RE: ATM - a 'scope for the classroom

[Shane_Lapierre@aici.com (Shane Lapierre)]

I always start a new observer with pointing the scope.  It
always took my college friends the whole night to figure out
that part (kinda scary isn't it!)... so you'll have to ask
yourself whether or not a 6th grader can figure out a 6x30
finder, or if a 1 power finder will work better.  Consider
making a case for the scope too.  What about a turret
eyepieces, or just a couple eyepieces hooked to some light
gauge cable... you put one eyepiece in, and the other dangles
around.  The long f ratio makes the mounting a little more
difficult/large.

Maybe before you get to those kinds of details, you should
assess what your objectives are for the scope.  Ease of Use
seems like a very high priority, if there's anything that
compromises this in the design, I would reconsider that spec.

Shane LaPierre
www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Runway/2680/shanes_atmpage.htm




On Wed, 4 Aug 1999, Bertapelle, Ken wrote:

> >
> > 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
>