400mm f/4 Airline Transportable Dobsonian Telescope Assembly

Assembly video of my 400mm f/4 truss airline transportable Dobsonian telescope. The first trip was to the island of La Palma in August 2021, where a made this short video. For more details see this thread on the CloudyNights forum: www.cloudynights.com/topic/74...

[@Dirk1Steele]

If you decided to make this a commercial offering, I think you would have a lot of interest. Great design!

[@luisse9011]

I know you must be told this many many times, but nevertheless: you should definitively find the way to offer this commercially. It's amazing!

[@frankryanjr1746]

Roel. You are an artist. These are incredible.

[@photonjones5908]

I enjoyed seeing the video of your 100mm mock-up as well. The simplicity of the design is sublime. Great musical score too btw!

[@olivierdamiron7279]

Gorgeous piece of kit, clever built. 👌

[@anandarochisha]

Brilliant...and great craftsmanship.

[@astrokhan]

Great idea. Loved the design!

[@jimpoop]

That is an absolutely ingenious design.

[@800mmTelescopeProject]

That magnetic sec mirror attachment tho. Refreshing innovative idea! Kudos!

[@rickbaze8791]

until it falls on the primary mirror. and please don't say it couldn't happen

[@Roelarex]

@@rickbaze8791 Neodymium magnets are incredibly strong. Actually it's pretty difficult to remove the secondary during disassembly (the holder has a stop in the center so you can't "slide" it off sideways, so you really have to pull it of). If one would pull on the mirror, I'm confident the sillicone glue would brake even before the magnets give way. Believe me, it will never just fall off. :)

[@Fatal_Inertia]

I would love to buy 200 or 250mm version of this to take on trips, very nice piece of kit.

[@jonathanr2830]

Brilliant. Thank you.

[@david-lintraciel4084]

fantastic, congratulations !

[@AmatureAstronomer]

Interesting looking scope and great music.

[@MrPixelspin]

That's awesome!

[@shawnpwatsons1]

Genius design.

[@hengonn]

What a great job ! you must be an excellent handyman...

[@The-KP]

Perfect music choice!

[@kosmos921]

Mocowanie lusterka wtórnego straszne 😱a tak to fajny sprzęt ,extremalnie kompaktowy

[@user-ux2rt4oc8h]

Сборка и настройка чистый кайф я уже не говорю о том что можно увидеть в такой аппарат )))))

[@nordmende73]

Fantastisch!

[@jr82ist]

Beutiful design 🤓👍👍👍

[@ashwinchavan8070]

Wow this is crazy portable scope......

[@fernandodearaujo3694]

Great. This is a very practical design. I would fit a 50mm finder but maybe need a counterweight.

[@albertberal2882]

Hi! This is great! I love the wood work but wonder how stable it is? for wind but also for precision due to wood deforming? But it's amazing congrats!

[@brianwilhelm3770]

nice job, I would like to see some photographs of what it looks like with that telescope!!

[@neogarde]

Thanks for your videos. I've been dreaming of owning a 400 Dobson like this for a long time and have been researching how to get the mirrors. I always get to the same point. The thousands of Euros that the primary costs alone make me give up. Still, I'll keep looking for a way to get the damn mirrors. Thanks again for sharing these videos. In the future I will be attentive to your channel, in search of information that can help me. Greetings from Spain. (sorry for the google-translation)

[@totolafinesse7073]

Very nice

[@astrolovers2022]

Top. Muito legal

[@JM-yd7rq]

would love to see the mirror cell

[@LouieSankey]

Thank you for sharing your videos. I've been copying your design to make an 8 inch travel dob. After I cut the circle in the mirror holder, can I place the mirror in directly? Does it rest on top of the three collimation bolts on the inside? Do you use any clamps? I am worried about the safety of the mirror. I see you have the exterior cover, but does anything protect it or harness it on the inside? is it just glass next to wood? Thanks.

[@lllllsp1d3rlllll]

Thats bad azz i would love that

[@MissouriMatthew]

The music sounds great watching this video at 1.5x speed!

[@Sergey_Sergeev]

Mooi.

[@KayakTN]

Loved the music. 😄 Do you have to collimate it every time you put it together?

[@Roelarex]

Thanks! Yes, after each complete assembly the telescope (like virtually every Newtonian after transport) has to be collimated. It takes just about 2 minutes. To compensate for this loss of time I extend my observing session by 2 minutes at the end of the night. ;)

[@woody5109]

Commercial interest would likely be off the charts, we done. You should pitch this on “shark tank”

[@astrosathya1984]

Hi, that's a brilliant design there. I have an 8.5" f8 which I'd like to build into a similar design. Other than the book by David Kriege, what other resources would you recommend please?

[@PCPointerDE]

Music is strange :DDD Like in E.T. :D Nice dobson telescope. Do you have a friction brake on the base?

