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To flock or not?

Shelster1973

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Shelster1973

Shelster1973

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As always, looking for things to tinker with on my setup and the next one that has tickled my fancy is flocking the inside of my OTA.

Have the Orion 8" f 3.9 Newt which already has baffles inside the tube but was wondering would I see any benefit from flocking this also?  Picture of the baffling can be seen here and shows that the baffles are in the bottom half of the tube, below the ficuser towards teh primary.

Have lready balckboard painted the secondary sides and rear and was going to give the spider vanes a good going over too.

Following on, where is a good place to get soem flcoking material from in teh UK if I should go that way?

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John

John

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First Light Optics sell flocking material:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/misc/black-velour-telescope-flocking-material.html

Looking at your scope, as it already has baffles in the lower part of the tube I think the area of tube opposite the focuser would be worth flocking. Normally you would do the inside wall of the tube for 10 inches or so above the primary mirror but the baffles in your scope might already cover that.

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Shelster1973

Shelster1973

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Cheers John

Was kind of what I was thinking, having read a guide on it just a while ago it mentioned paying particular attention to the focuser and the area of tube directly opposite it.  Will have a look/see at FLO and see if that fits in with next months budget.

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Shelster1973

Shelster1973

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Looks exactly the same as the FLO stuff just 2 quid cheaper a roll.  May see if our local Wilko here in Guzz has any in stock.

Think I will give it a go and may even go as far as flocking between the baffles too.  Don't actually think this will make any difference at all, but every little helps (as was said by the woman as she pee'd in the sea)

Also going to take the opportunity while I have all the bits off the scope to centre and square my focuser too.

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John

John

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I've flocked the area behind the focuser, the 12" of tube wall immediately above my primary mirror and I've blackened the edges and back of my secondary and anything else that might glint anywhere near the light path within the scope. I've done this on the last 2 newtonians I've owned.

Can I see a difference in performance ?. Nope !

But it was not costly and relatively easy to do :smiley:

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jambouk

jambouk

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If you like tinkering, do it. I think flocking that baffled area will be a nightmare.

Will it make much difference? No, I don't think it makes MUCH difference, and I have yet to ever see conclusive evidence it does - it would be easy to do a night time study comparing two scopes in a range of conditions (one flocked and one not), but it is hassle to compare. I don't buy day light comparision pictures as that is so unrepresentative of night time conditions.

Have I flocked anything? Yes, cause I like tinkering.

If you had flat sides inside the tube I'd recommend using an aerosol can to roll over the flocking material, it makes a lovely firm attachment; use a craft knife to puncture any bubbled and deflate them.

Have fun.

James

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albedo0.39

albedo0.39

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I would flock if I were you. However, I got all my materials from Hobbycraft.

They sell two types. One is loose and needs glue, and the other is A4 sizes and self adhesive (very sticky). If works a treat and saves a fortune. Mine has lasted well. No degradation from all weathers, temperatures and abuse.

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russ.will

russ.will

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The only places that 'need' flocking, are those that can be seen by looking through the focuser and that includes anything reflected in the secondary. As you're baffled, you only need a few square inches opposite the focuser, but I'm not sure I'd bother - I couldn't really tell any difference.

What does make a difference is a dew/light shield. Most Newts stop way short of where the tube needs to be to adequately shield the focuser - Again look through the focuser with a tape measure on the opposite side of the OTA. See how far up the tape you can see and add an inch for luck. Buy camping mat and super glue and get creative!

Russell

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jambouk

jambouk

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As i said above, photos like those above are taken in full day light or with a light shining down the tube; not at all reflective (pardon the pun) of night time observing, but if that is the excuse you need to tinker, go for it :)

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John

John

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You can over-do it occasionally though. I've seen folks flock the sides of the secondary vanes which makes them around 3x thicker as an obstruction.

I agree with Russell that modifications to keep stray light from entering the top of the tube / secondary / focuser have more impact. A light shield is essential when I'm observing from home because of surrounding lights.

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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You can over-do it occasionally though. I've seen folks flock the sides of the secondary vanes which makes them around 3x thicker as an obstruction.

 

I agree with Russell that modifications to keep stray light from entering the top of the tube / secondary / focuser have more impact. A light shield is essential when I'm observing from home because of surrounding lights.

And don't forget to flock the inside of the additional light shield- I used a black camping mat. But it was actually quite shiney and needed flocking as well.

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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Make sure you don't forget to flock the primary; it is unbelievable how much light that blinkin' thing reflects

Not as daft as it sounds (provided you flock the right side!). An amazing amount of light can leak up past the primary if you are not careful.

This is what happend when I left a computer screen on in the obsy whilst imaging.

Img_0055_1024_zpspjgx0npm.jpg

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