Nov10

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment

SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER • THE MAKING OF BIG BLUE • TELE VUE 3.7-MM ETHOS-SX BUILDING AN ATM FOCUS MOTOR FOR DUAL-SPEED FOCUSERS • HOTECH SCA FIELD FLATTENER ZIP TIE TO THE RESCUE • FROM ANALOG WISHES TO DIGITAL FISHES SERVED ON MOONBEAMS

The New Tele Vue Paracorr Type-2 and Starlight Integrated Paracorr System

Volume 4 • Issue 6 Nov. - Dec. 2010 $5.00 US

Rebates and Deals are Stacking Up for the Holidays!

The only way to beat our pricing and service is to get these extra incentives and pricing straight from the manufacturer! These deals represent only a fraction of the great pricing we are offering to close out 2010. Don’t miss out!

Buy any NexStar SE telescope and receive a $100 Mail-In Rebate!

Receive up to $500 off Celestron's CPC GPS Series Computerized Telescopes!’

Buy a 10”, 12”, or 16” LX200-ACE Telescope and get a SolarMax40 H-a telescope FREE! A $1,699 Value!

Get special pricing on Vixen Sphinx Mounts with Tripod, Sphinx SXW is $1799 and Sphinx SXD is $2499

Buy any new LS Telescope with Lightswitch Technology and get the optional LCD Color Monitor FREE! A $99 Value!

Buy a LT, LXD75 or LX90 telescope and get the Series 4000 Eyepiece and Filter Kit FREE! A $249 Value!

Get the VMC200L for only $999 with Vixen’s new compression ring.

Check Out our FUN List!

26437 Ridge Road • Damascus, Maryland 20872

www.handsonoptics.com • 1-866-726-7371

What is our FUN List? Literally hundreds of (Factory, Used, New) astro gear. The list changes daily and these deals get snapped up so check it out today, you might miss out tomorrow!

Zeiss, Meade, Celestron, Takahashi, Stellarvue, Vixen, Lumicon, Denkmeier, Vernonscope, Lunt, GTO, Thousand Oaks, JMI, Pentax, Sky Instruments, Proxima, Skywatcher, Coronado, Orion, Explore Scientific, Farpoint Labs and Many More!

Contents Cover Story: Pages 35 - 42 Owners of fast ratio telescopes will be pleased to read of the new generation Tele Vue Paracorr Type 2. Furthering the functionality of the Paracorr Type 2, Starlight Instruments adds a new twist by creating the Starlight Integrated Paracorr System (SIPS). Seasoned observers Mike Harvey and John Vogt provide a real world look at these new products and how they dramatically improve the viewing experience. The background astro image was taken by Alan Smallbone using the HoTech SCA Field Flattener, and is featured in his article on HoTech’s general purpose flattener that works with a wide variety of refractors.

35 Tele Vue Paracorr Type-2 Also Enhances Contrast, Resolution, and Limiting Magnitude!

By Mike Harvey 39 Starlight Integrated Paracorr System An Essential Requirement for Anyone Who Owns a Top-Shelf, Short FocalRatio Scope and Wants to Extract the Maximum Performance and Convenience From It.

By John Vogt 43 Hotech SCA Field Flattener A Non-reducing Field Flattener that Works!

By Alan Smallbone 49 Tele Vue 3.7-mm Ethos-SX A View from Space...in Your Driveway!

By Erik Wilcox 53 The Making of Big Blue An ATM Newtonian featuring a Sled Focuser and Forward Collimation Controls

By Art Bianconi

15 SOUTHERN STARS Formerly Carina Mobile, Introduces New SkyWire 15 IOPTRON CORPORATION LiveStar Mini Planetarium 16 MERIDIAN TELESCOPES Stocks Heavy-Duty Sonoco SONOTUBE Fiber Tubing 17 STELLAR TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL CVF Series II 18 UNIHEDRON Enhances Utility of Connected Sky Quality Meters with Waterproof Housing System

In This Issue 12 Editor’s Note From Analog Wishes to Digital Fishes Served on Moonbeams

By Gary Parkerson

Industry News

57 Building an ATM Focus Motor for Dual-Speed Focusers An ATM’s Easy-to-Remove Focus Motor Solution

By William E. Rison 64 SkyTools Observing and Imaging Planner The Tool for Optimizing Viewing and Imaging Sessions

By Dave Snay 72 Astro Tips, Tricks & Novel Solutions Zip Tie to the Rescue!

By Joe Campbell

18 OSTAHOWSKI OPTICS Offers Excess Zerodur Stock 19 CHRONOSMOUNT Extends Chronos Line to Even Larger Capacities 19 KNIGHTWARE Announces Major Update of SQM Reader Pro 20 HUTECH ASTRONOMICAL PRODUCTS Introduces New Reflection Suppressed, Performance-Enhanced System 21 ASTROZAP Offers the Convenience of a DewShield Cap 21 APOGEE IMAGING SYSTEMS A New Name and a New State-of-theArt Facility

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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Contributing Writers

Contents New Products

Art Bianconi’s first experience of Saturn was when he was 5. According to Art he said “Daddy! It has RINGS! Mom says I got so excited and yelled so loud that 2 NYC cops came running!” All these decades later, when it comes to telescopes he’s still a kid and just as excited. Art lives in rural New Jersey in the Delaware River Valley. He’s a successful Mechanical Designer in a variety of engineering disciplines from composite aircraft to fusion reactors.

22 MDA-TELESCOOP Announces Telescope Drive Master

Joe Campbell works in the Information Technology field by day pushing bits and bytes around the world. However, on clear nights he can be found collecting photons from far off stars, while on cloudy ones he passes the time building things to do it better next time around.

Mike Harvey has been an avid amateur astronomer since receiving his first telescope at the age of 10. Over the ensuing years he’s owned over 100 scopes, including such rarities as a ‘folded’ 6-inch f/15 A-P refractor and an 8-inch Alvan Clark! Since 1990, he’s concentrated on large aperture Newtonians, including several Obsessions, Starmasters and Starstructures. His main-scope for the past five years is a 28-inch f/3.66 Starstructure with Steve Kennedy optics, which is in action every new moon weekend at Chiefland Astronomy Village in Florida. When not engaging DSO’s, Mike hosts a nationally-syndicated radio show that is heard on over 200 stations coast-to-coast and worldwide on the internet. As he puts it – “it’s pure mindless entertainment…60’s, 70’s and 80’s ‘oldies’ mixed with listener requests and phone calls from all over the world…and it pays for my optical addiction”!

William Rison has been observing and photographing the heavens for over 40 years using a variety of telescopes and cameras. The seeing isn’t the best in southern Maryland so planetary imaging using video cameras is the most rewarding. Deep sky photography using short exposures and stacking has also yielded good results. He enjoys putting together computers with custom designed hardware and software for remote control operation of his telescopes.

23 BOREN-SIMON 2.8-8 ED PowerNewt Astrograph 25 GERD NEWMAN Aurora Flatfield Panels 26 ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS SkyQuest XX12g and XX14g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonians 28 DEEP SPACE PRODUCTS T-REX Apex Alt-Azimuth T-Mount

David Snay is a retired software engineer living in central Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has been an astronomer and astrophotographer for more than 10 years. David currently pursues fine art photography, specializing in traditional black/white images.

Alan Smallbone works with aricraft flight controls as an engineer during the day. He is also an avid photographer and sells fine art prints and nature and wildlife images. The long standing interest in photography and an interest in astronomy led to the natural blending of the two, he currently images the stars from his observatory east of Temecula, CA. Alan and his wife, Barbara, are also active members of the Orange Country Astronomers and both are on the board of trustees. Alan also heads the club's astroimaging special interest group.

Erik Wilcox lives off the grid on the Big Island of Hawaii, and has been observing for over 20 years. When he’s not viewing from his dark backyard sky, he works for a natural foods chain, and spends his spare time hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, and performing music. He also runs the astronomy forum at: www.starstuffforums.com.

John Vogt is a property-casualty insurance agent living in Long Island,NY. He has been an avid observer, telescope maker and optician for more than 35 years and won a number of optical awards at the annual Stellafane Convention in Springfield, Vermont. John along with his daughters, Jennifer and Patti, appeared in the PBS special "Seeing in the Dark"

by Timothy Ferris.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

30 ASTRONOMIK New Camera Tilting Unit (CTU) 31 LUNT SOLAR SYSTEMS New LS230THa/PT and LS80T 32 FARPOINT ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH Announces Two New Dew-Control Accessories 32 GARRETT OPTICAL Gemini 25x100 WP-IF Mk II Binocular

The Supporting

CAST

The Companies And Organizations That Have Made Our Magazine Possible!

We wish to thank our advertisers without whom this magazine would not be possible.

When making a decision on your next purchase, we encourage you to consider these advertisers’ commitment to you by underwriting this issue of Astronomy Technology Today.

Apogee Instruments www.ccd.com page 6

Farpoint Astronomical Research www.farpointastro.com page 66

Meridian Telescopes www.meridiantelescopes.com page 70

Sierra Stars Observatory Network www.sierrastars.com page 36

Astro Hutech www.hutech.com page 28, 76

Finger Lakes Instrumentation www.flicamera.com page 75

Oceanside Photo and Telescope www.optcorp.com page 44

Skyhound www.skyhound.com page 47

Astronomik www.astronomik.com page 65

Foster Systems www.fostersystems.com page 27

Astro Physics www.astro-physics.com page 13, 59

Garrett Optical www.garrettoptical.com page 30

AstroSystems www.astrosystems.biz page 22

Glatter Collimation www.collimator.com page 30

Astrozap www.astrozap.com page 56

Great Red Spot Astronomy www.greatredspot.com page 69

ATIK USA www.atik-usa.com page 79

Hands On Optics www.handsonoptics.com page 5

Bobs Knobs www.bobsknobs.com page 40

Hubble Optics www.hubbleoptics.com page 36

Camera Concepts www.cameraconcepts.com page 71 Catseye Collimation www.catseyecollimation.com page 67 Celestron www.celestron.com page 34

iOptron www.ioptron.com page 7 ISTAR Optical www.istar-optical.com page 18 Jack’s Astro Accessories www.waningmoonii.com page 29

Ceravolo www.ceravolo.com page 20, 48

JMI Telescopes www.jmitelescopes.com page 14

Chronos www.chronosmount.com page 45 Dark Skies Apparel www.darkskiesapparel.com page 26

Knightware www.knightware.biz page 18

Officina Stellare wwwofficinastellare.com page 54 Optec www.optecinc.com page 42 Optical Mechanics www.opticalmechanics.com page 30 Optical Supports www.opticalsupports.com page 59 Orion Telescopes and Bionoculars www.oriontelescopes.com page 77, 80 Optic-Craft Machining www.opticcraft.com page 67 Ostahowski Optics www.ostahowskioptics.com page 40 ProtoStar www.fpi-protostar.com page 15 Quantum Scientific Imaging www.qsimaging.com page 4 Rigel Systems www.rigelsys.com page 21 ScopeGuard www.scopeguard.com page 17

SkyShed Observatories www.skyshed.com page 38 Southern Stars www.southernstars.com page 55 Starizona www.starizona.com page 3 Starlight Instruments www.starlightinstruments.com page 37, 50 Stark Labs www.stark-labs.com page 27 Stellar Software www.stellarsoftware.com page 19 Stellar Technologies International www.stellar-international.com page 51 Tele Vue Optics www.televue.com page 8, 73 Teeter’s Telescopes www.teeterstelescopes.com page 58 Unihedron www.unihedron.com page 59 Van Slyke Instruments www.observatory.org page 33, 56 William Optics www.williamoptics.com page 2

Diffraction Limited www.cyanogen.com page 78

Lumicon www.lumicon.com page 16

Equatorial Platforms www.equatorialplatforms.com page 70

Lunatico Astronomia www.lunaticoastro.com page 46

ScopeStuff www.scopestuff.com page 25

Wood Wonders www.wood-wonders.com page 67

Explore Scientific www.explorescientific.com page 52, 74

Mathis Instruments www.mathis-instruments.com page 68

Shrouds By Heather www.scopeshrouds.com page 31

Woodland Hills Telescopes www.telescopes.net page 24

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ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Volume 4 • Issue 6

Editor’s Note

Nov. - Dec. 2010 Publisher Stuart Parkerson

Managing Editor Gary Parkerson

Associate Editors Russ Besancon

Art Director Lance Palmer

Staff Photographer Craig Falbaum

Web Master Richard Harris

3825 Gilbert Drive Shreveport, Louisiana 71104 info@astronomytechnologytoday.com www.astronomytechnologytoday.com Astronomy Technology Today is published bi-monthly

by Parkerson Publishing, LLC. Bulk rate postage paid at Dallas, Texas, and additional mailing offices. ©2010 Parkerson Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. No part of this publication or its Web site may be reproduced without written permission of Parkerson Publishing, LLC. Astronomy Technology Today assumes no responsibility for the content of the articles, advertisements, or messages reproduced therein, and makes no representation or warranty whatsoever as to the completeness, accuracy, currency, or adequacy of any facts, views, opinions, statements, and recommendations it reproduces. Reference to any product, process, publication, or service of any third party by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply the endorsement or recommendation of Astronomy Technology Today.

The publication welcomes and encourages contributions; however is not responsible for the return of manuscripts and photographs. The publication, at the sole discretion of the publisher, reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising or contributions. For more information contact the publisher at Astronomy Technology Today, 3825 Gilbert Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana 71104, or e-mail at info@astronomytechnologytoday.com.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Gary Parkerson, Managing Editor

FROM ANALOG WISHES TO DIGITAL FISHES SERVED ON MOONBEAMS As confessed in its last issue, the editor of ATT, the known universe’s only print periodical devoted solely to unbridled celebration of the tools of astronomy, lives so thoroughly behind technology trends that he still clings to a “classic” Newt-on-GEM as his principal window to that universe – synchronous motor, quartz drive-controller, scored settings circles, analog all.

He acquires recalcitrant targets as generations have: star-hopping to paper charts or, when the hunt is really on, aligning faded pointers to RA and DEC marks oriented with celestial coordinates painstakingly gleaned from that same collection of printed atlases. Add the glow of vacuum tubes, arcing Tesla coils, a pocket slide rule, plus a deranged cackle or two and the scene would be complete! And so, it is small wonder that he – I – was also late in discovering that webmaster Richard Harris had developed iPhone/ iPad and Android applications so ATT’s more digitally-versed subscribers could get their mobile-astro-tech fill via a baffling selection of really smart phones.

While developing them, Richard offered the apps free of charge, but priced them at a one-time $9.95 once thoroughly debugged. These are solely the products of Richard’s labors and are owned by his app-production company, Moonbeam Development. Richard authors many Android and iPhone/iPad apps and, although I’ve yet to abandon my no-longer-all-that-smart BlackBerry, so can’t assess them personally, early adopters report that his new ATT apps

work very well.

The $9.95 app fee is paid directly to Moonbeam, to which ATT simply licenses its content for mobile distribution. Our view is that anything that might maximize subscriber enjoyment of the magazine is worth supporting and, having seen it so gorgeously displayed on an iPad, even I understand that mobile access to all ATT issues will indeed enhance the experience.

