Laser Starfinder
I've always been interested in astronomy, and often thought I'd like to get a telescope. Last year was the International Year of Astronomy, marking the 400th anniversary since Galileo first pointed a telescope at the heavens, and learned that there was so much more to discover there. There were a lot of astronomy related events going on, and it spurred me to delve into the subject again.
By fortunate happenstance, I managed to acquire a somewhat dirty and disused, but quite serviceable 10" newtonian telescope. Since then I've had great fun finding nebulae, examining planets, and gazing in awe at the detail that can be seen on the moon.
I've had some trouble finding things though. Using a finder scope (the small telescope mounted on the side of your larger one) is a big pain in the rear. At one of the monthly star parties hosted by our local astronomical society I saw that someone had a green laser mounted to the side of his telescope in place of a finder scope. It was amazing! He didn't have to mess around with anything, he just turned on the laser, pointed it where he wanted to look, and there it was!
I of course thought to myself, "I can make one of those!" So here I'll show you how you can as well, and save a few bucks off the cost of buying one of them new. This is a very simple and cheap fix that will definitely make amateur astronomy a lot more fun!
If you should decide to make one of these yourself, make sure to post a picture in the comments section below, and I'll send you a digital patch!
By fortunate happenstance, I managed to acquire a somewhat dirty and disused, but quite serviceable 10" newtonian telescope. Since then I've had great fun finding nebulae, examining planets, and gazing in awe at the detail that can be seen on the moon.
I've had some trouble finding things though. Using a finder scope (the small telescope mounted on the side of your larger one) is a big pain in the rear. At one of the monthly star parties hosted by our local astronomical society I saw that someone had a green laser mounted to the side of his telescope in place of a finder scope. It was amazing! He didn't have to mess around with anything, he just turned on the laser, pointed it where he wanted to look, and there it was!
I of course thought to myself, "I can make one of those!" So here I'll show you how you can as well, and save a few bucks off the cost of buying one of them new. This is a very simple and cheap fix that will definitely make amateur astronomy a lot more fun!
If you should decide to make one of these yourself, make sure to post a picture in the comments section below, and I'll send you a digital patch!
Supplies
For this project you'll need:
For the "Something to mount it all on," you can use pretty much anything that is straight, relatively stiff, has two level sides, and is about 6-8 inches long. No innuendo intended. The idea is that if you place something along these lines on the side of a telescope, it will naturally center and straighten itself along the telescope tube. My original plan was to saw a piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe in half, but I found this plastic case lid in my stuff drawers, and figured since it was already level and had a flat top it would probably work better. All I had to do was slice off the ends!
As to tools, you'll need:
Finally, you'll want to have some strong epoxy on hand, and some sugru to cover everything up.
- a cheap green laser (less than 10 bucks at dealextreme.com)
- some stiff speaker wire
- a 2xAA battery holder
- a flashlight type clicky switch (pack of five for less than 2 bucks at dealextreme)
- some sugru
- a strap or some electrical tape
- something to mount it all on.
For the "Something to mount it all on," you can use pretty much anything that is straight, relatively stiff, has two level sides, and is about 6-8 inches long. No innuendo intended. The idea is that if you place something along these lines on the side of a telescope, it will naturally center and straighten itself along the telescope tube. My original plan was to saw a piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe in half, but I found this plastic case lid in my stuff drawers, and figured since it was already level and had a flat top it would probably work better. All I had to do was slice off the ends!
As to tools, you'll need:
- a dremel
- soldering iron
- a hot glue gun
- a pair of pliers
- a small flat head screwdriver
- a ruler
Finally, you'll want to have some strong epoxy on hand, and some sugru to cover everything up.
Prep the Laser Pointer
Just a word of advice, if you live in the US, don't try to buy anything stronger than 5mw. Even if you can get DX to ship it, it WILL be confiscated in customs! Besides, you really don't need anything more than 5 for this application. Your eyes are well tuned to see green light, and even in a badly light polluted region, these lasers have an easily visible beam when you're standing at the base.
Here you just need to dismantle everything and keep only the laser diode, the lens, and the driver board. If you get one of these laser pens, you'll find that while the back actually screws off, everything else takes a little elbow great to pull apart.
Once you've separated the parts you want to keep, make some modifications. First, attach the clicky switch to about 2 inches of stiff speaker wire, and solder each end of that wire across the momentary switch on the laser's driver board.
Also, attach the battery pack to the laser. Negative goes to the spring on the back of the board, positive goes to the bronze looking metal around the top. It's hard to solder to the bronze metal, I recomend just getting it to stick and then epoxying it in place. Leave enough wire between the laser and the batteries so you can put one at each end of the base.
Here you just need to dismantle everything and keep only the laser diode, the lens, and the driver board. If you get one of these laser pens, you'll find that while the back actually screws off, everything else takes a little elbow great to pull apart.
