I'm in the process of building my first scope now. It's a 12.5" reflector with an f/8 ratio, making it about 8 feet long. I didn't grind my own mirror, although that's on my list of things to do someday. I bought a 50-year-old mirror that came from a Jesuit college observatory in Alabama; it weighs 22 lbs and needs a recoating job, but it works!

I've borrowed a lot of ideas from other ATMs and have been helped much by reading this board.

The OTA is done and working. It's actually a string and tube truss made of aluminum tubes and steel cable. The first views of the moon were incredible; and I saw Comet Holmes the other night with it. WooHoo! The comet was very hard to locate with this 8-foot assembly with narrow field of view and no mount yet.

Am working on the ALT-AZ mount today. Hope to have it working but unpainted by Thanksgiving.

Dave Polan
Mason, Ohio