Current subscribers already receive online access to all past, present and future issues, and now, for $9.95, they’ll enjoy mobile access as well. Now that I think about it, is there a print magazine other than ATT that provides current subscribers online access to all back issues at no extra cost? I can’t think of one offhand, but please let me know if you do.

As for the fee, having bought a few apps for the too-ripe BlackBerry, but none that cost as much as $10, my first reaction was that it sounded a bit high. After further reflection, here’s what I’ve concluded.

Say Richard writes an application that sends users one joke a day. There are such apps and the ones I’ve seen pull jokes from other sources, saving users the trouble of hunting jokes themselves. Richard could price that app at $0.99 and might sell a million copies – the app market is that large – in which case, he would be well compensated for his effort.

But, the universe of uber astronomy enthusiasts is quite small in app-world scale. In fact, the list of smart-phone apps expands exponentially and already, by my unofficial count, outnumbers astronomy enthusiasts by a factor of ten. Bottom line:

even if a significant percentage of us paid $20 for Richard’s ATT apps, he still might not be well compensated for his efforts.

Richard wrote the apps because he loves the magazine and supports it in any way he can.

Put simply, no one else with Richard’s talent and knowledge is going to invest countless hours developing and maintaining smartphone applications for such a small market.

From that perspective, the price at which he now offers the ATT apps is remarkably low.

Here’s something else I cling to for perspective as digital technology overwhelms my analog life. As a kid, I treasured a toy Dick Tracy wrist watch; but that was the stuff of science fantasy. No one – not even the proverbial “richest man in the world” – owned a real one. Fifty-plus years pass and I need fantasize no more. As I type these words, there is a device in my pocket that travels everywhere with me and I used it just today, not only to talk with others far away, but to send and receive mail instantly, view weather-radar graphics in real time, read the Wall Street Journal, navigate to an appointment, and listen to music streamed on demand and in stereo directly and unobtrusively into each ear.

And thanks to the wonders of market scale, I need not be the richest man in the world to afford it, or the amazing services it delivers. Soon, I’ll upgrade to one that provides even more, including images of every page of every issue of ATT. For $9.95 – less than the price of a “value meal” for two – I’ll gain instant mobile access to an ever-growing library devoted exclusively to my favorite subject. So yes, I too will be sending $9.95 to Moonbeam Development, along with a sincere “thank you” to Richard Harris, just as soon as I can trade an obsolete BlackBerry for that much smarter phone. Now, if only my old analog telescope was as easily and inexpensively upgraded to a cutting-edge digital replacement...then wishes would be fishes.

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for quality, reliability and service throughout the can be used with telescopes and mounts that you may already own. Please check our website for a list of products that have universal appeal. Bring a little Astro-Physics to your observing sessions tonight.

www.astro-physics.com • 815-282-1513 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

SOUTHERN STARS Formerly Carina Mobile, Introduces New SkyWire Those who’ve looked recently for Carina Mobile’s wildly popular SkyVoyager, SkyGazer, and SkyFi products will have noticed that a bit of detective work was in order. Why? Because its award-winning iPhone apps and wireless telescope controller have moved. These products are now being sold under the brand names SkySafari and SkyFi, and are supported by Southern Stars, previously the Carina Mobile mobileproducts division of Carina Software.

Carina Software has a long history of award-winning products and industry-leading customer satisfaction in the astronomy software business, having been developing planetarium software since 1993. In 2009 the first iPhone application was launched under the Carina brand, representing a complete, ground-up rewrite of software.

Simultaneously, Carina Mobile developed the SkyFi, which was the first wireless iPhone-based solution for telescope control.

SkyFi and the iPhone app, won a Best of Show award at MacWorld 2010.

Creation of Southern Stars represents that company’s commitment to development of firstclass astronomy applications for other mobile platforms.

Southern Stars new SkyWire is the simplest way to turn an iPhone into a 21st-century telescope controller.

This brand-new “Made for iPod” accessory adds an RS-232 port to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch - and lets it connect directly to the serial port on a telescope. SkyWire isn't just a ‘dumb cable.” Unlike other “iPhone serial cables” available on the Internet, owners don’t have to jailbreak their iPhone to use it.

It’s a simple, reliable, and affordable way to

control a telescope - or other RS-232 device - from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

SkyWire begins shipping in December.

The mission of Southern Stars is to help the burgeoning ranks of mobile-device users to tap into their natural curiosity about the cosmos via the mobile platforms they use each and every day. Southern Star’s market therefore consists of the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have enough interest in space to purchase a mobile app which helps them learn more about it. Southern Star’s motto is: “Mobile Astronomy for Everyone!”, a philosophy that is very easy to endorse.

For more information, visit www.southernstars.com.

It’s that time of year again and you’re looking for answers to the whatto-get-them question once again.

Consider the iOptron LiveStar Mini Planetarium. This popularly-priced item will allow the lucky recipient to experience the excitement of going to a planetarium from the comfort and convenience of home.

The LiveStar Mini Planetarium projects the night sky onto interior walls and ceilings, presenting a realistic image of stars, constellations, and even the Milky Way. The planetarium rotates to mimic the motion of the night sky and is simple to set up and use. Set latitude, date, and time to experience the night sky of any location in the world.

The LiveStar Mini Planetarium package includes a planetarium globe, light, and base, a remote control, an AC power cord, and a quick-start guide.

Please visit www.iOptron.com for more information.

IOPTRON CORPORATION LiveStar Mini Planetarium

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

MERIDIAN TELESCOPES Stocks Heavy-Duty Sonoco SONOTUBE Fiber Tubing Meridian Telescopes has long been known within the ATM community as one of its favorite one-stop sources for anything and everything needed to construct quality, custom Newtonians. So committed is Meridian to providing a comprehensive selection of telescope components that it even stocks hardto-ship items that would otherwise be unavailable to ATMers who live in small local markets that simply cannot offer the ranges of products that are taken for granted by those of us who live in major trade areas.

Witness that Meridian stocks Sonoco SONOTUBE-brand Fiber Tubing. As is admitted on its website, “Yes, the shipping costs are crazy, however, these are the thickwall tubes needed for the stability of a quality telescope optical tube.”

Not only does Meridian stock SONOTUBE, but it also offers Dobsonian sidebearing sets to match those tubes, as well as

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

all other hardware required for constructing and trimming a solid-tube Dobsonian structure. Meridian even offers detailed construction plans designed to enable even the most inexperienced ATMers to produce competent, attractive telescopes of tried-and-true design. All who’ve calculated the optimum tube location for a focuser, cut the hole, and then realized their calculation was woefully wrong – and who hasn’t! – will appreciate the luxury of having fully tested and precise calculations in hand.

Because high-performance Newtonians designed and built by ATMers are often sensitive to balance factors, many ATMers have come to appreciate the peculiar benefits of Meridian’s FOCH Helical Focuser system.

This unique focuser features a 2-inch format with 1.25-inch adapter and is constructed of an anodized die-cast aluminum body with extruded and precision-machined aluminum

draw tube, plus all stainless-steel hardware, and yet weighs just 10 ounces. The accurate thread cuts of the helical system minimize off-axis movement and the resulting image shift that is common to lesser designs. Best yet, the price of the FOCH Helical Focuser will be a very pleasant surprise for all who regularly invest in quality astronomical accessories.

For more information, please visit www.meridiantelescopes.com.

INDUSTRYNEWS

STELLAR TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL CVF Series II Offers Critical Daytime and Nighttime Visual Focusing Unlike other Steller Technologies products previously featured in ATT, its new CVF Series II focuser affords photographers a fast, easy, and economical way to attain critical daytime and nighttime visual focusing without guesswork.

While the Series IV “Stiletto” knifeedge focuser is unsurpassed for deep-sky imaging, it is restricted to night use when a pinpoint source of light, such as a star, is available as a target. On the other hand, focusing in daylight through a scope, or on bright, extended objects, has largely been haphazard since no equivalent device was developed. If you are looking for an all around focusing solution for nature, solar, and planetary photography, the CVF Series II is it.

While the CVF Series II was specifically designed to overcome difficulties of focusing with DSLRs, models are available for 35-mm film and digital cameras, including Canon EOS, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, Sony, and others.

Whether digital or film, you will find the CVF essential in your quest for perfect imaging.

The CVF replaces the entire film or DSLR camera during critical focusing. This precision-calibrated device projects a portion of the actual image to be recorded onto a high-resolution patterned focusing screen which is then significantly magnified. Once the image is focused on the screen, the CVF is removed and replaced with your camera to take the actual photograph using manual settings. This simple swap-in, swap-out process takes just seconds and guarantees perfect focus every time.

The existing view screen in your camera, whether DSLR or film, does not provide enough magnification and contrast for your eye to obtain perfect resolution during focusing. Your eye compensates for an outof-focus image automatically by a factor of up to three percent. Consequently, while

focus may appear to be perfect to your eye, it may not be at the exact focal plane of the film or digital sensor in your camera. The result is too often a blurry image lacking definition.

By providing enhanced contrast with the view screen along with high magnification, the CVF radically reduces the error of your eye down to approximately 0.2 percent, or less. And unlike traditional focusing screens and LCD view screens, the CVF eliminates interference from extraneous lighting, guaranteeing perfect focus even in extremely bright outdoor settings.

The CVF Series II “Daylight” Model is priced at $169US and includes 10x and 22x lupes, a crosshair focusing screen, and a carrying case.

The “Starlight” Model adds a hybrid knife-edge focusing screen for $189US, and the “Pro” Model includes the cross-hair, true knife-edge, and 300 LPI Ronchi focusing screens for $230US.

Get Yours Today!

For more information on this and other Stellar Technologies International innovations, visit www.stellar-international.com.

Let us custom build you the best, strongest, most well constructed scope transport case available!

www.scopeguard.com

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

UNIHEDRON

OSTAHOWSKI OPTICS

Enhances Utility of Connected Sky Quality Meters with Waterproof Housing System

Offers Excess Zerodur Stock

Since Unihedron first pioneered development of affordable meters that allow astronomers to easily conduct objective measurements of sky brightnesses with its portable, hand-held Sky Quality Meter, demand for more specialized versions has resulted in introduction of “connected” models, which currently consist of the SQM-LU, a USB-connected meter, the SQM-LE, an Ethernet-connected meter, and the SQM-LR, an RS232-connected meter, all of which utilize the narrow fields of view that are best for capturing the most accurate sky-brightness measurements of specific sky regions of a fixed location.

As owners of observatory-based telescopes realized the utility of determining variances in sky quality from night to night and season to season at a fixed location, many have integrated connected models permanently into their observatory systems.

But each was left to their own devices for protecting the connected SQMs from the elements until Unihedron’s introduction of the Sky Quality Meter Waterproof Housing system. The kit features white surfaces that reflect hot summer sunshine, a bottom opening to allow the escape of moisture, a hard glass top window that

Because Ostahowski Optics produces such high volumes of premium telescope optics, it periodically experiences excess inventory of specific products due to exaggerated fluctuations that the astronomy-products market has experienced in recent years.

Such is currently the case with a small number of exceptional, large one-off Zerodur-primary plus Quartz-secondary mirror sets, which are now available at excess inventory prices.

Of example is a 17.5-inch f/4.0 by 1.8-

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

resists scratching when cleaned of ice and debris, a raised glass surface that prevents obscuring collection of dirt and leaves, a minimal glass opening to minimize internal green-house heating, a sealed cable opening that prevents insect infestation, a marine-silicone seal that is rated for outdoor use and that extends beyond the glassplastic interface to prevent ice from building in crevices, hose clamps for easy mounting to a pole, staples for easy mounting to any wood surface, and complete installation instructions.

The Unihedron SQM Waterproof Housing is priced at $39.95 and available from www.unihedron.com.

inch-thick Zerodur primary with matched 4.0-inch Quartz EDM that was null tested and figured, then tested via interferometry to insure the highest quality. These optics were painstakingly hand corrected to exacting tolerances and feature enhanced-aluminum coatings. The finished products were then securely crated in preparation for shipment.

To view this and other Ostahowski Optics overstock specials, visit www.owtahowskioptics.com.

INDUSTRYNEWS

CHRONOSMOUNT Extends Chronos Line to Even Larger Capacities When ChronosMount’s novel telescope mounting system was introduced in the cover article of the November 2007 issue of ATT, the mount was available in but two configurations, the HD20 and HD32, with carry capacities of 125 and 250 pounds respectively. Two even more capable versions have since been added in the forms of the HD45 and HD65, with loadcapacity ratings of 600 pounds and 1,000 pounds.

Readers of the 2007 feature article will recall that the design incorporated harmonic-drive gearing to produce mounts of highly-accurate pointing and tracking without requiring provision for balancing of loads, or clutches. The design permits imaging from horizon to horizon if need arises, without requiring a “meridian flip.”

Chronos mounts are versatile enough to support any location on earth, with no latitude-related limitations. The design also eliminates the need of polar alignment and the dynamics of harmonic-drive gearing contribute to the

mounts’ inherently-high rigidity and low vibration characteristics. Better yet, harmonic-drive gearing exhibits zero backlash.

For more information on the remarkable ChronosMount HD45 and HD65 mounts, please visit www.chronosmount.com.

KNIGHTWARE Announces Major Update of SQM Reader Pro Knightware’s SQM Reader Pro for Windows, originally released in September of 2008, is the only software that provides the tools needed by users of the Unihedron Sky Quality Meter Models LE, LU, or LR, to get the most out of those remarkably effective skybrightness-measurement tools.

SQM Reader Pro automates every step of use of connected SQMs from initial setup of the meter to nightly data

collection, and enables sophisticated statistical analysis. Serious imagers and deep-sky observers are increasingly discovering the unique utility of the Unihedron SQM-SQM Reader Pro combination.

In late August of 2010, Knightware released a major update to SQM Reader Pro, which is available for free to current users. For more information, visit www.knightware.biz.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

HUTECH ASTRONOMICAL PRODUCTS Introduces New Reflection-Suppressed, Performance-Enhanced System Since the introduction of consumer Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras by Canon, Hutech Astronomical Products has offered spectrum-enhanced models for use by astronomers and other scientific users with photograph needs beyond the normal visible spectrum.

These enhanced cameras were modified by replacement of the rear UV/IR-blocking filter by a clear-glass filter, with was needed to preserve the auto-focus function of the camera. However, the latest DSLRs introduced by Canon allow for adjustment of the sensor position, necessitating changes in the enhancement procedure. Such cameras are now modified by removal of the factory IR-blocking and dust-removal filters and readjustment of the sensor position. This not only maxi-

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Image 1

mizes the spectral response of the camera, but also minimizes the internal reflections which are often seen in images of bright objects.

To tailor the spectral response for a specific application, Hutech provides the optional EOS Mount Filter Adapter (MFA) accessory, which allows IDAS 37mm filters to be inserted between the telescope or camera lens and the viewing mirror/image sensor cavity. Compatible

Image 2

Canon camera systems include the 5D Mark II, 7D, 50D, T1i, and the T2i.

Image 1 shows the older spectrum enhanced system with Type-1b filter and Image 2 shows the new reflection-suppressed, performance-enhanced system with UIBAR-MFA filter installed.

For more information of Hutech/ Canon Performance-Enhanced DSLRs, please visit www.sciencecenter.net/ hutech/canon.

