Sunday, September 20, 2020

Accomplishment

 I try not to sit around on past accomplishments.  I have just been using the 3" f/4.5 reflector (Baby) that I have been building and rebuilding since the 1990s.  I always assumed my first (and last) mirror was not very good.  I just used 86x on the Moon and it was still sharp.  114x, no.  But many commercial reflectors this size are no better.  The only improvement left is the focuser; not enough inward travel.  This was an Edmunds focuser from the 1990s; obsolete then, but cheap.  There are not a lot of focusers with less height, so I will build my own.  Not tomorrow, though.

Just to clarify what I made: the primary mirror, the mirror cell,the diagonal mirror holder, the adapter to hold the rings to the mount.

I toyed with buying a low-profile focuser, but they are pricey enough that making my own sounds both more sensible and more interesting.

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