For Sale: A very special homemade 16" dobsonian telescope!

[Julien Lecomte]

Hello everyone!

I have come to the realization that I probably won't be using my very special homemade 16" dobsonian telescope all that much in the future. My interests have changed (as far as astronomy, I focus mostly on astrophotography these days) so I would like to part with it.

Why is it special?

1. I made it with a lot of help from my late good friend Albert Highe. He advised me on the design and the construction throughout the project. I will always remember that first light at Dinosaur Point when he used it from his wheelchair, looked at me with a big grin on his face and said "Julien, you did well, it's a fantastic telescope!" I was so proud :) As you can imagine, this makes this telescope very special to me.

2. It is equipped with a quartz mirror. The substrate originally came from the semiconductor industry, which means that the material is absolutely flawless. Because it is a quartz mirror, it is thinner than you would expect for a 16" mirror, which makes it lighter and quicker to cool down. The surfacing is excellent as well, and the telescope produces amazing images.

3. It is designed and built to be ultra compact and ultra light, but without compromising on the observer's experience. Anyone taller than 5'5" won't need a step stool to look through it, even at zenith, and even older folks will find it easy to lift even the heaviest component.

4. It is equipped with high-end accessories. It has a protostar spider / secondary mirror, a Starlight Instruments Feather Touch focuser, and it comes with a few accessories like a Televue ParaCorr, a 50mm finderscope, a red dot finder, etc.

I have no idea how much I should ask for this telescope, but I won't let it go for a lowball offer (I'd rather keep it if that's the case...) I just want it to get some use from someone who is as passionate with visual observing as I used to be.

Of course, if you are interested, you can come take a look at the telescope, and look through it if you are serious.

I am attaching a few photos to this email.

Please, contact me off list if you are interested: julien....@gmail.com

Thanks,

- Julien