Re: [ATM] New web pages & WIRE SPIDERS

[Mike Lockwood <melockwo@uiuc.edu>]

Hi,

matt wrote:
> talking of Moonlite focusers, while they look great , I found they have a
> disadvantage for the kind of stuff I'm doing sometimes. The focuser body
> looks massive and one piece , but unfortunately it is not a closed cylinder,
> rather a horseshoe shape . When the drawtube is extended and there is some
> significant load hanging off its end (imaging stuff for example) , the
> leverage it creates is enough to ever so slightly spread apart the horseshoe
> ends , allowing the draw tube to sag , leading to a far less reliable
> focusing than  if it had been a closed cylinder. Fancy shape, nice looking ,
> but too much flex in my view (for imaging) .

Hmmm..... I believe what is flexing is the drive rod that is connected 
to the focus knobs, not the aluminum body.  It would be much more 
prone to flexure than the body.

Hang enough weight off a FeatherTouch far enough away from it (like a 
friend does with his heavy H-alpha filter, extension tube, diagonal 
and eyepiece) and it will flex too.  Been there, seen it done!

	Mike Lockwood

_______________________________________________
ATM mailing list http://www.atmlist.net/