114mm Travel Scope

Built by Cyrille de Brebisson of Rhône-Alpes, France

During my last trip in the US, I was able to pick a 114mm/25.4mm primary/secondary mirror pair for 18$ (Telescope warehouse on eBay). After a lot of back and forth, I decided to make a travel telescope out of it.

A travel scope is a telescope that is designed to be pulled apart and reassembled relatively rapidly and that can therefore be used for trips (as its name indicates).

This article explains the design that I used what I learned and the things that I learned during the process. Hopefully, it can serve as a warning to others!

The total cost for the scope (I had wood and nuts available to me), was around $40! Not bad!

See this 7-page PDF for a more complete description of how to build this scope,
illustrated with 17 photos (6 of which are shown below).

Side view of the assembled scope, made with 4 rings and two struts.	Assembled View - note inside-the-box altitude bearings and two of the three "H" channels that hold the two box sections together.	Front Ring Detail with spider, diagonal and focuser. The focuser board detaches for travel.
Rocker Box and Ground Board: The "H" channels that hold the two rocker box sections together and the azimuth bearing are clearly visible.	Packed for Travel: Everything fits in the box (even some eyepieces) except the two struts.	Closing the Box: This is how the two "U" shaped box sections fit together for travel.

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