INDUSTRYNEWS

ASTROZAP Offers the Convenience of a Dew-Shield Cap We are constantly surprised at how many steps we create for ourselves in the start-up and shut-down stages of observing or imaging sessions. Even those of us who enjoy the convenience of a relatively permanent observatory setup, still must repeat a list of steps before and after each session. For those who use Schmidt-Cassegrain or other corrector-plateequipped scopes, these steps include removing the end cap and installing the dew shield only to remove the dew shield and install the end cap – night after night after night.

Astrozap comes to the rescue with a complete series of DewShield Caps that allow the user to simply leave the Astrozap Dew Shield on the scope because the cap fits the dew shield. Leave it to Astrozap to create such a straightforward solution to a repetitive problem! Astrozap standard dew shield caps are made from 18gauge aluminum and are powder coated in a textured black finish. Prices start at $30US.

For more information of this and other Astrozap accessories, visit www.astrozap.com.

APOGEE IMAGING SYSTEMS A New Name and a New State-of-the-Art Facility In response to rapidly increasing demand for its products, Apogee Imaging Systems has moved to a new state-of-the-art facility that more than doubles its production capacity.

The new facility not only increases its production capabilities, but also offers greater space for its engineering and business departments as well. While all telephone numbers and online contact methods remain the same, the company’s physical address has moved to 151 North Sunrise Avenue, Suite 902, Roseville, CA 95661.

Apogee began business in 1993 as Apogee Instruments and has since served as a leading supplier of cooled-CCD cameras. In addition to upgrading its physical plant, the

company recently elected to change its corporate name to one more descriptive of the range of services it provides and is now known as Apogee Imaging Systems.

Said AIS President, Wayne Brown, “Our clients will continue to see a company with a focus on innovation, reliability, and customer support.

This is an exciting time for all of us here at Apogee, but we are mindful that our excitement for our future and pride in our accomplishments is derived only from the satisfaction of our customers.”

Since its founding, AIS has supplied cooled-CCD cameras to many disciplines

within the scientific community. Its imaging systems are currently in use in more than 50 countries and Apogee cameras have orbited the earth on past missions and will once again attain orbit in June of 2012.

For more information please visit www.ccd.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

MDA-TELESCOOP Announces Telescope Drive Master The ATT team is always humbled when confronted with evidence that this magazine has become a truly international publication and such was again the case when subscriber Attila Madai wrote on October 27 to announce a new product line. Madai serves as CEO of MDATelesCoop LLC, headquartered in the Budapest suburb of Erd, Hungary, which has developed an innovative solution to telescope-mount tracking control.

Madai says of the new Telescope Drive Master that, “This device does not just reduce, but does completely eliminate all of the periodic and non-periodic tracking error of your equatorial mount. You do not need to have a conventional autguider system; you do not need to spend valuable observing time with unproductive guide-star hunting; just expose, expose, and expose all the night...”

One of the most difficult problems in

astrophotography and scientific CCD measuring techniques of “instrumental” astronomical observations is the sufficiently accurate tracking ability of various mounts. Even the most precise mounts designed especially for advanced amateurs have some periodic and non-periodic tracking errors. As a result, photograph exposure lengths must be limited. These limitations obviously depend on other factors as well, such as focal length of the telescope, horizontal altitude of the object observed due to graduation of atmospheric refraction, correct polar alignment of the mount, etc.

Moreover, these factors have rather complex interrelations to each other; e.g. you can use shorter focal lengths to reduce star trailing on the surface of the CCD sensor to com-

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

include finer focus with the standard Moonlight focuser or optional Feathertouch focuser.

Finer thread pitch gives precise Collimation of the secondary and primary mirrors. Optical support components have been stiffened to hold critical collimation, plus more!

pensate for mount tracking errors.

To mitigate such factors, the most common solution is “auto-guiding.”

Another tool often used to reduce the effect of the periodic tracking error is PEC (Periodic Error Correction) software.

Although both can remarkably improve the tracking accuracy of your mount, each presents specific challenges. For example, it is sometimes quite laborious to find a guide star that is located in the observed object’s region in the sky and that is also bright enough for accurate tracking processes.

More difficult is finding two tracking periods with exactly the same shapes such as required for optimum efficiency of the PEC algorithm.

The bottom line: the better the tracking accuracy of your mount, the better the imaging possibilities you have. The Telescope Drive Master (TDM) promises an improved solution to drive accuracy and is applicable to almost any mass-produced equatorial mount. The TDM consists of two parts: (1) a high-precision encoder unit that attaches directly to the RA shaft of the mount and (2) an electronic controller that receives signals from the encoder unit and sends control instructions to the mount’s driver via its auto-guider input connector.

The system is reported to produce tracking accuracy of approximately 1.0 acr-second, depending on the mechanical features of the specific mount and the tracking-correction speed of its driver.

The TDM is compatible with any controller unit that has a standard auto-guider input and its tracking correction speed can be set at 0.5x sidereal speed, or lower. The system includes mechanical adapters for

NEWPRODUCTS attachment of the encoder unit to a growing list of equatorial mounts, including SkyWatcher EQ6, Orion Atlas EQ-G, SkyWatcher HEQ5, Orion Sirius EQ-G, Celestron CGE and Advanced GT, AstroPhysics 1200, Losmanday G11, Meade LX200GPS and LX200 Classic, Meade LXD 75, Vixen GP-DX and GP-D2, and any type of Fornax mount.

A second version of the TDM was more recently introduced that facilitates overwriting autoguider pulses with the TDM so that the TDM merely assists in keeping the tracking speed strictly on sidereal or average King rate. This approach

allows the user to select a relatively dim guide star and still maintain accurate tracking. On the other hand, the autoguider can still assist the TDM counter atmospheric refraction encountered during long exposures. The result is an ideal symbiosis for maintaining accurate tracking. TDM v2 also allows reduction of correction speeds from the 0.25x minimum provided by TDM v1 to an even finer 0.15x.

The TDM is available exclusively overseas through Meade Europe/Bresser and Explore Scientific in North America. For more information, visit www.telescopedrivemaster.com.

BOREN-SIMON 2.8-8 ED PowerNewt Astrograph

The Boren-Simon 2.8-8 ED PowerNewt Astrograph was designed solely for fast imaging using DSLR or CCD cameras. Utilizing Boren-Simon’s PowerNewt Reducer Corrector (PRC), the 8-inch scope clocks in at a blazing f/2.8.

The package includes the 2.8-8 ED PowerNewt Astrograph Optical Tube Assembly (OTA); 8x50 finder scope and brackets; a low-profile dual-speed focuser; a pair of tube rings; 2-inch extender for visual use; 1.25-inch collimation cap; Vixen-style dovetail; built in mirror cooling fan; battery holder for the mirror fan; and PowerNewt Reducer Corrector (disassembled from the focuser) packed with 2 plastic caps.

The scope features an oversized second-

ary mirror, 1/12 wave mirror optics, and a 4element corrector. The corrector and focuser/drawtube have been modified and then integrated to seamlessly work together.

Field correction of more than 25-mm diameter allows ASP-C size chips (Canon EOS) to be corrected to the edge of the field.

Canon EOS DSLRs are plug-and-shoot no adapters nor any special preparations are needed. The 55-mm distance from the corrector to the camera can be used for a filterwheel or other accessories.

Collimation is achieved with the 2.8-8 ED just as with any Newt, using whatever method the user is comfortable with.

Corrector out, collimator in, and you're all set.

For visual used the Boren-Simon 2.8-8 ED can be used as an f/4 (corrector out) or f/8 using the optional 2-inch Barlow lens.

The Simon’s PowerNewt Reducer Corrector also serves as a focal reducer, which dictates accurate distances set up between the focal plane and main mirror.

The focuser is made to size and is fit with the right dents placing the PowerNewt RC at exactly the correct location, while keeping it from any accidental fall into the OTA. There is a possibility that the PowerNewt Reducer Corrector might work with another Newt, but chances are that it won't.

For more information visit please visit www.powernewts.com.

SPECIFICATIONS Aperture Focal Length Focal Ratio Mirrors Mirror Optics Corrector Focuser OTA Weight OTA Length Optical Tube Finderscope Tube Rings Warranty

8-inch/200mm 22.36-inch/568mm f/2.84 > 93% Reflectivity 1/12 Wave Optics 4 Element Multi-Coated 10:1 dual speed 50-mm travel 16.7 lbs/7.6kg 27.55-inch/70cm Rolled Steel Enamel Finish 8x50 Crosshaired With Bracket Steel, Hinged, Felt-lined 1 year warranty

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

GERD NEWMAN Aurora Flatfield Panels Gerd Newman’s new version of the Aurora Flatfield Panels is an advancement of the well known EF flatfield foils which have been designed to facilitate flatfield needs for astrophotography.

What are Aurora Flatfield Panels?

They are a light source for taking flatfield images. They feature a thin electroluminescence foil which emits light after an external voltage is applied to it.

The benefits of Aurora Flatfield Panels include a perfectly even illuminated surface; broad, continuous spectrum (can be used with emission line filters); and are lightweight and easy to handle. A power inverter for 12V and 110/240V is available. The panels are well suited for stationary and mobile use.

The flatfield panels are mounted in a very rigid frame which consists of unbreakable plastic with an extra protection around the edge. The panel is perfectly sheltered during transport and travel. The opaque front plate provides even more uniform brightness than the foil alone. For very fast systems users can reduce the brightness by placing sheets of paper in front of the foil which are kept very stable by the flatfield panel’s rigid frame.

The Aurora Flatfield Panels are offered in round diameters which are matched to the many sizes of commercially available telescopes. Standard sizes include: D 160mm - for instruments up to 6-inch; D 220mm - for instruments up to 8-inch; D 315mm - for instruments up to 12-inch; and D 420mm for instruments up to 16-inch. Custom, larger foils up to 60cm are available upon request. Gerd can also fabricate panels up to 1.5m diameter.

The light from the panel looks blueish/white. Some foils from other sources appear to be white to the human eye, but the light is made of discrete emission lines which can reduce effec-

tiveness for narrowband emission line filters. The Aurora panels do not utilize emission lines and offer very broad, continuous emission across the whole spectrum which enhances their effectiveness using narrowband emission line filters.

The Aurora Flatfield Panels are well suited for the work with DSLR and cooled CCD cameras, working with Broadband or RGB. The brightness of the panels is matched to the work with filters. When working with light from the whole spectrum (no filter or only UV+IR blocker) the brightness of the panel will need to be reduced. The brightness can be controlled electronically by reducing the input voltage of the inverter (12V inverter only). If the panel is still too bright for a user’s setup (very fast instruments and/or very sensitive camera), one or more sheets of paper can be placed into the frame between the white plexiglass and the foil. The brightness is very even across the whole surface.

The panel works well for the most critical observations, even photometry or spectroscopy.

The Aurora Flatfield Panels are

shipped as complete ready-to-use sets.

Each set consists of the mounted foil, the matching inverter, all cables and a printed manual.

For more information please visit www.gerdneumann.net.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS SkyQuest XX12g and XX14g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonians Orion’s latest combination of bigaperture performance and convenient portability comes to life in the form of the Orion SkyQuest XX12g and XX14g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonian telescopes.

Orion’s most advanced Dobsonians yet are geared up for extensive exploration of the night sky, with fully motorized GoTo and tracking drives providing automated pointing to any of the over 42,000 celestial objects in the hand controller's database.

Orion designed the scopes’ optical tube and base with portability in mind.

The truss tube can be divided into a small front tube section including the secondary mirror and focuser, rear tube section housing the primary mirror and cell, and the four truss-pole pairs. Orion has made the base collapsible for easy notools-required disassembly into four separate, smaller pieces for easier transport.

The separated component pieces of the scopes’ tubes and bases can be stored without taking up an excessive amount of space in the home, and can be transported in virtually any standard-sized car to that favorite dark-sky observing site.

Both scopes feature telescope optical tubes which employ a rigid 8-pole truss design that virtually eliminates flexure observed in 6- and 3-pole designs.

Stability of the assembled Dobsonian base is enhanced by its 1-inch thick com-

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

posite wood base panels, which are laminated with water-resistant black melamine.

GoTo and tracking motors are preinstalled on the base panels, making assembly easy. Once the tube and base are assembled, the optical tube attaches to the base with a dovetail trunnion and locks securely in place with a single captive hand knob. Since all base and trusstube hardware is captive, owners don’t have to worry about leaving a screw behind after a long night of viewing in the field.

The scopes’ GoTo systems automatically slews the telescopes to any of the over 42,000 celestial objects offered from the hand controller’s intuitive menus, once a simple alignment process is completed. Altitude and azimuth motors automatically track the motion of the target object so it stays put in the eyepiece field of view for extended visual study.

For anyone who has spent an evening manually tracking objects with a Dobsonian this is a welcome upgrade.

Forgiving of bumps and nudges, the scopes feature closed-loop electronics allowing manual repositioning or slewing of the telescope tube without losing alignment of the GoTo system. In fact, depending on a users’ preference, owners can choose to operate the telescope in

either GoTo or auto-tracking mode.

The XX12g features 12 inches (305mm) of aperture and a fast f/4.9 focal ratio. The 12-inch diffraction-limited parabolic primary mirror is crafted from low thermal expansion glass for speedy ambient temperature acclimation and optimal visual performance. The included cooling accelerator fan helps hasten temperature acclimation of the primary mirror (requires 8 D-cell batteries or other 12V power source, not included). The primary mirror features enhanced reflectivity aluminum coatings which provide 94% reflectivity and a protective quartz overcoat.

The XX14g offers 14 inches (356mm) of aperture and a fast f/4.6 focal ratio. It features an innovative convex-back diameter primary mirror and a newly engineered mirror cell, which weigh 10 lbs. less than Orion’s standard 14-inch mirror and cell, yielding faster ambient temperature equilibration times so owners get optimal visual results more quickly. The mirror cell accepts six specially designed threaded counterweights (included) to optimize balance.

The XX12g and XX14g are outfitted with a thorough set of included accessories. A 35-mm DeepView 2-inch eyepiece provides wide 56-degree views and a 12.5-mm illuminated Plossl 1.25-inch eyepiece helps optimize GoTo system alignment. A collimation cap, removable eyepiece rack, 12V DC power cable and RS-232 cable are also included.

A 12V power supply (sold separately) is required for use of the GoTo system and tracking motors. A 12V battery pack is included (requires 8 D-cells: not included) to power the Cooling Accelerator Fan. Also included is a complimentary Starry Night Special Edition software CD-ROM and SkyTheater DVD. The dual-speed

NEWPRODUCTS

2-inch Crayford focuser, with its 11:1 fine-focus ratio, allows for precise details of any celestial denizen.

Both 2-inch and 1.25inch telescope eyepieces can be used, thanks to the included 1.25-inch step-down adapter.

Available accessories include a specially designed Light Shroud which significantly enhances the viewing experience by blocking distracting peripheral light from entering the light path, optimizing contrast and brightness.

An optional custom Orion Padded Case Set is available for the optical tube. It includes a padded case for the top tube section including a secondary mirror cover, a padded case for the bottom tube section, and a roll-up case to safely hold

the truss-pole assemblies.

The total assembled weight (including accessories) for the XX12g is 118 lbs.

