TAG Trixie
Trixie rebuild 2011, day 5.1 – clamps!
I woke up this morning at 8am, ready to start cutting out clamps. I decided to recycle some wood that was once a part of the back porch of the house, because […]
Trixie rebuild, day 4 – starting to take shape
With the new “rake” and “splay” angles calculated, I cut out a 30°rotation jig, and was able to bang out another prototype when I got home. I should have spent a couple […]
Trixie rebuild 2011, day 3a – minor math error
I just realized that I need to account for another dimension when constructing the pole seats; that is, they need to be “splayed” to the sides to reach the opposing corners of […]
Trixie 2011 rebuild, day 3 – prototype shows promise
I spent some time today figuring out what would be necessary to create the pole seats. I landed on the “dual seat, split lengthwise, horizontal through-bolt to clamp” style (as opposed to […]
Trixie 2011 rebuild, day 2 – testing pole seats
I learned how to set up the drill press for beveled cuts. I need to remember to add sacrificial pieces under the work when doing bevels. Lessons learned. The nice thing is […]
Trixie Rebuild 2011 – a new start
Trixie has been sitting in the corner of the observatory, gathering dust, for almost 3 years. I first built the scope up during the spring and summer of 2008, but the scope […]
Trixie rebuild — Design ideas
Trixie definitely needs to be rebuilt. The 3-strut system is not working. So I am going to rebuild and try to fix two main problems. 1) flexure — replace strings with struts […]
General / Maintenance / Techniques
Trixie in collimation
Ah, maintenance. Things you do on sunny days and cloudy nights. I spent some time getting Trixie in collimation today. It came together pretty well with the Catseye. It’s clear that the […]
Trixie’s Last Stand
Trixie is listed on Astromart right now, probably won’t sell; who wants a project scope? I think once the dust settles from the new mount purchase, and I get my photography back […]
ATM / General / Maintenance / Optics
Trixie post-collimation
I spent some time this afternoon tuning Trixie. The collimation job is a but tougher with the open-frame scope; each turnbuckle is a collimation adjustment point. It took a lot of tweaking […]
RECENT UPDATE
Polar Alignment Calculations
Here’s a page that derives Polar Alignment Calculations. (update 5/2020: the original site is gone, so I found the text on Wayback and am inserting it below. This is by the original […]
Gear / Observatory / Telescope
Special Guest Star takes the mount at Hilltop O
The Astro Jedi needed somewhere to store his light sab—- I mean, bucket, and I was only too happy to accommodate him. I have decided that I need to come to a […]
General / Maintenance / Observatory
Dome shutter is motorized again!
I finally decided to bite the bullet and fix the shutter motor. Things went sideways last winter, and I’ve been opening the shutter manually (and tying it shut with rope, so we […]
Trixie 2017 – tube mods
I finally got around to cutting the MTA-UTA tubes to length; the only eyepiece that would come to focus with the focuser spacer in place is the Televue 55mm Plossl. If I […]
MOST COMMENTED
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – Time has come today!
General / Maintenance
First Light, a deeper look
Mount / Observatory / Telescope
Observatory 2.0 – Result!
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – The Pier goes in
Gear / General / Maintenance
Martin Farmer Wormblock installation notes
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
NGC2244, The Rosette Nebula
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Another beautiful night.