ATM Dob Kits: Someone already DOES It!

[epabcc@epa.ericsson.se (Bratislav Curcic)]

I think that we may need a slight change in direction here.

The market out there has never been better. LOTS of cheap (and
resonably good, some even very good!) telescopes. The ATM community
must change correspondingly. Long are gone days of making telescope
because one cannot afford it. Now ANYONE can afford quite a powerful
telescope. There is simply no need (nor economic rationality) to spend
weeks (and $$$) making 6" f/8 mirror when you can buy it already
aluminized and with secondary for 100 bucks.
The motivation for an average ATM wannabie must be different today 
from what it was 30 or 50 years ago.

The first and foremost incentive must be the KNOWLEDGE. There is no
book in the world that would teach you how the optics works with
the same "hands on" understanding as it will making and testing a
telescope mirror. You will NEVER exepience the adrenaline rush of
the first Foucault test by simply reading the mathematical formulae
and descriptions in even the world's best book. You will never be
WILLING and striving to _really_ understand the physics of diffraction,
refraction, dispersion, intereference and many, many other aspects of
light wave propagation (unless you're going to be an optical engineer!
But even those are primarily recruited from the ATM ranks).

The second (and also very important) aspect of homebrewing the telescopes
is QUALITY CONTROL. If you make the optics, it is up to YOU to decide
when to quit. I've figured my first mirror for the whole year (simply
because I didn't have someone to tell me "that's good enough"). Yes, it
was an excercise in frustration, but I wouldn't trade those moments for
million bucks ! (well ... maybe ;-) 
There is no commercial telescope manufacture that can afford more than
few hours of the optician's time for figuring. The best ones maybe can
allow few days, maybe a week, but that's it ! The ATM is full control.
Hurry to see the new comet ? No problem. Silver that not so crash hot
mirror and use it for a while. Happy with it ? No worries. Off it goes
to aluminizing plant. Not so happy with it ? Well, roll up the sleeves
and do some more figuring. It's YOUR free time. You decide how to use
it. In some cases few hours of master optician's time may produce
better mirror that maybe months of your best efforts. But so be it.
Just remember that even best opticians were once inexperienced ATMs.
It's practice that makes the perfection. There is simply no other way.

And third reason for ATMing ? Well, making telescopes can be (and 
should be) GREAT FUN !

Cheers,
Bratislav