magnilux - Astronomy Technology Today

PROTOSTAR’S FLOCKBOARD
Image 2 Image 3
mentioned paint and then painted over
again, cork painted black, black velvet…I
even knew someone who used fingernail
clippings and a Renaissance recipe for black
egg tempera. (Not really.)
Flat-black paint, with a reflectivity
around 5% according to ProtoStar, is the
most one can accomplish, and most commercial
reflectors do just that. Flocking a
telescope with a material like ProtoStar’s
can significantly reduce the reflectivity, to
around 1% (again, according to Bryan).
Flocking can make a noticeable difference
at the eyepiece and yet many amateur astronomers
won’t attempt it. I have used
self-adhesive flocking material before and
although it works quite well, it’s not easy
or fun to work with. I don’t have the patience
to slowly wind it down a tube in a
long strip or slowly peel the backing. I have
nightmares of it folding onto itself.
Moreover, I’ve seen scopes at star parties
that were flocked years ago and the
endless cycles of heating/cooling and dewing/drying
have left the material bubbly
and crummy looking. I have no idea if that
was Protostar flocking material or not, but
the images stuck in my head. I know we
should look through telescope and not at
them, but honestly, I like a neat tube. Telescopes
are, as Steven Overholt suggested,
spaceships, and I would want my spaceship
to look snazzy and neat and precise, not
bubbly and peeling. Lastly, having removed
ancient adhesive from tube rings using
some noxious solvent once, I’m not a fan
of sticky gunk that I might someday have
to scrape off in gobs from the inside wall
of my telescope.
The FlockBoard concept seemed to
address both these concerns. When I spoke
with Bryan Greer on the phone about it, I
can best describe his tone as “giddy”. He
was clearly thrilled with the new product.
He emphasized the two biggest selling
points: ease of use and reversibility. The installation
process he described was simple:
first, remove the primary mirror and cell,
spider and secondary, and focuser. Figure
out the circumference by multiplying the
tube diameter by π. Measure the length of
the tube to be flocked and cut the board to
fit. Roll it up. Put it in the tube and let it
spring out. The plastic’s own springiness
will keep it in place against the tube wall.
Then, poke some holes using an awl for the
primary cell and spider bolts, use a hobby
68 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY