Zane and his 10" F3.3 . . .

Zane's 10" F3.3 short focus Newtonian.

Hi Dennis, still waiting on the new secondary holder but the structure is complete now. I came up with a rather unique way to give it a nice finish. I also inadvertently broke the top ring of the mirror "box" but glued it back together; you can barely tell anything happened now.

I'm . . . fitting the light baffle in, but otherwise this thing is great. I actually like the overheight rocker; I can put the struts and middle ring down there when transporting the scope. The height is a little short but I don't think it needs a stand or anything after all, maybe just some small wooden legs 2" in height or something like that.

Zane (Zane lives in Stamford, CT.)

A Couple of 13.1" Telescopes . . .

Two 13.1" telescopes are underway, one a kit for Stephanie in Saint Inigoes, MD
and a full telescope for Dennis in Poway, California.

Now, Here's a Cutie with Kai . . .

Birthday fun at the Lake San Antanio camp under the stars.
That's a Dobstuff 10" F4.5 strut reflector.

Gabe's 10" Complete . . .

Gabe's 10 F4.5 includes 10k encoders on both axis's.

That's a GSO 2-speed focuser, 3-vane curved-vane spider
and custom mirror cover. Note the intermate ring for
the easy transport telescope configuration.

The rocker box, mirror box, lower struts and
intermediate ring in place.

The primary mirror sits on an all aluminum 6-point
non-flotation mirror cell. Easy to use large knobs
make collimation easy.

Gabe's 10" F4.5 -- Full Speed Ahead....

Coming together, Gabe's OTA is looking great.
The struts are 39 1/4" in total length.

The rocker box coming along. Looks great, the motions
and fit are just what I like -- perfect!!

Back on Track with Gabe's 10" . . .

OK, with the spider in-house and installed it's time to "set the length" of the
struts -- I've calculated them at 39 3/4". A test tonight will make sure!!

Our New Observing Chair . . .

Here's our new "observing chair" as a finished product. We plan to introduce this on the Cloudy Nights classified this week at $169.  It stands 30" tall with observing position from 6" to 22".

Custom heights available.

Bob's 10" and Ambient Light.....

Bob's answer to an ambient light issue was a taller "dew/light"
shield on his 10" telescope. Note the shield comes all the
way up to the intermediate ring. Great solution, I think.

Thanks for the photo Bob.

60mm x 900mm Unitron 114 FOR SALE -- SOLD!

Unitron Telescope 60mmx900mm in its case.

A beautiful ALT-AZ mount, finder and solar screen hardware.

The "other side" of the ALT-AZ mount The focuser "knob" is missing one
side -- but the focuser works just fine. Simply needs replacing.

This beautiful Unitron is clean and clear. Images are beautiful.

The Unitron on its mount with tripod.

Gabe's 10" Mirror Board and . . .

The primary is a nice Meade "research grade" F4.5 mirror. 

I make a custom mirror cover for all the telescopes I build.

The mirror  is supported on a 6-point cell designed and
optimized with Plop. Lager knobs make for easier collimation.

Gabe's 10" OTA -- Pieces....

The focuser is mounted on its bracket and primary mirror onto its cell.
Now to wait a bit for the spider to come in-house and finish the OTA.

A Note from Matt in Hillsborough, New Hampshire . . .

Unpacked the DobStuff ETT kit that arrived yesterday to begin
the rebuild of my old 16" f/4.5 Meade Starfinder. Thanks Dennis!

7" Meade Maksutov for Sale . . .

Offered for sale is a nice 7" Meade Maksutov on a fork mount. The optics are pristine and collimation is spot-on. This is a bit heavy for shipping - so a local pickup is preferred. If you're interested in discussing the telescope -- email me at densteele@dobstuff.com

$799 <local pickup in Palm Desert>

These pristine optics are in perfect collimation.

The clock drive work perfectly. There is no cover for
the battery compartment nor is there a hand-controller

A "thru-the-eyepiece" -- afocal photo -- with my small
handheld camera. Nice!!

More on Gabe's 10" Telescope . . .Alt

Altitude bearings and rocker box sides for Gabe's telescope.

The OTA rings for his telescope are pretty much completed.`

A 7" Meade Maksutov . . .

I took the 7" Maksutov out this evening -- one of the telescopes I was able to pick-up from a local seller.  It turns out to be an outstanding telescope, one of the best of this kind I've ever owned.So I put the camera up to the eyepiece and, voila, I gotta shot!! Kinda neat, I think...

An Observing Chair . . .

With this "prototype" and concept design completed -- I'm pretty
happy with the result. These'll sell for $169.

Adjustable from 10" to 22" it's just right for most telescopes.
Custom chairs/heights can be made to your specification.

A 10" Telescope for Gabe and an Observing Chair . . .

Tube rings for Gabe's 10" F4.5 telescope with Easy Transport
Telescope option. A GSO 2-speed focuser and 3-vane
curved-vane spider will also be part of the mix.

Under construction, too, is an observing chair. This prototype
will be the first of a new product I'll introduce in a couple
of weeks. They'll sell for $169.00.

Yes to be added is the "stabilizer" on the bottom front
of the chair.

A Note from Andy in Sonora, California...

Dear Dennis:

Thanks for the great telescope! I LOVE the curved spider, my first. Easy to collimate both mirrors, and they stay collimated, using the late Howie Glatter's Cheshire for the primary and his XLKP for the secondary mirror.

Regards,

Andy

An Observing Chair -- A Prototype....

An observing chair and prototype.
Proof of concept. What do you think??

Telescopes -- Some Neat "Finds" --Just Bought 'em Today!!

A 60mm x 900mm Unitron on al alt-az mount and 7" Maksutov.

The eyepiece end of the 75mm x 12mm Unitron

A beauty, a 75mmx1200mm Unitron on equatorial mount.

There's nothing like the Unitron workmanship.....

Rancho Mirage Observatory and the Community . . .. .

The Rancho Mirage Observatory was invited by an event at the La Quinta Resort and Club to "show its stuff". Three telescopes, and hundreds of event-participants had a great time. We showcased Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon.  Despite the moderate clouds cover, from time to time, the "star party" was a great success.

Eric, the City Astronomer and Ron setup a trio of
telescopes. Michael and I "behind the camera"

The Rancho Mirage Observatory is a wonderful community
resource, with free star-gazing sessions and educational
programs throughout the month.

Zane's 10" Kit is Completed . . .

A 10" kit for Zane in Stamford, CT. This kit has the Easy Transport
Telescope option and dew shield.

Here's an "example" of the finished telescope. Zane's primary mirror is
an F3.2 -- so it'll be shorter. A custom color would be nice too.

More on Zane's 10" Kit . . .

Once the OTA components are completed, it's on to the rocker box

and altitude bearings. These look great.....

Rocker box, just the right fit and finish!!