The Official Publication of the Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association, Inc
© 2000 BMAA, Inc
A Few Stella-Della-Valley XIV Images
Photographs by Ray Talipsky and Scott Petersen
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Astronomy 101 is an informal Q & A session before each General Meeting at 7:30p,
and open to anyone.
October 4: The Watery Quarter of the Sky, with Peter van der Spek
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The next BMAA General Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 4 at 8:00p
The Election of Officers for 2001 will be held at this meeting
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The CONSTELLATION is the official publication of the Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association, Inc, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and exists for the exchange of ideas, news, information and publicity among the BMAA membership, as well as the amateur astronomy community at large. The views expressed are not necessarily those of BMAA, but of the contributors and are edited to fit within the format and confines of the publication. Unsolicited articles relevant to astronomy are welcomed and may be submitted to the Editor.
Reprints of articles, or complete issues of the CONSTELLATION, are available by contacting the Editor at the address listed below, and portions may be reproduced without permission, provided explicit acknowledgement is made and a copy of that publication is sent to the Editor. The contents of this publication, and its format (published hard copy or electronic) are copyright © 2000 BMAA, Inc.
In an effort to transmit the CONSTELLATION electronically to the membership of BMAA, please provide a current e-dress to the Editor. Abbreviated issues are available on the web site, but complete editions will be e-mailed to members in good standing.
Submission deadline for articles is the 15th of the month prior to publication.
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BMAA MESSAGELINE - 215/579-9973
BMAA WEB SITE: bmaa.freeyellow.com/
Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association
StarWatch Chairman: Ed Radomski - 215/822-8312, ejrado@prodigy.net
Information Line - 215/579-9973
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Fix That Dobsonian!
- by John C Deitz
Many donsonian mounts lack that ideal buttery smooth motion because of the use of hard plastic bearing surfaces (as opposed to Teflon® against Ebony Star Laminate®). However, sheets of Fromica® are expensive and require gluing, and sheets of Teflon to replace the furniture glides typically provided are expensive. However, sheets of thin Teflon can now be found for around $25.00 that are large enough for two circles for the azimuth axis with enough left over to wrap around the altitude axis. They can be cut with scissors and, in the case of the altitude axis, the adhesive backing can be used to press in place in about five minutes time! The adhesive backing does not need to be used on the azimuth axis if two discs are employed. Ask Pam for help at : http://www.kapes.com .
If you need to replace the azimuth bearings only two 9 in discs can be found (without adhesive backing) at: http://www.dupont.com/teflon, for $5.00/pair!
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Illustration 1 : Fold each disc of Teflon Bakeware® in half twice to generate a quarter circle and snip off the point for a hole for the center bolt. |
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Illustration 2 : Remove the old hard plastic furniture guides typically provided and replace with two discs of Teflon. Be careful when replacing the tube - make sure there is room for the new bolt height! |
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Illustration 3 : A strip of adhesive backed Teflon can be cut to length and pressed into place for an instant altitude bearing of superior quality. |
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- John Deitz <johncdeitz@cs.com> has been providing occasional articles regarding telescope building. [ -ed]
