Giant binocular

[savarin]

I cant re do this project at present as I had a catastrophic computer melt down a fortnight ago. 2 different techies have failed to re build it so far. Thankfully I have all the data and pics but no system to use.
The bino project has also suffered a major set back as I'm not as clever as I thought I was. (par for the course)
The clever captured thumb screws and alignment pins held everything together very firmly but were extremely difficult to release for break down so I am cutting them off and revisiting how I accomplish  this part.
There were also a couple of miss alignment problems in more than one axis between the two tubes so a bit of wiggle room is being introduced to sort this out.
Hopefully some pictorial updates will follow once I get a computer back on line.

[grumpygator]

I have faith that you will work it out.
Post when you can.
**G**

[Terrywerm]

Sorry to hear that you are having trouble, but we know that you will soon be back on top of things as usual.

[Carpenter84]

Oh man. One thing after the other can be really discouraging, a huge downer. Man, do I know how that feels.
I hope you can get things sorted out and back on track.

[savarin]

At long last I have the computer re built and all software installed and running smooth.
So, back to work.The first job was cutting out all the brackets that held the taper pins and thumb screws.Then I turned up 12 small rods with an m3 hole in them so it will be easier to drill out full size once welded in (new fix 1), drilled the square tubes to take them, welded them in and ground them flush.Then re-drilled and tapped M5. (new fix 2)
At the moment I'm using screws but these will be knurled knobs later.I decided to weld these in and tap all the way through so I can use a long thread on the knobs so there is less chance in losing them at night.The 3mmx25mm flange is held on with 2 screws and I will be using a rubber section covering it so it wont mar the paint when thats eventually done. (new fix 3)
I am amazed at how tight and rigid this holds the two sections together but even better is that loosening the knobs allows the flange to fall away allowing easy separation .Each pair of tubes will use three of the flanges, set on every other side.

[chips and more]

Good for you!!! Can’t pat you on the back, my arms ain’t loooooong enouph. You’ve got me on the edge of my seat waiting for those ET pics. Thanks for sharing…Dave

[savarin]

For those who never saw the original posts I thought I would add a reminder.This is what I wanted
and this is as far as I had got before the problem (I've just fixed) raised its ugly head.

[34_40]

I've been following along - even "across the street", and am inspired by your vision! Pun intended! 

[chips and more]

That is soooooo cool!

[Uncle Buck]

Ginormous binoculars! COOL!

[Bill Gruby]

 Buck, be careful, he is collecting IP addresses to spy on people around the globe.  ROTFLMAO

 "Billy G"

[savarin]

Not a chance Bill, you must have me confused with a paranoid tosser

[Bill Gruby]

  ROTFLMAO

 The one and only "Billy G"

[Terrywerm]

Not to sidetrack this thread, but a neat little aside:

My granddaughter is interested in astronomy, and I purchased a used telescope at a yard sale this past spring. Not knowing anything about telescopes at the time, I did not perform proper due diligence and ended up purchasing a reflector telescope with no mirror.       Luckily, I only paid $40 for it but that's another story. I contacted Savarin at the time and we discussed a few things and I started learning more about scopes and astronomy in general.

So, for her birthday, my son purchased a brand new One Sky 130 telescope through the Astonomers without Borders program. We've done a few things with it, but lately the skies here in the central US have been terrible due to the smoke in the air from the western wild fires.

Anyway, the whole point of my post is that I have been amazed at what we can see with her small 5" scope. I cannot imagine what you will be able to see with your giant binocular! Anyway, I am still following along, even more interested now than before.

[savarin]

Thats really good to hear Terry, Try and find a local astronomy club close by and visit.If they are anything like all the ones I know they do presentations and maybe hold training sessions for kids. We do, its very satisfying listening to the ohhs and ahhhs as they find saturn or jupiter etc for the first time.Just as a matter of interest lay back in a deck chair with a pair of 10x50's binoculars (when there are no clouds) and cruise the bright patches of sky, so much more pops out. Check the moon with them from when its just a sliver up to 3/4s full.It gets too bright after that and you will be amazed at all the extra detail that becomes visible. (no, cant see any footprints though)