iOPTRON - Astronomy Technology Today

INDUSTRYNEWS
TEETER’S TELESCOPE
New TT/Journey and TT/Stark
Many of our readers are familiar with
Teeter’s Telescopes’ Dobsonian offerings,
including the STS (Solid Tube Series),
Sub4 (large aperture, fast focal ratios),
Classic (moderate apertures, moderate
focal ratios) and Custom product lines, so
you’ll probably not be surprised that Rob
Teeter is planning the launch of a new travel
Dobsonian this spring.
The new TT/Journey travel scope is a
10-inch f/5 Dobsonian designed for easy
portability, whether traveling close to
home in your vehicle or when traveling by
air around the world.
Says owner Rob Teeter, “At Teeter’s
Telescopes, we’ve never been afraid of
attempting new things, such as using new
components in our telescopes or trying
slightly different build/finishing techniques
and products. What we have hesitated
to do since opening our doors in
2002 was to attempt something as complex
and involved as designing a Travel
Scope.”
He continued, “At first glance, a
10-inch Dobsonian may not appear that
difficult to design and fabricate, and when
thinking of a traditional Dobsonian, it is
an easy task. But a 10-inch Dobsonian
designed to be as light as possible, yet as
rigid as possible, and pack away in checkable
luggage yet offer most features of a traditional
Dobsonian, is a complicated and
delicate task. But, we feel the market at this
point in time is ready for just such a product
and we were urged by many people to
design and make available commercially a
telescope of this design.”
Specifications include: 10-inch f/5
Primary Mirror by GSO (upgrades to a
Lightholder Optics, Royce Optical or
Zambuto optical are available at
additional cost); 6-point flotation
primary mirror cell by Aurora Precision, 3-
vane curved spider by 1800Destiny, 2-
inch/1.25-inch Crayford focuser by
MoonLite Telescope Accessories, 8-pole
Truss Design utilizing MoonLite and
Aurora connectors, travel trusses
(truss poles break down in half for extra
portability, using Aurora hardware), and
Teeter’s traditional wood finish.
The Journey is designed to be an
“Observatory in a Box,” where the entire
telescope, plus your accessories, will pack
into a single Pelican watertight/wheeled
travel case (included as standard equipment
with every order). Total weight of the
Journey and Pelican case will be approximately
57 pounds and the retail price is
projected to be $2,750US (subject to
change prior to official release).
Two prototypes will be available for
unveiling in Teeter’s Northeast Astronomy
Forum (NEAF) booth on April 20/21,
2013.
Also to debut this spring is the
TT/Stark for those who want a Teeter’s
Telescope, but don’t want the complexity
and cost of all of their bells and whistles.
The TT/Stark telescopes provide everything
needed to get up and running in the
hobby at a lower introductory cost than
traditional Teeter’s telescopes. To be offered
as a bare-bones option, the new Truss-
Dobsonian will still offer the high quality
and superior fit and finish of other Teeter’s
products. The stripped down version
removes the brass hardware, the dual
boundary layer fans, other electronics, truss
case, shroud and wood stain. It is sold standard
with Gueng Shen Optical (GSO) primary
and secondary mirrors, or purchasers
can supply their own 10-inch, 12-inch or
16-inch primary mirror from an existing
telescope.
As both new scope options are still in
the finishing stages, images of the scopes
are not yet available. However, as soon as
they are available they will be found at
www.teeterstelescopes.com, along with
more information on the new offerings.
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