SDM Telescopes
16-40 inch custom built classic style Dobsonians
 

Welcome ...

to the virtual home of SDM Telescopes, where size does matter and the Dobsonian Revolution lives on in Australia. SDM telescopes are craftsman built by Peter Read to provide the ultimate large aperture experience. Tailored individually to each customer, SDM Telescopes are configured uniquely to suit the southern hemisphere and its harsh conditions.

Just Delivered

SDM068 Phil Townsend's 28" f/3.3
SDM063 Mike & Tracy Scarf's 18" f/5.5
SDM030 Greg Barrell's 14.5" f/4.5 gets a makeover

Latest News

Phil's Purple Photon Eater (14/03/2013)

 Well, I saw the thing
A pointin’ out to the sky
It had a eight long poles
And came to focus real high
I commenced to shakin'
And I said "oohwee
It looks like Phil's Purple
Photon Eater to me"

Say hello to Wild Thing. Phil Townsend is ready to rock the universe with his amazing new telescope. SDM068 is a stunning 28" f/3.3 monster complete with every conceivable extra including multiple mirror cooling fans, remote collimation and all dressed in regal gold and purple livery.

This instant classic is set to devour the night sky!

Mike's Mighty Metre (05/03/2013)
Its not every day we get to follow the build of a 40" telescope from start to end. Here we are at the very beginnings of what will become a quite magnificent metre class telescope for Mike K of Victoria.

The blank is currently sat upside-down on Mike Lockwood's grinding machine and about to have it's back ground perfectly flat before the long job of grinding and polishing the front surface to perfection.

Mike's telescope will be an incredible f3.0 so it will certainly be a challenge for everyone involved to bring this beauty to life both optically and mechanically. Thankfully for him, there are craftsmen on two continents capable of the job, stripped and ready for action!

Watch this space for updates...

A Texan Toy-Box (19/02/2013)
Amy and David Heard, proud owners of SDM052 are part of a super-exclusive group of Northern Hemisphere SDM owners.

Being Texans they understand that big is best and here they are in their supersized roll-off roof observatory with their appropriately large 25" SDM.

Unfortunately for the Heard's, equally big winter weather has been keeping that roof shut with many inches of snow falling recently to spoil the fun. Soon enough those legendary Texan skies will come out to play and we are looking forward to a fantastic observing report come the spring!

Now that is a Big Dob DOG! (12/01/2012)
When Peter dropped off SDM053 to its proud owner Alex Mihailidis, he was surprised to have a close encounter with Canis Major (canēs to be exact, for there are two)! The scope was mistakenly unloaded beside the roll-off roof observatory, which turned out to be a kennel, as his four legged friends eyed up their new chew-toy.

Thankfully their Big Dob is built to withstand the rigours of the harsh Australian climate with many stainless steel parts and finest marine ply construction. This beautiful scope sports a very fine 14" mirror too, figured to perfection by Mark Suchting and is sure to give outstanding views of the skies.

The first challenge will be to resolve that difficult double, Sirius, the Dog Star...

A wheely big telescope (7/08/2011)
A monster dob is a joy to view through at a star party, but spare a thought for the generous owner who had to transport it there.

When you have got one of the largest, sometimes you need a little more help to move that beast in to position. So SDM's biggest ever creation, SDM022 has been back for a re-tread!

The new transport system makes it wheely easy to move about and the owner can now enjoy stunning views of the night sky without tyreing...

There is Nyx you can't do with an SDM (17/05/2011)
In the right hands, a beautifully constructed Dobsonian turns in to a fabulous astrograph.

And those right hands belong to Alex Cherney  and his fabulous telescope Nyx (SDM035).

Armed with a spectrum-modified Sony NEX-5 camera and great sky during the South Pacific Star Party trip earlier in April, Alex took this top image of M20, the Trifid nebula. 

The image has been created from 27 x 15sec images taken at ISO 3200. It is testimony to the 'scopes precision engineering and the superb tracking of ServoCat that this is even possible, but never underestimate the skill needed by the photographer to bag a shot like this.

Great shot Alex!

David and Goliath (part II) (14/01/2011)
It's hard do believe that it would be possible to enjoy the exquisitely detailed images of a premium grade 32" Dobsonian without sustaining an altitude induced nose-bleed. Well, it's time to think again and take a look at this paradigm shifting beauty.

SDM022 is a 32" f/3.6 scope with a mirror made by Steve Kennedy. This is the 14th 32" mirror Steve has made and at this focal ratio the scope is only 6" longer to the eyepiece than a 20" f/5. And those who have frequented one of Australia's many star-parties with big dobs in attendance know, that height only requires a modest stepladder to reach the eyepiece when it is near the zenith.

For those of a more nervous disposition, the scope on the right is a somewhat safer, but no less exquisite, SDM054 at 12" f/5.

The Goddess of Night Basks in all its Beauty(15/09/2010)
"With the improving weather I managed to take Nyx (SDM035) out to a reasonably dark site.

The views of galaxies in Grus were excellent including the trio, with some good details in quite a few of the observed galaxies. The Helix Nebula was excellent with a UHC filter and Jupiter looked very crisp and detailed.

Taking Nyx out from the backyard, loading it into the car and setting up at the site takes very little time - less than 30 minutes all up.  The collimation is a breeze and the scope is exceptionally solid (the return laser beam dot stays in its place no matter were the scope is pointing). Best of all - the custom designed semi-compact 22" telescope easily fits into our family wagon and I can leave the ladder at home. The innovative design provides full protection of the primary mirror for piece of mind.

I could continue on and on about what I like about Nyx, but putting it simply - the workmanship and attention to detail are superb and it is is a pure joy to use Nyx.  As you might have guessed already I am another very happy and proud SDM owner." Alex Cherney

No Steps to Heaven!(05/08/2010)
Terry Dougherty had his feet firmly planted on the ground when he took possession of SDM008 after an extreme makeover saw it converted into a folded Newtonian.

Terry loves being able to observe any object without using a ladder! It has the convenience of a 15" Dob with the light collecting and resolving power of a 25" with no noticeable loss in light gathering power, contrast or resolution.

This amazing instrument has been designed so that it can be used in its original "full length" configuration or can be folded using shortened poles and a special upper tube assembly, sporting a 9" circular flat and 4.5" elliptical diagonal flat both by Terry Ostahowski. The conversion process takes just a few minutes, but we suspect that it will stay folded for quite some time.

SDM008 is undeniably two scopes in one and to celebrate this special instrument, we have given it gallery entries for both its classic and folded configurations.

More News>

"Size DOES Matter"

[Home] [About SDM] [Scope Showcase] [Big Dob Prices]
[Links] [Articles] [Extras] [Contact SDM]