III. Telescope Making Books and Periodicals

Telescope Making Books, Periodicals, and Other Information Services

Periodicals

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY
2111 Whitield Park Ave, Sarasota, FL 34243 (941)-758-9890 Edited and published by Tom Clark and Tectron. Visit Amateur Astronomy ...or email ... aatclark@aol.com Coverage of Amateur Astronomy events, issues, people, and telescope making.

Astronomy

Occasional material for TM's. Check your bookstore or newsstand, or Go To Astronomy

Sky and Telescope

Regular content for TM's. Again, check your newsstand, or local bookstore, or Go To Sky Publishing

Books

Beginner

Build Your Own Telescope

Richard Berry, Pub by Kalmbach Publishing (pub. of Astronomy) ISBN 0-684-18476-1 "Complete Plans for Five High-Quality Telescopes That You Can Build" $24.95 + $1.50 s&h;. Now in the Willmann-Bell catalog. Go To Willmann-Bell

How to Make a Telescope

Jean Texereau, 2nd ed., Pub and sold by Willmann-Bell, ISBN 0-943396-04-2, $19.95 +$1 s&h;, address above (under tm supplies) Go To Willmann-Bell

Making and Enjoying Telescopes

Robert Miller and Kenneth Wilson, Sterling Publishing, 1995, ISBN 0-8069-1277-4, $24.95 at bookstores. 6 telescope projects using commercial optics, superb photos and illustrations. Written for absolute beginners.

Making Your Own Telescope

Allyn Thompson, Sky Publishing, 1947, 1973, ISBN 0-933346-12-3, $14.95 + s&h; from Willmann-Bell (also available from Sky Publishing). Dated, but lots of solid info and advice. Concentrates on a 6" f/8.

Advanced

A Guide to Building Truss Tube Telescopes

Randy Cunningham, AstroSystems. (no ISBN) "Basically the instruction/ guide book for building a Truss Tube Telescope with the components that come with our current kits". $19.00 + Shipping. AstroSystems, Inc., 124 N. Second Street, LaSalle, CO 80645 970-284-9471, Fax 970-284-9473 Go To AstroSystems ...or... email info@astrosystems.biz

Advanced Telescope Making Techniques

Volumes 1 and 2, ISBN 0-943396-11-5 (vol 1) and 0-943396-12-3 (vol 2), pub by Willmann-Bell, Go To Willmann-Bell

Amateur Telescope Making, books 1, 2, & 3

Albert Ingalls, editor. Perry Remaklus, editor of the new series. ISBN 0-943396-48-4 (v.1), 0-943396-49-2 (v.2), 0-943396-50-6 (v.3) Published by Willmann-Bell. Probably the most important event in the ATM publishing world in a decade, this is a reprint of the classic series originally published by Scientific American starting in the 1930s and used by ATMs ever since. This set has been re-compiled by Perry Remaklus of Willmann-Bell so that it is not a 1 for 1 replacement for the originals. The material has been re-grouped so that sections on a given topic that may have been spread across all three volumes by time sequence now appear in a coherent chapter. Go To Willmann-Bell

The Dobsonian Telescope

David Kreige and Richard Berry, ISBN 0-943396-55-7 pub by Willmann-Bell, Go To Willmann-Bell Dave Kreige's "Obsession" telescopes revolutionized the big Dobsonian market when they came out. Now Dave and longtime TM author Richard Berry combine to teach you the concepts you need to make a big scope. Sub-titled, "A Practical Manual for Building Large Aperture Telescopes".

Telescope Optics: Evaluation and Design

Rutten and van Venrooij, ISBN 0-943396-18-2, Willmann-Bell, companion software available. Go To Willmann-Bell

Microcomputer Control of Telescopes

Trueblood and Genet ISBN 0-943396-05-0, Willmann-Bell Go To Willmann-Bell

Prism and Lens Making

F Twyman, ISBN 0-85274-150-2, pub by Adam Hilger, NY, 1988 (corrected reprint)

Astronomical Optics

Daniel J. Schroeder, Academic Press, 1987 ISBN 0-12-629805-X, Advanced undergraduate text with loads of info. Available from Willmann-Bell Go To Willmann-Bell

Other

Videos:

How to Make a Telescope

John Dobson, 2 hr Video Dobson Video, PO Box 460915, San Francisco, CA 94146-0915 Make check to "Dobson Astro-Initiatives" Cost: $43 (includes postage and handling) (Calif. residents add $3.40 sales tax) From the ad, "For the first time on video, John Dobson shows how you can build your own high-power, low-cost telescope. The 2 hour video is a complete step-by-step guide, covering telescopes 8" to 16" and larger."

Collimation of Newtonian Telescopes

by Rich Combs and Alan Gorski. Richard Combs, 5151 Greentree Ct., Pleasanton, CA 94566, Cost: $20, shipping included in the US.

A 37 minute step by step guide to collimation principles and techniques. Targeted primarily at the Newtonian type reflector. Extensive description and use of collimation tools. Tips, tricks, and many special mock-ups intended to aid understanding and help improve your telescope's performance.

Online Resources

The ATM Mailing List

The ATM Internet mailing list is a valuable source of Telescope Making Information. You can subscribe by sending mail to majordomo@shore.net with the message "subscribe atm" (no quotes) in the body. Don't use a subject, and don't add anything else to the note. This is an automated server, and no human will touch your request.