Virgin Teflon Pad Set

Machined Virgin (not the cheap reprocessed) Teflon, that has been long-favored by Tech2000 customers as an upgrade for for altitude bearings. Proven performers on tubes up to 100 Lb. Used also for azimuth bearing pads, then you use three placed under the scope, and cut the fourth one to use as flank-buffers that prevent the tube from rubbing the lateral rocker-box walls.  Set includes #5 brass screws that recess-into the machined pad holes below-surface.  Tip: Once mounted, place a sandpaper strip with the grit facing the pad surface--then rock the instrument slowly until the Teflon pad surface has been abraded to match the bearing face.
Strongly recommended for upgrading the 'stubborn' general consumer Dobsonian telescopes. And new ATM.

3/4 x 2 x 1/4" thk.

DDR-TEF $35 (4-pak)

Trolleys... "Rock~N~Rollers" Automatically tilt to maintain full-contact like train wheels

These support azimuth bases, often used by us in place of two of the three existing pads.
The surface these run against must be capable of supporting the pressure of a roller-contact as-opposed to a pad like above without indenting the surface. Axles have side-thrust washers, so the wheel drums will not drag against the carry-trolley part when these devices move in a circular or otherwise curved path direction, lateral tilt for full roller contact on imperfect surface planes.
Includes elevation washers/hardware to achieve a desired position that can be varied above the surface.
Often partly-recessed in a well that you drill with a 1" flat spade bit.

DDR-TROLLEY-1/2" $25/pair .5x.5" roller 25Lb load ea (if circular path, Ø recommended >12")
DDR-TROLLEY-3/4" $35/pair .75x.75 roller 50Lb load ea (if circular path, Ø recommended >18")

Midrange Altitude Bearings

Very classy-dressy things, install fast and support tubes up to 200LB on high quality needle bearings with hardened races.  The black roller pokes under your altitude bearing surface, the 1/4 thick aluminum disk screws onto the exterior wall (roller protrudes slightly above disk edge to avoid interference with alt. bearing).  Use 1 to 4 as needed to upgrade scopes up to 200LB. We replace the normal Teflon pads on a Dobsonian altitude trunion with these just one at a time, with the rough rule of thumb that each 50 Lb of OTA weight should add one roller unit. And the results are spectacularly impressive! Too many rollers then it's too "loosey-goosey", hence this rule of thumb. Who would not wish to experience tube movement in arcsecond motions without the old sticky-jumps?

DDR-ABM $33.50ea

Vector-Glide

Replaces two of your existing four altitude pads (front pair or rear pair) to dramatically reduce the stop-stick behavior common in Dobsonian mount pads when attempting to move fine distances.  They really work well!  Bronze rollers on stainless steel axles mounted in Virgin-Teflon, approx. 1/4" thick.  If using a Dob-Driver, you still need two of our regular Virgin-Teflon pads also.  A low-cost and quick way to upgrade beyond Teflon-only  - up to 100Lb tube OTA's.

DDR-VGP  $50/pr

Micro-Glide

Wipes on Dob bearing surfaces/pads and dries to a non-greasy non-waxy film that will not pick up dust & dirt or get on you and your stuff.  Microscopic colloidal suspension reduces "pad stick" effects.  Great for fine motion at high mags - and Dob-Driver!  3.4oz lasts for years.

DDR-MG  $20

HD Bearings Plus

Kit for Monster-Dobs is STRONGLY recommended at the 150-500 Lb class total weight.
All our best bearing solutions, levelers too, all pre-assembled, and the other wierd parts required for monsters, and has a great manual to guide at every step of install (especially if you are going to use a drive).
Super solution covers all problems!

DDR2HD $299

MAIN-AXIS-PULLEY (OR ALTITUDE BEARING) 11" dia.
  The CNC-machined pulley blanks we use for Dob-Drivers turn out to work very well indeed as new altitude bearings for Dobsonian telescopes that we and others build from scratch, or use to upgrade an existing Dob. 3/4" thk MDF composite is easily drilled cleanly or sawn to suit special applications. Center has 1/2" bore/sight hole directly at rotation center, with a pop-in dust cap included. These are flanged around the rim with a flat well in the middle that is .400" wide x .06" deep, which is perfect for 3/8" wide strips of poly or Teflon to keep this bearing on-track while deleting the requirement to use the extra side-pads that are normally required to prevent lateral movement of a scope tube from rubbing side-walls of the mount cradle (rocker box). High-quality black super-penetrating laquer coating, which you can paint over in any color of your choice without concern about heavy-weather exposure durability.  #MAP  $59 ea.

