Thirty Inch Telescope Secondary

The secondary is mounted on a motor driven slide. On the right you can see the d.c. gear motor. In the middle is an aluminum plate that holds the Renishaw encoder readout device that is used to measure the position.

secondary

Limits

The motor travel is restricted by the limit switches shown below. The limit on the right (nearest the primary) is the home position (mils=0). The left limit switch is at about 1360 mils (1.36 inch). The motor takes about 1 minute to travel 500 mils.

limits

Collimation

The collimation is adjusted manually by tweaking three push screws. Two of these large screws can be seen in the photo below.

backend

For a more amusing view of the secondary, go here.


Thirty Inch Telescope

Last updated on 2002 September 17.