10" Telescope Making Design Plans

It is easy to understand, with original 3D model files that you can open and spin on your computer, as well as clear animation of each step of the way!

This would be a great prequel before you purchase any book on telescope design, including Richard Berry's Build Your Own Telescope or Miller and Wilson's' Making and Enjoying Telescopes!

Specifically, this E-book contains:

• Understanding basic telescope terms
• Using binoculars to view the night sky, with a Messier object checklist and printable star charts.
• Instructions and animation for building 6", 8", and 10" Dobsonian/Newtonian telescopes
• An adaptation to make the Basic Dobsonian into an Equatorial Mount.
  
• Instructions on building and using an extremely effective and inexpensive laser collimator with help on collimating the collimator.
• Several truss tube designs for a 10" F/5, 12.5" F/4.5, 14.5" F/4.5, 16" F4.5, 20" F4.5, 22" F/4, and 26" F/4. 3D models and drawings are included for all these designs.
  
• A design for a digital camera or small 35 mm camera adapter for your telescope
• A Double-Arm Barn Door Camera mount design to allow you to use your camera to manually track the stars for long exposures of up to 1 hour of clusters and nebulas and other astronomical features.
  
• Optical alignment of the telescope with other inexpensive tools
• Care of your telescope
• Understanding the Weather
  
• Understanding your global location
• The Moon and its' phases
• The Planets
  
• Meteor showers
• What to do on your first time out with the telescope
• Utilities to view the models, PDF's, and animation.
  
• And lots of other great tips, web links, and reference material including full set of 3D models of the telescopes used in the documentation and 17+ animations done by myself. 3D models are also viewable via self contained executable files (using e-Drawings).

The designs are in HTML with animation and printable versions in PDF format. Click here for a sample of the building the mirror cell in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The HTML itself was designed to be printed from Internet Explorer 6. The original 3D models can be opened and spun for all the designs, including as self viewing .exe files. The telescope was drawn up in Pro/Engineer with solid engineering techniques for building a high quality instrument. It includes an itemized purchase list for all the hardware needed. It also has an inexpensive laser collimator design (built for less then $10 with a key chain laser) and a digital camera adapter. In all, a full CD of 600 Mb of information! If you find yourself buying a telescope mirror or kit, do not miss out on this opportunity.

This CD also has all the utilities, shareware and freeware astronomy software. It is a must for someone with dial-up internet service. It includes the viewers, readers, media player 9 as well as Internet Explorer 6 upgrade (if you need it) for Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, and XP.

The beautiful star gazing software on this CD lets you be more familiar with the sky, even if you only have binoculars! Another piece of software allows you to bounce around the solar system utilizing a high end graphics card.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• How hard is it to build and understand?

This design is based of the basic design of John Dobson/Ray Cash. I have slightly re-engineered plans to accommodate an actual purchased focuser, an easy precision spider and a professionally designed mirror cell with wing nuts for collimating. The instructions for the wooden stand are identical to the original plans by John Dobson for a 6", 8" or 10" telescope. The truss tube is a basic design with instructions on how to calculate everything for your mirror and focal ratio.