styropyro

tele cope

Added 2023-12-18 02:41:16 +0000 UTC

I wouldn't have expected to spend two days mounting four lenses but that's the "fun" of DIY optics. see how the telescope is bent in the first pic? that's intentional. thus the name, tele cope.

let me tell you, the inside of that telescope is ugly, even for what I make. I had to shim the optics near the head because the beam exiting the welding system is not straight nor is it centered. I opened up the head to try aligning that, and found that the optics in there were already shimmed with electrical tape! ahhh!!! my only way around it was using shimmed lenses and a bent pipe.

while the construction is abysmal, the design should be rock solid. i used razor thin margins in mount diameters to ensure alignment would be good, and used multiple lenses to minimize aberrations as well. i don't want to speak too soon, but my hope is that i'll be able to ignite anything in my line of sight from the tower. I don't want to send stray beams off my property though, so my testing range is probably going to be capped by a ravine in the forest a few hundred meters away. i'll begin the outdoor testing tomorrow.

it's funny, because while I was ripping out my hair aligning these lenses, i wondered what my life would be like if I had finished my PhD in optics instead of making meme worthy internet content. whatever my alternative academic work would be, i doubt it would be as cool as blowing up stuff in the forest with a laser cannon though.