10" Fullerscope finally set up

[adam from dorset]

This has been a long slow haul but I am finally up and running. I have posted an album of photos in the gallery.

I joined this forum over a year ago and have found it immensley interesting and helpful. When I posted a few preliminary questions I got some useful answers and was asked to let SGL know when it was finally working - so here it is by way of a thank you, and maybe I can help others with my experience of this project. As a 'newby' I'm now learning my way round the equipment (and the sky) but seting up the "observatory" is about there.

I have had a Tasco 70mm refractor for 30 years and enjoyed using it occassionaly but very aware of it's limitations. My brother-in-law got a tattoo at 60, a friend got a big motor bike, another got a divorce ... so I guess this was my midlife crisis! With little time and limited funds, useful advice here, patience and ebay and I bought the Milton Keynes Astronomy Club's old 10" Fullerscope in May last year. I hadn't quite realised that it wasn't just solid but also completely not portable. When my son fetched it for me I got an all round telling off because no one realised how big it is and it wasn't allowed in the house! So lots of reserch into comercial housings and roll-off roofs and roll-off sheds and I have come up with this design using an ex-orange juice tank - easily available from various farm and other suppliers and sometimes cheap at farm sales. The advantage is that it looks as though it belongs on the farm so no planning issues, it is not too expensive, it is light and above all it is rust and rot proof - essential here as the sea is only 500m away. A stack of second hand paving slabs and a barrow of concrete and I had a base only 50m from the house. With some careful carpentry the Pod is finally pretty reliably water tight but I am still making refinements. The MkIII mount is rock solid, bolted down to it's concrete base, and I am learning how the AWR controller works. After the scope itself the other most expensive addition (so far) is a Hyperion 8-24mm zoom EP which so far seems excelent.

If anyone wants more technical details of construction of The Pod I'll be very happy to post more photos or explanations.

I have yet to get the finders and the mount properly aligned and to learn how to check the collumation, but I even so I have had spectacular views of the moon and of saturn so far. If any reader is in range of me I'd be pleased to host a visitor and hear advice.

[billhinge]

excellent work Adam, just noticed you got the 10" on a mkiii, how does it perform?

I also see you got it motorised, I have a mkIII as well and I recently spent time stripping, cleaning, greasing and painting it. I just have the manual control but I was thinking of motorising it in future. How does the mkIII compare to modern mounts weight and accuracy wise?

[adam from dorset]

Sorry, not much help on this yet as I have no experience of other proper mounts.

I have stripped the gearing down too and cleaned and recoated with teflon spray. So far it performs brilliantly, but as I say I have nothing to compare to. There is a slight delay when using the motors to move the scope but it does so very smoothly and as far as I can tell it automatically tracks very well and again very smoothly. I have yet to align the polar axis accurately so I don't expect it to track exactly yet. The whole thing feels very heavy duty and substantial - it certainly is well engineered and made of good quality materials- not at all tacky feeling! I thing a key may be to get everything well balanced so that the motors don't have to work harder than just to make movements. AWR website has some information too.

[adam from dorset]

I'm not sure how viewers of this navigate to the gallery album so here is a link in case it helps anyone -

[alan potts]

I really wanted one of these many years back. well done on the full job it is nice to know that these things live on and can still be loved, if thats the right word.

Well done,

Alan

[foundaplanet]

That is the kind of place where it would be criminal not to have a scope it looks fabulous, as does the scope.

I really like the way you chose to house it and the use of the ratchet straps. A bit of a job on a movable wind break for those blustery evenings and you have astro heaven out ya back door.. A grand job done there.

[Laurie61]

Hi Adam, really nice job you’ve done there and the roll off cover is good solution for your location. I have an old Fullerscopes set up, including a mk111 mount and they are a solid job. Fullers used to sell their scopes by offering a kit of parts (unit purchase plan) and the prospective owner would pick which aperture and f ratio they wanted and then select optical quality, tube quality, mount, focuser, finder, before placing an order. Do you know what spec yours is.

Enjoyed the photos.

[swamp thing]

Great to see one of these fine scopes get a new ease on life. That'll provide a lifetime of great service