It’s official – the Society has its first telescope and it’s a beauty.  We purchased a 12-inch Meade Lightbridge, which is a Newtonian with a Dobsonian mount.  This is a relatively large telescope yet it is easily transportable because of its design and light weight.  It can be assembled or disassembled in mere minutes with just six screws that connect the primary mirror tube to the secondary mirror tube via tubular trusses.  It came with a 26 mm eyepiece and a red dot finder.  We have since purchased two more eyepieces, a laser collimator, and a set of Bob’s Knobs for easy collimation of the primary and secondary mirrors. 

The azimuth bearing is overly frictionless, which causes problems for visitors when they try to focus and the telescope slews off target.  We will look into adding an adjustable tension brake.  The optics is quite good and more than adequate for general use. 

For members with a station wagon, the easiest way to transport the telescope is by placing the primary tube into the Dobsonian mount and securing it from swinging.  For smaller cars, it may be necessary to lay both tubes on the back seat and securing them with seat belts.  The Dobsonian mount may prevent some boot lids from closing and it may therefore also need to be placed on a car seat. 

This is a delicate instrument and must be treated with great care so that it gives the members of NAS value for their money.  Insurance options are still being discussed but since it does not belong to an individual, it may be more difficult to insure.

After several outings so far, the members are very pleased with their new toy.  It will be a great teaching tool for members, visitors and the general public and well worth the investment.

Dave Roberts-NAS Secretary