CONSTRUCTION OVERVIEW OF THE

VSC/ SAO 127MM” f/9.4 "BRIGADIER GENERAL RICHARD PIERCE"

EQ MOUNTED REFRACTOR

The above image is a rendering of the home-built VSC/ SAO 127mm f/9.4 'Brigadier General Richard Pierce' Equatorially Mounted refractor. Click to see an enlarged image.

Here is a photo of Mel Dawson with his completed 127mm f/9.4 refractor ready for First Light conducted on the morning of December 15, 2009.

****  All photos within the sections below can be viewed in greater detail. Just click on the photos within to enlarge.  ****

 

                                                                                                                 

Hello Fellow Stargazers, and ATM'ers! ...and Welcome to the web pages covering the construction of the my telescope, the VSC's "SAO 127mm f/9.4 'Brigadier General Richard Pierce' EQ Mounted Refractor". A long time prior to building my 10" f/5.6 Newtonian, and inspired by the 60mm instruments I used in yesteryear, I longed to own a well corrected large aperture refractor in the 5" to 6" inch range. Unfortunately, their prices were beyond my means. So, since Newtonian telescopes were more economically feasible, I took that route in hopes of one day going back to my dream of owning a big refractor once funds were available. Over the years, I kept my eyes open waiting on the perfect deal on a big refractor, to no avail. Or, if one would show up, I missed out on the deal in some way. Well, back in 2007, I discovered that a company called Surplus Shed sold descent optics at great prices and had large aperture objectives periodically to boot. The one that caught my interest was the 127mm f/9.4 after hearing good reviews about its performance. So, in early 2008, I decided to make a move on one. Unfortunately to my dismay, Surplus Shed were sold out of these lenses. Drat's! Fortunately, on the ad for the lens on their website, there was a link which allowed you to submit your email address to get on the waiting list the next time they received a shipment. Once SS did, they would send you an email letting you know they were in stock. I received my restock email from SS nearly a year later on December 30, 2008, and thank God I was in the position to snag one for $164.00 (cost+shipping).

In addition to building the telescope for this project, I will also be constructing a field tripod. Similar in construction to the prototype North Star field tripod I built for my colleague Gary Barabino, it will be called the North Star II. The prototype was chronicled in the March/ April 2009 issue of Astronomy Technology Today. The unit will have some distinctive differences and improvements as compared to the prototype North Star.

Sincerely, Mel Dawson     ..."Clear Skies, Forever!"