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Starmaster
Portable Telescopes
Manufacturer of high-quality
American-made
Newtonian telescopes with the best available optics. I make
primary mirrors from 14.5" to 30" in
aperture, and I test and refigure secondary mirrors to ensure
consistent quality.
Certain sizes/focal ratios of mirrors are available for
individual sale when I
have time. If I am busy, Starmaster optics have
priority.Click here for a review of an 18" f/3.7 FX Starmaster telescope Click here for articles about my 20" f/3 MX Starmaster telescope, etc. |
| JP
Astrocraft, LLC |
Superb telescopes
built by expert craftsman and machinist John Pratte. Small
quantities, superb workmanship, useful and unique features. Custom
telescopes and custom-built mirror cells. I
make primary mirrors from 16" to 42" in aperture, and I test and
refigure secondary mirrors for John's fine products. He is
located close to me,
and he extensively tests all completed instruments. Due to
our
proximity, we can also test mirror cell edge supports for larger
projects to insure proper performance of the cell. |
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Astro Works Corporation
Manufacturer of the legendary Centurion 18, Astro
Works is building three 28" f/3.1 prime-focus imaging systems, and I am
doing the optical work on the cast cellular optics. The link
to
the amazing Centurion 28 is
directly accessible here.
See an image it produced here. |
 and Dream Cellular LLC |
Dream
Telescopes &
Accessories, Inc.
A manufacturer
of thoroughly
engineered,
lighweight, rigid telescopes made from composite materials, intended
for astroimaging. I make fast, cellular primary mirrors for
Dream's
Newtonian astrographs, and provide some testing services. See some
amazing images captured by these instruments here, and read more about their
performance here.Dream
Cellular, LLC
Dream
Cellular engineers and
manufactures
custom cast cellular mirror blanks up to 30" in diameter, and possibly
up to 60" in the future. I
use
and highly recommend their products. These are the only
readily
available, engineered, cast cellular blanks that I know of. |
| ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE |
A non-profit
organization founded by Bob Holmes
to acquire data on near-earth objects, trans-Neptunian objects,
etc. I made the
24" and the 32" primary mirrors used by
Bob in his NASA-funded research. A 50" telescope is in the
works, and the cast cellular blank has arrived at the shop where curves
will be diamond generated. |
| Cruxis |
Robert
Houdart's telescope web site
When the glass arrives (now it
appears it will be a monolithic blank), I'll be
making a 1.1m (43.4") f/3.75 mirror
for Robert. The 8" minor-axis secondary mirror has
already been
delivered.Robert purchased a custom 16" F/4.9 mirror, 1.4" thick, to replace the thicker mirror in his 16" telescope, and he has posted a recent observing report here. |
| Equatorial Platforms |
Manufacturer of custom metal telescopes and
equatorial tracking platforms. I recently made a custom 20"
F/3.8
mirror for
Tom Osypowski's personal telescope. Tom is the owner of Equatorial
Platforms, and can produce custom telescope up to 40" in aperture. |
| Great Red Spot Astronomy Products |
I will be producing large primary
mirrors and
secondary mirrors for this company. The first large telescope
in
their line is a 40" f/3.75 telescope, and it will feature a monolithic
primary mirror made by me from Supremax glass by Schott. |
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I used an early version of the Starlight Integrated Paracorr System (SIPS).
I used it and liked it so much that Starlight asked me to
write the instruction manual (click HERE to download it). The SIPS features a superb 1.5"-travel Feathertouch focuser (my favorite) mounted on top of a specially made TeleVue Paracorr Type 2 coma corrector. The corrector is stationary, so it is always in the optimal position for best performance. This is the system/corrector that I prefer for very fast telescopes. |