The assembled optical tube is 56-inches long by 14-inches wide and weighs 49.5 lbs. The bottom tube section is 26-inches long by 14-inches wide and weighs 34.3 lbs. The top tube section is 8-inches long by 14-inches wide and weighs 9.6 lbs. The four truss pole assemblies are 24-inches long by 4.6-inches wide by 1.75-inches high. The t o t a l weight of the four

truss pole assemblies is 5.6 lbs. The base is 28-inches wide by 33.5-inches high and weighs 71 lbs.

The XX14g assembled weight (including accessories) is 140 lbs. The assembled optical tube is 61-inches long by 16.5-inches wide and weighs 65.5 lbs.

The bottom tube section is 26-inches long by 14-inches wide and weights 35.4 lbs. The top tube section is 8.5-inches long by 16.5-inches wide and weighs 9.4 lbs. The four truss pole assemblies are 33.5-inches long by 4.5-inches wide by 1.75-inches high.

Total weight of the 4 truss pole assemblies and captive assembly is 6.95 lbs. The assembled base is 30.5-inches wide by 31.50-inches high and weighs 75.5 lbs.

The scopes come with a one-year limited warranty. The XX12g is offered for $1,899.95US and the XX14g is $2,399.95US. For more information visit www.oriontelescopes.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

DEEP SPACE PRODUCTS T-REX Apex Alt-Azimuth T-Mount Deep Space Products has announced that it is now the exclusive dealer in North America for the new T-REX Apex AltAzimuth T-Mount.

The T-Rex was developed Barry Gooley, owner of Kokusia Kohki in Kyoto, Japan, It is the a excellent visual observing platform for refractors, reflectors, and SCTs. The T-REX has its basic design rooted in the more simple T-mount designs that are popular as graband-go mounts for smaller OTAs, primarily refractors. However, the T-REX offers an enhanced level of functionality as a smart, strong, precise and well-made mount that easily supports many types of OTAs up to the popular Celestron C-11.

While the basic T-REX is ready to use out of the box, because of the built-in encoders owners can initially order or easily add digital setting circles to provide the ability to select from thousands of items to which

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

the T-REX can precisely point. Slow motion controls on each axis allow the ability to pan the telescope’s field of view with precision and control, without shaking the telescope. For longer sweeps of the sky, a quick release of the clutch handle on each axis allows the telescope to move freely by hand to any point in the sky, while the DSC is keeping track of

where the telescope is pointing.

The T-REX features very smooth dual axis 360 degree slow motion gears controlled by long and easy to grip aluminum handles, built in and well protected 4096 count internal encoders, Vixen style dovetail compatible saddle plate with oversized locking knobs, and Takahashi-compatible mounting hole spac-

NEWPRODUCTS ing. The high profile “pier” body design helps raise a telescope’s focuser to a comfortable viewing height.

The mount is available in black or white exterior finishes and is available with a strong stainless steel tripod (if purchasers have an Atlas or CGEM mount or a Vixen SX-HAL130 tripod, they can use the tripod they already if they choose to do so).

Deep Space Products offers the following upgrades with the T-REX including Sky Commander XP4 Flash, Argo Navis DSC, NGC-MAX DSC, 55-cm flexible slowmotion handles, ADM dual Losmandy/Vixen style saddle plate, 20-cm tripod pier extension tube, 3/8-inch tripod adapter plate, and a soft carrying case that holds the T-REX on the tripod so that disassembly is unnecessary.

The T-REX alt azimuth mount head is manufactured with high precision in Japan with great attention to detail throughout and is designed for a long working life of lowmaintenance dependability. Enhanced DSC object acquisition accuracy is an added bene-

fit of the precision manufacturing and, coupled with accurate placement of DSC initialization marks at 0 degrees and 90 degrees on the altitude axis, means that users can spend more time finding and observing objects, not searching for them.

The T-REX is simple to use and designed to be virtually maintenance and adjustment free. The T-REX mount attaches to (and releases from) the tripod with just one handtightened lock bolt. Any telescope with a Vixen compatible dovetail plate (or a Losmandy compatible dovetail plate if the ADM dual saddle is used) easily mates to the T-REX`s saddle plate, locking in place by tightening two hand bolts. The mount is quickly balanced in the altitude axis simply by moving the OTA forward or backward as necessary.

Simply plug the (optional) digital setting circle readout module into the altitude and azimuth encoder jacks on the side of the TREX body, initialize it on start up taking advantage of the initialization markers, and the DSC is then good to go. The 4096 step

encoders are direct coupled for a 1:1 gear ratio [T-REX`s encoder parameters are (azimuth) AZ -04096 and (altitude) AL+04096]. This simple data input (along with any additional inputs required by the particular DSC used) is all that is needed for the readout module to accurately find objects.

The tension applied to each axis of the TREX as it rotates is controlled by a clamp handle on each axis. Slightly tightening the clamp handles compensates for small balance variations. As conditions require, the clamp handles can be left completely unclamped for fast manual slewing, or cinched down tightly to firmly lock that axis in a set position. With each axis 1/8 to 1/4 clamped, the slow motion controls engage to apply precise and smooth slewing during medium and high magnification observing sessions. Gear tension is factory adjusted to provide smooth rotation under most conditions, but users can also adjust it to provide slightly more or less tension.

Pricing for the T-Rex varies upon configuration. For more information please visit www.deepspaceproducts.com.

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NEWPRODUCTS

ASTRONOMIK New Camera Tilting Unit (CTU) As the chips of modern CCD cameras become larger and larger it can become difficult to align the chips exactly perpendicular to the optical axis and parallel to the focal plane. In some cases, the sensor may not be mounted perfectly in the camera housing which can result in a sharp part of the field with less sharp areas on one or both sides.

The new Astronomik Camera Tilting Unit (CTU) will help solve this problem as it allows users to adjust the tilt of the focal plane very easy and precisely. Some other similar units have three pairs of push/pull screws at 120 degrees which can be difficult to adjust.

At the heart of the Astronomik CTU are three radial screws with a very light cone in the front. There is a very small amount of separation between these cones in the two parts of the CTU. A whole turn of a screw corresponds to a separation of only 0.2mm. Due to this fine movement and the large outer diameter of the CTU, it is quite easy to adjust the position of the sensor to less that 1/100mm.

The overall tightness of the CTU is very high and both sides of the CTU are held together with three strong sets of disk springs. These springs provide a very strong force and keep everything together.

When mounting a camera with a weight of less than 3kg to the CTU, users shouldn’t have to tighten the set crews (two for

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

each radial adjustment screw). For use with heavy imaging outfits the set screws are available, but it is unlikely that even heavy camera assemblies will need them.

The CTU will solve virtually all problems with a tilted focal plane of a camera or scope. The CTU comes in two sizes.

The large CTU-2.7AP has female 2.7inch Astro-Physics threading on both sides, and the smaller CTU-M48 which has female M48x0.75 threads on both sides. A wide variety of adapters are also available.

Technical details of the CTU include minimum thickness of 17.3mm, maximum travel of 1mm (both versions), an outer diameter of 119mm (CTU-2,7AP) and 99mm (CTU-M48).

For more information please visit www.astronomik.com.

NEWPRODUCTS

LUNT SOLAR SYSTEMS New LS230THa/PT and LS80T Lunt Solar Systems upcoming LS230THa/PT (Pressure Tuned) is a complete and dedicated Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope with an image scale of 3,366. Soon to become the largest aperture solar telescope currently available, Lunt plans for the scope to offer the highest level of performance ever produced in a solar scope.

The LS230THa/PT is a precision aligned refractor with a fully unobstructed 230-mm aperture. The 100% unobstructed system will perform to the highest level at both low and high magnifications. Utilizing advanced hi-contrast coatings and the new Lunt Doppler True Pressure Tuning system, the user will be able to experience an unparalleled level of visual and imaging performance.

The system is designed as a dedicated Hydrogen-alpha telescope. Unlike the smaller LS152THa, the system is not modular. The LS230THa/PT specifications include: 230-mm optical aperture (unobstructed); internal <0.7 angstrom etalon; Lunt Internal Pressure Tune (Doppler True Tuning); image scale of 3,366; focal length of 1610mm; f/7 ratio; and weighs in at approximately 70 lbs.

The system requires the B3400 straight-thru blocking filter installed in the focuser. Package accessories include a

L u n t Z o o m Eyepiece, Tele Vue Sol Searcher Sun Finder, 2-inch Starlight Instruments Feather Touch Focuser, mounting rings with 12-inch Losmandy style plate and carrying handle, and an aluminum finished hard case with fitted foam.

Pricing is $15,999US. Lunt will be producing a limited run of LS230Ts in the first part of 2011. Lunt has plans to release a DSII (internal double-stack) version and will release description, specifications, and pricing as it becomes available.

Advancing the intermediary category of daytime solar observing, Lunt Solar Systems’ new LS80T pressuretuned hydrogen-alpha telescope is a precision aligned ED refractor with a fully unobstructed 80mm optical aperture.

Featuring Lunt’s Doppler True Tuning technology for fine adjustment of the center wavelength, the new LS80T allows for research of the Sun’s disk and surface details at increased image scale.

The LS80Tha offers an internal etalon system with pressure tune

adjustment that allows an internal <0.7 Angstrom bandpass and has a focal length of 560mm and f/7 focal ratio. It offers an image scale of 408 which is calculated by the effective image size at the focal plain and the clear aperture of the scope The LS80T package is fully upgradeable with several options including the new Dual Internal Stack Etalon System (DSII). The DSII eliminates the need for an external doublestack etalon reducing cost and eliminating obstructions. The system is 100% unobstructed and the bandpass is reduced to <0.5 Angstroms.

The LS80T can be internally double stacked at time of purchase or anytime thereafter. Doublestacking provides a truly enhanced high-definition view of the Sun’s surface details. The LS80T does not need to be returned to the factory for doublestacking. The LS80T is priced according to the configuration and ordered accessories.

For more information please visit www.luntsolarsystems.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

FARPOINT ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH Announces Two New Dew-Control Accessories Farpoint Astronomical Research has added two new product to its growing stable of astronomical accessories.

Farpoint recently introduced the DriShield replacement end cap for all 8- to 16inch Meade and Celestron SchmidtCassegrain Telescopes (SCT). Each precision-formed ABS-plastic Dri-Shield incorporates a fully-rechargeable desiccant insert to absorb moisture that is often trapped between the stock end cap and the corrector plate.

If you are like most SCT users, you’ve occasionally had to cap an SCT while some

dew-deposited moisture was still evident on the corrector. You try to remember to allow the scope to dry before storing it, but it’s just too easy to forget to perform that critical step. Enter the Dri-Shield. The durable replacement cap will not break, dent, or wobble off of the front of your scope and its desiccant insert provides added protection against the dreaded effects of entrapped moisture.

Farpoint’s new Dew-Shield line of flexible dew shields rounds out its commitment to moisture prevention and protection. It’s made from the same tough ABS

plastic as Farpoint’s popular Bahtinov masks and features increased thickness of the interior flocking and a higher-quality dampening pad for greater durability and longer life. As with its new Dri-Shield, the Farpoint Dew-Shield is produced in sizes to fit Meade and Celestron SCTs in apertures ranging from 8 to 16 inches and is available with or without notches to accommodate dovetail and accessory plates.

Farpoint Astronomical Research products are available from a growing list of worldwide retailers. For more information, please visit www.farpointastro.com.

model. The second-generation design also now utilizes superior multi-coatings for greater-than-90% total light transmission that's more than 99.5% light transmission per surface.

The improved mechanical design features more-precisely machined individual focusers with built-in 1.25-inch filter threads on the outside of the eyepiece, which allows the observer to use virtually any standard telescope moon, nebula, or light pollution filters.

Larger prism clusters than the previous design mean the Gemini 25x100 WP-IF Mark II has a wider interpupilary range of 55mm to 73mm to accommodate more observers. Perhaps the biggest improvement is in the subjective “feel” of the binocular. Overall fit and finish is noticeably enhanced over the previous generation.

Eyeglass wearers will appreciate the generous eye relief of 17mm. Collimation can be adjusted by experienced users, if necessary. Keep in mind that these 18-inch long 25x100 binoculars and their resulting 11-pound weight will require a hefty mount, though the awe-inspiring perform-

ance will be worth it.

An added perk is that every Gemini Waterproof astronomy binocular comes with a deluxe heavy-duty carrying case with durable PVC armoring and aluminum trim. The cases are lined with soft, “eggcrate”-style foam for maximum protection.

The Gemini 25x100 WP-IF Mark II binocular is available now for the holiday season for just $399.95. Each binocular is covered by a two-year warranty and 30-day return policy.

For more information visit www.garrettoptical.com.

GARRETT OPTICAL Gemini 25x100 WP-IF Mk II – Binocular

Garrett Optical has recently updated their popular Gemini 25x100 WP-IF binocular introduced as the all-new Mark II version which benefits from numerous design improvements.

These are heavy-duty giant astronomy binoculars. The attractive rubber armoring and hefty all-metal CNC-machined and cast aluminum construction will last for many years to come. The optical quality measures up to that of the precision mechanics, which makes these excellent instruments for binocular astronomy.

Enhancements over the last generation include a new, advanced optical design featuring a 5-element eyepiece and f/4.65 focal ratio that yields better edge correction and center sharpness than the previous

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

The New Paracorr Type-2 Also Enhances Contrast, Resolution, and Limiting Magnitude!

By Mike Harvey

Let me begin by stating that this will not be a highly technical report. I’m not an optical physicist and just looking at most of the math makes my head hurt. What I am is simply an observer with over 30 years of experience at the eyepieces of a variety of large, high-quality telescopes. What I offer is not theory or conjecture – it’s merely an honest, unbiased report of actual observations in-thefield.

When Tele Vue introduced the original Paracorr, it provided the catalyst for major advancements in the fast-Newtonian revolution.

Suddenly, f/4.5 scopes became the norm.

While it’s easy and certainly accurate to say that much of the Paracorr’s popularity was due to the aesthetic improvement it provided for star images over a larger field of view, the less-obvious, but more important benefit was that it actually corrected the images by focus-

ing more light into the Airy discs and rendering a more cohesive image with greater detail and resolution. Observers who dismiss the Paracorr simply by saying that they are not bothered by coma miss this all-important point.

Recently, mirror makers have worked their art down to ratios of f/3.66 and f/3.3, and even f/3 and f/2.5 are being explored.

Concurrently, Tele Vue has introduced the Ethos 100-degree field eyepieces and the Paracorr Type-2 to bring large-aperture observing to a new level.

I think it’s important for users to understand that the true function of the Paracorr is to increase the diffraction-limited field of view; which it does – wonderfully! Over the years, the expectation has somehow become “pinpoint stars, edge-to-edge.” While it does deliver this type of performance with many

scopes and eyepieces, it’s not a universal constant. Due to the vagaries of telescope design, component quality, collimation, optical physics, and individual physiological idiosyncrasies, there will be differences. In other words, as the old slogan goes, “Your mileage may vary.”

