When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
ATM Gallery
Gluing the mirror box for Deep Violet, and 18″ f/4.5
The 18 point mirror cell, built to the plans from Barry & Kriege
The primary mirror support strap
The ground board with center pivot and teflon pads in place
Drilling a pocket to accommodate a carpet pad in the side of the rocker box
Deep Violet fully assembled and nearly ready for dark
Looking at the mounted mirror cell and primary mirror
Deep Violet at Sentinel, Arizona for the 2015 Pierre Schwarr Star Gaze
Looking in the rear of the tube at the mirror cell
Detail of the tripod head, latitude adjustment and the RA and declination axis
Primero setup at Jarnac Observatory among a friendly crowd of other telescopes
Stripping and cleaning the 14×100 binoculars
A completely disassembled Celestron Cometron telescope
Detail of the upper truss tube with the lever type latch
Detail of the brass threadserts used to hold the lower truss clamp
A 12.5″ dobsonian telescope after the refit
Machining the mirror cell from a piece of scuba tank
The mirror cell prior to installing the primary mirror with the focus knob at the back of the strut
A very standard design for the mirror mount
A front view of Makaʻiki ready to observe
Makaʻiki with the main strut extended for use
Makaʻiki under the stars for the first time at Hale Pōhaku on the side of Mauna Kea
The forms for the pier upright filled and leveled
Bill Lofquist pouring concrete into the upright part of the pier
The completed pier with a telescope atop
Looking at what remains of the paint on an old Celestron C8 orange tube telescope
The orange paint just crumbles away under a few sweeps of a power sander
Parts of the mount prepped and taped for painting
Paint drying on the front and rear castings of the old orange tube
A restored Celestron C8 on a similarly restored TeleVue Renaissance mount.
The C8 set up along the old Saddle Road for Mercury Transit
Re-assembling the secondary cage on the 20″ Obsession. The truss tube clamps still need to be cleaned up and re-installed, same with the focuser.
Grinding the heads off a few screws
The rusted hardware removed from a 20″ Obsession telescope
Opening up the truss tube clamps by widening the slot with a hacksaw.
A fix for the secondary mount
A failed plywood joint
Clamping the rocker box of a 20″ Obsession
Installing the primary mirror. This is a Galaxy Optics 20″ f/4. Oddly enough Sky Hudek, the son of John Hudek, the owner of Galaxy is a good friend and dive buddy.
Trunk handles added to the rocker box to make picking it up and loading it in a vehicle easier. They are mounted just high enough to avoid the wheelbarrow handles when installed.
My copy of The Dobsonian Telescope by David Kriege and Richard Berry
20″ f/4 Obsession #004 fully assembled for the first time in over a year. Ready for alignment and use!