Makelog
Oregon Star Party 2019 and Beta Drifter
It’s been a while, so there are two big things to cover. #1, showing off the beta Drifter at Oregon Star Party. #2, yes the beta Drifter is born–what’s been changed and how does it work? Oregon Star Party 2019 came and left quicker than Oumuamua but what an incredible weekend! Analog Sky set up…
Read MoreTest Driving the Magnetic Eyepieces and 3D Printing Filament Research
Magnetic eyepiece and filter attachment is awesome. Last weekend I had a chance to test out the Drifter with the right side magnetic, the left side thumbscrews. It was a chilly but clear winter night in the low 30s that brought out a surprising number of astronomers. (Here in Oregon, we’re pretty desperate for clear…
Read MoreDrifter Alpha Short Takes
Here in Western Oregon we are in the cloudy part of the year when observing sessions are few and far between. This gives rise to arguably the world’s most innovative telescope making scene, but also makes it hard to test prototypes. Still, I’ve had a few great sessions that taught me a lot. #1 Dew-Session…
Read MoreThe Moon, Updated Focuser and Tertiary
I had an observing session last week where we got clouded out pretty quickly–however it was still a transcendent experience due to the fact that we were approaching first quarter of the Moon. I trained the Drifter on the Moon as it approached the horizon. An opaque cloud cut straight through the middle, its edges…
Read MoreAnalog Sky Drifter Prototype 1 Notes
So it’s been a while since I updated this blog. That’s because the Drifter prototype 1 was finished 8-12 months ahead of schedule, in time for Oregon Star Party (OSP) 2018. I was too busy building it to post any updates. Many thanks to Jerry Oltion for helping me out of three or four jambs,…
Read MoreDrifter Dream Views #1: Lagoon & Trifid
Back in the 80’s they used to sell telescopes by surrounding a studio shot of the scopes with various full-color astrophotos of the objects you could see with each one. The implication–at least to my 8-year-old brain–was that these astrophotos represented the view through the eyepiece. Two objects from those ads stood out to me…
Read More2-1.25″ Eyepiece Adapter Earns a New Moniker – Analog Sky Beta
The eyepiece adapter is close enough to finished to get a logo and beta stamp: The first batch will be printed and distributed to end users. I may be bringing some to Oregon Star Party after all.
Read MoreTertiary Mirror Mounting Jig
3D Printing can help us build things easier. Here’s a jig for mounting the tertiary mirror: The mirror sits flat, face down. Small slots hold 2mm shafts for spacing. The slots create a range of heights for the shafts so we don’t have to worry about the exact thickness of the mirror or creating a…
Read MoreTertiary Housing Beta 1
Imagination. Reality. Here’s a completed tertiary housing. All the pieces connect well. The mirror mount works very well. The focuser works in the housing. The filter cartridges still need some tweaking. Using a screw for a friction fit doesn’t work since the cartridge just pops out from the pressure. However, using the screw in a…
Read MoreFunctional Focuser
Lots of work over the last month even though there haven’t been any updates. The focuser now works. As you can see, the drive shaft of the GSO dual speed knob has been shortened so that the cap can fit flush to the drive block. (Thanks Jerry for lending me your vise.) Luckily this was…
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