Frankenscope:

Frankenscope's history reads somewhat rough for now, since this is a straight port of some running notes I'd entered several years ago for personal record-keeping. 

Aug 2001.  Bought scope from someone who’d purchased it from Meade two months prior and found it “too much telescope”.  He had used it fewer than a dozen times.  Got it for $975.  (Paid some more for Techtron collimation tools).  Was the “Deluxe” package w/26mm, 9.7 ep’s and 2” focuser. 

The verdict

After my modifications, I had a scope that tracks and slews through the sky like the finest hand-crafted Dob, and is ergonomically tailored for me (literally—sub six-footers need to bring their own step stool), and reflects my peculiar observing style and idiosyncracies.  It is easy for me to set up and collimate—about five minutes total.  Cool-down time is usually minimal, since the scope is stored in an unheated garage, and it’s not really a factor because of the massive fan blowing air across the mirror face.   Has relatively little stiction, but nonetheless stays where I point it, thanks to its considerable mass.

"15 minutes of fame"... Frankenscope achieved notoriety of a sort by being mentioned by name (along with two of my kids, Darla and Alex) in the National Public Radio "All Things Considered" segment that ran on the evening of the opposition of Mars in 2003.  Here is the link to the story, if you want to hear it: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1413192

Use the links below to look at some of my notes on the major facets of Frankenscope-- again, my apologies for the somewhat rough condition of the text and the fact that the formatting got butchered (you don't expect problems porting from Word to Frontpage, but hey, it's Microsoft...)

UPDATE

Well, it had to come some day...  Frankenscope has now  officially been "decommissioned".  Last summer I took off the Dob Driver 2-- to upgrade its motors and mount it on my 24" Dob 'Brutus'.  The ST80 finder was detached to serve as the first platform for my 'small refractors/wide field' testing.  The JMIDX1 focuser was removed to replace the now-departed Clement focuser on Natasha, and I took the Telrad off for Natasha as well.  I should put the optics and DSC's up for sale on Astromart, and give the customized base as a 'freebie' to either the club or any local purchaser of the optics.

Frankenscope mirror with 1/4" mask that covered mirror clips-- dramatically reducing diffraction spikes and raising Strehl from 0.80 to 0.90, and the thermal scarf to minimize any cooling-induced temporary turned down edge.  (I never saw such a TDE even without the scarf, and hence scrapped it.)