Posts Made By: Walter Hamler

Get the Moonlite with the slow speed side, CR2 I believe.

Walt

You mean like this?
Jo Mize in Astronomy Village, Chiefland, FL built this, now complete.

Walt

Mike, what was the cost on that tube?

Walt

How about a Mark Harry Mirror and some nice woodwork by Lee Stock or Chuck Fellows!!!

Walt

It is but you would have to change the gear ratios to have the proper speed. I'm not sure what the number of teeth are on the GP worm wheel but I know it isn't 180 or 360. The Losmandy mounts use those size gears and the drive correctors are made to work with them.

Walt

I have been corresponding with a Mr Pat Bunn in SC or NC (I forget!)who has modified a design for a quartz time base drive corrector that uses a PIC chip. He has tested it with good results and has said he could help me build one rather cheeply.
His comments can be read on the Gemmini Scope Mounts group on YAHOO.
email me off list and I will put you in touch if you are interested.
whamler AT bellsouth dot net

Walt

You need to remove the wax coating or the paint will not stick. It is pretty easy to peel it out along with the first layer of paper it is coated on. Carefully, at the end of the tube, find the beginning of a spiral, and lift the first layer and carefully start pulling it off. As you get the full width coming up, it will have a tendency to tear, so slow down and pull carefully. Once you get it about halfway, stop and go to the other end and repeat the process from there.
Just be sure you are removing only the very first layer of material to preserve the strength of the tube. Once removed, the surface will have a "tooth" that looks like rough sandpaper. Leave it like that as it will aid the adhesion of the paint and will help breakup the light reflection as well.
I have had good luck painting with a high quality flat black latex paint. One of those small foam rollers and bending the roller handle so it is straight rather than a 90* angle also facilitates getting into the tube. Use a radial rolling pattern starting at the middle, working out toward you minimizes the mess. Go to the other end to finish.
See, that wasn't so hard, was it!!
Hope you enjoy your scope as much as you will enjoy building it!!

Walt

What kind of tool are you going to use once you get the sagitta close?
If you are going to make a tool from dental stone and unglazed tiles, then you need to curve to go all the way to the edge so you can use the mirror as a mold for the tool. Don't even think about using the pipe cap throughout the entire grinding process!!
With a full size dental stone/tile tool, you switch to the 80 grit as soon as you make the tool. After that, just make sure you check closely for pits before continuing on. At least 6 to 8 wets on each grade at 5 or 7 minutes per wet should get you through fine. Spend a little more time on the wets at the 12 and 5 micron level, maybe 12 to 15 minutes each, but you only need 3 or 4 wets each.
Keep us posted.

Walt

Great! Now all the amateur astronomers west of the Mississippi will move there, causing a housing boom, thereby increasing the light pollution!

Walt

You'll be happier with a motor. Don't forget, since you are driving the platform and not the scope, you are always free to move the scope at any time. That't the beauty of the eq platform, tirn it on and enjoy, then reset every 50 minutes to an hour later.

Walt