Building the Tele-Kit 13.1

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Update -- October 2004: I have been bitten by the bug and now have a case of aperture fever. So, my beloved TK-13 has been sold. It will soon be collecting photons from its new home in Michigan. I'll certainly miss this scope... but I have some great memories!
I have replaced it with an 18" Obsession. Someday I'll build another TeleKit!

The TK-13 all packed and ready to go...

Being primarily a deep sky observer, I know that aperture rules! To that end, the time has come to move up from my 8" Schmidt Cassegrain telescope. While I am not quite ready to involve ladders in my observing runs, I decided to make a modest jump to a respectable 13.1" aperture (33 cm).
For me, a reflector design utilizing a solid tube is still quite manageable up to an aperture of 10". Beyond 10" an alternate design is necessary to ensure portability. Enter the truss-tube model. I knew that this would be the design for my new scope. Now, the question becomes "Where can I get one?" I conducted my research primarily on the Internet, but I also talked to other amateur astronomers and scanned Astronomy and Sky & Telescope magazines. All of the manufacturers of premium equipment have long to extremely long waiting periods... I know, patience is a virtue, but I don't have the time!
I considered Starmaster, Starsplitter, Night Sky Scopes, Discovery and Obsession. I began looking at the used market, but soon decided that the best way to get the scope I wanted, in the timeframe I wanted, and at a price I wanted, was to build it myself. I learned of a company in Colorado called AstroSystems, who market what they call a TeleKit. The TeleKit is a complete, premium truss-type dob - minus the optics - in kit form. Now we're talking...
Before I could order my TeleKit, I would need to obtain a set of optics: primary and secondary mirrors. Some of the finest opticians have longer queues than the scope manufacturers. After some extensive research, and a bit of good fortune, I decided to use Discovery optics: a 13.1" primary mirror and a 2.6" (minor axis) secondary mirror.

November 18, 2002: Placed my order with Bill Larsen at Discovery for the mirrors. I purchased a set from inventory, the last primary of its size in this production run. My set should be back from being coated later this week. Some good fortune came my way: someone cancelled their order, and I happened to call at 'just the right time'. The next day I placed my order with AstroSystems for a 13.1" TeleKit. Alan was very helpful in establishing my customer file.

November 22: Received email from Discovery indicating that my mirrors have been shipped. They should arrive early next week. Once I receive them, I can finalize my TeleKit order and the kit can be fabricated.
November 25 was very cloudy... that could only mean one thing: my new Discovery mirrors arrived! A 13.1" (333mm) primary and a 2.6" (66mm) secondary will soon find their way into my new telescope. Some final measurements were necessary to verify the exact diameter and thickness of the primary before calling AstroSystems - now they can begin fabricating the components. The mirror was a little thicker than what they were expecting (mine is 1.6", they were expecting 1.4"), which will be incorporated into the final design. My new primary has a focal length of 59.5" (1511mm). AstroSystem's targeted completion date for my TeleKit is the third week of December.

New optics inside

The heart of my new scope tipping the scales at 20 pounds

November 27: Received my order confirmation kit from AstroSystems. In addition to the order data verification sheet and a list of accessories was the much-awaited construction manual. I plan to read this a few times before actually building the scope. I think I'll have the time.
Having read the construction manual once by the weekend, I have set a tentative timeline for construction of the telescope at 6 weeks. I plan to read the manual again before the kit actually arrives.
Made the trek to Home Depot, list of the requisite tools and supplies in hand. Guess what? They had everything I need... I, alas, did not have everything they need and must make a return visit with more cash.

December 12: Received notification from Randy at AstroSystems that the 13.1 TeleKits are being cut next week, and that I am second in the schedule. Expected ship date is right around Christmas. On the 20th, an email from Randy at AstroSystems indicated that, while today was the original estimated ship date, a three week delay is expected.

January 3: Randy communicated that my kit is being routed, and shipment is expected in 7 to 10 days. On the 14th Randy indicated that it will be another week until my kit is shipped. On the 21st Randy indicated that the guaranteed shipping date would be January 31, so it should arrive during the first week of February. Time to schedule some vacation?

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