Russ Jocoy's 9" F/4.8 Dob

Here are some images of Russ's first scope built around one of my mirrors - a very nice 9" F/4.8 with a ~1/2"-thick plate glass mirror.  It was fun to figure, and is so incredibly lightweight that Russ needed springs to counterweight the scope!  The first photo shows it in "high-contrast" mode, with shroud in place.  The second photo shows the simple truss structure and the upper cage.  It's a very compact scope, with a focal length of ~43", so it's a nice sit-down scope for looking at whatever from the comfort of a chair.

9in with shroudFront view

Here's another view down the optical tube, showing  the focuser position (which has been moved, I believe, for more comfortable viewing) and the attachment points for the truss tubes in the mirror box.

View down the optical tube

Finally, a view of the scope from the back, showing cooling fan, a possible counterweight, and the mirror cell structure.

Back view, ready for observing

All in all, Russ really enjoys the views from this scope.  He says:  "The veiws from this "little" DOB are fantastic, It needs to be collamated correctly.... Once this is done, the mirror will produce images exceeding my 8" SCT Meade on a good night. My only wish is for a tracking platform to really tweeck to the limit.  This scope wiegh's 47 lbs total... and yes the mirror is about 48 ozs... I obviously over-built my first scope, but it is a trooper for the road, sky, and sharp images on clear skies.."

What we are discovering is that thin plate glass mirrors can provide excellent images.  What I am discovering is that such mirrors can be made with care, skill, and a bit of practice.  Maybe one of these days I will finally meet Russ in person and get to see the images my mirrors (9" and 13.1") are providing in his home state of Florida.

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