laser cutters as well as the usual hand tools etc I decided to have stab at scope model. Loosely based around a Dob, I whittled away kinda freestyling it with no real 'design' as such. Everything is fabricated from bar stock. The truss rods are carbon fibre, I forget why I had it but its perfect for the model. The scope moves up and down and swivels of course though I cant see much down the eyepiece, maybe it needs collimating 🤣 Anyway. here is the result. Im pleased as punch with it. Carl

Hey folks Not sure if this is allowed. If not, MODS can slap my wrist and remove or move to more suitable location. BresserUK on ebay have reduced their 10" Dob from £687 to £476. Its coming from Germany but free post so just little delay. It goes without saying I have no benefit from posting this, and have no link to Bresser. It just looked like a bargain if someone is in the market for a 10 incher https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165991965422?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338365712&toolid=20006&customid=EB175159625&

Ive been scanning FLO and saw 'Bioviewers' These look potentially interesting. What advantages and disadvantages are there with using them? can they be used successfully with Dobs ? I suppose the obvious disadvantage is that they look expensive to buy initially & then you need two eyepieces ! So if you're on a budget then probably not the best thing to invest in. But are they worth the outlay ?

Forget this thread. Ive been an idiot ! I just remembered, I bought this to go with an adaptor for my camera ! Thats what the thread is for lol Stand at ease 😂

What confused me was the threaded portion on the barlow so the barlow into the telescope and the eyepiece into the barlow. But whats that threaded section for ? Thats what confused me LOL

Sorry. I meant putting in the correct place, ie stack it on the 9mm. Wrong terminology

Ok thanks guys. I'm not sure how I can use it then as it doesn't seem to 'stack' on anything else

Hi folks Can you have a look at the images please and give me some advice ? Pic 1, 9mm Plossl & 2x Barlow Pic 2, Ive unscrewed the barlow lens Pic 3, Ive attached it to the 9mm barrel Will I get two times like this, or does the distance from one lens to another need to be specific length ? Thank you Carl

Cheers guys, some good points. @Mr H in Yorkshire Ive only got the basic kit here. I think when I have some new eyepieces I will have a better idea of how to arrange and shield them 🙂 @Marvin Jenkins Or a flask of Yorkshire tea 🙂

@Astronomist Yarp, will do in MK2 🙂 @Naughty Neal Mk2 i'll have it sorted. They're just placed there for photo op 🙂 @John Noted. Suppose it depends on ambient temp/time of year ?

Hey folks What do you recon to this ? This a MK1 idea theory tester I had for a simple 'table top' storage space for the usual bits and bobs when observing. Im new to astronomy but I figured most people use a load of different bits and bobs when observing and having them 'just there' has gotta be super handy & better than dragging out a table or having stuff in pockets ? Looking at the images its pretty self ex-planetary ( see what I did there ? ) There is no screwing together It all locks in together. I made it flat pack so its easy to put up, take down and store. The scope can 'Dobviously' swing right up to the vertical and near horizontal position. The friction knobs can still be used. Dob users, what do you recon 🙂 I made this in my small workshop as a proto but if there is potential interest I may make a MK2, a bit prettier and with thicker wood etc. Carl

Beautiful 🤙

Just noticed where its coming from 🙂 thank you

Ah ok. I just noticed where it is coming from. Ill buy from a reputable seller! I can make a decent cover that wont come off as I have laser equipment. The end cover on my dob is just flat with no cap

Hi Grump Do you have space in the garden ? Is outside storage a solution ? I have made a box and a 'runway' for mine. I added some castors to the base & It just slides down the ramp and is ready to go in a minute. Since this pic its had another lick of paint and I also made a fold out shelf for bits and bobs. carl

Im wanting to knock up a solar filter but unsure of the type/brand of material Is this any good ? Can anyone 'shed any light' on this. Lol 🙂 I have a 10" dob but I read somewhere that cranking the aperture down a lot will help and I should not use the full aperture? To that end I will laser cut some smaller aperture discs in various sizes to experiment. Then I just have to wait til the sun decides to come around again 🤣 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solar-Filter-Telescopes-Binoculars-Cameras/dp/B00DS7SCBQ/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=MDeqR&content-id=amzn1.sym.444ba109-cdf8-4a96-9f01-f73a5ebc80ca%3Aamzn1.symc.adba8a53-36db-43df-a081-77d28e1b71e6&pf_rd_p=444ba109-cdf8-4a96-9f01-f73a5ebc80ca&pf_rd_r=90Y7FZBT0E7K9P3NFTDE&pd_rd_wg=luyy4&pd_rd_r=15a78f20-790b-4228-8b99-85aeb100c405&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m&th=1

Thank you @vlaiv

Thanks guys. Very interesting. Lots to learn ! So if i take a video of the moon say, software assess each frame its taken and keeps the best. If I took a one minute video of the moon with NO tracking would software auto juggle the best frames and stack them. Or, as I suspect, it would not as the moon would drift too far away

To get sharp images of say Jupiter and the sun the photographer will take loads of images and stack them, & this process can take a while. Am I correct ? So if something is moving, such as the atmosphere on jupiter how can the stacking software align the best images, would they not be off-set ? Ive seen images of the sun with defined flares etc, are Sun images stacked or..... ? Please enlighten me 😬

My misses can go in the store, spend 5 minutes looking at all the different varieties of product X and then end up buying exactly the same one she always does. LOL. Drives me mad 😂