2-piece set Virgin Teflon strips for above, 1/4 thick x 3/8 wide x 2" length, sink the included brad-nails subsurface to set them in-place.  #MAPTEF $35

GROUND BOARDS FOR DOBSONIANS

  Some telescopes have only partial ground boards, such as Orion XT.  We offer custom for those who do not wish to fabricate a more robust solid one on their own.  Cabinet grade BIRCH ply, deep-sealed with hard penetrating coatings.  Thickness at center pivot bolt location is 3/4". You specify round or square, dimensions, center bolt hole diameter, and clear or enamel pigment color.  2" leveler feet supplied.

Up to 100LB load $199
100-250LB load (double thick with toroidal hidden lower deck) $269

EXCELLENT BUY 1-1/4" MACHINED CRAYFOR FOR DOBSONIANS

Dual machined knobs, all etched & anodized aluminum, dual vertical guide rods with Virgin Teflon sleeves.
Adjustable grip tension on traction roller, height/travel from bottom = 2--4".
Flat/rectangle base with 4 corner screws upside-down that are slotted to adjust the tip/tilt position for perfect optic train collimation. Two holes on plate centerline mounts to flat or round Newt/Dob (hardware included).

KIRSCH $109   "This is definitely perfection on a budget... I use them myself."  --Dave Masters

THE STANDARD UPGRADE CRAYFORD 2"

Dual 5:1 knobs, Includes (nesting) 1.25 adapter, best cost/performance, heavy loads use the premium below

Specify Newt flat base plate type (left view) #NFCF01-FLAT  $170

Or baseless (right view) and you figure how to mount it #NFCF01  $150

Custom-machined adapters for round-tube Newtonian mount add $69 (specify your tube outside dia.)

Custom-machined adapters for refractor rear-tube mount add $199 (sketch/specify your tube details)

THE SERIOUS PREMIUM CRAYFORD 2"

Dual Coarse knobs + 10:1 fine focus dial (shown in gold anodize)

Numerous adjustments ability, internal no-marr collar

Graduated barrel, exceptional finish

As shown #NFCF02  $270

Custom-machined adapter for round-tube Newtonian mount add $99 (specify your tube outside dia.)

Custom-machined adapter for refractor rear-tube mount add $199 (sketch/specify your tube details)

Custom Tip-Tilt fine adjustment "perfect collimation" interfaces are available machined at Tech2000 for various specific requests.  Add an additional $99 on any of the above adapters.

These premiums meet or exceed FeatherTouch™ and MoonLight™ specification focusers.

NEWTONIAN SECONDARY HEATERS units do NOT require spider conductivity or insulating. The cables are insulated very-fine-scale wire "zipcord" with a micro-connector to route thru small holes without re-soldering. The user has a choice of attaching a 9V battery directly in front of the Secondary Mirror Holder (stowing the excess wire inside the holder), or glue-tacking our cable under the Spider edge (making it invisible to the optics), then either a 9V battery or the 12V cords we make for it can be used. Cordless - super convenient - no powerpacks - no setup - no external controller - simple and effective. Auto-shifts power up if 12V is detected. Low cost, use a 9v battery for 10 nights out in the backard, 10 club meetings, or connect 12v for serious all-week star-parties in colder weather! (Auto-Detect). Unlike other dew sytems, just leave it on the scope, cords are not required.

