Nitelite telescopes

Below you can see some of the telescopes I have made for me and my friends. Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me an email.


 

Nitelite 6

Nitelite 6 is the smallest of my telescopes so far. This cute 6 inch dobsonian, with little weight and compact size was born to be a travel scope. It fits into a backpack, sports bag or suitcase and fulfils the requirements for an airline cabin baggage. That is why it visited such locations like La Palma on Canary Islands or pampa near Pierre Auger particle observatory in Argentina. Its assembly is a question of 5 minutes and because of the small mirror, cool-down time is short. No tools required.

Key features:

  • 152mm f/5 primary mirror from GSO
  • 3-vane curved spider from Destiny
  • 1.25" focuser HC-1 from Kineoptics
  • weight 5kg
  • dimensions (collapsed) 25x25x19cm + 50cm truss tubes

6 inch truss dobson 6 inch truss dobson


 

Nitelite 8

Nitelite 8 was made as a travel / grab'n'go complement to the bigger 14 inch truss dob, that is sometimes too big and heavy. Just like the smallest of the Nitelite family, 8 inch belongs to "juniors": it is light enough to be carried to the logner distances and it fits to a bigger sports bag. But don't be fooled by its compact size, it is definitely no slouch! 8 inches of aperture at the dark place will show quite a lot.

Key features:

  • 203mm f/5 primary mirror from Skywatcher
  • 3-vane curved spider from Destiny
  • 2" focuser HC-2 from Kineoptics
  • weight 8kg
  • dimensions (collapsed) 30x30x22cm + 70cm truss tubes

200mm truss dobson


 

Nitelite 10

Nitelite 10 is my own telescope - in fact it is the second generation. I have fixed some quirks and I can say that now I am fully satisfied with it performance. The truss poles are black, this photo was taken with a spare set of poles. This medium-size dob doesn't belong to the "crumbs" any more, but it is still possible to carry it in one piece to the shorter distances, assembled or collapsed. It doesn't take too much space in the car, so it is usually not a problem to take it anywhere, even if the car is fully occupied. 10 inches of aperture provides enough power for planets or fainter DSO and even after several years of observing, I am still far away from beeing bored by what I can see.

Key features:

  • great 250mm f/5.3 primary mirror from Elbioptics
  • 56mm secondary from Antares optics
  • 3-vane straight secondary spider
  • 1.25" focuser HC-1 from Kineoptics
  • weight 15kg
  • dimensions (collapsed) 37x37x25cm + 110cm truss tubes

10 inch truss dobson


 

Nitelite 12

Nitelite 12 aka "Miranda", was originally classic, custom built solid tube dob. It suffered from several disadvatages - it was really big and heavy and the motions were everething but smooth and easy. Transportation was quite difficult for one person and this caused that the telescope was not used too often. The owner decided to make a radical cut, and asked me to build this truss dobsonian, weighting less than a half of the original with size of 1/5th when collapsed. It is now used much more than before and the owner can easily take it to the newly constitued dark-sky park not far away from his home.

Key features:

  • 300mm f/5.7 cellular primary mirror
  • heated secondary
  • weight 21kg
  • dimensions (collapsed) 45x45x35cm + 130cm truss tubes

12 inch truss dobson


 

Nitelite 14

Nitelite 14 is fact the third incarnation of the original telescope, which was ordinary solid tube dob from OrionOptics UK. Its owner encountered common problem: the size was simply too big. It turned out that solid tube with the size of water heater is too difficult to transport and manipulate. Therefore the owner decided to have the telescope rebuilt into ultralight by my colleague. Unfortunately, the structure was so light that it suffered from serious problems with stiffness and stability. The second attemp of rebuilding was commited to me and althouhg the result is not perfect, I dare say that it fulfils most of the owners expectations (at least that is what he says :-)

Key features:

  • 350mm f/4.6 primary mirror OrionOptics Ultra Grade Hilux
  • heated secondary
  • Moonlite truss connector system
  • 2" focuser Moonlite CR2
  • weight 27kg
  • dimensions (collapsed) 50x50x30cm + 130cm truss tubes

14 inch truss dobson


 

Nitelite 16

Nitelite 16 is the biggest telescope I had the honor to make. With regard to its considerable size and weight of the single components, not everything that worked well with smaller apertures worked here too. That is why there are some things I am not proud of and that I would have made differently today. Despite that, it is fully functional telescope with great storability. It fits into the trunk of the car with no problems and yet it leaves enough space for other luggage. Try that with a telescope of similar aperture from major manufacturer!

Key features:

  • 406mm f/4.5 primary mirror GSO
  • halved truss tubes
  • 2" focuser Vixen
  • weight 35kg
  • dimensions (collapsed) 60x60x30cm + 75cm truss tubes

16 inch truss dobson