RE: ATM - a 'scope for the classroom

["Bertapelle, Ken" <Bertapelle.Ken@tci.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Adam Perkins [mailto:scopeguru@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 10:53 AM
> To: atm@shore.net
> Subject: ATM - a 'scope for the classroom
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hey,
> 
> I've decided to build a scope for my wife's Sixth-Grade students.  She
> and I figured that they could borrow it for a week or two at a time,
> and get some fun out of it.
><snip>
> - a long (f/8-10) focal ratio for good performance with cheapo
> eyepieces and poor collimation

This jumped right out at me.  I'd avoid thinking about accepting poor
collimation right from the start.  According to Suiter, it has a very
big negative effect on the image.  Instead think about how the kids 
will learn to collimate the scope properly.

- KenB