The Practical Telescope #2.5

The Practical Telescope #2.5
by Dennis Allen

The article "Practical Telescope #2" was about creating a donsonian mount for a small 60mm refractor. If you don't want to make such a mount for your refractor, there is a simpler solution: mount your refractor directly to your camera tripod.

You'll need a 6" piece of 1" by 3" trim, couple of 4" pipe clamps, and a 1¼"-20 Hex drive wood insert. Drill out the center of your wood trim. The hole needs to be slightly smaller than the wood insert, but all the way thru the 1" center. Use an Allen wrench to screw the wood plug in this hole, until the plug is level on the other side. You're tripod will then have something to hold. Use the two 4" pipe clamps to hold the trim to the refractor. That's it! Now you should be able to mount your refractor to your camera tripod.

Tip #1: If your refractor doesn't have a finder scope, go down to Wal-Mart. The sporting goods section should carry a BB-Gun laser-sight. Works like a Telerad. Simply mount it to the wood trim. If the laser-sight doesn't come with a dove-tail mount, Orion Catalog has such mounts.

Tip #2: If your camera tripod doesn't have slow motion controls, Orion Catalog has a slow motion adapter. Mounts between your refractor and tripod.

Making a dobsonian mount for a refractor is a neat little project. But if you don't have either the patience or the money, this might be a simpler solution. With a little effort, you can turn a department store telescope into something actually usable.

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This web page was last updated 04/03/08