TheSkySearchers

Show em off folks. Lets see your light buckets. Here is my 10 inch and 16 inch Orion dobs

very nice duo , thx .

Looking good Mike!

Hi Mike. Here is my 12" Dob (Bertha):

Thanks for this fun thread Mike and keep looking up.

Here’s my 14 XXG. I have to step up on the first wrung on the ladder sometimes.

This is my completely homemade 8" f/7.5 51-year-old dob. Actually, only the OTA is 51 years old. The homemade wooden mount is 6 years old.

Makuser wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 12:44 pm Hi Mike. Here is my 12" Dob (Bertha):

Bertha.jpg
Thanks for this fun thread Mike and keep looking up.

We needed a thread for the Dob Mob.

10538 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 4:09 pm Here’s my 14 XXG. I have to step up on the first wrung on the ladder sometimes.

The other night i happened to be going after M13 at apex. I was sitting on top of a Little Giant ladder. Who knew a XX16G was so tall.

I did! Especially sitting on a cart. But it’s probably worth it!

10538 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 9:56 pm I did! Especially sitting on a cart. But it’s probably worth it!

I will be investing in a different ladder at some point

I converted my new/old stock Meade LXD-55 10" Schmidt Newtonian into a Dob after almost ruining the undersized LXD-55 mount and because I can't afford a more heavy duty equatorial mount at this time.

I found a new Sky Quest Dob mount missing the side bearings, made my own out of 5 inch PVC pipe caps and bolted them to one of the rings from the equatorial mount. Then I used homemade Wilson rings on each side of that so I can rotate the scope for the best eyepiece focuser position, and I can still use the scope equatorially once I get a larger mount. Lastly, I added a metal 1.25/2 inch eyepiece holder to one side of the Dob mount. Since I have 2 of these scopes (I bought the 2nd one for less than the price of the upgrades: a 50mm RA finder, a JMI upgraded electric focuser, and a JMI hard case), I can switch them out interchangeably.

Hi all,

I recently joined the dob mob!

My mate @OzEclipse has long been recommending that a 10-12" newtonian would be perfect for my observing needs. The problem was I needed something that I could fit in my ute.

Problem solved, I somehow was the lucky person to become the owner of what a most capable small travel scope; specifically designed for this purpose. Everything (except the poles) fits in a storage box is 40.5cm x 33cm x 26cm.

It has an interesting heritage. I am the 3rd owner, with the scope originally owned by Canadian astronomy author Alan Dyer, who featured the scope in an earlier edition of the Backyard Astronomers guide. He needed a scope
that he could use here in Australia once a year when he observed the southern skies. The maker was Dwight Hansen in Edmonton, who was setting up a small company, Hansen Optical, to sell these scopes under the name Genstar.
The optics are by Barry Arnold, who was a professional optics maker and amateur astronomer in Edmonton. Alan describes Dwight as a master machinist and Barry as a master optician. Suffice to say it's a unique telescope with a
level of construction you would only find by going totally custom.

The primary is a 10" F5 mirror. The secondary and upper tube ring is extremely light, and requires the 1.25" focuser. A Rigel finder is used for pointing and star hopping. The scope itself is almost 100% machined aluminium
and runs on a set of bearings. There is a light shield and cloth shroud.

Like the owner that I bought the scope from, I will use it for 4WD adventures, which often take me to more northern latitudes and will give me the opportunity for high quality observations of objects that are either
low or not visible from home.

Phil

Here is my 10" Orion Dob on a garden cart. I am rather attached to that scope. It helped me complete several Astronomical League observing programs. It has traveled with me to numerous speaking engagements. It has had some hard use. These days I mostly use it as a training scope when I host star parties for friends. I would really miss it if it was gone.

jrkirkham wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2024 2:28 pm Here is my 10" Orion Dob on a garden cart. I am rather attached to that scope. It helped me complete several Astronomical League observing programs. It has traveled with me to numerous speaking engagements. It has had some hard use. These days I mostly use it as a training scope when I host star parties for friends. I would really miss it if it was gone.

My ten inch is my forever lover, she gets more nights then my 16 inch and my frac combined. I will have that scope to the day I die.

Here is my 12" home-made dob. It packs up to a small Esky-size box, and is smaller than my 4" refractor to put in the car. I have attached a push-to 1991 Lumincon Sky-Vector courtesy of Doug Sprigg, the owner of the Arkaroola Sanctuary (and brand-new International Dark Sky Reserve!) in the Flinders Ranges (South Aust): so it has all mod cons! (Or at least up to the early 1990's! )
It is balanced by a spring arrangement to save weight. The mirror is a GSO f5: at one stage GSO made a higher spec mirror for ATM'ers; and this one shows a near perfect Foucault test and star images.
This scope replaced my fully hand-made 10", which was stolen along with a trailer that had all my portable planetarium gear and telescopes (many years ago now: long story). I didn't want to go through all the grinding process again (I had already increased 2 shirt sizes across the chest from grinding the 10", and I thought that was enough ), and when I saw the GSO mirror I "cheated" and got that instead.
I find it takes almost no tweaking to hit collimation after assembly.

Hopefully in a few months time I will be able to show you my 14" binocular dob, which I have finally started working on again after it's components have been sitting in the shed for a number of years: so watch this space! This one will be fully go-to with an Argo-Navis computer. It will have Hubble Optics "sandwich" mirrors, hand-figured to better than 0.99 Strehl; so I have high hopes for wonderful views- once I have figured out how to get it to hold collimation while changing the IOD for different viewers! The materials, mirrors etc for this scope were given to me by my good friend Alan, who found himself unable to build it due to failing health: so I want to finish it in his memory.
My light-weight 12" dob. (Without its shroud. The encoders are attached in this image, but not the Sky-Vector hand-set, which hangs on the cut-out on the back)
Packed up for transport (the encoders and Sky-Vector pack up inside as well)