TheSkySearchers

Just thought I would attach a picture of a scope I am putting together.

Edmund Scientific objective OD 63mm, FL 487. Cell opening is 60mm. Cell and tube are also Edmund Scientific. Focuser is a GSO Crayford 2 Speed, adapted to this optical tube by machine work, courtesy of Jim at Scope Stuff. There are three Vixen type attachment shoes with two of them on the focuser and one in the middle on the tube. The left finder is a Celestron straight through correct image 6x30, the right is an Orion 6x30 RACI. The center shoe is currently reserved for a camera, if I can find one with either a delay or cable release compatible. The diagonal is a Swan Correct Image.

The idea is to have a scope that can go wide enough to take in the Plieades with plenty of context room around the cluster, then go down to a 1.25mm pupil size to pick up dim fuzzies with Bortle 6 light pollution (going to a very sensitive range in the human eye) and still have some field of view, then hopefully split double stars down to 2 arc seconds.

That's a sweet little scope, Bill! Very nice!

That's a beauty Bill. I like how you turn plain vanilla scopes into precision tools with a mission.

Looking good! So, you have two finderscopes on another finderscope?

Wait and there is a shoe for one more? You are the man!

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2019 11:43 pm Looking good! So, you have two finderscopes on another finderscope?

Wait and there is a shoe for one more? You are the man!

It is a fun experiment!

And as a bonus, it looks like it has warp nacelles from Star Trek!

bladekeeper wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 3:45 am And as a bonus, it looks like it has warp nacelles from Star Trek!

Ah thankyou I didnt want to be the one to mention the enterprise. Cool looking scope !

I had not thought about it looking like nacelles, but it does look like that. I was getting pretty fanciful with the finders....the straight through for low altitudes and right angle for high and maybe not have to get out of the astronomy chair. Last night I put on a top coat of Rustoleum Hunter Green Paint on the tube. If it passes inspection and I let it set for a day or so to really harden, I can put the flocking on the inside, then reassemble. Since this is a "Sky Hunter," I thought hunter green paint would be appropriate, plus I do not know of any telescope company using that specific color as their theme. With parts from at least four different companies, it needs a different color...I think.

Nice group of finder scopes Bill (as Andrey already pointed out). A good quality finder scope can also be a nice little scope on its own and having that 2 inch 2-speed focuser is a real nice touch. Good luck with your experiment and hope it meets or exceeds your expectations.

[image][/image] Just thought I would post a picture of this scope with a paint job and ready for a trial run. It still needs a few things, like some better "O" rings on the finders, but nothing critical.

Thanks,

Looking good!

That's really cool Bill. If I could get more production out of my RACI's I would...on my 6" scope I've been star-hopping through the eyepiece (1.7 degree field of view through a wide angle piece of glass) but 60mm on the big Dob would make a difference, right now I just have a telrad so it is naked eye (basically).