Last year the amateur astronomy community got a new resource for “simple and practical” items. Joel Short, an astroimaging enthusiast located in Northern Indiana, opened the Buckeyestargazer Shop to make available items he has developed to offer affordable and uncomplicated accessories. As Short comments, “These are simple and practical items that I have found to be essential for the home astrophotographer.”
He recently announced that he has continued to expand his line of TriBahtinov and Duncan Masks for quick and easy focus and collimation. As he comments. “Of special note is that the C6, C8, C9.25, C11 and C14 Duncan and TriBahtinov masks now accommodate both Hyperstar and native Fastar/secondary mirror configurations. The central hole is sized for the Hyperstar and the mask includes a snap fit bushing to decrease the diameter for the Fastar ring.”
In addition, Joel has added TriBahtinov masks for:
– Vixen VMC200L
– Explore Scientific 12″ Dob (DOB1245)
– Meade 10″ Schmidt-Newtonian
– Celestron C14 – Non-Fastar (pre 1998)
For astroimagers who don’t have an automatic rotator, Short also offers simple camera bubble levels will help orient your camera to 0 degrees. As he notes, “What I do is level my telescope parallel to the ground facing north, then level the camera by rotating the focuser.”
The housing uses the existing screws on your camera and the screw holes are tapered to ensure the housing is properly squared with the camera. Bubble levels are available for QHY163/183/174/178/290/224 cameras as well as ZWO ASI2600MC and ASI6200MM/MC cameras. Custom levels for other cameras are available upon request.
Simple scope accessory plates are also available. These accessory plates are strong enough to hold all accessories such as dew controllers, USB hubs, mini-computers, focuser controllers. They are available in custom sizes and are lighter than traditional aluminum plates. The maximum size that can be ordered is 240mm x 200mm. Purchasers can simply state the desired size and hole pattern in the shopping cart at the time of purchase.
Keeping the theme of simple Short’s Desiccant Caps will keep your scope dry while stored. Available in 2″ or 1.25″ versions in a color of your choice, the caps come with 5x 5g rechargeable desiccant packs that can easily be recharged in the microwave or oven.
You can learn more at here.
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