Several years ago I purchased a 28-inch f/3.66 Starstructure Newtonian (Image 2) with an outstanding Steve Kennedy primary and found that the original Paracorr worked well with the Nagler eyepieces I preferred, even though it was not designed to perform at such a fast focal ratio. The old-faithful Paracorr even managed to acquit itself well when I upgraded to the remarkable Ethos line. But with the 21-mm Ethos at f/3.66 ratio, I could see that the limits were really being pushed, and in a session with a 24-inch f/3.3, it was clear that the limit had been exceeded.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE NEW PARACORR TYPE-2

Image 1

Enter the New Paracorr Type-2 I acquired my Paracorr Type-2 a few months ago and, along with Mike Zammit who builds the incredible Starstructure telescopes, have managed to test it extensively in several large, fast scopes. Without mak-

ing you wait until the end of this article, I can tell you that, in my opinion, the new Paracorr Type-2 represents an evolutionary improvement in observing that is no less dramatic than the Ethos eyepieces themselves!

Along the way, we discovered just how much each individual’s eyesight affects the performance of a given eyepiece in a given scope! We involved a number of fellow observers at the Chiefland Astronomy Village, in Chiefland, Florida, in the testing and found that one observer would remark that the stars were “pinpoint edge-to-edge” and another observer, using the same scopeplus-eyepiece combination, would complain about “flaring” or “coma” near the edge. Some observers could see the entire

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

field of view in an Ethos and some could not. What also became clear is that these differences in perception increased as focal ratios decreased.

As noted, some observers said they had to move their viewing eye around to see the edge of the field and that the stars were not always pinpoints. This variation in noted sharpness may be due more to a mismatch between the position of the observer’s eye pupil and the exit pupil of the eyepiece as the observer moves his or her head around to look at the edge of the field. Combine that with the fact that faster focal ratio systems require more critical pupil placement and it’s easy to see why these physiological variations make it extremely difficult for some to draw firm performance conclusions as to how fast a mirror system can be and still retain ideal edge performance from a given eyepiece.

But some observations were comparatively consistent. For example, most observers were completely satisfied with the 21-mm Ethos in the f/3.66 scope. In the f/3.3, however, most felt that the 17-mm Ethos was not only preferable, but perhaps perfectly matched.

All of this, though, deals with the aesthetics of the views. Here’s the real breakthrough: The new Paracorr Type-2 does such a magnificent job of eliminating coma and increasing the size of the diffractionlimited field of view that contrast, resolution and limiting magnitude are all enhanced! In fact, the increased contrast and the jet-black backgrounds were the first things every observer commented on.

And the magic that Al Nagler’s protégé, Paul Dellechiaie, has conjured up also dramatically improves longer focal ratio scopes as well. To our surprise, the Paracorr Type2 is not just for the new generation of fast Newtonians; anyone who uses the original visual Paracorr will want to seriously consider upgrading!

A typical example is the reaction of Margie Wright Image 1. With her 16-inch f/4.3 Starstructure, known far and wide for its outstanding optics, and a vintage Para-

THE NEW PARACORR TYPE-2 corr carrying a 21mm Ethos, the NGC-6960 section of the Veil Nebula was “nice” – even without a filter. Then I replaced her original Paracorr with the Paracorr Type-2. Her first word when looking through the same eyepiece at the same object was “Wow!” Her next words were “it’s like Image 2 you put in a UHC filter, only there’s no dimming!” Much more detail was seen in the Veil and the background was jet-black. She also commented that she could put stars right at the very edge of the field and they remained “perfect points.”

Moving to M27, the goal was to determine how many stars could be seen with direct vision inside the Dumbbell. With her old Paracorr and the 21-mm Ethos, I saw five and Margie saw three (there’s that difference in eyesight again). Again, changing to the Paracorr Type-2, Margie then saw five and I moved up to six and commented on how much more fine nebulosity was visible at the edges.

Every object we observed brought the same results. I suggested we move to M31 and see how prominent the NGC-206 star cloud was. With the older Paracorr, it was certainly visible, but with the new Paracorr Type 2 it was dramatically revealed and the dark lanes in M31 suddenly jumped out.

Several observers remarked that using the Paracorr Type-2 was “like adding more aperture.”

I later learned from Tele Vue that a contributing factor to our observations is that the Paracorr Type-2’s Tunable-Top has a greater range than the original. This, specifically, helps the 21-mm Ethos and the 31-mm Nagler reach their ideal, correct positions. All in all, using ultra-wide-field eyepieces, such as the Ethos with the Para-

corr Type-2 in a fast reflector achieves a synergy that brings a new level of dramatic visual observing experiences. By maximizing resolution, contrast, and true field, while reducing or eliminating ladder steps, the new Paracorr Type-2 is bringing us closer to the most exciting large-Dob viewing imaginable.

On the nuts and bolts side of things, the new Paracorr Type-2 is beautifully built, as you would expect from Tele Vue. The 1.25-inch adapter fits so perfectly and installs and removes so smoothly, it’s almost sexy, and the new model is much more user-friendly in the dark, at the scope. It is much easier to rotate from one position to another and the various settings are clearly and precisely marked. A complete chart of settings for every Tele Vue eyepiece is included. There are also now two set screws for the compression ring to better hold your eyepieces, which insures proper optical alignment. While the new design is slightly longer than the original model, there is no feel of additional bulk. Other than easier adjustment and the extra set screw, it’s hard to tell the difference in the dark.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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STARLIGHT INTEGRATED PARACORR SYSTEM

“SIPS is an essential requirement for anyone who owns a top-shelf, shortfocal-ratio scope and wants to extract the maximum performance and convenience from it.”

By John Vogt

While attending the 2010 Winter Star Party (WSP), I spent some time talking to Al Nagler about the new Paracorr Type-2 that Tele Vue would be delivering later this year.

The new Paracorr came about to address the significant amount of coma inherent in the current breed of sub-f/4.0 mirrors, focal ratios to which the original Paracorr was not optimized having been designed around a focal ratio of f/4.5.

Al indicated that by revising the optical design, Tele Vue was able to attain a diffraction-limited field of 40-mm diameter at f/3, with correction equivalent to that of an f/12 system. Compare that to the original Paracorr whose diffraction-limited field at f/4.5 spanned a diameter of only 16 mm.

In addition to the standard drop-in Paracorr Type-2 with Tunable Top reviewed elsewhere in this issue by Mike Harvey, Tele Vue entered into a collaboration with Starlight Instruments, making the new Paracorr Type-2 available as part of an integrated system with Starlight’s Feather Touch focuser, whereby the focuser also acts as the tunable top.

Al proceeded to show me a prototype of the new Starlight Integrated Paracorr System, or “SIPS” as it would later come to be known, that he had brought to WSP. I had a few opportunities to use a similar prototype Feather Touch-plus-Paracorr Type 2 system that was mounted onto a 20inch f/3 Starmaster Telescope brought by noted optician Mike Lockwood. The views with this combination were quite spectacular, both on deep-sky and planetary objects, a testament to both the Paracorr Type 2 and the Lockwood mirror. The telescopes I’ve built over the past 25-plus years have all been f/4 and used a Paracorr since its introduction in 1989. Having only tasted a sample of the new version really whetted my appetite to try the new integrated system on my own scope.

I was increasingly curious as to when the new Paracorr would be available as the year progressed. By the time July rolled around, I

figured I would give Al a call to find out how close Tele Vue was to releasing the new Paracorr, with the hopes of having one available in time for this year’s Stellafane convention. Al indicated that the drop-in Paracorr Type 2 would be available very shortly, while the SIPS would not be available until early September. He indicted he had an extra prototype available and asked Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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STARLIGHT INTEGRATED PARACORR SYSTEM

Image 1 - The primary components of the SIPS.

would I be interested in installing it on my 32-inch f/3.9 to obtain additional feedback from attendees at Stellafane. It took all of about a nanosecond to say “yes.”

Two weeks before Stellafane a package appeared at my door containing the as-yetunnamed SIPS, along with a special Tele Vue 1x spacing “eyepiece,” a 40-mm Tele Vue Plossl, and Al’s hand written instructions (see Image 1). Fortunately, the weather cooperated enough so that I could install and try out the system to make sure everything worked properly prior to the convention. I’ll describe the installation and setup further into this review.

Fast forward two weeks and, as luck would have it, the weather cooperated for all three nights of the Stellafane Convention, al-

Image 2 - SIPS components shown with the instructional CD.

lowing many hundreds of people, both seasoned and new observers alike, to view. As I indicated earlier in the review, the SIPS unit I had was a prototype, however, the differences between it and the production unit are a few minor mechanical changes – optically they are identical.

To fully test the new Paracorr’s enhanced correction abilities, I limited the eyepieces to the Tele Vue Ethos as their 100-degree field would help to show any residual coma at the edge of the field. The 21-mm assumed yeoman’s duty with the 17-mm and 13-mm Ethos filling in when warranted for smaller objects.

So how did the system perform? In a word, wonderfully! The field was peppered with tiny pinpoint stars all the way to the edge

of the 100-degree field. Best views for me were the Witches Broom of the Veil Nebula and also the Dumbbell nebula. It was incredible to see 52 Cygni at the edge of the field and the associated nebulosity sweep across the entire sharp, flat field to the opposite edge. The appearance of the Dumbbell seemingly suspended in space wasn’t too shabby either.

The reduced coma compared to the original Paracorr wasn’t the only thing that gave the above impressions; it was also the perception of increased contrast. The background just seemed darker with filamentary structure in the objects noted earlier standing out in bolder relief. A number of the other observers present over the three nights commented similarly. Was this due to just coma reduction?

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

STARLIGHT INTEGRATED PARACORR SYSTEM

Image 3 - The SIPS-equipped Feather Touch mounted on the authors big Dob.

Maybe the coatings and/or glass type are improved? I don’t know and will defer to Mike Harvey to explore this further in his report in this issue.

Virtually everyone who used the new system came away impressed, although I did have three people comment to me that they could not quite reach focus with the 21-mm Ethos. The position of the focal plane on my scope puts the 21-mm about 3/32 inch above the fully-racked-in focuser position regardless of what version Paracorr was used. This is really only a function of how I have the focal plane positioned on my scope and the nearsightedness of these observers.

Apart from the optical performance, the ability to switch eyepieces and not have to concern myself with the tunable-top settings associated with the original Paracorr made the SIPS worthwhile on that basis alone. This really comes into its own later at night when you start to go a bit brain dead and try to switch eyepieces – let me see, do I use the first setting or number 5, letter A or letter D? Ah, forget it, I’ll go to bed.

Another advantage I discovered of the SIPS is that eyepieces are easier to reach and they focus at higher elevations as the entire unit sits 2.3 inches higher than with just the focuser alone. On the downside, you must be careful while transporting the secondary cage as its much easier to hit something. As I tend to be a bit clumsy, I replaced the set screws on the base with nylon thumbscrews so I can just

Image 4 & 5 - Threading the SIPS lens assembly into the Feather Touch.

remove the SIPS for transport.

Production units of the SIPS finally became available about the middle of September and Starlight Instruments was kind enough to send me a unit to try out for this review. I was pleased to see that the fit and finish was at the same superb level as all of Starlight’s previous products, although I did encounter one minor problem. The SIPS has an O-ring mounted inside of the extension tube to prevent the Paracorr from vibrating loose during transport. I found it quite difficult to remove the Paracorr assembly initially as the fit of the O-ring was far too tight. By repeatedly removing and reinserting the Paracorr, I was able to loosen things up a bit. I think a better alternative would be to have the O-ring mounted directly on the Paracorr. It would avoid any fitment issues, while still preventing it from vibrating loose.

In any event, I installed the production unit on a friend’s 20-inch f/5 Obsession to see how much of a difference there would be at f/5 compared to the original Paracorr. As did my friend, I only noted a very modest improvement in coma at the edge of the field compared to the earlier version. We did notice the same type of contrast improvement noted earlier when using the Paracorr Type-2. The background just seemed darker – go figure.

The SIPS is available in two variations – one with and one without a Feather Touch focuser, to accommodate those who already

own a Feather Touch – and is designed to work only with a Feather Touch. So, if you own another brand of focuser, you’ll have to switch to a Feather Touch if you want to take advantage of the SIPS. Two things to note: if you have a very early Feather Touch (pre 2005), I would contact Starlight to verify that the focuser will work and also that the drawtube is a 1.5-inch-travel version. If the focus travel is longer than 1.5 inch, you run the risk of the drawtube striking the rear element of the Paracorr with eyepieces that focus far in like the 21-mm Ethos. Again, if in doubt, contact Starlight.

The basic SIPS is comprised of a threaded extension tube with knurled locking ring and the Paracorr lens assembly. Also included is a machined Delrin spacing tube for initial setup and a CD disc with a set of instructions stored in PDF format (see Image 2).

Installation of the SIPS is easy and straightforward. Since I already owned a Feather Touch focuser, I simply removed the focuser from its base and attached it to the top of the SIPS extension tube via three set screws. The entire assembly is then mounted back onto the flat base (see Image 3).

Next, the Paracorr lens assembly is threaded into the bottom of the extension tube from inside the secondary cage (see Images 4 and 5).

By the way, the lens assembly must be removed when the scope needs to be collimated

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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STARLIGHT INTEGRATED PARACORR SYSTEM

Image 6 & 7 - Delrin spacer with “frosted” tape installed.

in order to see what’s going on. The removal is easily accomplished as the threading is coarse with only a turn and a half of rotation required to remove the assembly. The proper position of the Paracorr lens assembly relative to the focal plane must next be determined.

The included Delrin spacer (Al’s new “eyepiece,” included with the prototype) needs to first have a piece of frosted tape stuck across the opening to form an imaging surface and is then fully inserted into the focuser drawtube until it contacts the rear surface of the Paracorr housing assembly (see Images 6 and 7).

The telescope is then pointed at either a bright star or the moon and positioned until an image, more than likely out of focus, appears on the frosted tape. The image then needs to be focused by loosening the knurled locking ring at the base of SIPS and rotating the entire unit to raise or lower it until the image is at its sharpest. I found it helpful to

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

use a magnifier, such as a low-power eyepiece, to see the image as the frosted tape tends to distort the view. I used the 40-mm Plossl Al supplied me for the prototype (although none is included with the production unit, any type of magnifier will suffice). Once the image is focused to your satisfaction, the locking ring is threaded down to the base and tightened to hold everything in position and the SIPS is ready to be used.

For those who enjoy bino-viewing and use a non Televue-bino-viewer you may be better off purchasing the removable tunabletop Paracorr. Otherwise, you’ll have to remove the SIPS and return the focuser to its original position to reach focus. For those that do own a Televue Binovue, there will soon be a 2-inch diameter extension adapter that attaches to the Binovue and accepts the 2x amplifier with no increase in magnification allowing you reach focus. You only need to remove the Paracorr lens assembly from the

Image 8 - The author shown with his SIPSequipped Dob at Stellafane 2010. Picture courtesy of Dave Mitsky.

SIPS to use it.

If you image with a DSLR you’ll want the removable Paracorr to accommodate the necessary 2+ inch back focus. This is accomplished by removing the tunable top and attaching the lens assembly directly to the camera body prior to mounting into the focuser. Lastly, for video astronomy, such as with a Mallincam, the addition of the SIPS should not change your ability to reach focus compared to your present setup.

Overall I’m quite impressed with the SIPS. The fit and finish is excellent and the ability to change eyepieces without any fuss enhances the enjoyment of the superb views afforded by the Paracorr Type 2. Although a bit pricey, I think the SIPS is an essential requirement for anyone who owns a top-shelf, short-focal-ratio scope and wants to extract the maximum performance and convenience from it. Most highly recommended!

