A "First Light" from Al in Appleton, Wisconsin . . .

 Hi Dennis:

Well, you wouldn't think that it would take almost eight months to have first light with the amazing 16" dob you built for me, but what with several plans foiled by weather and the pandemic, it did.  My friend Steve and I drove it 1400 miles and finally set it up in Durango, Colorado two weeks ago under stunningly dark skies at 7,500 feet and had a wonderful, inspiring two nights of viewing.  First object was Sirius, to focus in and verify collimation, and then the little open cluster M41 just below it when the sky was still blue... and it was quite wonderful! 

And it only got better from there.  What I see through the eyepiece now is what I always wanted to see: globulars resolved to the core, open clusters rich with bright and faint stars, the bright wings of M42 as well as the core nebulosity, faint galaxies that had previously been too dim to see, and on and on.

So thank you!  Thank you for creating such a fine framework for the f3.9 mirror I got from Orion Optics in the UK.  The scope was easy to put together, impressively steady yet easy to move, and with the cables, holds collimation in all positions.  I have yet to hook up the Sky Commander because we ran out of clear nights before I could do so, but that's next.

Thanks again, Al.

A Completed 10" Kit and Near Completed 17.5" Telescope...

Aaron's 10" strut kit with "Easy Transport" completed.
Aaron's spider, mirror cell and focuser pre-mounted for him.

Dan's mirror box, altitude bearings and 
rocker box are pretty close to completed.

Lookin' great!!

 

Larry and his 13.1" F4.5 Strut Kit ...

It's always a pleasure meeting my customers. Here's 
Larry, from N. Salt Lake Utah, picking up his 13.1"
F4.5 strut telescope kit.

Have fun assembling the kit, Larry. It'll be an 
enjoyable experience. The primary was tested by,
and evaluated by Swayze Optical.

 

Aaron's 10" Kit Nearing Completion . . .

Pretty much completed, Aaron's kit include his mirror cell
mounted on the mirror board, 4-vane spider and focuser.
This will be the "easy transport" version of the strut telescope.

The rocker box for Aaron's kit as well as one of the 15"
altitude bearings. Looking GREAT!!

 

Dan's 17.5" F4.5 Strut Telescope --

A "good size" telescope with struts that
stand 70.25"!! It's a big 'un!!

 

Rich and his 12" GSO Telescope

A rocker box "kit" for Rich in Sewell, New Jersey.  The kit 
was "just about right" with a bit of "tweeks" needed on the
side-bearing openings.  I sure do like the color.

 

More on a 17.5" and 10" Strut Telescope...

Here are the top-rings for Dan's 17.5" strut-telescope, with
an "observatory grade" curved-vane spider and Aaron's 10"
strut-telescope with his 4-vane spider. Note the focusers
are affixed to the rings as well. Aaron's telescope is a "kit".

 

The "mirror board" and top ring are completed and ready to
test under the stars.  Date 4/10/21

That's a Moonlite 2-speed focuser and Observatory Grade
Destiny spider with 3.5" secondary. The primary is mounted
on a 9-point flotation mirror cell of our own design. Date 4/10/21.