1972
- 6" f/8 Newtonian on homemade German equatorial
mount with clock drive
(high school project)My telescope making projects & experiences
over the last 35 years.......
1972
- 6" f/8 Newtonian on homemade German equatorial
mount with clock drive
(high school project)
1973
- 16" Mirror grinding machine built
as college mechanical project
1976
- 12.5" f/6 Newtonian
on homemade fork equatorial mount with clock drive(
also a college project)
1980
- 12.5" f/4 Newt f/15 Classical Cass on homemade
fork equatorial mount with clock drive
1983
- 1st Observatory -- garden
shed modified for split roll off design
1985
- 12" Telescope operational in roll off observatory
1993
- Big Fork Mount - start of the
mounting build process for all my future observatory scopes
1995
- Cookbook 245
CCD Camera
- highly modified mechanically
1996
- 12" Domed Observatory -completed project and gardens around
it (my wife did that work!)
1998
- Mt. Palomar -
personal technical tour and discussions on high speed tip tilt mirrors
2001
-Meade 125 and custom mount
- adjustable RA elevation,eyepiece holder and heavy duty tripod
2001
-Transportable imaging system setup
- shown with 8" TEC MAK and 4" TAK
2004
- Comprehensive SLOAN Scope Tour at Apache Point! - including the SLOAN and 3.5 Meter Scopes
2005
- 12.5" f/4 Newtonian Astrograph at the Winter Star Party
2005
- 12.5" f/4 Newtonian Astrograph at the Winter Star Party getting
tips from Al Nagler
2005
- Newly designed RA AXIS Drive for RC20 Mount using automation class brushless DC
servomotors, helical planetary gearboxes and worm preload mechanism
for Byers 15" gearset
2005
- Newly designed DEC AXIS Drive for RC20 Mount using automation class brushless DC
servomotors, helical planetary gearboxes and worm preload mechanism
for Byers 15" gearset
2005
- Newly designed imaging backend for RCOS20 - showing RCOS
Flat Field Corrector in custom machined adapter installed in a new precision
instrument rotator, modular remote scanning dual port remote DC servomotor
focusable OAG head, and prism pick
off tubes (
which will be mounted in OAG head)
2005
- September 2005 - DC servomotor controlled scope cover for the RCOS 20.
2009
- April - ALt Az Astrometry mounts for STS 125 Space Shuttle External Tank
Rentry imaging mission. Zero radius design for wide
angle imaging through aircraft windows.
2009
- April - ALt Az Astrometry mounts for STS 125 Space Shuttle External Tank
Rentry imaging mission. Zero radius design for wide
angle imaging through aircraft windows. Hopefully these can be used by Clay
Center students on the Hyabusa reentry mission in 2010.
2009
- May - In depth tour of Shuttle
Discovery in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) at the Kennedy Space Center.
Many thanks to our NASA colleagues!
2009
- May - In depth tour of Shuttle
Discovery in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) at the Kennedy Space Center.
Many thanks to our NASA colleagues!
July
2010 - The thrill of seeing students getting turned on to science....the
ultimate goal of educational outreach. Professionally
produced NASA video (12Mb file size) captures the excitement of the Dexter
and Southfield High School ( Boston) students who were selected and trained for
this mission.
November
2010 - New fork design for HGO I Observatory....never liked German equatorials for permamently mounted telescopes!
Just needed time to get around to it. Designed to
accomodate PlaneWave CDK 17 (for Northern Skies Observatory - volunteer project)
and homebuilt 12.5" Newt astrograph. (6x6
aluminum hollow structural tubing with internal ribs for added stiffness and
strength)
1993
- Restored 3" Brass Refractor -found
serendipitously (while antiquing with my wife) and personally restored 
1994
- Alt/Az mount and tripod -
high resolution alt/az fine adjustments for
the 3" brass refractor above
1995
- 12.5" f4/f14 Newt - Cass on
new heavy duty fork mount with computer controlled stepper motor drives 
1995
- Cookbook 245 CCD Camera
-
completed the project and began using an astro tool that changed my life.
1996
- 12' Domed Observatory
- Heaven's Glory Observatory I - started design and construction on a 12' fiberglass domed observatory with
control room
1997
- 20" F/5 Newt -
started construction on components for a 20" F/5 CCD imaging astrograph -
Focuser/filter wheel ass'y
1998
- 20" f/5 Newtonian - completed system construction and obtained first light for wide field
high resolution images 
1999
- Off axis guider with remote controlled focus Version 1 -
built for 20" f/4 Newt showing DC motor focus control and highly modifed
FLI IMG CCD chamber with argon purge, BBAR coated chamber windows, improved low
particulate shutter and large dessicant chamber with purge ports.
2000
- Heavy Duty Transportable GOTO German equatorial mount - DC servo driven - started design and fabrication
2002
- The real first telescope!
Galileo's first telescopes at the Institute and Museum of Science - Florence,
Italy
2003
- RCOS 20" and Modified Mount - new OTA assembly and highly
modified mount for higher performance imaging
2003
- Off axis guider with DC Servomotor remote focus control - newly
designed OAG mounted to RCOS PIR on RCOS20
2004
- 12.5" f/4 Newtonian Astrograph/f15 Classical Cass- with carbon fibre tube, optimized for
wide field & narow field hires CCD imaging
2004
- Heaven's Glory Observatory II - Cloudcroft New Mexico -- designed and began
building new dark sky observatory in truly dark sky and good seeing site,
2005
- New Automation class brushless DC motor drives being tuned for telescope
operation.......can you think of a better use for a dining room table? 
2005
- completed imaging backend for RCOS20 - all parts finished anodized,
assembled and ready to mount on the RCOS 20
2005
- Completed imaging backend mounted on RCOS 20 and piggybacked AP130. Image shows dual off axis
guideport design with remote individual autoguider focus
control. The OAG also incorporates 25 mm of remote controlled radial scanning
across the focal plane. The OAG is mounted on a new high load high resolution
Instrument rotator using a modified Klinger RT200 stage and made compatible
with the RCOS Telescope Control System and software.
2005
- August - Construction finished on Heaven's Glory Observatory II - ready for
dome automation and scope installation
2005
- October 2005 - New focuser assembly using JMI 3" focuser for 12.5"
F/4 Newt Astrograph with dovetail slide, slimline off axis guider with relay
lenses, 3" clear aperture Keller field corrector and PI DC servo motor
focus controller with custom bracket. 
2006-
June - Modified German equatorial to single fork mount (
"Geork?") to carry 12" Newt Astrograph and Sky 90. Eliminates the
need for meridian flip 
2006
- June - Modified German equatorial to single fork mount (
"Geork?") to carry 12" Newt Astrograph and Sky 90. Eliminates the
need for meridian flip 
2006
- June - Image train on the 12" f/4 Newt carbon tube Astrograph
showing added Hutech focuser for the off axis guide camera.
