garigue wrote:
BTW, 15 dollar 12.5 inch Pyrex blanks are the rough equivalent of
finding an almost new, mint FT-1000 MV Field, loaded, for 100 dollars,
so there is your luck!


Excellent Mike ...I made a 4 inch reflector yrs ago ....this fellow had
slabs of glass he got for free ...we made up a cutting saw out of brass and
with patience ...a drill press and some slag ....we were able to cut out
blanks. Grinding and polishing were fun ...but I gave the scope away years
ago. About 4 yrs ago I bought a 6 inch reflector which I have a ball with
..... when I have the time ... We are worried about BPL qrm ...funny that
the same hold true re light pollution for the astronomy set.

The longer I am on the web, the more Amateurs I find that are amateur
astronomers. Amazing!

Making your own refractor is way cool! I want to do this someday.

And yes, Light pollution is a real problem, and is a bit analogous to BPL.

By the way, a bit of trivia if you're interested. I'm the pappy of the
Black Forest Star Party, and chaired the first two versions of the
party. Beautiful dark site, and especially the first year, a pitch black
night. I was being interviewed by reporters after dinner, prior to
taking them on a tour of the grounds to see different telescopes set up
there. The interview took quite a while, and by the time we stepped out
of the pavilion and under the night sky it was completely dark. When we
walked out from under the pines at the edge of the field, the impact of
seeing the Milky way MOVED these jaded reporters -and at least one of
them - to tears.

Ya wanna lose THAT?

- Mike KB3EIA -