Spiderman's Engineering Notes about the Tech2000 SPIDERZ 3D:
1)  A curved telescope spider vane like this within the lightpath (shown on the left) always gives much-reduced diffraction spikes in an image view or camera. Dramatically improved contrast is of course the desired effect. The optical physics analyses related to this are often called "The Bi-Directional-Vector Lighthouse Effect". 4-vane spiders are used most often, but are the worst for diffraction spikes (unless you actually want 4 rays of light from each star and some people do want that for imaging). 3-vane spiders are better, but still give three diffraction spikes (not as pretty in images as a symmetrical 4-spike pattern). Curved spider mounting however spreads the light diffraction in a way similar to sweeping a flashlight instead of holding it still in one direction, the result is that light is 'spread' and this greatly increases image contrast -- which is the grail that astronomers always seek.
2)  Our addition of another arch dimension in the vane (shown on the right, longitudinal along the lightpath so not blocking any light-pass) creates a few more advantages in our experience. The mass of a secondary mirror holder with its optic payload was traditionally always mounted in Newtonian telescopes with the disadvantage that the center of gravity of this mass was pendular... meaning it has a tendency to flex its position when the telescope is moved up or down (causing collimation problems). Now the mass is much more in-plane with the mounting feet than a straight-across spider vane could ever hope for. Secondly, this arrangement also provides the ability to use sort tube lengths beyond the focuser position, or relatedly, constructing secondary cages for truss-Dobs that have a far shorter length (and weight) requirement just to get the seconadry mirror mounted in position for a focuser. All using the curved vane benefits described above!
3)  Your secondarys' centerbolt can be rapidly centered, shifted-offset style, or rotated depending on users' desire for perfection or experiment, thanks to our oversized internal square tube and its' moveable circular end-clamp-plates seen at label 'C' above.
4)  These spiders are shown in outward-arching aspect. They can be reversed. Could just be straight across arc too if you specify that (item F above).
5)  Vane thickness will vary to optimize for secondary mass and span. Typical .040-.125". Thinnest when larger vane width (longitudinal) is possible. Think like its a large diameter cylindrical tube with the profile shape cut out of it like above... its then very 3D rigid!

DOBSONIAN VARIABLE-POSITION COUNTERWEIGHTS

So simple it just can apply anywhere required.
Universal Counterweight Subsystem balances all Dob scopes with this elegant Velcro variable-positioning method.
Cut the 2" wide adhesive base strip to implement multiple placements anywhere you want to place variable weight fast. The waterproof acrylic adhesive strips conform to round tubes as well as flat surfaces.
The 2 boxes supplied are 2Lb each and attach to the strips at any position that works best for your setup at the time.

DDR-CWS $49      More info...

PIGGYBACK CAMERA ELEVATOR STAGE - FOR FLAT OR ROUND TUBE ASSEMBLIES

Elevates cameras and/or zoom lenses above the telescope, 1/4-20 threads. 2x2" top stage.
This gets the forward part of the telescope out of the view of the camera.
8" elevation from OTA to camera base.
The camera is aimed tip/tilt with our three thumbscrews underneath to exactly match scope aim.
Beefy aluminum and brass construction. No-marr rubber surfaces on top and feet.
Lower bracket tabs fit flat surface or vice-bend for round telescope mounting.
Mounting hardware included. Easily supports a 10LB camera assembly from horizon-to-zenith angles.

DDR-CAM $69

LIGHTSHIELD

Contrast-enhancer blocks light pollution cold!
Makes sky glow, moon, sun, and porch lights or pole lights disappear.
All that is left is you and the eyepiece, and you dark-adapt... seeing nothing else.
Stick on Newtonian or refractor tubes with the included Velcro strips which also seal off light at its base.
Pull off and roll up when done. Dark black vinyl. 2 ounces.
Comes with paper patterns, you scissor it out to make it fit exactly to different tube diameters.

LIGHTSHIELD $19.95

TRANSPORTERS

A real compact handle set that maneuvers your Dob effortlessly.
Go ahead... get a bigger scope! Handles up to 120LB mounts very easily.
Mounts to the flanks of your rocker box, all hardware included.
Uses thumbscrew knobs to detach, or leave them on and use as azimuth motion handles (this is cool).
4 wheels (two duals) permit tight turns on a dime and unlimited mobility, even over door thresholds.
5-ft steel spring poles provide the suspension.

Transporters page has more info...

EQUIPMENT BEACONS

Brilliant equipment beacons mark-out equipment locations, tents, ropes, and tables etc.
To avoid stumbling-hazard from people in the dark.
Runs 100 hours on an alkaline 9V battery.
Also sucks a 'dead' battery from your other 9V things down to 1.5 volt!
Red blink about twice a second.
The very brief red flashing is easily noticed but without affecting night vision.

