TAG Trixie
ATM: varnish – lessons learned
The spot/notch in the wood shown in the image is a reference index precision marker….. isn’t it? I can live with it. I had to run the router in 3 passes per […]
ATM dreams
I also collected all of the ATM photos into one place. I need to crop and resize, but I’ll have a decent record of the process. I’ve really enjoyed it. It makes […]
Trixie – dovetail mounting holes
I need to do final balance measurements, but I think that I’m going to need 2 DP plates (I don’t need radius blocks) that are 17.5” long. Need to figure out how […]
Trixie – really coming together
I got a small amount of ATM time this weekend. It was enough to round off the edges of some of the wood pieces that I need to handle, make a much-needed […]
Trixie Construction photos
Now that the woodcutting is done, I moved on to varnish. Varnish turns out to be a bit tricky to work with. Bugs and bubbles are two enemies that I did not […]
Trixie – woodcutting complete and hardware test-fit
I was so close to being finished with the hardware installation that I made sure I didn’t skip a week this time, despite 2 birthdays this week (Happy Birthday to me and […]
Trixie – all coming together
The tube inserts arrived yesterday, so I now have all the parts I need to put the scope together. My only fear is that I’ll mis-attach the focuser board. Everything else will […]
Trixie – more cutting and splicing over the weekend
The spider and secondary holder turned up on Friday. It’s a *big* secondary holder. All of my previous ones have been “glue to the back” style, this is a “mirror goes inside” […]
Trixie – cutting the vents and test-fitting the hardware
It was another couple of weeks before I could get back to the project. I thought about doing circular holes for the vents, but decided to stick with the design, and laid […]
Trixie – light shroud for mirror box
source for Kydex Will probably need 18”x50” to cover the mirror box of the 13”. They sell 24”x60” for $25.
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.