Hotech SCA Field Flattener A Non-reducing Field Flattener that Works!

By Alan Smallbone

We are lucky enough to live in times when affordable refractors can be had for a reasonable price. This has made travel and widefield imaging telescopes widely available and at reasonable cost. One of the things that are often missing with some of these refractors, however, is a suitable field flattener. Many manufacturers make fine reducers – some work better than others – but very few make flatteners.

Many imagers like flatteners that do not also function as reducer so they can get a little bit of extra focal length, but most of those that are available are designed for a specific refractor and not for general use with other models.

After doing some searches online, I found only two general-purpose flatteners; this review is of one of them, the Hotech SCA Field Flattener.

The SCA Field Flattener is designed for refractors ranging from f/5 to f/8, which will accommodate most of the common refractors on the market today. The Hotech flattener attaches to the scope via a 2-inch drawtube. The

camera connection is a standard T-thread interface.

What makes this device unique is the “SCA” feature; it is the Self-Centering Adapter that Hotech has cleverly designed to counter the “slop” that would otherwise occur between the flattener and the drawtube into which it is inserted. The user inserts the adapter into the drawtube and then turns a ring that causes expansion bands on the adapter to expand out and center the device in the drawtube. More information and pictures of the device can be found on the Hotech USA website, www.hotechusa.com.

The SCA was unique enough that it was patented, and now it seems there are other manufacturers out there attempting to duplicate the design and hoping to jump on the self-centering bandwagon – just something to keep in mind when you see ads for this kind of centering feature from other sources.

I was at first a bit skeptical of the flattener, given the many optical devices that do not live up to expectations, but after a few email mes-

sages to David Ho, its designer, I decided to give it a try and ordered one. I was concerned about just how flat the field really was and whether the flattener would work with the specific combination of my scope and camera.

But, I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality of the flattener when I received it, and was impressed with its overall design and fit and finish – so far, so good!

Focuser drawtubes were originally designed to simply hold eyepieces and to allow for them to be changed quickly; they were not specifically developed with imaging in mind.

Therefore, many manufacturers did not hold to close tolerances and whatever is inserted in the focus drawtube is simply held in place by one or two setscrews, which is fine for viewing and generally gives a secure enough hold for eyepieces used for visual work.

However, when imaging, all of this changes. Any misalignment or tilt of the accessory inserted into the focus drawtube can cause aberrations in the image, and the average camera assembly weighs far more than even a Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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HOTECH SCA FIELD FLATTENER

Image 1: The Hotech SCA Field Flattener is attached to a Borg 125SD equipped with a Feather Touch focuser and supports a QSI583ws camera via two 10-mm spacers.

large eyepiece, so more secure and reliable attachment is needed. Because of these concerns, I usually prefer to use threaded adapters to attach cameras to a scope as this helps to

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

eliminate flex, especially when using the 2inch drawtube.

When testing the Hotech SCA Field Flattener, I attached a 2-inch drawtube to the back

of my Borg 125SDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Feather Touch focuser and inserted the flattener with its adaptor. I was pleasantly surprised at how well and easily the adaptor centered the device in the drawtube and also with the security of the attachment. With the adapter, tightening the thumbscrews on the drawtube did not cause any tilt or misalignment. Image 1 shows the SCA Field Flattener attached to the Feather Touch focuser with my Quantum Scientific Imaging QSI583ws camera attached to the flattener. This flattener requires a spacing of 55 mm from the attachment point to the sensor plane, which is a common spacing for DSLRs as well. The QSI583ws has 35 mm of back-focus, so I attached two 10-mm extension tubes to get the necessary additional 20 mm and I was ready to image.

The Borg 125SD is designed at f/6. I have an f/3.9 reducer and an f/5 reducer from Borg; while these are both fine reducers, I really wanted a little more reach and that is why I decided to get this non-reducing flattener.

So, after running some FocusMax v-curves and getting the focus set, I wanted to see how

HOTECH SCA FIELD FLATTENER

Image 2a: A close-up of four corners of a test image produced using the Hotech flattener.

well it performed.

The first order of business was to determine the actual focal length and see if the flattener had added any reduction or extension from the native focal length. I have seen some flatteners actually magnify the image slightly.

I calculated the actual focal length using a plate solve, and found that it came out to 752 mm, within 2 mm of the theoretical focal length.

This was promising. The next order of business was to look and see if it provided a truly flat field.

All imagers seek to have perfectly round stars from edge-to-edge across an imaging frame. With the advent of larger sensors, this has become more and more difficult to achieve and can really push the limits of some optical designs. There are many types of aberrations, but most are usually more prominent in the corners of the frame. One is color aberration, which can occur in non-apochromatic scopes; this is commonly evident around stars as fringing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; typically blue or purple color rings.

There is not a lot an imager can do about this, other than getting well corrected optics or spending a lot of time in post processing.

Another common aberration distorts stars so they look like little comets. This can be caused by guiding errors or mount misalign-

Image 2b: The entire frame from which the corner images shown in Image 2a were taken.

ment, which usually cause streaking across the whole image, but is something that the imager can control with some fine tuning.

Star distortions can also appear in the cor-

ners of an image, sometimes just in one or two corners; these are usually caused by tilt â&#x20AC;&#x201C; again something the imager can correct with fine tuning.

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HOTECH SCA FIELD FLATTENER competent flattener.

A quick look at the corners of my test image showed that the Hotech flattener yielded a very nice looking “flat image.”

In other words, the stars were nice and round and not distorted, even in the corners of the image.

See Image 2a for a close up of the four corners of this image, which is “raw” single Image 3: Flat-field plot produced by CCDInspector using the frame without any Hotech flattener. processing. Image Still another type of aberration can look 2b shows the entire frame. After looking at like comets radiating toward the center of the this I was quite happy and very impressed; so image from each corner. This is most comfar the flattener had lived up to the claims! monly caused by not having a “flat field,” The next test was to do some serious imwhich means that the image shows field curaging! After taking a night’s worth of images, vature from the optical design. This last is the I ran all the frames through a very useful protype of aberration that can be corrected by a gram called CCDInspector. This program will

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

analyze frames for flatness and curvature, and has some other useful tools. The plot the program produced says it all; the field was very, very flat all the way across and through all of the images. This flat-field plot is shown in Image 3.

This plot was produced from all the images taken on a single night. As you can see by the almost-even solid-blue color, there is not much change in the shape of the stars across the field. The Full Width Half Maximum (commonly referred to as the “FWHM”; it expresses the width of an object that lacks sharp edges) did not vary much across the whole frame. Such results are consistent with a well-corrected, flat field without any obvious signs of distortion. A stack of the images and processed as a final image is shown in Image 4.

Well, after this test run I was a very pleased. The flattener lived up to the claims and now I have the ability to image at the native focal length of my Borg 125SD! Overall, I found the Hotech SCA Field Flattener to be a well-made, well-designed unit and I would

HOTECH SCA FIELD FLATTENER recommend it. The coatings on the optics do not add any aberrations, and the flattener provides a very crisp and clear image all the way across the frame of the image.

My only complaint is that Hotech does not currently offer a version of the flattener in a larger diameter. The T-thread interface is a nice one, and certainly very popular, but it will cause some vignetting with a largersensor camera, so it would be helpful if a version of the flattener was also available in a larger diameter. Of course, making large-diameter optics is expensive, which is certainly a consideration, but hopefully Hotech will explore this option in the future.

The current Hotech SCA Field Flattener is reasonably priced and well-suited for a large part of the imaging market, including most DSLRs and CCD cameras, such as the QSI583ws that I use. So, if you have been troubled by field curvature in your images and are using one of the many compatible cameras, you should certainly consider investing in one.

Image 4: This final image was processed from a stack of images using the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Borg 125SD at its native focal length, the Hotech flattener, and a QSI583ws camera.

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The Tele Vue 3.7-mm Ethos-SX A View from Space...in Your Driveway

By Erik Wilcox

Having reviewed the entire Tele Vue Ethos line of eyepieces over the last year, I was almost convinced that the mechanical and technical limits of wide-field eyepiece design had finally been achieved. From the 21-mm down to the 6-mm, the Ethos represent more than just a revolutionary line of eyepieces; they truly redefine amateur astronomy.

I’ve often wondered what it would take to recreate the energy and excitement that once existed during the days of the Apollo missions. What new product or idea might

come along to excite young people and interest greater numbers in astronomy? Sadly, it seems that some would rather look at a book filled with full-color Hubble Space Telescope images or at space animation on a computer screen than look through a telescope. But if there is a product that has the potential to get just about anyone excited about amateur astronomy, it may be the Ethos line of eyepieces.

Of course, picture books and computer animation can’t compare with the feeling of seeing something for yourself in real-time, and though I confess to searching for faint fuzzies I can barely see with averted vision, it’s the showpiece objects and star-filled swaths of sky that tend to get a “Wow!” from the general public. And the Ethos eyepieces evoke that “Wow!” from even the most seasoned and experienced amateur astronomers, no matter what object is in the field of view (FOV).

It makes sense that the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX was inspired by Al Nagler’s work designing the Lunar Excursion Module (or “LEM”) Simulator Optics for NASA over

four decades ago. Standing a foot away from the LEM window and watching the simulated lunar surface pass by, it is said that the immense 110-degree view was what inspired Al Nagler to begin considering “Ultra-Wide Angle” eyepieces like the Tele Vue Naglers.

With Al’s inspiration, Tele Vue Designer Paul Dellechiaie, who designed the rest of the Ethos line, pushed things even farther this time around with the 3.7-mm EthosSX. It took 45 years to recreate that 110-degree view through an eyepiece that would maintain Tele Vue’s standards of correction across the entire field, but it appears that that’s just what they have managed to accomplish with the SX. Getting into the basic specs, the 3.7mm Ethos-SX features a 110-degree apparent field of view (AFOV), 15 mm of eye relief, and can be used in either 2-inch or 1.25-inch modes. But the specs only tell part of the story. The 3.7-mm Ethos-SX is an extremely well-thought-out eyepiece. First, it comes with a 2-inch adapter unlike any I have ever seen. The adapter features threads on the inside of the unit, which cleverly screw onto the 1.25-inch filter threads on the actual eyepiece. This means that there are no visible threads or marks on the outside of the eyepiece. The 3.7-mm Ethos-SX can be used in either 1.25-inch or 2-inch mode, and using it is entirely comfortable in either.

There are no setscrews to remove (and lose); simply a well-fitting adapter that seems more like it was specifically designed as an integral Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE TELE VUE 3.7-MM ETHOS-SX

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part of the eyepiece. I found this to be an incredibly clever design feature; leave it to Tele Vue to come up with something so elegant and yet so simple.

However, the adapter performs an even larger function than just allowing the eyepiece to be used in different modes. In the 2inch mode, the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX is parfocal with the 10-mm and 13-mm Ethos when they are used in their 2-inch modes.

With the adapter removed, the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX in 1.25-inch mode is parfocal with many Tele Vue Naglers, Panoptics, Radians, Plossls, and even Nagler Zoom eyepieces. If you have eyepieces with green lettering in your eyepiece case (and who doesn’t?), chances are that the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX is parfocal with many of them.

Though the Ethos is physically large for a high-power eyepiece (just over 6 inches long, with or without the adapter attached), it weighs just 1.1 pounds. Owners of Dobsonians will appreciate the relatively light weight of all the Ethos eyepieces compared to many of the 3-pound monsters out there that can cause scopes to nosedive toward the horizon. Additionally, when using it with my small refractor, I found that it was light enough that it didn’t cause the focuser to slip, even when pointed at the zenith.

Under the stars, I found the Ethos-SX to be a real joy to use. Like the rest of the Ethos line, the eye relief is perfect and the soft fold-down eyeguard (the same one used on most Tele Vue eyepieces) is comfortable.

In terms of magnification, the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX gives me 151X in my 80-mm, 270X in my 8-inch Newtonian, and 569X in my 16-inch truss-Dob with the Paracorr attached. Aside from testing edge-of-field performance, I found the magnification to be too high to use in my 16-inch on the nights I observed with the 3.7-mm EthosSX. This was due to the sky conditions during the testing period rather than any limitations in the eyepiece or scope. I have used over 500X many times in the past, but this magnification usually requires exceptional seeing conditions.

In the 80-mm refractor, I first observed

Jupiter which was then nearly overhead late in the evening. 151X is a nice magnification for the 80-mm scope, and at this power there was a large amount of detail to be seen on Jupiter’s disc, as well as the Galilean moons appearing as tiny spheres themselves.

I compared the 3.7-mm Ethos to my 9-mm Nagler T6 attached to a 2.5X Powermate (for a magnification of 156X versus 151X with the Ethos-SX), and I have to say that I liked the Ethos much better! This is saying something since the 9-mm Nagler T6 has always been one of my favorite eyepieces.

Aside from showing just slightly more detail and a cooler and more aesthetically pleasing view (with whites being noticeably more prominent), the difference in AFOV was simply staggering. Staring at the center of the field of the Ethos-SX, I found that I could still make out the field stop if I looked for it.

However, during normal viewing, I never seemed to notice the field stop. It really is as if you’re staring into space and the eyepiece and telescope simply “get out of the way.”

Over the next couple of weeks, I found myself taking the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX out on nearly every clear night. I observed many objects and virtually everything was astounding. Even at 151X, I found the true field of view (TFOV) to be wide enough that I most often left the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX in the focuser when moving from object to object.

There were nights when I didn’t even bother to bring out my eyepiece case; the Ethos-SX was all I needed.

As far as aberrations, the Ethos-SX doesn’t seem to have any, which is all the more amazing due to its huge AFOV. I could see absolutely no field curvature or astigmatism in any of the scopes I tested it in – zero! – just pinpoint stars sprinkled across the entire FOV. And for planets...well, who ever thought that a 110-degree eyepiece could be accurately called a “planetary eyepiece”? This one can. What’s incredible about using a well-corrected, high-power eyepiece like this for planetary viewing is that you can let the object drift from one side of the massive FOV all the way to the other side without any loss of resolution. Every ob-

THE TELE VUE 3.7-MM ETHOS-SX ject I viewed looked just as perfect right next to the field stop as it did in the center of the FOV. This is really important to me since none of the scopes I currently own are driven. I found myself purposely placing objects at one corner of the FOV so I could let them slowly drift across the field, giving me more observing time before having to “nudge” the scope. Even the false color that’s often seen on bright objects at the edge of the field through wide-field eyepieces was largely absent in the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX. On Jupiter, I could only see a vague touch of it through the 8-inch Newt just as the gas giant exited the FOV. There was no scatter or ghosting no matter what objects I observed. I went out one night when the nearly-full moon was brightening up the whole sky to see how the Ethos-SX would perform under those challenging conditions. Placing the moon just outside the FOV, there were no aberrations or any evidence that the moon was nearby (aside from the sky being brighter overall, of course).

Deep sky is also incredible with the 3.7mm Ethos-SX. With smaller and faster scopes, the magnification is perfect for detailing globular clusters, but within the wide swaths of sky that we normally associate with medium power! In larger and slower scopes, the higher magnification makes it perfect for planetary nebulae, double stars, and closeups of everything else. The eyelens on the Ethos-SX is very large; there’s no having to peek through a little pinhole like with many high-power eyepieces. And despite the large lens, there’s no “kidney-beaning” or blackouts.

