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5/20/2007 - The Balancing Act

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Balancing the telescope is the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of its design. Without PERFECT balance between the mirror box (containing the mirror, tailgate and flotation cell) and the truss tube and secondary cage the scope will drift, stick and jump. I won't go into the detail of balance in this entry but although detailed, it is not difficult to figure out.

ENTRY PICTURES

Here I am in what will be the storage container for JUST the Secondary Cage!! Weighing the Secondary Cage, all parts are attached or sitting with cage on the scale. The Secondary Cage actually weighs about 15 lbs, the scale reads about 21 because I used a 6lb piece of plywood as a table on top of the scale. Here the tailgate and mirror cell are being weighed.

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