want to build some parts by yourself, technical drawings are available for free from
Officina
Stellare
technical support. Just contact [email protected].
If you have the
FineFocus
focuser
, here are some info and some tips about it.
The Finefocus comes installed and calibrated from the
factory. It ends with a 72x1 thread, but a 2" (50.8 mm)
reducer is provided, for "off the shelf" equipment
(photo at left). The travel of the focuser is about
16mm and a graduate millimeter scale is clearly
visible ("scala millimetrica" in the photo below). This is
useful to have a reference for the position of the
focus. You change focus rotating the black knob
("manopola di messa a fuoco", in the same photo). On
the knob itself is engraved a reference scale with 16
marks. Rotation of the knob moves the focuser 50
microns per mark. The yellow knob ("manopola di
blocco") act as a lock for the focus. This knob is
positioned near the back plate at close contact with it.
To lock the focus, simply screw the knob (gently!)
untili it stops against the plate. For unlock just
unscrew leaving about 1mm of space between the
knob and the back plate.
Please note that since the
Veloce
has an
extraordinary f/3 focal ratio, it is possible that the
standard 2" connector produces some vignetting even
on chips that are significantly
smaller
than
2" on the diagonal. This happens because
the light cone that comes from the optics
and illuminate the chip is quite "open". If this
is your situation (or you are using a really
big CCD) we strongly suggest you to ask
Officina Stellare
to create for you an adapter
between the 72x1 thread and your camera.
Please also remember that focus is very
critical at f/3. The best image is achieved
only within about ±15 microns from the ideal
focus, i.e. a focus travel that is
less than
one mark on the focusing knob
.
7.3) Installing the
Veloce
on the mount.
The
Veloce
comes with a standard "Vixen type" dovetail plate. We suggest to assemble the
complete optical train (i.e. focuser, adapters, filter wheel, and camera)
before
to place the
Veloce
on the mount. With the optical train installed, the
Veloce
may became quite heavy. Have someone
to help you!
The "top" piggyback mount, if present, has a standard Vixen dovetail receptacle, and is locked
using the same screw that
unlocks
the dew shield. This piggyback is intended for lightweight
equipment. Use common sense. We suggest not to exceed 1 kg (about 2.5 lbs). A small
catadioptric guide scope or a DLSR with a light optics a typical reasonable load.
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