BCN $5ea or $16/4-pak

LOWCOST STANDARD 45mm WIDE DOVETAIL RAILS IN ANY LENGTH

Tech 2000 dovetail rails. An example is shown in the center of the picture, we made some special for a customer to mount our green laser + holder, using our Vixen standard rail clamp. We custom make standard rails of any length and machine holes or threads or slots for whatever you need to do. Of course these are aluminum... so you can drill or cut them into sections too at your own whim if you wish! Solid 6061-T6 temper aircraft low-corrosion aluminum 1/4" thick clear-coated with 45mm width and the standard 15º dovetail flank edges.

DOVERAIL45-X $29 + $2 per-inch (machining is free per customer sketch or any common specification)
CLAMP45 $54 (White saddle shown on right, 3-3/8" square cast aluminum, std. 35mm bolt hole span)
GLP-HDM $36 (Laser pointer mount shown on left, includes quick-mount base not shown)
Laser unit in case shown at top, or its' HD chucking-mount, see page greenlaserpointers...

CORDLESS DEW ZAPPERS

Wrap-It... Zap-It... Leave-It!

Electronic dew removal without a cord and no controller box!
Continuous double-sided Velcro... Wrap them on focusers / occulars / cameras / finders / refractors etc.
Wireless... Use 9V battery or use its Auto-Detect booster function with our 12v battery accessory cord.


Zap-On Page Has More Info...

ROTACALC!  Field-rotation calculation program for superior imaging with a Dobsonian or other altaz mounting.

Plots the rotation RATE CHANGE (which varies over time and sky position) then finds the best times to shoot longest possible exposures with the minimum possible rotation on altaz mounts or altaz platforms. You input your location, your desired image rotation limit for an exposure, the object designation and its' Ra/Dec cooridates... then out comes an all-night field rotation rate plot and a list of the optimum times to begin exposures for that night.  PC Windows only (it starts itself in a DOS-Prompt window with a doubleclick).

ROTACALC $32  Ships via:  email

LASER COLLIMATOR

1-1/4" long-barrel type machined from aircraft aluminum.
Use a 1-1/4 adapter on 2" focusers (not supplied).
We do supply a user-calibration cradle, tool, and target... no one else does that!

More info...

DRIVE PARTS... brew your own axis drives with the same components we make for Dob-Drivers

- MAIN AXIS PULLEY 11" diameter fits the belts below (pulley is described above in the Structural area).

- Flat timing belts 3/8" wide .080" tooth pitch multi-fiber-strand glass reinforced extremely low stretch...
  BELT475 38" $18.26,  BELT500 40" $19.94,  BELT548 43.8" $26.06,  BELT648 51.8" $27.50

- Fit our belts and motors with this .917PD 1/4" bore 2-setscrew aluminum TIMINGPULLEY $19.50

- Traction drive stainless diamond-knurled 1/4" bore .42x1.62Ø DRIVEWHEEL $39.50

- STEPPERMOTOR WITH INTERNAL GEARBOX 2-3/8x2-3/8", offset shaft 1/4x1", 4-wire bipolar 8-ohm coils...
  R30 $107,  R150 $135,  R300 $145,  R600 $156

RECHARGEABLE BATTERY

No off-brand cheap stuff here. Serious survivability plus charger and fused HD cord. About the size of a regular brick. 12vdc 7AH capacity that is guaranteed to perform 5x longer than the usual one-year life you get with any lesser battery. Cold-ready too.

Runs a Dob-Driver for a full weekend or our Zap-On straps over a week! 3/16" tab terminals... DDR2-BAT $69

AUTOMOTIVE CIG-LIGHTER CORD SPOOL

25' spool, heavy duty 12v twincord red/black.
Led lamp in plug shows when connected.
Fused at-source in plug with a standard 1/4x1-1/4" glass fuse.


DDR2-CAR $34

WALL POWER ADAPTER

115v 60Hz AC to 12VDC 800mA adapter.
25' spooled cord, heavy-duty type.
Runs drive systems & other accessories like small heaters/guiders/lamps etc.


DDR2-AC $39