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| BUILD YOUR OWN TELESCOPE |
| Build Your Own Sight-Tube |
| BUILD YOUR OWN FINDER |
| ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY: BUILD A BARN DOOR MOUNT |
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| I built a very nice one-power unit finder based on the plans found at Graham Wood's website. I made some modifications to the design and adapted it for use with U.S. components. Go to my Finder Page to see more photos of the finder I built, some instructions that may help you with the Graham Wood website, and links to other finder sites. |
| Click here or on the picture above for photos of the telescope I built, tips to get you started, and links that include a referral to a site with complete step-by-step instructions. I did this in my spare time with no prior do-it-yourself experience. Well, I have changed a couple of light bulbs in my life. All right, maybe just one. But you get the point. |
| Above is a sight tube I made to help collimate (align the optics) of my telescope. It is based on the plans found at Adam Perkins' website. Although the site does not have any pictures, Perkins gives a clear and concise presentation of how to construct the sight tube. It's a simple design. I made mine from a PVC plumbing tube, film cannister cap, and thread as seen above. Once you're ready to use your sight tube, I recommend contacting someone at your local astronomy club to help you get the hang of collimation. This will optimize what you get out of your telescope. Besides, astronomy clubs are a great place to advance your interest in the hobby and clubs welcome newcomers with open arms. Some even offer beginner astronomy classes, which can be an invaluable source of practical information. |
| Depending on your interests, you may soon find yourself wishing you could take pictures of the wonderful things you are seeing in the sky. You do not need to be an expert astronomer to do this. At a minimum you will need a 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera (digital cameras also provide excellent results), a tripod, and a cable release accessory to take photographs of the constellations and star trails. For longer exposures you will also need a mount that can compensate for the earth's rotation. The simplest mount I found and a good starting point for a do-it-yourself project is the Barn Door Tracker site of Robert Duvall. His simple manual barn door mount can also be motorized if you are so inclined. Materials are cheap and easy to get. By following his directions I built the manual mount above in about 30 minutes. There are more pictures and links on my Barn Door project page. |
| Welcome to my Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) page for the newcomer. I came to this hobby in 2000 with no astronomy experience. I wanted to explore the stars, planets and galaxies, but did not want to spend a lot of money doing it. If this sounds like you, read on for some helpful information. Here you can find the basics of how to get started without any prior experience. Click on the photo links above to go directly to some ATM beginner projects or read on for a short description of each project before going to the project pages. There is so much information out there for amateurs, it can be somewhat daunting for the newcomer. My text has some links to help you get started. I selected those which I found simple, understandable, well-illustated, and affordable - well all right, cheap. You won't need anything but the most basic tools, and if you don't own them you can certainly borrow them. This hobby can be expensive, but does not have to be. You can make just about everything you need. And the images that result from a home-made telescope are quite impressive, all the more so knowing you built it yourself. |
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| BUILD A QUADRANT |
| A quadrant is a handy instrument to help locate objects in the night sky and to help record observations. Go to my Quadrant Page for more photographs of this home-made qudrant and links to some helpful sites. |
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| Links to Astronomy and ATM sights |
| Astrophotos |
| Sight Tube (See Below) |
| Quadrant |
| Barn Door |
| Telescope |
| Reflex Sight |