[@Gondaliya1991]

Nice begraund music like alien convense film

[@JM-kr2mo]

beeautiful. How secure is the secondary mirror, your method of magnets gave me chills honestly.

[@Roelarex]

I can understand your worries, but I use neodymium magnets on secondary mirror holders for years now, in different telescopes - the system has never failed on me. The holder itself clicks very firmly onto a metal ring, which is collimated by a standard three-screw method. Here are some pictures of this system on my 14" Dob: www.roelblog.nl/2016/12/350mm-f4-versie-2-weer-ietsje-kleiner-en-lichter/#more-2544

[@satyajitbhadraroy7723]

What coma corrector do you use with that f4?

[@Roelarex]

@@satyajitbhadraroy7723 None. I do use high quality eyepieces, and in those the coma at f/4 doesn't bother me that much.

[@mrassilyer]

This is the best portable dob I’ve seen. I’m not too crazy for the magnets on the secondary. I understand they’re strong, but…I’m just sayin’

[@danieljackson654]

HOW WONDERFUL. I want one. Please.

[@juanpablomartin]

Wow! This a wonderful FYI project! A friend and I would love to do one on our own! Is there any chance you could share the blueprints? Or if not suggest me where to look for? Thanks!!

[@Roelarex]

Thanks! I get lots of messages from people asking if I would send them my plans for building a telescope. Even if I would like to, I couldn’t - my “plans” are mostly scribbles, incomplete, messy and totally unusable for anyone but myself. For those who want to use my designs, feel free to do so but please understand that all I can provide are the pictures on my website. www.roelblog.nl

[@MegaFlyght]

Complimenti! 👏🏼 Il telescopio è notevole, molto compatto... Però la musica del video è angosciante! 😂

[@rsridhar63]

Brilliant! If the structural integrity will remain for repeated assembly and disassembly, it will greatly simplify the trouble of carrying large telescopes in the limited boot space of small cars. Keen to know how much this would cost.

[@Roelarex]

It depends on what you mean by 'structural integrity'. If you mean the telescope can be assembled and disassembled many times without wear or damage: yes. Of course the telescope has to be collimated after each assembly, although this doesn't take more than 2 minutes max. The costs depend almost fully on the materials used, woodworking skills, access to tools, etc. From building everything yourself to buying a complete telescope, and every option in between. (Sumerian Optics for example is one supplier of commercial available complete travel telescopes, with comparable design features)

[@rsridhar63]

@@Roelarex Thanks for that reply in a jiffy. Yes, I did mean wear and tear due to repeated assembly and disassembly. You have answered that. Thanks. Certainly collimation will be inevitable each time given the portable nature of the scope. Will be useful if you can share a rough cost estimate. All the best!

[@chrishildreth6628]

Any chance of making plans available. I have a 400 mm blank that I’m currently figuring and would really like to build something like your scope. I can probably figure out 90% of what you’ve done from the video and make up the rest, but plans would help significantly as a backstop. :)

[@bowrudder899]

It's an odd day when my telescope can fly but I can't.

[@karim1485]

Great scope! Love the details, do you know the weight of the primary mirror? Thank you

[@Roelarex]

The primary mirror weighs 7,5kg.

[@mattmichota4960]

how do you build the truss poles? I'd love to try and build one

[@doctormclovin2634]

So how much for one :D? Looks incredible, interested in buying a mass produced truss like Explore Scientific or Skywatcher Stargate but mannn what you have here is incredible.

[@IndiaAstronomyClubIAC]

How did you managed primary mirrior cell design

[@eggplantstar914]

how does the azimuth bearings work? Is there a triangular ground board with teflon pads and is the bottom of the rocker-box completely covered in the laminate? Does the ground board stay attached and what is made of?

[@Roelarex]

That't exactly what it is! The ground can be transported in the case if needed, but most of the time I leave it mounted under the rockerbox, like in this video. (I also made a equatorial platform for it, the top of the platform then serves as the groundboard)

[@vijaykumars5161]

Roel, can you please let me know how you connect two small rods together to make a big rod. What is the keyword I need to use to find this online? I know it is a bolt and a nut kind of thing. But how did you insert it there and make it screw into each other?

[@markokomend]

I want the same in 12" F/5

[@pizdekkenjac4834]

Question... Do you transport the primary mirror in the carry on luggage? And if so, how when the mirror itself is at least 10kg and most airlines upper carry on limit is 7kg. I ask because I would love to carry the 16 inch sandwich mirror with me to South America but I don't want to put it in checked baggagem

[@Roelarex]

The primary mirror weighs 8,1kg. The carry-on limit of the airlines I have used so far to travel to La Palma (TUI, Transavia) is 10kg. Never had any issues at security, although many were very curious about what I was bringing this big chunk of aluminised glass for... :)

[@f4ucorsair153]

The problem is the primary mirror weight and hand luggage cap. Most of the time the cap is 7kg, so i am limited to a primary weighing roughly 5-6kg. Which means limit is the regular 10" dobsonian. I myself have successfylly transported an 8" via airplane. I for sure wont be putting the mirror in my checked luggage. Nevertheless, a great piece of craftmanship and spmething I may consider.

