Re: ATM Which book to buy?

[bagheera <bagheera@worldnet.att.net>]

Gary Manning wrote:
> 
> I have decided to build an 8" Dob using pre-ground optics... 
> 
>  "Build Your Own Telescope" by Richard Berry and "The Dobsonian 
>  Telescope" by Dave Kriege and Richard Berry.
> Is there another book that would be better?
> Portability is a priority for this scope so I'm thinking about a truss
> design.  I've never seen a smaller truss scope.  It is practical?
> Thanks.

    I don't know about "better", but John Dobson's original plans for
building an 8" scope are available free, online.  They've been posted
with the help of the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, California,
and NASA.  There aren't any plans for a truss tube design.  If you're
interested in the plans, they can be found
at:                                
http://tie.jpl.nasa.gov/tie/dobson/index.html
-- 
george willis
L.A.Sidewalk Astronomers
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/6389
----------------------------------------


   "In the beginning of all things, wisdom and 
    knowledge were with the animals...
        and that from them, and from the stars
    and the sun and the moon should man learn..."

            -- Eagle Chief (Letakots-Lesa)
               19th Century Pawnee