A 16" Kit Ready to Ship . . .

Ron's 16" kit is ready to ship to Crafers, Australia.
This kit is completed except for Ron's own optics
and includes mirror cell, focuser, spider -- even
a Sky Commander .....

A First Light Report from Joshua . . .

Joshua sent along this note about his first light event.

First light luckily coincided with a shadow transit on Jupiter and the GRS on view. Both jumped right out at about 100x. The seeing quickly went south, alas (we have unsettled weather this week), but it was a very promising view. I think the primary kept its collimation on the journey, and with the help of a film-canister collimating tool I got the secondary very close to perfectly aligned before going out. Pictures when the weather improves. - JR

A 16" Kit for Ron in Australia . . .

Here, the altitude bearings and clamps, DSC stage, eyepiece
tray and some rocker box components.

The rocker box sides taking shape. The altitude bearings
are 24" in diameter insuring a smooth and stable
telescopes on its rocker box.

The Easy Transport intermediate ring, mirror board and mirror
 box and wood struts for the mirror box.

And, finally, the top rings with 2-speed focuser and curved-vane
spider installed. The focuser sits on a heavy-duty bracket.

Our Rancho Mirage Observatory

https://www.palmspringslife.com/rancho-mirage-observatory/

Another Note from Nick in Spokane, Washignton . . .

Hi Dennis. Last night was clear from my suburban front yard and an ideal night to test out my new 13.1" Swayze /  DobStuff telescope!  A waxing gibbous moon was high in the south about 8:30.  It took about 10 minutes total to attach the poles and collimate - seconary axial alignment is simple with the provided spring / adjustment screws.

At 120x, the moon was impressive - details in Tycho's rays and the southern highlands just popped.  Fortuitously, Jupiter then 

peeked out from behind a tree.  I was able to catch a shadow-transit of Europa in less-than-ideal skies and pick up flashes of detail on the planetary disk that I had not seen before. Saturn was next - I've often struggled to resolve the Cassini gap. Not tonight - it was obvious again at 120x, as was banding on the surface and distinct variations in color.

The scope looks very cool and I give Dennis the bulk of the credit for that - his craftsmanship is obvious immediately. Several neighbors walked by to see what the heck I was up to and were treated to first-time views of Saturn and Jupiter - lucky them :)

I learned a lot with this project - about optics, simple woodworking, and staining.  It took me about 2 months from start to finish, working on weekends. About half of that was staining, sanding, and re-staining. This would have taken much less time if I knew what I was doing.

Scope movements are just fine (I need to cut the grass for better az movement :P).  I cannot wait to get this instrument to darker skies.

Clear Skies,
Nick

Nick's Completed Truss Kit . . .

Hi Dennis, here are some thoughts / issues:

* I love the movement - buttery smooth.  The "new" non-Ebony Star laminate stuff works really well.

* The alignment of the bearings to the rocker box isn't perfect, but it's more than adequate, I think. One of those things that will bother me until I actually use the scope :)

* No issues with balance, and I don't think the scope is sitting too high.

* The finder clamp doesn't quite fit between the focuser and the truss poles. I can make it fit if I turn it around the other way, but then the giant washer that goes under the finder scope shoe covers up the nylon set screw hole.  Before I drill another hole for the set screw - am I missing something here? The second pic attached may show what I'm talking about...

* Can I shorten the  bearing struts?  I don't see myself changing the balance point much, if at all.

Should get first light tonight!!!

Thanks again for everything - I'll write up a summary w/ pics for your blog in the next day or so.

Clear skies,
Nick

10" F4.6 for Bob Completed . . .

Bob's 10" with Easy Transport and Sky Commander. This is an F4.6.

This nice 10" mirror sits on a Baltic 6-point mirror cell.

Note the red dot finder, curved spider and 2-speed Moonlite focuser.
The Sky Commander sits on a "stage" for ease of use.

Another view of the top ring. Note the focuser baffle and
sliding counter-weight.

I include a custom mirror cover with all my telescope. Here the
intermediate ring and Sky Commander are in detail.

Len's Secondary Cover . . .

From Len in Pineville, Louisiana: Here's a preview, my secondary 
cover made from a vegetable can, painted with hammered  finish 
spray paint and featuring  a rubber strap 'handle' to hold it in place.

Len has a 12" string-strut telescope.

A Nice Note from Al in Redding, California...

I built a 16" telescope for Al in Redding, California in 2013. Here's a nice note from him just today.

Good evening Dennis,

Al's 16" Telescope....

Thought I would give you a quick update on last week's GSSP outing.   As you may remember I have a 16" DOB from you and I really enjoy it!! I went for 5 nights and 3 of the nights were very calm and perfect viewing!!    Your scope continues to amaze me....still getting star points on viewing!!

I am currently using Explore Scientific eye pieces and they work just perfect with your scope.    It is getting a bit heavy so I am glad that you talked me out of the 18"!!!    I would have a broken back by now!!  Lol


Thanks for the all the enjoyable viewing I have had over the years.

Al Souder

A 10" F4.6 for Bob . . .

The rocker box for Bob's 10" is coming together. So far
the fit is just the way I like it. Now to varnish.

Nick and his 13.1" Truss Kit . . .

Nick is doing a beautiful assembling his 13.1" F4.5 truss kit.

A Couple of Photos . . .

Bob's 10" F4.6 continues to take shape. Here the OTA
is 99% complete. I need to add the alt bearings.

A note from Joe and his 12" strut telescope. He made
these short-truss tubes for transport and storage. A safe
way to "hang" the secondary when not in use.

And More on Bob's 10" F4.6 . . .

The mirror board with cover and top ring.

Note the Destiny curved-vane spider and Moonlite 2-speed focuser.

A 10" Telescope for Robert in Shoreview, Minnesota. . .

The OTA rings with 12" I.D. and altitude bearings. This is the
Easy Transport Telescope version -- with a goal to minimize weight.

A note from Nick in Spokane, Washington. . .

"Hi Dennis. Got the adjustable struts built today. The skies were clear this evening so I set up on the back porch.

End result - 42" strut length gives me a minimum 1 5/8" in-travel (tested all eyepieces with and without Barlow).  Does that seem like enough to you?  I could push it out a bit more but I'm going to be using a coma corrector and would like to keep things compact if possible. I really like the secondary mirror holder / adjustment. Very easy and intuitive. anyway...yay!  Next up, mirror box. Thanks for your help - this was one of the more stressful steps for me. Nick"

A Thing of Beauty -- Joe's 12.5" Strut Kit Completed . . .

Hey Dennis, Joe says, "A thing of beauty. Just got everything final-adjusted
and calling her done for now! Eventually I’ll powered-coat the struts a slate gray.

It's time to scoop up some light!!

Joshua's 8" F6, Almost Completed . . .

Joshua's 8" F6 telescope is pretty much complete. I just
have a few "tweeks"  as well as installing a primary
dew shield on the telescope.

The telescope OTA is just a bit too light to create much
"sticktion"!! So a "break" on the DEC axis does the trick.

The break works great....

A 16" 9-point Cell for Tory . . .

Tory, from Minneapolis, Minnesota asked me to build him a 9-point
flotation cell with a O.D. of 19". This cell, and all those I build, are
designed and optimized with Plop software.

3/8" hardware complete the collimation bolts with 1.5" hand knobs.

More on Joshua's 8" F6 . . .

Altitude bearings in place, the rocker box starts to take
shape.  The fit is "right on"!!