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Tuning my 10" Dobson

Nerotheroman

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Hi:)

Thus there will be a bunch of nasty weather days,

I will have the time to optimize my new Dobson.

So far I planned to

- put black velour inside the scope

- wrap a layer of isolation material around the scope

- build a solar filter out of the Baader 0.5 ND Solarfoil

Are there any other things I could do?

And do you have some advice for me how to

do the named optimizations?

CS and best wishes

Matze

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Stargazer_00

Stargazer_00

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Lazy Susan bearing in between the base plates makes them move forever without sticktion and some teflon type option on the sides of the tube that touch the mount would also remove sticktion in the altitude motion.

If you search this site for Lazy Susan you should find a thread pretty quickly which informs how to do it.

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Good evening Daniel-K,

I didn't thought about that:)

But doesn't the velour inside have a similar effect on the temperatures?

A dew shield is a great idea. Have to do a bit of research on that!

Will take pictures to show you all how my project will develop :)

CS and best wishes

Matze

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Stargazer_00

Stargazer_00

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I modded Lazy Susan on azimuth and teflon tape on the altitude for £25 and it's made the scope at least twice as easy to use. Can track at higher magnifications much easier now without having to do the 2 steps past 1 step back routine as sticktion kicks in.

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Stargazer_00

Stargazer_00

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No sorry. The bearing was so easy to fit, just 4 screws. Didn't bother with any of the tension glides that others have done. I did put a longer bolt through the centre and larger washers so I could use the centre bolt to achieve the tension I wanted. This has been very successful and I'm extremely happy with the modification.

The altitude modification has been done under the current cloud run so although I gave it a run through to check balance and friction etc I'm yet to test it in the field as it were. I'm confident it will be very good too.

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freeflyjay

freeflyjay

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i have a 200mw laser on a bracket on my 10" dob, great bit of kit, saves using the finder scope, and i`ve just ordered my first ever smart phone so i`m making a bracket to attach to the scope to use skeye as a push to system.

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Hi:)

that sounds really interesting! I hope you will find your next observing night

successfull Stargazing00:)

Did I get that right, that this laser is like a laser pointer? The ones you use

when holding a presentation, to show things on the blackboard?

Sorry sometimes my English isn't that good:)

CS and best wishes

Matze

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freeflyjay

freeflyjay

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hi, yes it is a laser pointer, but you wouldn`t want to use 200mw for presentation, it can burn skin and easily blind someone at distance, so you have to be careful, others use standard 5mw presentation pointers but i personally think a bit more power is better (200mw may be a bit overkill mind but got it for £17 from china) the mounting bracket got off ebay and align with main scope, works well for me but battery life can be short in the cold so i`ve just insulated the laser with pipe insulation to see if this helps (will know soon)....that and just got some unexpected cash so got an equatorial platform on the way which will be nice, the phone idea is yet to be tested as it hasn`t arrived yet but some have had success, but this may take a bit of messing around as mines a solid tube so may cause a problem with magnetic interference.

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Hi freeflyjay,

okay that does indeed make sense:)

Is it legal to use the laser for observing where you live?

Because we had lots of trouble here in Germany, with idiots pointing them on landing airplanes, blinding the pilots. So I'm not sure if it would be legal here. But I really like the idea, that's like a sniper riffle!

CS and best wishes

Matze

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freeflyjay

freeflyjay

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they are legal in uk, but similar problems in uk with silly people,but you have to be careful not to point at planes ect, you can get sent to jail for that kind of behavour, in the uk you can generally only buy upto 5mw due to the dangers of higher powers but there is no law on any power laser, they are a good tool if used responsibly, i have 1 x 200mw mounted on scope and another 200mw for hand use to point things out to friends, a solid clear green beam is really clear even 5mw can achieve this at night but i never use them any where near aircraft and never point them at a person, if you are near a flight path do not use, you`ll have to google the legalities for germany

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Yes those people are silly... Don't know why such folks isn't thinking about there actions.

I did a quick google and it seems there are the same rules here in Germany. Using without disturbing or endangering someone is legal, anything else under punishment.

We always have some airplanes flying over our house, so no option for me.

But I will acquire one laser for my planned trips to the mountains!

Thanks for that advice!

