Re: ATM Which book to buy?

[Bill McHale <wmchal1@umbc.edu>]

On Tue, 7 Jul 1998, Stephen Tonkin wrote:

> 
> Gary Manning <glm@ns.net> wrote:
> >Is there another book that would be better?
> 
> Possibly not, but it depends just what you are looking for in a book.
> Howard's _Standard Handbook for Telescope Making_ deals specifically
> with an 8" and you could do a lot worse. 

I thought this book was out of print?  Though I will grant that of the
books I have read on building telescopes completely from scratch (i.e.
starting with making the mirror), it is the only one that gives a decent
treatment of Dobs (well in the 2nd edition, naturally Dob's had not been
invented in the 1st edition).

Granted Berry's book is good for the mechanical stuff, though I wouldn't
rely on it if I was going to make my own mirror.

> 
> Yes -- my 8" had a truss tube. The primary function of the "tube" is to
> hold the optics in place. As long as it does this, it's actual design is
> a secondary consideration, determined by such things as
> weight/portability, rotatability, available materials, etc.
> 

I would say there are other factors to consider as well, like stray light
and body heat (from the observer) messing the image up.  As with all parts
of a telescope compromises must be made to find the right balance for the
user.

Bill

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