Making a big dob a little more manageable

[jamieren]

I've had my 12" antares dob for a week now and still haven't used it. Now there are reasons for that, I've been sick, injured my thumb, seen a lot of gray skies ...and the thing is just so damn awkward! Notwithstanding is the fact that I absolutely refuse to break the thing down just to take it 60 feet into my back yard, but at the same time am not looking forward to the hernia and/or back injury of trying to carry it. Eighty lbs is little enough that it can be lifted with one arm in the form of a dumbbell, but stretch that into five cubic feet of space and you've got a herculean struggle ahead.

Enter my local hardware store, some good advice, rope and a few simple plumbing parts. I've now got a pair of handles attached to the sides of the thing, and although still a solid weight, viola, I can now tote it around assembled for short distances without having to practically crawl on the ground. I've got a few more additions to put into it and I can post some pics when I'm done. I'd really like to know why the heck these things don't come with some nature of carrying handles, as the plastic handle on the front is useless for anything but turning the dob, which I personally never use anyway. I would also note that if there's two people on hand it makes transport almost easy!

Well, guess I'll see what kind of interest this generates so far and I'll check back in once I've got it down to a final design. More news to come...

[MikeP]

rope and a few simple plumbing parts

Well, I'm intrigued - have a mental image of it strapped to your back like a rucksack. Looking forward to the pictures.

Mike

[Doc]

We need pictures.

I want to put handles on my dob as well so can't wait to see them.

[themos]

Carrying my Skyliner 300P in one piece looks like Stan Laurel doing the rumba with Clarissa Dickson Wright

[Vega]

I waddle like an injured pengiun with my 250px

Matt

[jamieren]

Well, I've finished the modifications and am quite pleased thus far. It even looks better than a dog's breakfast! I was able to carry the big lug around my garage and nothing let go (including my back). Tomorrow I'll get out there and snap a few pics and give my best suggestions. Looking forward to building a a rep beyond "helpless novice". Happy hernias 'til then!

[russ]

Can't wait for the pics Jamie. I'll need some inspiration for my project.

Russ

[algol]

Eighty lbs is little enough that it can be lifted with one arm in the form of a dumbbell,

80lb dumbell, jeez fella what are you, blumming hercules? lol

[glennbech]

... You're making me think twice about that 16" I want for Xmas :-)

[jamieren]

Sorry guys. The problem with me being able to move and use the thing is well... I can use the thing! I realized I was supposed to take some pics as I was putting it away after a night's hunting. I guess I said I'd put the pics up so here they are...

(click to enlarge)

As you can see I had to move the eyepiece mount down to make room for the rope. I used a square to measure 3 1/2" in from the outside of the base, and 11" up. Next I drilled 1/2" holes thru the sides. This was just large enough for the plastic pieces to fit through (which are cut from 1 ft bowpex tubes). They had to be cut down to size. One pressed (hammered) in from each side gave it a finished look...

(click to enlarge)

...and for a handle I simply drilled a piece of 1" dowel to 3/8" (the O.D. of the plastic tube) and pressed the tube thru. 3 1/2" long is just the right size for my hands, but mine are kinda small. Then I simply tied an overhand knot on one end of the rope, fed it through the plastic bits & handle, then tied a knot in the other end. I originally was going to just use a washer (which I'm sure would be functional) on each end, but saw these parts in the plumbing aisle and thought "maybe I can even make this look good!"

(click to enlarge)

..Here you see a close up of the handle with the plastic 'sleeve' pressed through it.

My only minor mistake was to get a rope that was slightly short. My knuckles scrape on the bearings (black, top of pic #2). I intend to replace the ropes with some that are slightly longer.

I'll also see if I can get a pic of the unmodified plumbing fitting (really the only part I had to look for). Rope & dowel should be available anywhere.

On another front, I stumbled across a faint fuzzy galaxy. It's practically full moon so I wasn't planning on seeing much besides the moon. I thought I'd try to check out the (M31) Andromeda galaxy. According to my book (Nightwatch) it's mag 4 so it would be relatively easy prey, right? Well, whilst scanning around (with the finder) 20* off the bottom tip of Cassiopeia looking for it I see this odd, faint smudge. Sure enough, with a little scrutiny and extra magnification I can just make out a fuzzy white circle. Thanks to the moon (I hope) I could get no resolution. My best guess is that I was looking at M33. It was very symmetrical, circular and not overly large. I'd say maybe a bit smaller than M81/82 galaxies. It's not quite where I seem to have been looking, though. It's difficult to tell, as I couldn't even make out triangulum given it's close proximity to the moon. Any guesses? It was due East at 11:00pm, perhaps 1/3 of the way from the horizon to overhead (if that makes sense). Roughly 20* from the right bottom tip of Cassiopeia (which would make an approximate arrow towards M31, right?

[russ]

80lb dumbell

that's nothing, the 12" Meade Starfinder weighs in at 96lb :shock: But strangely doesn't feel that heavy.

Thanks for the pics Jamie. I have quite a few mods that need doing on the Meade.

Not sure about that Galaxy. M31 has two satalitte galaxies, one of which (M110) is out of view from M31 depending on the eyepiece. M110 is about the same size as M81.Whereas M33 is quite big as galaxies go, appearing 4x bigger than M81/M82.

M33 is 42arc min across

M110 is 19.5 x 11.5

M82 is 10x7

Russ