CS and best wishes

Matze

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freeflyjay

freeflyjay

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i have planes fly over all the time, i just donn`t use the laser any where near them, lots of people are against using lasers but i find it a very usefull tool as long as it`s used responsibly. it would be a shame if laws changed due to idiot teenagers thinking it`s funny to endanger hundreds of lives on comertial flights....(ps please excuse any spelling mistakes i`m a bit dyslexic)

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brantuk

brantuk

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Apart from the obvious precautions with aircraft and eyes - I'd recommend having a decent finder scope as well especially if you intend to visit star parties. The laser is great for polar and star alignment at twilight but they are either frowned on or banned from star parties because they can disrupt imaging. Lasers won't find find fainter objects for you - you'll need a Telrad or finder for that anyway. Hth :)

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Hi brantuk,

thanks for your recommendation concerning the Telrad, I ordered one with the scope so I guess I'm on the safe site with this!

Do you use a Telrad? If yes is there anything to optimize?;) I'm a bit of a nerd in optimizing things^^

CS and best wishes

Matze

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mitchelln

mitchelln

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Hi brantuk,

thanks for your recommendation concerning the Telrad, I ordered one with the scope so I guess I'm on the safe site with this!

Do you use a Telrad? If yes is there anything to optimize? ;) I'm a bit of a nerd in optimizing things^^

CS and best wishes

Matze

HI.

I recently got a Telrad. It is absolutely great. You can make a DIY dew shield for it. Details at the bottom of this thread

One thing you should consider is upgrading your focuser. I've just ordered one of these 10:1 Microfocuser upgrade kits http://www.modernastronomy.com/accessories.html

Saves having to replace the entire focuser!

Finally I can +1 about collimation. It made a huge difference on my scope. A 10 minute job with a laser collimator transformed my views of Jupiter last week. I found my 300P shipped with all the primary mirror lock screws slackened off!

Optimising is one of the things that makes this hobby so enjoyable. Especially as you can often do a lot of homemade stuff. You can see the improvements making a difference :) Real back room tinkering stuff!

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Hi mitchelln,

thanks for the 2 links!

The dew shield for the Telrad is quite cool,

I would never have thought about that! :)

I already got one of the micro focuser.

I bought the advanced version including better EPs a micro focuser and Teflon pads.

I hope I can manage the collimation stuff, but I guess practice makes the master ( do you say that like this? 1:1 translation out of German ;) )

CS and best wishes

Matze

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mitchelln

mitchelln

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Hi mitchelln,

thanks for the 2 links!

The dew shield for the Telrad is quite cool,

I would never have thought about that! :)

I already got one of the micro focuser.

I bought the advanced version including better EPs a micro focuser and Teflon pads.

You are way ahead of me then! LOL :) I didn't know there was a Telfon version. I'm jealous now ;)

I hope I can manage the collimation stuff, but I guess practice makes the master ( do you say that like this? 1:1 translation out of German ;) )

It's a doddle with a laser (first making sure the laser itself is well aligned, which is also pretty easy)

This video shows how the collimation is done

There must be German language vids out there as well Takes less than 10 minutes to do. Practice makes perfect :)

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MadAlbert

MadAlbert

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So far, I've added a dual speed focusing wheel, replaced the straight 9x50 finder with a RACI type, added a telrad and flocked the tube. Not forgetting the perceived billions I've spent on eyepieces! Flocking was the most educational, though...

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Nerotheroman

Nerotheroman

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Good evening:)

last evening of till I'll start my next 24h duty:(

But hey someway you have to get the money for studying and EPs;)

@mitchelln: Well I read nearly a year in several forums to gather all the information I would need

to buy my first scope. Then I contacted the ICS dealer and together we worked out how my new scope should look like. I told him I wanted a micro focuser and Teflon, he suggested the Telrad and a cooling fan. So piece by piece it all came together. I saved a long time for this, so I wanted it as good as it can be for the money:)

Thanks for the video link, really cool:) Doesn't seem to hard to do!

So next thing on the acquire list a collimation laser!

Practice makes perfect sounds much better than my suggestio actually;)

@MadAlbert: Thanks for the input:) Was the flocking hard work or easy going?

Well EPs are damn expensive... I'm a sinner today, too... Bought a used 30mm 82* ES EP....

But the price was so good, I had to buy it:)

Now I guess my girlfriend will force me to delete my eBay account;)

CS and best wishes

Matze

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