Like all Tele Vue eyepieces, the coatings are excellent. Viewing the eyepiece at an angle, the coatings give off a greenish tint with a vague hint of purple as well. Staring down into the eyepiece, it’s completely black. This is no surprise given Tele Vue’s legendary reputation for exquisite quality and attention to detail, but it’s still nice to see in a new eyepiece.

Build quality is first rate. I’ve spoken

about the beautiful brushed-aluminum adapter in some detail, but it’s also worth mentioning that the bottom of the adapter is also blackened and threaded for filters; likewise with the chrome 1.25-inch portion of the eyepiece. Both also have a safety undercut to prevent the eyepiece from slipping out the focuser. And like most Tele Vue eyepieces, a nice rubber grip is built into the barrel, which makes it easy to hold, even with gloves on.

I wrote in my earlier article that the Tele Vue Ethos line may allow observers to carry fewer eyepieces in their eyepiece cases. This certainly applies to the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX as well and makes the actual cost of owning one lower than the price might suggest at first glance. The 3.7-mm Ethos-SX actually produces more TFOV than the 8-mm Televue Plossl, 6-mm Radian, and the 5-mm Nagler T6, so one could theoretically carry just the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX instead of two or three other eyepieces.

Even compared to the 100-degree Ethos, the Ethos-SX is noticeably wider. De-

spite the large increase in magnification over the 6-mm Ethos, the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX retains 68 percent of the AFOV. And the difference between 110 and 100 degrees is much larger than the numbers would suggest. The difference between 110 and 82, 68, 60, or 50 degrees can’t be described in words; you have to see it for yourself. Looking through a Panoptic or even a Nagler after viewing through the Ethos-SX forces the user to invent new terms of description – it makes eyepieces that previously seemed “wide angle” very narrow by comparison.

The 3.7-mm Ethos-SX is a revolutionary eyepiece that maintains all of Tele Vue’s performance standards while somehow raising the bar even higher. I can’t imagine what new eyepiece magic Tele Vue will unveil next, but I don’t know how they’ll ever be able to outdo the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX. I have no affiliation with Tele Vue, other than being a consumer and fan of their products, but with the 3.7-mm Ethos-SX, their slogan definitely applies: “Even better than you imagined.”

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THE MAKING OF The author’s “finished” Newtonian features a sled focuser and forward collimation controls

By Art Bianconi

BIG BLUE

INCORPORATING A SLED FOCUSER AND FORWARD COLLIMATION CONTROLS Nothing motivates me more to design and build a new telescope than to suddenly find myself in possession of a great primary mirror. A few years ago I was faced with just such an opportunity when Gordon Waite, of Waite Research, told me that he was selling off his personal mirror, an 8inch f/6.3 – I saw the Windows XP profile and fell in love. The end result is the Newtonian I call “Big Blue.”

I do a lot of production work with composite materials, so people naturally expected that I would make an optical tube assembly (OTA) using fiberglass over struc-

tural foam cores. I love the strength and light weight of composites. However, I was up to my ears in commitments and lacked the time needed to make a properly sized mandrel. Fortunately, I had some very positive results using rocket airframes from PublicMissiles.com, so I elected to go that route instead.

The only rocket airframe large enough to house the 8-inch primary was huge!

With an inside dimension of 11.5 inches, it was better suited to a 10-inch mirror than an 8-inch, but I decided to go with that tube anyway.

Rocket airframes are 100-percent impregnated phenolic and are made to very tight tolerances (three decimal places).

They also have optional couplers – closelyfitted internal sleeves – used for joining multi-stage rockets (see Image 2).

The couplers are also very precise and offered me an opportunity to develop some ideas I wanted to explore: one was forward collimation controls, another was a sled focuser with lots of travel, and finally a movable primary cell that could be adjusted on the fly when needed.

The need for a movable primary first Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE MAKING OF BIG BLUE

Image 2 - Raw rocket-airframe tubes await incorporation into the scope

Image 3 - This earlier 4.25-inch f/7.6 project provided a testbed for forward collimation controls and movable primary.

became apparent when I drilled the focuser hole in the wrong place on my very first telescope. In the years since that initial mistake, I developed a very cautious attitude towards making big holes in OTAs. It did not take long to appreciate that a primary cell that was moveable on demand would not only eliminate focuser

54 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

placement errors, but would be a convenient fix should I run out of focuser travel; simply loosen a knob, move the primary cell forward or aft, tighten, and continue.

The construction of a 4.25-inch f/7.6 Newtonian in a 6-inch phenolic airframe (Image 3) gave me the opportunity to prototype the Forward Controls concept, as well as test the moving primary. Both worked exactly as planned! When it came time to build Big Blue and incorporate these concepts, my confidence level was high.

Designing the sled focuser was fun and easily articulated using SolidWorks engineering software. However, building it was a bit more time consuming than I anticipated.

The nicest sled focuser I have ever seen was on Dave Kelly’s scope at Stellafane (Image 4). Two precision, parallel guide tubes allow the focuser to move freely fore and aft. However, the externally-mounted guide tubes and sleeves limit spider geometry to either a post or a narrow V shape.

This is a common limitation.

Ever since I built my Schiefspiegler I have become very spoiled by the lack of diffraction and high contrast. While I knew I couldn’t make this Newtonian obstruction free, I could give it a set of curved spiders to mitigate the diffraction (see Image 5).

Several iterations were tried: 2-, 3- and 4-vane spiders; all curved. However, the best of the lot by far was the 3-vane version that proved to be exceptionally rigid and whose high hysteresis quickly dampened vibrations. Actual fabrication took a few repeated efforts before I figured out how to get the curved spiders to accurately position the secondary. The secret was: Don’t curve the spiders! Pre-curving hardened shim stock is difficult and getting three equal curves made matters even worse!

Then I found out that if a trio of straight steel spiders with a final diameter of 13 inches are forced into a ring 10 inches in diameter, they adjust automatically and spring into three equally curved spiders.

The result is a rigid secondary that is right

THE MAKING OF BIG BLUE

Image 4 - Dave Kellyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s novel sled-focuser design inspired the version utilized in Big Blue.

on axis. Images 6, 7, and 8 show CAD systems to envision various aspects of the scope design.

Using one of the close-tolerance rocket couplers makes it possible to slide the complete secondary cage up and down inside the main OTA. I chose a 1/4-by-20 threaded rod as the course focusing method. It rotates inside an anchor deep within the main tube. A threaded collar inside the secondary cage translates rotation of the threaded rod into linear motion. A long spring, coaxial with the threaded rod, takes the weight of the secondary cage off the focuser when the scope is at or near zenith. A conventional low-profile helical focuser provides fine focusing and rides up and down with the secondary cell in an elongated slot (see Image 9).

Movable secondary or primary cages can cause problems. Any mechanical design that makes things movable often creates optical misalignment. The result is invariably the loss of collimation. Fortunately, that is not the case with Big Blue. I attribute this success to two factors: (1) At f/6.25, the Waite Research mirror is not quite as demanding as the faster mirrors in my collection, and (2) the depth of the rocket couplers and the precision with which they fit the main OTA keeps the tolerances tight and helps keep them coaxial to the optical path when moved.

Image 5 - Scale drawings aided in calculation of various dimensions of the spider/secondary assembly.

The interim cradle was built along lines that will be familiar to any boat builder; a central spine with three arches supports the entire system. Axial move-

ment and the loads imposed are taken by a built-up thrust ring. This proved to be the most time consuming part to fabricate.

Scope retention in the cradle is pro-

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THE MAKING OF BIG BLUE

Image 6

Image 7

Image 9 - This image shows the forward-facing collimation controls featuring black knobs on red rods, as well as the position of the white course-focus knob.

56 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Image 8

vided by three bungee cords. They are adjustable and are made tight enough to keep things in place, but loose enough to rotate the eyepiece to a comfortable position. The entire weight of the OTA is supported by an Orion Atlas EQ mount.

“A telescope is never finished!” Whoever said that first, gets to be right! With use, the bungee chords rub wear points in the paint. While that is only a cosmetic consequence, it’s unacceptable. The cradle, which is made from red oak, is heavier than it needs to be. Both problems will be solved with a multi-layered fiberglass-composite cradle whose design will not only be much lighter than the current cradle, but may also eliminate the need for the main thrust ring.

It will come as no surprise to anyone to read that the heart of this telescope, and what makes it such a joy to use, is the Waite Research mirror. The superb performance from such a modest aperture continues to shock owners with mirrors twice the size.

It boggles my mind to consider how one of Gordon Waite’s 30-inch mirrors must perform!

Building a Homemade Focus Motor for Dual-SpeedFocusers An ATMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Easy-to-remove Focus Motor Solution

By William E. Rison

I needed an easilyremovable focus motor for my Stellarvue SV80S and came up with the following design that uses a 12volt DC motor, a wheel for building robots, a 3/4-inch x 3/8-inch x 7-inch section of aluminum bar, and a Vixen/Orion-style dovetail finder shoe. The basic design of the unit is relatively straightforward as the wheel portion of the focus-motor drive simply presses against the fine-focus knob of the scopeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standard dual-speed focuser with pressure between the drive wheel and fine-focus knob being adjusted by moving the aluminum bar in the finder shoe, all as shown in Image 1.

The Support Bar As shown in Image 2, the top edges on one end of the aluminum bar were ground to a dovetail shape using a bench grinder and file, producing a section that would fit in the dovetail finder shoe and that would slide to and fro to adjust the pressure of the drive wheel on the

fine-focus knob. A 1/2-inch through hole was drilled at one end of the bar to accept the motor. Two set-screw holes were also drilled and taped to hold the motor in place (see Image 3). If you duplicate this project, make sure the set screws are not over tightened or the motor gear box might be damaged in the process. The other two holes that are shown in the aluminum bar in the accompanying images were not needed and were simply already there from another project.

The Motor and Wheel The motor is wired to a 3.5-mm phone plug with the tip providing the positive leg and the shield the negative.

Since this is a 12-volt DC motor, the connections only determine the direction the motor turns, so it could be

wired any way to the plug. A piece of heat-shrink tubing is placed over the end of the motor where the wires are connected and covers the cable so it cannot be easily broken off. A cable tie holds the wire to the motor and the open end of the heat shrink tubing is cut and glued to form a cap, as shown in Image 4.

The motor is a Sayama Number 12SM-AT3 12-volt DC gear-head motor, that operates at 58 RPM at 12-volt DC and that draws 20 mA (no-load). It is 12 mm in diameter by 35 mm long, has solder-lug terminals, and a 2 mm diameter by 6 mm long flatted shaft. I purchased the motor from All Electronics (www.allelectronics.com) for $12.95 (shown in Image 5). The motor runs a little fast for this application, but overall it works fine.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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BUILDING A HOMEMADE FOCUS MOTOR FOR DUAL-SPEED FOCUSERS The sleeve around the motor’s gearbox can slip, so I used metal tape to secure it to the motor housing, but any type of sturdy tape can be used for this (see Images 6 and 7).

The wheel and hub were purchased from banebots.com and attached to the motor shaft. I used a 1-7/8-inch wheel with 1/2-inch hex mount for the motor.

As noted, the motor shaft is 2 mm in diameter and flat on one side, so the wheel hub has some play in it that causes the wheel to run slightly off center. I made sure that the hub’s set screw was positioned against the flat side of the motor shaft to minimize the offset, but there is enough flexure in the wheel to compensate for this (see Image 10).

These robot wheels come in varying degrees of hardness and I used the soft (green) wheel so it could be pressed firmly against the fine-focus knob and still provide some flexibility in movement.

The wires from the motor are bent

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

to follow the motor housing and a zip tie was used to secure them (Image 12).

A cap made of large heat-shrink tubing was then placed over the motor end (Image 13). As also noted, the motor is connected via a 3.5-mm phone plug that can be used with any 9- to 12-volt DC power source that can reverse polarity (see Image 14).

The Bracket Shoe To mount the focus motor bracket to the telescope ring, I had to make a riser block so the focus-motor wheel would line up with the fine-focus knob on the focuser. I used a piece of oak and attached it to the top of the clam-shell ring and then attached the finder shoe to it (see Images 15 and 16). This worked out really well, allowing me to also use a finder on the scope when I wanted. Also, I don’t need any extra parts to mount the focus motor. The finder shoe is available from Scopestuff and Orion, to name but two.

The Controllers The focus-motor assembly has been used with a Meade 1209 Microfocuser control box (Image 17) and with an Astro-Physics GTOCP2 controller on an A-P 900 mount (Image 18), both without any problems.

A Custom-Built Controller I also use the homebrewed focus motor assembly with my AGF (AutoGuider Focuser Microcontroller) that I custom built using the Parallax Basic Stamp-2 microprocessor and software written in Microsoft Visual Studio (Images 19 and 20). The AGF can control two focus motors plus manual movement of telescope mount via its autoguider port. With this unit I can have a computer control the mount’s autoguiding capabilities and two focus motors and have used this controller to move my mount and focus while imaging planets with a USB video camera, such as the Lumenera SkyNYX2-0. This

BUILDING A HOMEMADE FOCUS MOTOR FOR DUAL-SPEED FOCUSERS allows me to move any telescope mount that features an autoguider port, including non-go-to mounts such as the A-P 400QMD. More details about this unit can be found at my Milton Hill Observatory website, http://agf.miltonhill.us.

How Does It Work?

I am now able to control the focuser of my Stellarvue SV80S with a Tele Vue TRF-2008 Reducer/Corrector attached via my AP 900 mount. The motor runs a tad fast, but I am still able to adjust the focus using the Meade 1209 control box or an A-P hand controller. What works best though is my AGF control box connected to a PC. With it I can do “timed focus,” which permits very small movements. I use the AGF and ImagesPlus camera-control software on my laptop to set the focus and it works our really well.

Comprehensive Project Images are Shown on Pages 60-63

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BUILDING A HOMEMADE FOCUS MOTOR FOR DUAL-SPEED FOCUSERS

PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS

Image 1

Image 1 - The dovetail end of the aluminum bar stock fits into a standard Vixen/Orion-style finder shoe, while the drive motor and robot-style drive wheel press against the fine-focus knob of the dual-speed focuser.

Image 2 - The support bar is machined from a 3/4-inch by 3/8-inch by 7-inch section of aluminum stock. One end is formed into a dovetail to fit a standard finder shoe and the other contains the 1/2-inch through hole that holds the drive motor. The other two holes are left over from another project.

Image 3

Image 4

Image 3 - Two set-screw holes were drilled and tapped to hold the drive motor in place.

Image 4 - Heat-shrink tubing covers the wire-to-motor connections and is further secured with a cable tie.

Image 5 - The Sayama 12SM-AT2 12volt DC gear-head motor.

Image 6 - The motor and drive-wheel parts.

Image 7 - Metal tape was applied around the gear box and heat-shrinkprotected wires were soldered to the motor lugs.

Image 8 - The drive motor was inserted into the 1/2-inch through hole and secured by two set screws.

Image 9 - Detail of the motor installation before attachment of the drive hub.

