Modifying my Newtonian Telescope

In this video i show the modifications i have carried out to my newtonian telescope!
I have fitted an aperture mask, flocked the tube, painted the edge of the secondary and used a shower cap to great effect!!!
if you want to help me buy a 533C or save for my wedding please consider this link! LOL
www.buymeacoffee.com/astrostace

[@gregorymckenna6609]

So glad you take the time to show the whole process. It makes it easy to understand.

[@KlausYourDaddy]

Flocking good

[@Abaris42]

Great video! Think I'll try painting the edge of my mirrors too hadn't thought of it until now. Love the shower cap.

[@matthewbrown8679]

I tighten each mirror clip until I can no longer rotate the mirror, then loosen it little by little just until I can rotate the mirror freely again

[@GarnettLeary]

Nothing quite as satisfying as modding your scope. It makes a scope more personal.

[@AstroStace]

Absolutely!

[@corinlewis3073]

Hey Stacey, Great video I hope you get some clear skies tonight, I'm here watching the sky here I see abit of blue sky here in London , fingers crossed for clear skies

[@ioansturz3023]

Nice

[@saeidkarimim6532]

nice

[@Microtonal_Cats]

Good tip, especially the painting and shower cap. Oh, at 15:44, I the diffraction spikes look off centered, which I think is from the secondary mirror not being absolutely centered. Can be adjusted easily by adjusting the spider. You'll figure it out once you see it. (Unless that's a choice. I suppose it could be.)

[@AstroStace]

The spider has actually been really bugging me, so I got a new cnc spider! I’m hoping it’s going to solve my off centre spike issues 🙏🏻🤞🏻

[@matthewbrown8679]

@@AstroStace where did you get the CNC spider from?

[@AstroStace]

@@matthewbrown8679 FLO - Backyard universe

[@scottrk4930]

Very nice to see you back vlogging . (you and your glass of wine LOL) You are a very brave Astrophotographer . Lots of Mods which are working ! Nice display of the OCAL in use . I'm still not sure for my SCT . Cheers . /SRK

[@michael.a.covington]

Do give me your further thoughts about Altair 26C versus 533. The square sensor of the 533 makes a lot of sense. Lenses are round, squares fit into circles better than rectangles do. Or you can just use the 26C and crop the image.

[@AstroPilotchannel]

I have the same model scope, and I definitely want to upgrade the spiders, I notice I have collimation shift when pointing low in the sky. Iv seen that TS Optics has a heavy duty metal spider for 8 inch newts, I’m thinking about giving it a try, other than that I LOVE my scope, I probably won’t ever go back o a refractor lol, clear skies stace.

[@slapastronomy8646]

Really good video! I bet the contrast improved quite a bit with the combination of flocking and edge blackening. On a side note - the pup was cute.

[@AstroStace]

Contrast massively improved! :) just a bit of weird tilt but I’m hoping I’ve sorted that now 😊 And thank you, luna is a total darling! ❤️

[@SimonsAstro]

Great job Stacey, love the shower cap! I’m not good at explaining things! I thought you did great! If I ever go for a reflector telescope, (refractor guy here!) I’ll get one on these collimation tools👍Although I’m not as brave as you to take it all to bits🤣 Thanks and clear skies!

[@AstroStace]

Thanks Simon! I’m usually a refractor girl but this scope is fast becoming my fave! The ocal is such a great tool for newts, it’s really helped me!

[@howling_at_the_moon1]

Hi Stacey I'm a complete beginner but very impressed with the mods you've done. I been looking around on KZbin and,think I'm going to go for the Skywatcher explorer 130pds. Then of course I'll have to think about a Sturdy Tripod. Take care.

[@jamesdougan8789]

g`day stace great video and supertune on the newt ... yes i would like to see a review on that collimator i have not seen that product before i was going to buy a laser one for my nephew he needs a good one congratulations on the engagement to the bank manager and who could say no to you getting a new astro camera lol cheers for the vid haven't seen you in my notifications for a while

[@sunpointstudio4472]

I usually recommend people paint the interior of the scope tube with Black 3 instead of flocking.

[@studywithme8055]

Did you actually try it? I wonder how much easier/harder it is to apply and if it chips/degrades after time.

[@sergiocantoli5783]

Nice video Stacy! Tell us how that nexus works.

[@harryragland7840]

I understand the benefit of flocking the tube, but it seems like it will always be a dust issue for your primary mirror. Would paint have been a good option?

[@woody5109]

Nice Stacy, I did the same most of what you did for my 8” Orion, can’t find a mirror mask or stronger spider arm’s though?

[@johnmheaton]

Bostin Stace!

[@garyroberts6554]

Great presentation very informative. I'm looking at getting a 200mm reflector for astro. I have question - why did you go for F5 rather than F4 for photography?

[@AstroStace]

Collimation is even harder on f4 vs f5! The smaller the focal ratio every little blemish or collimation error is more critical! So yeah to keep my sanity really I went for f5 😃

[@anata5127]

How much did you spend for that Newtonian?

[@steveg4iwr]

The bank manager is usually the female in the house lol. Nice video cheers.

[@AstroStace]

Well we’re two females in this house 🤣😅😅😅

[@danielbrowniel]

can someone show evidence that traditional flocking is still better than these new paints, like Black 3.0? It certainly is inferior to VantaBlack but , that's impossible to get unless you're nasa.

[@rajivsrivastav7218]

7:55 Which app this??

[@AstroStace]

It’s the ocal collimator and the ocal software

[@tubedude54]

Apparently it's unavailable at present. Ontario Telescope shows it lists for $330... for that kind of money it better come with a person to use it on my scope...

[@AstroStace]

I assume you’re talking about the ocal, the basic package is £169 here. It’s not for everyone, but for me it’s really helped me as I’ve had quite a bad neck injury

[@tubedude54]

@@AstroStace Sorry, that was for the 'Pro' version... I just rechecked the Ontario telescope site and the basic model, also unavailable, lists for $230 which I assume is US dollars which at present exchange rates would be close to £184. Still a lot of money but I suppose less than the HoTech system. Hope your neck gets better. I pulled a muscle in my side and it keeps flaring up at times and I did it 15 yrs ago.

[@joey5712]

If you could do drawing or give me some dimensions, i could machine you some collimation knobs what ever style you like.? Let me know if your interested 👍 free of charge would be cool just to see you using them

[@davemoss6743]

Nice mods to your Newt! Collimation - the bain of my life. I've collimated my laser then collimated the tube but that doesn't agree with the Cheshire or the collimation cap. Cuiv, the Lazy Geek recently had a video about it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rn6nfIKFrLuqrK8. Any chance you could do a comparison between Ocal, Cheshire, Laser, collimation cap, +?. and explain what you should see if the secondary is not aligned with the focuser or the focuser has tilt etc. Sorry to be a pain 🙂