Re: [ATM] New minimalist single-pole 18" ultralight

[Mike Lockwood <melockwo@uiuc.edu>]

Hi,

Ross Sackett wrote:
> I have posted some photos of my new single-pole 18"
> f/4.3 Newt at
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/8315630@N04/
> The scope weighs 76 pounds, so it can be carried
> around the yard.  It has a 3 point hybrid "dob-fork"
> mounting, and the rocker latches to the mirror box so
> that it can be moved as a unit.  The design evolved
> from earlier 8" and 12" scopes I took to Stellafane
> and the RTMC.

I'm glad someone built a mount like this (the "dob-fork" mount).  I 
have sketches of a very similar mount, which I had intended for 
another telescope or maybe my travel scope, but I never built it.

Only one bearing is required to provide the dob-like friction, and the 
other pivot point can be quite simple.  For scopes with a low center 
of gravity this saves the added complication of making another 
bearing, and provides a more stable and rigid attachment point for an 
altitude encoder.

Nice work Ross.

The "two Jupiter" flexure is interesting.  I recall similar flexure on 
a friend's four-pole Teleport.  Do you know where the bulk of the 
flexure is occurring?  What is the pole made of?  Aluminum?

	Mike Lockwood

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