Once you've separated the parts you want to keep, make some modifications. First, attach the clicky switch to about 2 inches of stiff speaker wire, and solder each end of that wire across the momentary switch on the laser's driver board.
Also, attach the battery pack to the laser. Negative goes to the spring on the back of the board, positive goes to the bronze looking metal around the top. It's hard to solder to the bronze metal, I recomend just getting it to stick and then epoxying it in place. Leave enough wire between the laser and the batteries so you can put one at each end of the base.
Aligning the Laser
This is a tricky part, but don't worry too much about it--you won't get it exactly right, and it doesn't really matter too much anyway!
Hot glue the battery pack to the back of the base. Use hot glue to tack the laser pointer to the other end, but only use a little bit. Keep the glue gun hot and close by!
Place the laser on a flat surface and turn it on. Using the ruler, check the height of the beam close to the unit, and far from the unit. Are they close? Using a bit of paper, shim one end of the laser until it is as close to level as possible.
Next, put the unit up against something flat and even (preferably a wall), still on a level surface. Use the ruler to see how far away from the wall the beam is up close, and then far. Have the hot glue gun ready. Use one hand to hold the ruler and the other to move the laser left and right until the beam is even with the wall. Hold the laser in that position, put down the ruler, and use the hot glue gun to tack it more firmly in place. Make sure you hold it there until the glue is completely cool!
Hot glue the battery pack to the back of the base. Use hot glue to tack the laser pointer to the other end, but only use a little bit. Keep the glue gun hot and close by!
Place the laser on a flat surface and turn it on. Using the ruler, check the height of the beam close to the unit, and far from the unit. Are they close? Using a bit of paper, shim one end of the laser until it is as close to level as possible.
Next, put the unit up against something flat and even (preferably a wall), still on a level surface. Use the ruler to see how far away from the wall the beam is up close, and then far. Have the hot glue gun ready. Use one hand to hold the ruler and the other to move the laser left and right until the beam is even with the wall. Hold the laser in that position, put down the ruler, and use the hot glue gun to tack it more firmly in place. Make sure you hold it there until the glue is completely cool!
Seal Everything Up!
Use epoxy to hold everything down. Use plenty of epoxy to tack the battery pack and laser firmly to the base, and also to hold the wires down. Bend the wire holding the switch up so that it sticks up and away from the electronics. With the switch in this position, it will be easier for you to turn the laser on and off without jiggling the telescope.
Once that has hardened, cover all the electronics up with sugru to protect them. This will make it look nicer, as well as reduce your chances of damaging anything while you're fumbling around in the dark. I chose green for most of it, and orange for the switch, as that will be more visible in low light conditions.
Once that has hardened, cover all the electronics up with sugru to protect them. This will make it look nicer, as well as reduce your chances of damaging anything while you're fumbling around in the dark. I chose green for most of it, and orange for the switch, as that will be more visible in low light conditions.
Stargaze!
Strap or tape the laser securely to your telescope. Using your widest field lens, look in the scope and point it at something obvious and stationary, like a distant treetop. Turn on the laser and move it around until it's pointing at the same treetop.
Look in your scope. Can you see the beam? In my telescope it looks like a hazy green triangle coming from one side of the field of view and pointing at the center of the field. Move it around until it is pointing at the center. You may still need to put a paper shim under the front or back of the unit to get it just right.
Once you're satisfied, try something harder, like a planet or obvious star. Turn on the laser, and move the telescope until the beam is pointing at your target. Turn off the laser and check the scope. If all went well, you should see your target dead center or close to it!
Look in your scope. Can you see the beam? In my telescope it looks like a hazy green triangle coming from one side of the field of view and pointing at the center of the field. Move it around until it is pointing at the center. You may still need to put a paper shim under the front or back of the unit to get it just right.
Once you're satisfied, try something harder, like a planet or obvious star. Turn on the laser, and move the telescope until the beam is pointing at your target. Turn off the laser and check the scope. If all went well, you should see your target dead center or close to it!
Final Thoughts
Ever since I built this, stargazing has gotten SO MUCH better! It really makes finding even difficult to spot objects easier when you don't have to keep switching between the finder scope and the main scope. It's been especially useful for me in my light polluted backyard, and I've been able to find a few of the more prominent Messier objects I couldn't with just the finder scope. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in astronomy and a telescope!
Thanks for checking this out! I'd love to hear from you, so please comment, and don't forget to rate and subscribe!
If you should decide to make one of these yourself, make sure to post a picture in the comments section below, and I'll send you a digital patch!
Thanks for checking this out! I'd love to hear from you, so please comment, and don't forget to rate and subscribe!
If you should decide to make one of these yourself, make sure to post a picture in the comments section below, and I'll send you a digital patch!