A 14.7" Kit, beautifully constructed, by Craig in Oregon:

Good morning Dennis,

I thought you'd like to see a photo of another of your scopes (maybe very close to your last one?) in the wild.  Well, my driveway in the suburbs of Portland anyway.  This photograph is from last night, awaiting first light.

I had a few minor teething setup issues as I think I'm a little top-heavy, I had to remove the counterweight.  I also had to loosen the mirror board collimation bolts to push the primary mirror forward a bit so I could get to focus.  I might have to shave the struts by an eighth of an inch later on, but no big deal.

It was a beautiful clear evening and once I saw the crescent moon in focus for the first time I laughed out loud the view was so crisp.  Venus was a lovely half-moon, I split Castor easily with a 12mm eyepiece, and Mars -- well Mars was Mars.

Alt-az movements are buttery smooth.  Maybe a bit too slick in the alt direction but I second-guessed your advice -- you said to put the slide bearings an inch from the top, I put them two inches down but I think I need a bit more stiction, I'll probably relocate them to your recommended position.

The little bronze plaque you included was a nice bonus, I affixed it proudly on my scope on the top left corner of the rocker box.  Your kit was well-made and well-designed, you can tell from all the little touches you have had time to hone.the design to perfection.  I'll be proud to show it off during upcoming star parties!

For the future I might spring for an equatorial platform but for now I plan to really enjoy this scope. 

Thanks again for the great product and it was a pleasure working with you.

Best regards

Craig.

A Nice Visit from Darrell

 

Darrell stopped by to drop of his 12.5" optics for a new kit. We had a great visit.

An 8" F6 for Michael in Vancouver, B.C.

Coming along is an 8" F6 for Michael in Vancouver BC.  Michael's requirement is that no subassembly can be more than 15 pounds!!  We ought to be able to do that!! 

More to come....

From Ron and his 16" Dobstuff -- "GOTO"

A nice note and photos from Ron and his 16" dobstuff telescope. This one is "driven":

Hi Dennis

I hope you are well. 

I am still having a lot of fun and use out of my DobStuff scope. Recently I added goto and tracking and I thought I would show you. The telescope can now go to and track using planetarium software either on computer or smart phone.  I attach some pictures of the azimuth and altitude motors. Its a simple gear and rack system with two servomotors controlled by a SiTech controller. The SiTech system works by simply pointing the scope to the celestial pole and turning on the controller - tracking then starts automatically. I have ordered a Bluetooth adapter with the aim to use my phone to control the telescope. The SkySafari app for example will even given you a verbal account of what you are looking at while you observe. Pretty neat :)

All the best

Ron.