I posted this on the Starmaster forum, but I thought others might be interested in this mod so I posted it here too.
Well, I can not stand to do nothing and the clouds are still hanging around. So I decided after the last windy night that I was going to so something about all the dirt that blows around and gets on the mirror while it cools before I collimate or begin to observe. I have to take off the cover for the mirror box before I install the truss unit. I keep the truss all together and transport it that way to save time and effort. So I have to first take off the big cover and then place the truss on and then remove the smaller cover to let the mirror box cool down. Well this leads to a lot of extra dust when the wind blows or even if it does not. I though that a mirror cover would be the cure. So I thought about it and went off to see what I could find to make one. I found a 16" flexible, translucent plastic serving dish that was just a little too big in diameter to fit through the hole, so I cut off the excess lip on the band saw and then mounted a knob for holding it for installation and removal. Then I removed the mirror cell so I could work with it. Cut 3 slots for the mirror clips to fit into and for the cover to rest on the clips and not the mirror. The angle of the clips and the close fit of the notches makes the cover stay exactly where I want it. It never touches the surface of the mirror, leaving a small 1/8" gap all the way around the edge. Then I put the mirror cell back in and tied installing the cover. It fit like a glove and looks pretty cool too.
Well, anyway, here is a picture to show what I made and how it fits and looks. Hope you like it.
Now I hope to be able to leave it on until I begin need to collimate and begin to observe. I will take note of the mirror temperature to see if it increases the cooling time or overall temperature. If not, then it will stay on all the time until I have to take it off. Hey, it may even help to keep the Dew off at night after I go to bed.
Well, I can not stand to do nothing and the clouds are still hanging around. So I decided after the last windy night that I was going to so something about all the dirt that blows around and gets on the mirror while it cools before I collimate or begin to observe. I have to take off the cover for the mirror box before I install the truss unit. I keep the truss all together and transport it that way to save time and effort. So I have to first take off the big cover and then place the truss on and then remove the smaller cover to let the mirror box cool down. Well this leads to a lot of extra dust when the wind blows or even if it does not. I though that a mirror cover would be the cure. So I thought about it and went off to see what I could find to make one. I found a 16" flexible, translucent plastic serving dish that was just a little too big in diameter to fit through the hole, so I cut off the excess lip on the band saw and then mounted a knob for holding it for installation and removal. Then I removed the mirror cell so I could work with it. Cut 3 slots for the mirror clips to fit into and for the cover to rest on the clips and not the mirror. The angle of the clips and the close fit of the notches makes the cover stay exactly where I want it. It never touches the surface of the mirror, leaving a small 1/8" gap all the way around the edge. Then I put the mirror cell back in and tied installing the cover. It fit like a glove and looks pretty cool too.
Well, anyway, here is a picture to show what I made and how it fits and looks. Hope you like it.
Now I hope to be able to leave it on until I begin need to collimate and begin to observe. I will take note of the mirror temperature to see if it increases the cooling time or overall temperature. If not, then it will stay on all the time until I have to take it off. Hey, it may even help to keep the Dew off at night after I go to bed.
Attached Image:
[SIZE="Large"][/SIZE][COLOR="Blue"][/COLOR] Floyd Blue
Amateur Imager
