SDM Telescopes
15-32 inch custom built Obsession style Dobsonians
 

More News (Page 1)

You don't see that every day!(02/10/2007)
In quite extraordinary circumstances, John Salini (SDM010) has turned his secondary mirror into a lacewing breeding ground. John swears that he left the scope unattended and uncovered for no more than 30 minutes whilst waiting for NGC253 to rise above his house, during which time an enterprising insect took advantage of his diagonal.

The species was confirmed by CSIRO Entomology - "They belong to the green lacewings (Order Neuroptera) from the family Chrysopidae. The adult will deposit a thread of silk from her abdomen and top it off with an egg. Because the eggs are elevated it makes them less prone to predation from potential predators such as ants which will walk around the base of the silk thread, oblivious to the food (egg) perched directly above them!").

Needless to say, John is less than happy and the rest of us can only scratch our respective heads in bewilderment. You really don't see that every day!

A very exotic mirror for sale(22/08/2007)
Terry Ostahowski has a quite superb 18" Zerodur mirror available. This 'almost' zero expansion glass exotica is the choice of the truly discerning and is rarely seen outside of the professional observatory. This mirror is 2.2" thick, weighs 49 pounds and has a Focal length of 87.1". It has been figured to within a slither of perfection and topped off with Enhanced Aluminium coatings. Even better, this mirror can be yours for AU$7990.

Combine this mirror with an SDM telescope to create the stuff of legends!

Early images are quite brilliant!(04/06/2007)
Paul Haese, also known in internet circles as 'Rumples Riot', can proudly take his place on the world stage of planetary photographers; his images are often seen published in magazines and in features on the Web.

Realising that the sheer resolving power of 18" could take the science to the next level, Paul has been working with SDM014 to create the ultimate planetary imaging scope. His exploits can be seen on South Celestial Pole a leading Australian astronomy forum where he keeps his SDM Blog which chronicles the issues facing the imager using a big Dob and showcases his innovative solutions. Paul’s preliminary results are simply stunning.

And just for the record - that’s Ganymede’s shadow just beginning to cross the face of Jupiter. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season!

How Big?(20/03/2007)
A delighted Rod Berry comes to grips with the sheer size of SDM012. His 20" F5 has been an instant hit with his family, and, as can be seen in his Gallery, this versatile instrument appears to be doubling up as an adventure playground during the day!

Unfortunately for Rod, the Weather Gods have struck with unprecedented force and left him thoroughly clouded-out and having to wait for first light. In the meantime join Rod and friends over in Ice-in-Space debating SDM012's new name ...

Little meets Large(04/03/2007)
SDM has become Stellarvue's only official Australian dealer so if you want one of these magnificent refractors to adorn your monster Dob, or even as a superb photographic instrument in its own right, then give Peter a call.

Check out the Stellarvue website to see just why they received not one but two Sky & Telescope Hot Product accolades for 2007.

An odd partnership? Well SDM and Stellarvue have a very important common ethos which makes them perfect partners - each and every telescope is personally star tested to ensure complete satisfaction.

Message from a master mirror maker(28/02/2007)
"... good job - nice telescopes!"

Terry Ostahowski has been in touch to say he is no longer a partner in Discovery optics, but is very much still in business!

Terry is committed to having are some of the best lead times in the business when the glass is available. He says "I turn it out within two weeks of me getting my hands on it".

More so, Terry will gladly take on orders for optics (including testing & refiguring) in the 12.5" to 24" size and will quote realistic delivery dates that he will stand behind.

Call Peter for the latest on delivery times and prices for Terry's fine optics.

Six of the best(21/02/2007)
After a long summer wait for primary mirrors to be completed and shipped from the US, no less than Six SDM telescopes are due to be delivered before Easter.

And the lucky new owners are in for a real treat if the star tests live up to the lab results - these telescopes are going to be pretty special.

Click on the image of John Salini's Galaxy mirror test results on the left (linked to the Galaxy website) to see just how well figured these optics are.

In approximate order of delivery: Paul Haese, John Trudgen, Peter Brooks, Rod Berry, John Salini and Peter Long in a delivery round stretching from South Australia to Queensland.

Watch this space for more news of the four 18's and two 20's as they make their way to expectant owners!

Obsessed!(15/01/2007)
On the 27th December Peter headed off to Sydney with a car full of tools and telescope components, and a furniture van full of telescope cases.
He had been asked by Fred K of the 3 Rivers Foundation (3RF) to do some work on their 6 Obsession telescopes here in Australia.

3RF run a summer camp in the US with a special emphasis on music, theatre and astronomy. They have placed four 18 inch and two 25 inch Obsession scopes in the caretakership of Lachlan MacDonald, Tony Buckley, John Bambury and Andrew Murrell (of the ASNSW), with the aim of making viewing of the night sky through big Dobs more accessible to the public.

Peter supplied pole cases, secondary cases and accessory cases. He also supplied and fitted cat stalks which have the ArgoNavis, servoCAT wired hand pad and the wireless hand pad receiver attached. Peter ran all the wiring in secret routed channels inside the rocker box. Next he ran power from the rocker box up to the mirror box and put some terminal posts on the back of the fan board. Power was then distributed to the fan and also to two of the poles (via a spring loaded "bullett" inside the split block) which carried power to the secondary cage. A KENDRICK DIGIFIRE 7 dew control box was mounted on the secondary cage and customised "dew not" heater straps were fitted to the Telrad, eye piece and finder. He also ran power to the DG3 secondary heater which is siliconed to the back of the secondary mirror.

It took 6 days (and nights) to complete the work. A day to recover, and another day to drive home. Peter would like to thank Lachlan and John for making their places available to him and for their invaluable assistance and advice.

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