[@joseelpidioalcocervillanue3970]

an the second part?

[@habibanourtv9824]

Donde lo puedo comprar?

[@MRxMADHATTER]

I want to make this.

[@vinnygoombatts1458]

All that, then the clouds move in...

[@cesarecannavo1134]

Wow Fantastic Equipment. I liked so much ohne to have. Great idea to build the secondary mirror with the magnet. Fantastic idea is very sufficient . How much are the price this 400mm Teleskope? And how is the company, Europe or USA? Thanks..

[@Roelarex]

I build this telescope myself. It is not commercially available.

[@cesarecannavo1134]

@@Roelarex Thank you for your answer. Very pity’s, I have thinking are possibly to buy one. Greetings 🖖

[@ReachOutToWilliam]

@@Roelarex Not true. It is a Sumerian Optics scope.

[@junglejim7664]

Isn't that the musical theme from Alien? Nice job on the telescope, as always, but that wouldn't be authorized cabin baggage with many airlines.

[@arnoLeo]

It's just à Pierre Strock Dobsonian.... nothing new but very Well built. Congrat

[@NielssBohr]

Would you be willing to share your building plans for this dob?

[@Roelarex]

I get lots of e-mails from people asking if I would send them my plans for building a telescope. Even if I would like to, I couldn’t - my “plans” are mostly scribbles, incomplete, messy and totally unusable for anyone but myself. For those who want to use my designs, feel free to do so but please understand that all I can (and will) provide are the pictures on my website. P.S. I also do not build telescopes for customers, nor sell any of mine.

[@Briekout]

@@Roelarex You should, it's niche but oh yeah there are quite afew enthusiasts and the pop is growing. ;-)

[@vijaygopal101]

@Roelarex Sir, please provide the height of eyepiece at zeneth! It's crucial information! Your suspenseful music would lend me to guess, but you could be 190cm tall!!! Symphony SWELL!!!! INTENSE CHORDS!!! 😃

[@Roelarex]

Eyepiece height at zenith is 135cm. Note the "lowrider" design of the upper tube assembly to reduce the eyepiece height. An equatorial pIatform built for this telescope adds about 6cm. Your guess was actually pretty close, I'm 188cm tall. :)

[@user-re5wr4rv4l]

Слушая зловещий музон, я все время ждал, когда автор уронит вторичку или долбанет главное зеркало))

[@JM-kr2mo]

What size secondary are you using?

[@Roelarex]

It's 80mm (minor axis)

[@astronomiaaovivo3415]

I want to buy one, you sell?

[@tamilselvan-xi5kv]

how mush the price of this dobsonian telescope?

[@Roelarex]

I build this one myself, and it's not for sale. Sorry!

[@PaulHummerman]

does it work? Images?

[@Roelarex]

It's for visual use only, so unfortunately I can't show any photograps taken through the telescope...

[@DavidDavid-xs4ej]

Ok...but, where are the pictures?

[@Roelarex]

The telescope is designed for visual obervations only, it's not suited for photography.

[@johnsonlaw0804]

What is the total weight of the whole setup?

[@Roelarex]

The total weight of the complete telescope including the mirrors is 20kg (=44lbs)

[@johnsonlaw0804]

@@Roelarex amazing!

[@brenomcampos]

How to buy this telescope?

[@Roelarex]

I'ts a DIY project, it's not for sale...

[@gerardorz]

...who is interested for a CROWDFUNDING ?...I would gladly cooperate for one of those...very compact...and a fun to assembly!

[@IgnisCygnus147]

Music choice was the most integral part doubt I would’ve watched other wise, no offense but I’m not down with the cliche free use guitar rock track crap. Any King Crimson fans in here, TOOL?!

[@johnnycash4034]

Can you send me the plans for this? I want all your hard work for free and make some money from it. Is this the correct way of thinking? The millennial way. The I don't want to work or lift a finger and do something in my life, but still deserve everything for free way of thinking. Looking at these comments really pisses me off.

[@ReachOutToWilliam]

This is not a DIY project. It is an advertisement for Sumerian Optics products. The telescope shown is over $2000.

[@Roelarex]

William, please take a better look at the Sumerian products before posting such a comment. Sumerian telescopes indeed look similar but are less compact, heavier and don't have building threads like this on Cloudynights: www.cloudynights.com/topic/743145-roels-16-f4-ultralight-traveldob-propdob-mega/