This is the first time that Maxx was fully assembled. I hand ground, polished and figured the mirror and built the telescope. The darn thing actually worked.
This is the first time that Maxx was fully assembled. I hand ground, polished and figured the mirror and built the telescope. The darn thing actually worked.
This was early January 2010 while I as getting the pole lengths right. You can see where the poles go beyond the bottom clamps. They have since been cut to the proper length and the stops were put back on the clamps. The trunnions and base were not built yet so it's sliding on towels and trash bags. I was just happy that it came to focus where expected.
This was the First Light night for Maxx, February 6th 2010. Other than there being too many clouds, everything worked very well. The lycra shroud was removed here and you can see the foam covered poles. The balance was perfect regardless of the eyepiece weight thanks to the large trunnions.
To find the balance point of the OTA, which will become the center of the trunnions, I assembled the OTA and added all of the components that I planned on using. This included a heavy eyepiece, Telrad, Sky Commander and dew heater controller. The shroud was ordered a few days before from Shrouds by Heather (she does great work) and had not arrived so to fake it I used a nylon tarp thing that I had for the shroud weight. Then I balanced it on a 1" dowel rolling it to find the exact balance point. I tested a light, small eyepiece and the heaviest eyepiece that I had and picked the point about 70% between those two balance points towards the heavier eyepiece's balance point. The balance point difference between the two eyepieces was less than 1/2".
The mirror and rocker boxes in the vertical position. It will also go slightly below horizontal. The multiple coats of urethane gave the Birch a nice glow and brought out what little grain it has. I used Moonlite clamps, poles and dual speed focuser on this project, which are no longer offered. Box joints and glue were used to hold the boxes together and 24 biscuits were used to attach the rocker box to the base. I was trying to avoid visible screws where possible. This goal was more difficult on the secondary cage.
This is the secondary cage. The old Kendrick Dew Controller had it's power cable shortened and a Dean's Ultra plug added to the end. The dew controller's LED had a momentary on switch added (red button next to the word Dew) to prevent glare at the eyepiece. I have since switched to using my own dew heater controller. The controller powers the Telrad, eyepiece and secondary heaters. The box under it is a 12v to regulated 5v converter using a 7805 and three capacitors. it powers the Bluetooth adapter for the Sky Commander. There is also a 12v pass through for the Sky Commander. One 12v cable feeds the cage.
The Kendrick Dew Controller works well and remains on this scope. The other Dobs use my home-made dew controllers and the refractors use the dew heater controller built into the ASIAir Plus.
The First Light plaque on the Maxx telescope.
The finished mirror. It weighs in at just under 42 pounds, not counting the 15 pound mirror cell. The 1/7th wave mirror was completed in mid 2009. The Aluminum coating was was applied by Spectrum Coatings in Deltona. Yes, I drove it over and picked it up. The 'bumps' that appear on the mirror are actually the texture of the ceiling. The center circle is used for aligning the optics.
This is the mirror box rotated 90 degrees in the rocker box to see how it would fit for transportation. It has about 1/8" of clearance all the way around. Perfect. The light colored wood does not have urethane on it yet. I didn't like where the poles went through the side bearings and the finial mirror box had new ones that were slightly larger. This was the biggest blunder of the construction.
I had to keep my fingers high on the glass so that their warmth wouldn't heat and expand the glass face, which would make a depression when it polished off the high spot and later cooled off.
Working with 120 grit on the mirror during the rough grinding phase. Mr. Dobson was kind enough to stop by and visit us at the 2005 Orange Blossom Special Mirror Lab. This mirror was started over a year ago at the end of 2003, but I put it on hold while working on the 12.5" Griffin and the 2005 raffle scope for the Mirror Lab.
Here are a few of the larger telescopes that members of the mirror lab have made. We usually have a ring of chairs as visitors hang out to see the faint fuzzies that the larger optics pull in. This photo is from the 2016 Star Party. The views through all three scopes were amazing and we compared them frequently. This year I used the iOS app Observer Pro and Deep Sky Planner to select my targets. Both did a great job helping me create an observing list that included two dozen objects that I have never hunted down before. I also switched to the home made dew heater controller this year and it worked great.
Sometimes the weather gets a little cool and a warm hat is a wonderful thing. I've been known to place a Hot Hands hand warmer in the hat to get through a cold night. This is from the 2013 Star Party.
Notice the eyes looking up cut into the front of the rocker box of this telescope and the Mini Maxx. These are for the soft gray cat Maxx who the scope was named after. He would peek out of the blinds when I was observing from the back yard. Often he would be looking up with me. 🐈
Ralph and I finished our respective Dobs a week apart a year before this photo was taken. The 18" Maxx on the left and Ralph's 16" on the right. I have since made a 16", the Mini Maxx, that is much lighter and more portable and I use the Maxx at home.
Maxx was the cat that watched me through the blinds as I used various telescopes in the back yard. Sadly he didn't live long enough to see the finished Maxx telescope.
