The Mapstar 22" build

[8kids]

Tidy job. Well planned and very well executed. Now when the clouds decide to play ball you'll be able to enjoy using it, although looking at it must be nice as well.

[astronymonkey]

Hats off to you for a truely fabulous piece of work, from grinding the mirror to the fantastic woodwork you have done. Im tempted to have a go myself as this has been an inspirational thread  but I know I dont have the patience,, especially with the grind, which makes me even more impressed with what youve achieved.

I was wondering what the final numbers looked like with regard to man hours spent, the strehl ratio of the mirror and the final weight of the various sections ? Well done fella.....

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2016 by astronymonkey
typo

[mapstar]

6 hours ago, Astro Imp said:

Thank you for taking the trouble to detail all your ups and downs in so much detail.

Well done on completing a fantastic scope.

I've followed this thread together with your mirror grind and am delighted to see the finished product and wish you many well earned clear skies and happy hours observing.

 

 

Many thanks Astro Imp for following my long running exploits on the scope project.

It's been a pleasure detailing it and writing about it. Glad you've enjoyed the read and hopefully it will inspire more to have a go. 

 

[mapstar]

4 hours ago, 8kids said:

Tidy job. Well planned and very well executed. Now when the clouds decide to play ball you'll be able to enjoy using it, although looking at it must be nice as well.

Thanks for the compliment and yes looking at it is nice but through it is another thing altogether. Both very satisfying 

[mapstar]

3 hours ago, astronymonkey said:

Hats off to you for a truely fabulous piece of work, from grinding the mirror to the fantastic woodwork you have done. Im tempted to have a go myself as this has been an inspirational thread  but I know I dont have the patience,, especially with the grind, which makes me even more impressed with what youve achieved.

I was wondering what the final numbers looked like with regard to man hours spent, the strehl ratio of the mirror and the final weight of the various sections ? Well done fella.....

 

 

 

Cheers AstronyMonkey for the compliments.

I know you have asked before about the strehl number of the mirror but i cannot honestly say. 

I could weigh the bits but I'll give you rough guesstimates. The mirror box is round about 30kg the baseboard /rocker box about 15kg. The UTA weighs about 6kg.

I did weigh it all when i calculated for the bearing sizes but dont have the figures to hand.

To be fair a project like this becomes more than numbers and time. I really dont know how best to put it. I did set off with all the best intentions about logging times but forgot. The sense of achievement out weighs all the hours and they pale into the insignificance the first time your eye settles on the eyepiece.

I can tell you the painting took 3 days. 

You should have a go, it is highly satifying 

Many thanks 

Edited April 11, 2016 by mapstar

[gooseholla]

Hi Damian, 

Hope all is good. Lovely scope and hope you get some great views through it. Finally getting my scope back together - mirror has sat in shed since I went to yorkshire in November! Missed loads of astronomy this winter due to various reasons but can't wait to be viewing again.

John 

[mapstar]

21 minutes ago, gooseholla said:

Hi Damian, 

Hope all is good. Lovely scope and hope you get some great views through it. Finally getting my scope back together - mirror has sat in shed since I went to yorkshire in November! Missed loads of astronomy this winter due to various reasons but can't wait to be viewing again.

John 

Hi John,

Good to hear from you and glad you are getting back into it. Fingers crossed you get up and running quickly to enjoy some well deserved clear nights and hunt down some of those april galaxies.

Thanks for having a read through and the compliment, she looks a bit different since back in November.

The views are well worth all the effort as you already know and hopefully we'll get a viewing session in together in the near future. 

Have you been refining your design?

Clear skies and keep us updated buddy 

Edited April 13, 2016 by mapstar

[gooseholla]

Not really refining it. As you may remember I had a new secondary made for me just before I went up to Yorkshire. First time I tried it I couldn't get it anywhere near in alignment. Did some tweaks and it kind of works. I need to move the spider part down the UTA a bit, so will probably order some more ali poles and do that some point soon, as it looks ridiculous having 60mm collimation bolts with only about 1mm of usable tweaking! 

Only other thing I have done is the handles. Was so fed up of bending down twisting knobs to get the handles on and off. Was a real grind so I came up with an idea, ran it past my engineer neighbour who confirmed it would work. Cut 2 slots in some handles, one on top one on bottom. This allows the handles to hook onto two bolts with large knob heads which are attached to the scope and a slight turn locks them. The beauty is, because of the way the slots are, when you lift, the back one is forced up and the front one down so it cannot fall off. Makes life so much easier! 