Image 10 - The hub is installed on the motor shaft with the hub set screw positioned against the drive-shaft flat.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Image 7

BUILDING A HOMEMADE FOCUS MOTOR FOR DUAL-SPEED FOCUSERS Image 2

Image 5 Image 6

Image 8

Image 9

Image 10

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BUILDING A HOMEMADE FOCUS MOTOR FOR DUAL-SPEED FOCUSERS

Image 11 - The robot wheel is place on

Image 11

Image 12

the drive hub and secured with a split ring.

Image 12 - The wires are individually protected by heat shrink and then secured with a zip tie.

Image 13 - The solder connections and wires are also protected by cap formed from heat-shrink tubing.

Image 14 - A 3.5-mm phone plug was

Image 15

used to connect to the power source.

Image 15 - Close-up of the focus-motor assembly after installation.

Image 16 - The finder shoe installed on the telescope clam-shell ring.

Image 17 - The focus motor can be controlled by a standard Meade 1209

Image 17

Microfocuser Control Box.

Image 18 - The focus motor can also be controlled by other mountspecific controllers such as the A-P GTOCP2.

Image 19 - The authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s custom-built AGF controller.

Image 20 - The custom AGF unit is controlled by software interface written in Microsoft Visual Studio.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Image 18

BUILDING A HOMEMADE FOCUS MOTOR FOR DUAL-SPEED FOCUSERS

Image 13

Image 14

Image 16

Image 19

Image 20

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SkyTools Observing and Imaging Planner The Tool for Optimizing Viewing and Imaging Sessions

By David Snay

If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent countless hours trying to figure out how to spend your precious dark-sky time observing and/or photographing. Perhaps you’ve observed all the Messier and NGC objects visible from your site and are looking for some new catalogs to explore.

Greg Crinklaw has developed SkyTools to help with these tasks. SkyTools is far more than just a list of potential objects; it considers all aspects of each session, including your typical sky conditions, moon phase, equipment to be used, observer‘s experience level, as well

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as the type of objects preferred. Just take a look at the main screen shown above.

There is a vast amount of information available all in one place.

Look at the upper portion of the screen. See the picture that spans the display? It represents 24 hours and shows the elevation of the sun, moon, and of the object highlighted in the list over time. The red dashed line represents the selected object. If it’s above the horizon during the “dark” portion of the display, you can have a look.

In the bottom portion of the screen

is a list of potential viewing objects for tonight. In this particular case I’ve told the SkyTools that I’ll be using my Meade 8-inch LX90 and that I’m interested in all globular clusters in the Messier catalog that will be visible from my location. I also sorted the list by difficulty by clicking on the “Best Difficulty” column heading.

Now I can go after the easier targets first and work my way up to the more difficult ones as the night progresses. For visual work, most of us would be better served by leaving the list alone as it is presented in order of earliest optimum posi-

SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER tion through the night.

There is far too much information on the main screen for me to describe in this article. However, there are two columns that bear special attention, the “Optimum” and “Optimum EP” columns. The “Optimum” column tells you when you will have your best view of the object and the “Optimum EP” column tells you which of your eyepieces you should use for the selected object. How cool is that?

Observation Planner The Observation Planner is the main interface to SkyTools, as shown in Image 1. From this window you have access to a wide array of tools to help you plan the best use of your time. Before you get started, you need to configure a few things to help the software do its job. The information the tools absolutely require are: date, location, telescope, eyepiece set, and observer (this one is optional and is primarily based on age).

Once you’ve specified these data

Image 2

points, you can then start letting the tools do their thing. Specifying them is quite simple. They are located just below the row of icons and are shown in blue. Left click on any of them and you have access to the tool’s configuration window. The only one that is different is the telescope configuration tool which is accessed through the third icon from the left – the

little picture of a telescope. This one is the most complex of the setup functions, but it is still pretty straightforward. You can select from a large list of telescopes.

Within this tool, you can also specify the set of eyepieces you want to assign to any of the telescopes. You must assign eyepieces to each telescope so that the tool can provide you with the best pairing for

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SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER

Image 3

each object in the list it provides. If your telescope or favorite eyepiece is not listed, there is an option to add new ones.

The heart of the Observation Plan-

ner is the Observation List and the tools provided to tailor any list to your preferences. There are several lists pre-defined for you, such as Messier and NGC. You

can select one of these and then apply filters to narrow the list. Or, you can let it generate the list for tonight – it does this automatically when you select the list by leaving the Group equal to Default and then select one of the lists available in the pull-down menu – and then simply click on one of the table headings to order the list based on the information in that column. The list is presented to you in order of earliest optimum time for observation, but you could decide to override that by clicking on the Optimum EP column so you can get your focus set and then just observe some of the objects that show up at the top of the newly ordered list. Or, maybe you want to stick with one constellation. Just click the “Con” column heading and the list is ordered by Constellation.

You can also generate your own list based on a wide variety of criteria. For example you could choose to generate a list of globular clusters within one or two constellations, but from every catalog

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SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER known to SkyTools. The list shown in Image 2 is the result of generating such a list with Sagittarius as the target constellation. As you can see, there are quite a few that I would have a very difficult time seeing with my equipment from my home location. Knowing this ahead of time would save me an awful lot of frustration and doubts about my mount’s accuracy. In fact, this list tells me that I’d be better off spending the time working on my writing skills. However, if I widen the search to include other constellations, I’ll find that there are other globular clusters more accessible to me that would be worth my time observing.

If the observation list is the heart of the planner, the Database Power Search tool is the heart’s adrenalin. You access this tool through the sixth icon from the left. This tool lets you choose the type of object you want included in your list as well as limit which objects to include using a wide array of filters. Once the tool has generated a list for you, you can add the results to an existing list or create one of your own – which is what I’d recommend. Here are the steps required to generate the list from the Database Power Search interface shown in Image 3: 1. Open the Database Power Search tool.

2. Select the Galactic Deep Sky tab.

3. Select Open Clusters in the “Databases to Search” section.

4. Choose as many or few of the “Catalog Designations” as you like – I left them all

selected.

5. Choose Auriga as the only “Search Constellation.”

6. Click the Search button.

7. Click the “New” button next to the “Destination Observing List” text box.

8. Fill in the name of the list you’d like to use (you could just select an existing list and skip step 7).

9. Click the “Select All” button.

10. Click the “Add to List” button.

11. Close the window.

At this point, the items you added to the list will show up in the Observation Planner window and you’re ready to go.

If you right click on one of the objects in your new list, a Image 4 new window opens which provides access to a set of tools as shown in Image 4. Each of the tools has an extensive description in the help files. I found the Object Info and telescope specific

(Stellarvue SV90TF, in this case) tools to be very interesting. The telescope specific tool gives you a new window with three views of the object as seen naked eye,

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SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER

Image 5

through a finder scope, and through the telescope/eyepiece combination specified.

It is a simulation, but the view is pretty darn close to what you’ll see through your eye piece.

If your telescope is connected to the PC and you’ve configured the software to control the mount, then you will also be

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able to slew to any object in the list using SkyTools. This is extremely helpful when you stray from the usual set of catalogs supported by most hand controllers.

Imaging Planner The Imaging Planner is very much like the Observation Planner, except it is

designed to help with imaging decisions.

It is accessed by clicking the little picture of a camera in the top right corner of the main window. When you do that, you get a window that looks like the one shown in Image 5.

The Imaging Planner adds a new line to the Night View which is blue and shows the optimum time for data capture for the highlighted object. The row of selectable values across the display above the Night View also changes to include camera and filter selections.

The information displayed in the table is quite different from the Observation Planner and is determined based on astro-photography criteria. It provides you with optimum start time and duration for the highlighted object as well as a Quality value which you can use to identify best objects for your efforts on any given night. You will need to spend some time exploring the table to see what it’s telling you, because there is so much information presented. However, the time

SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER is well spent as you’ll be able to quickly make better choices for each night.

Exposure Calculator If you right click on any object in the table, you again get the pop-up window that allows access to supplementary tools.

It is the same set of tools as before with the addition of the Exposure Calculator. This tool is designed to help you determine your optimum exposure length and the total exposure time required to reach a target Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) in your final image. This tool takes quite a bit of time to really understand and use to its full potential. It also requires that all the data fields be filled out completely, including filter choices for each exposure.

In my configuration, the tool typically chose the shortest exposures allowed in the range I configured. I use a relatively wide field of view and live close to a city, so there is quite a bit of light pollution. These factors strongly influence the Exposure Calculator’s results. You can override that by

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Image 6

disabling the “auto” function and selecting whatever exposure value you prefer. SkyTools will recalculate the SNR result based

on the new value so you can see if your equipment, sky conditions and object type will generate the same SNR. Remember,

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SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER high SNRs equate to smoother images with more detail and less noise.

It is important to note that diffuse nebulae rarely generate high SNR values because of their very nature. So, don’t be surprised if your best effort yields lower values than you’d hoped. For example, the calculator sample in Figure 6 shows that I can only achieve a SNR of 30. At first that seems like a pretty low number. However, consider that the Bubble is a diffuse nebula that spans 16 x 9 arc minutes. That’s a pretty big area, so there will be a low surface brightness. If targeting a planetary nebula or a globular cluster, I would expect a much higher SNR value.

The Exposure Calculator relies on several user input variables to make its calculations and recommendations. You need to identify the brightness of your sky background. If your camera is not in the included list, you will need to input your camera’s read noise and dark-current characteristics. You may even want to evaluate

them yourself to ensure accuracy. If these values are inaccurate, the Exposure Calculator results will be negatively impacted.

Remember, your sky conditions are an estimate, each camera can generate a slightly different set of characteristics than the manufacturer documentation indicates, and object surface brightness is not a perfect science. However, the Exposure Calculator is consistent, so you can rely on it to get you close. Use it as a tool to experiment with exposure length and total exposure times, to determine what will be best for you.

Also, try it for each of the filters you intend to use if you are using a monochrome camera. The Exposure Calculator will determine the difference in exposures required for good color balance because it is aware of your camera’s expected sensitivity. The vast majority of LRGB filters allow the same amount of light in each wavelength of the light spectrum. The difference in LRGB filters is primarily in the

quality of the light allowed through and the presence or lack of reflections. If your filters are significantly different, you can add them to the pool of useable filters and then assign them. The same is true for you camera’s specifications.

Another feature of the Exposure Calculator is its ability to help you determine the best order for filter use with monochrome cameras. Look at the two yellow vertical lines in the night view shown in Image 6. They represent the optimum hours for the current combination of telescope, camera and filter. If you change the filter selected, those lines will change to the optimum time for that filter. Cycle through all of your filters and take note of the recommended time periods and you’ll have your filter order all set.

The Exposure Calculator does not always recommend the same order. That was surprising at first, but when I thought about it a bit it made sense. The Exposure Calculator is considering a wide array of

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SKYTOOLS OBSERVING AND IMAGING PLANNER variables and they do not always yield the same results. It seemed to me that my gradient problems were reduced when I followed the advice of the Exposure Calculator. I assume that’s because the data was cleaner because of the tool’s recommendations.

Conclusions SkyTools can be a valuable addition to your toolbox. Its interface is well designed and cleanly implemented – I abused it in as many ways as I could imagine and I never encountered a single glitch. The learning curve for this software is long and very steep. However, once you get the hang of it, using it is fast and easy. Some users will find it intuitive and others will struggle. I struggled with it at first, but once I understood that the observing list is the heart of the program and that I needed to make sure I had all those little blue fields above the Night View filled in correctly, things worked

very well.

The Imaging Planner is the newest piece to SkyTools, but it doesn’t feel as though it is an add-on. Its interface is so similar to that of the Observation Planner that it seems as though they were designed at the same time. As a retired software engineer with patents for my own software, I very much appreciate the effort Greg put into the clean and smooth interfaces.

The documentation and tutorials are essential to understanding how to make best use of the tool. Read them, absorb the information, and then read them again. Then play with the software during daylight hours or on cloudy nights.

If you struggle a bit, don’t worry. There is an online group for SkyTools users – http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sky tools/ – and I’m sure Greg will be just as patient with you as he was with me. Trust me; I badgered him relentlessly for several days until I understood where I was

confused. The documentation is admittedly a work in progress. There are extensive sections describing each tool, but I found it difficult to understand how to put them together to accomplish a particular goal. I’d like to see the documentation enhanced to add pointers (or even hot links) to show you how to access the tools. It’s great to know how to use a tool, but it doesn’t help me if I can’t find the tool quickly.

I have spent a great deal of time over the years generating long lists of objects I want to observe and photograph. SkyTools would have saved me at least 50 percent of that time if I had been using it without the Imaging Planner and significantly more with the Imaging Planner features. If you’re tired of spending hours searching for objects to observe and would rather spend a few minutes planning your next session knowing that you’re likely to succeed, then SkyTools could be the tool you need.

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ASTRO TIPS tips, tricks and novel solutions

Zip Tie to the Rescue!

By Joe Campbell Is anything as handy as Duck tape? I’m beginning to think so. The tool best known as “zip-tie,” “zip-strip,” or “cable tie” started life in 1958 as a ratcheting metal-strip branded Ty-Rap and used to fasten wire assembles in aircraft. Later versions were made from solid nylon instead of aluminum, which reduced manufacturing from a two-step to a singlestep process. This innovation allowed the product to serve the greater market as lower production cost translated to lower consumer prices.

The zip-tie has been a staple of my astronomical gadget bag for quite some time, but it wasn’t until the arrival of a new William Optic 66-mm refractor with its pristine white tube that these marvels really grabbed my attention. Seeing the perfectly-polished tube, it just did not seem right to use a wad of doublesided tape to attach a zero-power finder.

The first steps were drilling two small holes in the base of the red-dot finder and placing felt tabs on its base to prevent marring of the OTA. It was then simply a matter of positioning the finder on the scope, slipping

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• A hi-resolution digital image in jpeg format (if available).

Please send your information to tips@astronomytechnologytoday.com

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two 12-inch zip-ties through the holes, and cinching them down. I trimmed the excess “tie” with wire cutters and the job was complete; the new scope was ready for a night under the stars.

It was at this point that the most valuable characteristic of the zip-tie struck me: versatility. Like Duck tape, it represents a great catchall for solving many common problems. As even the most novice zip-tie users know, they can be joined ad infinitum to create any required length. Need to add a red-dot finder to an 8-inch SCT? String a few ties together and zip it! Of course, the trouble with this work around is it’s a bit of a kludge, leaving multiple “ends” looking a bit like a porcupine.

Fortunately, longer zip-ties can be found in the heating and cooling aisle of your local home-improvement superstore. Black or white zips as long as 36 inches which are used to fasten large-diameter flexible heating ducts will usually be in stock for neat attachment of accessories to larger scopes without marring

their tubes.

Another benefit of zip ties is that they allow the user to easily and economically switch things up as well. Want to attach a different finder? Simply snip the existing ties, position the new accessory, cinch new ties, and snip away the excess to complete the installation! Wouldn’t it be great if everything were so inexpensive and easy?

I’ve used zip-ties to attach a variety of telescope accessories, including a dew-heater control box and a USB hub. Zipping them to a tripod leg was much better than leaving them to dangle. Another handy use is to secure the heating element of a dew heater to the scope. Two zip-ties cinched around the sleeve of the heating element will keep it from sliding around on the tube and will improve contact and resulting thermal transfer.

Hopefully, these few examples will not only be helpful in and of themselves, but will also get you thinking about what else can be done with these handy gadgets!

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