magnilux - Astronomy Technology Today
magnilux - Astronomy Technology Today
magnilux - Astronomy Technology Today
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PROTOSTAR’S FLOCKBOARD<br />
ate. My first-light evaluation, done from<br />
driveway, is that the flocking material<br />
makes it far less likely that light spilling<br />
into the tube from one of the streetlights<br />
will reach the eyepiece. Before flocking<br />
there was always an angle at which I could<br />
actually see bands of light across the field of<br />
view. Those moments are less frequent<br />
now, and basically now my only problem is<br />
light shining directly into the focuser drawtube.<br />
I might try to make a baffle from the<br />
FlockBoard that will stick down into the<br />
tube just to the edge of the light path to<br />
take care of that.<br />
One of the things I really like about<br />
the ProtoStar FlockBoard is that it’s<br />
completely non-destructive and reversible.<br />
I could take it out in about 10 minutes<br />
and not need to scrape the tube or slather<br />
it in noxious goo to get the adhesive<br />
residue off.<br />
In addition to any amateur with a telescope<br />
that has a flat black painted tube, I<br />
think producers of truss Dobsonians<br />
should take notice of this new product. It<br />
has several advantages over Kydex: it’s preflocked<br />
(most Kydex baffles are not<br />
flocked, and not all that dark, either) and<br />
it’s easier to work with.<br />
Bryan, who recall I described as giddy<br />
when talking about the FlockBoard, is not<br />
unaware that his new product’s main competition<br />
is his old products: the self-adhesive<br />
material and the cylindrical tube liners<br />
he sold in popular diameters for people<br />
using aluminum irrigation tubes. I liked<br />
this about him; his main concern was making<br />
something useful for the amateur telescope<br />
maker, and if the new board<br />
eventually replaced the liners and self-adhesive<br />
material, then Bryan didn’t seem<br />
very worried about that. At least he’d be<br />
losing business to himself.<br />
The bottom line: ProtoStar’s new<br />
FlockBoard is great news for amateur<br />
telescope makers and, perhaps especially,<br />
owners of poorly-flocked commercial<br />
Newtonians who consider themselves less<br />
than handy but are interested in getting the<br />
most performance out of their optics.<br />
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<strong>Astronomy</strong> TECHNOLOGY TODAY 71
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