I looked over the scope and was shocked how shoddy my work was in places - but back then I didn't have skills. I can do so much more now - kind of makes me want to rebuild large parts of it . I also have an urge to strip it down to bare wood and stain it deep mahogany red. But I don't think I'll do that - maybe a long time in the future when the mirrors are away getting re-aluminised.

Yeah be nice to get out into dark somewhere. So sad I missed SGL as well as a couple of observing sessions with the lads in Wales, but really wasn't feeling well for much of this winter. 

John 

[mapstar]

16 hours ago, gooseholla said:

Not really refining it. As you may remember I had a new secondary made for me just before I went up to Yorkshire. First time I tried it I couldn't get it anywhere near in alignment. Did some tweaks and it kind of works. I need to move the spider part down the UTA a bit, so will probably order some more ali poles and do that some point soon, as it looks ridiculous having 60mm collimation bolts with only about 1mm of usable tweaking! 

Only other thing I have done is the handles. Was so fed up of bending down twisting knobs to get the handles on and off. Was a real grind so I came up with an idea, ran it past my engineer neighbour who confirmed it would work. Cut 2 slots in some handles, one on top one on bottom. This allows the handles to hook onto two bolts with large knob heads which are attached to the scope and a slight turn locks them. The beauty is, because of the way the slots are, when you lift, the back one is forced up and the front one down so it cannot fall off. Makes life so much easier! 

I looked over the scope and was shocked how shoddy my work was in places - but back then I didn't have skills. I can do so much more now - kind of makes me want to rebuild large parts of it . I also have an urge to strip it down to bare wood and stain it deep mahogany red. But I don't think I'll do that - maybe a long time in the future when the mirrors are away getting re-aluminised.

Yeah be nice to get out into dark somewhere. So sad I missed SGL as well as a couple of observing sessions with the lads in Wales, but really wasn't feeling well for much of this winter. 

John 

No matter how hard you plan or try there will always be improvements that can be made. I've never been to SGL as I always save myself for the Galloway trips enjoying the craic with a great bunch of guy's up there.  I would like to get down Wales and see how the skies are further south in the future so might be the place to meet up.

[Stu]

What a fabulous end result Damian, totally worth all the blood, sweat and tears!!!

I love the design, it looks really well proportioned and very compact for such a big scope.

Now enjoy it, you deserve it!!! ???

[mapstar]

10 minutes ago, Stu said:

What a fabulous end result Damian, totally worth all the blood, sweat and tears!!!

I love the design, it looks really well proportioned and very compact for such a big scope.

Now enjoy it, you deserve it!!! ???

Cheers Stu. Good to hear from you and I hope all is well.

Many thanks for commenting and glad you like it. Been a 3 year dream but finally realised after all the talking about it.

I didnt think I would have to wait 3 years for the clouds to clear 

The views are just wonderful and makes all the efforts worth while.

I've gotta admit all this cloud makes my thoughts turn to building another.

[mapstar]

11 minutes ago, Stu said:

What a fabulous end result Damian, totally worth all the blood, sweat and tears!!!

I love the design, it looks really well proportioned and very compact for such a big scope.

Now enjoy it, you deserve it!!! ???

Cheers Stu

Good to hear from you and I hope all is well.

Many thanks for commenting and glad you like it. Been a 3 year dream but finally realised after all the talking about it.

I didnt think I would have to wait 3 years for the clouds to clear 

The views are just wonderful and makes all the efforts worth while.

I've gotta admit all this cloud makes my thoughts turn to building another.

[Guest]

Absolutely incredibly awe inspiring work Damian !!! This is way beyond brilliant.......Kudos mate.....kudos. I cant comprehend the view you must get other then WOW O WOW !!

I have one question.

In the latest modding circles, flocking seems to be the latest fashion, myself included although not sure of its results, so did this cross your mind for the UTA ?

I only ask because if ever there was a reason to suck up stray light then wasting the opportunity on a beast like yours seems odd OR do you know something we dont about velour lol

Lee.

[mapstar]

1 hour ago, LeeRich said:

Absolutely incredibly awe inspiring work Damian !!! This is way beyond brilliant.......Kudos mate.....kudos. I cant comprehend the view you must get other then WOW O WOW !!

I have one question.

In the latest modding circles, flocking seems to be the latest fashion, myself included although not sure of its results, so did this cross your mind for the UTA ?

I only ask because if ever there was a reason to suck up stray light then wasting the opportunity on a beast like yours seems odd OR do you know something we dont about velour lol

Lee.

Thank you again Lee, much appreciated.

I once flocked an 8" scope and didn't see much difference to be honest? I did see a difference on the mirror with the flocking material all over it after a few months.

The dob has a light shroud and this absorbs a lot of the internal stray light reflections. I suppose I could flock the inside of the UTA.

I probably wont due to just personal preference. The self adhesive flock material doesn't like to stick to ply as I have tried it in the past.

The debate about flocking will go on, for fashion or contrast whatever? but I dont know any different than anyone else 

[Guest]

Mmmm now i am self conscious of flocking particles on my mirror somewhere down the line !!   i over looked this. Meh !!!

I will keep my eye on that. I didnt doubt for one moment that if it was worth it you would of done it....its a debatable one and will continue to be so i reckon too.

Besides, the amount of light your beasty will catch its hard to say where the glare will come from....jeez... i mean, i bet 6th mag is blinding lol .Cheers pal.

[mapstar]

6 minutes ago, LeeRich said:

Mmmm now i am self conscious of flocking particles on my mirror somewhere down the line !!   i over looked this. Meh !!!

I will keep my eye on that. I didnt doubt for one moment that if it was worth it you would of done it....its a debatable one and will continue to be so i reckon too.

Besides, the amount of light your beasty will catch its hard to say where the glare will come from....jeez... i mean, i bet 6th mag is blinding lol .Cheers pal.

Mag 14.1 galaxy is the lowest I've seen down to as yet. The seeing conditions are the biggest limiting factor and no matter how big the scope is those pesky clouds limit everything of late

[gooseholla]

4 hours ago, mapstar said:

No matter how hard you plan or try there will always be improvements that can be made. I've never been to SGL as I always save myself for the Galloway trips enjoying the craic with a great bunch of guy's up there.  I would like to get down Wales and see how the skies are further south in the future so might be the place to meet up.

Yeah some parts of the south are good but few and far between it seems! Wales would be a good place for sure. 

John

[Guest]

1 minute ago, mapstar said:

Mag 14.1 galaxy is the lowest I've seen down to as yet. The seeing conditions are the biggest limiting factor and no matter how big the scope is those pesky clouds limit everything of late

No body likes a bragger !!!! lol i hear ya with the clouds though....i got back into this hobby at xmas just gone as that was always the best nights i remember as a youth with my 12" F7 Beacon Hill newt...

All i have seen since is cloud....seriously, i have had my scope out about 6-7  times since Dec !!!! enough already

[gooseholla]

21 hours ago, LeeRich said:

No body likes a bragger !!!! lol 

Mag 14.1... I prefer to comprehend what I'm looking at not detect faint smudges, which is obviously why I went for a sensible sized scope   I jest of course! I'm starting to wish I had ordered a 24" mirror... 

John 

[mapstar]

9 minutes ago, gooseholla said:

Mag 14.1... I prefer to comprehend what I'm looking at not detect faint smudges, which is obviously why I went for a sensible sized scope   I jest of course! I'm starting to wish I had ordered a 24" mirror... 

John 

24" are beasts and probably the largest sized scope a one man band can set up. The one I built last time had a mirror that was 33Kg on it's own so it's a push if like me you have to lift it. That's what all the pie's come in handy for  

[gooseholla]

Doctor told me I had to lose my pie physique  Best be buying an 8" again

[Guest]

In my youth i used to be a portly chap, i was told i needed to get into shape !! i said i was in shape, round !!! round is a shape lol gotta love pies though, none of these stews with a lid either...

A proper pie that has a base and lid, a pie is something you can pick up and eat.....barrrrr I love been Yorkshire lol

[Physopto]

Pies, pies, pies! Oh dear.

[Demon Barber]

I`ve got one pie left in`t freezer,will have to have a trip over to Hexham to stock up,i will of course put in the order for Galloway in good time!

Regards

Mike

ps Ian will be on,pies have been mentioned.

[wookie1965]

Cracking build Damian couple of questions how do you stop detritus material getting on mirror when out in field through wind and such and when pointing up how tall is it looks like i would need steps look through finder lol.

Paul