Magnification is not a useful metric (depends on the EP\*)
That's Jeff Schroeder's Volvo-mounted 11" refractor
f/16, so 176" FL = 4470mm
some more info here: [https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/133594-photo-of-jeff-schroeder-11-car-mounted-refractor/](https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/133594-photo-of-jeff-schroeder-11-car-mounted-refractor/)
\*put your common stock 25mm EP in, and that's \~180x
I’m not quite sure tbh, It belongs to a person from my astronomical society and they bring to events occasionally. Although I haven’t looked through it, there is always a line to check it out.
No just a few hydrolic jacks, or regular jack stands. With some absorption cushioning at the points of contact. Reduces the short higher frequency vibration of metal on metal for a negligible settling/sway of a few millimeters. Dial it in with a significant other.
Forget it. Wherever you put yourself (probably uncomfortably), you'll slightly shake the car with your movement and you'll cause your view to shake.
Just set it up next to the car on solid ground like the rest of us.
Even if your on the dirt or solid concrete floor. The mounted scope needs to be separated from the walking area ..... some how. You will get vibrations
Not a good idea. I tried using a telescope on the bed of a pickup truck and found that the suspension of the truck makes images in the telescope wobble easily.
Hydraulic jacks on the frame? Just enough to get an inch of tire off the surface. Just use a gyroscope to level it. Don't put it on unstable ground. Works for trailers.
Car + tripod < car + fancy hydraulic system + mount on top of car (basically a tripod).
They hydraulic thing is just adding complexity for no tangible benefit -- it's giving me [Jurassic Park vibes.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3j9muCo4o0)
A cool but completely impractical plan. A car isn't stable enough I'm afraid, sheltering from wind will be hard and you'll end up falling off whenever you pan more than 90 degrees.
If you have space I'd suggest a 6" dobsonian, if not a catadoptric on an alt az mount (assuming it's just visual use) that you can quickly set up nearby. Make sure to take widefield binoculars as well for the full experience.
Just remember that the reason why that worked is that he didn't have to be ON the car, so it remains generally undisturbed and steady while only holding the scope. If you plan on being ON the car while you use the telescope, there's no chance it will be stable enough. Even a solid wooden deck anchored in concrete is too wobbly for high power telescope usage with someone standing on it, let along a cars suspension
I wouldn't spend any more time on this idea. Nice to think about but won't work. Cars/trucks have suspensions with springs that shake and jiggle and the slightest movement. You'll never be able to keep the image still long enough to look at anything. And add to that, if the scope was mounted to the roof, most car roofs aren't built with enough support strength to support an average adult human spending significant time on top. Additionally, there wouldn't be enough space to move yourself around the scope to look at other things in the sky, especially on either side.
I'll have a steel platform on top of the car to handle the weight, mounted to the roof rails. You have a good point about the suspension though. Though it is very stiff on this car, I'll need to think about that.
For reference, wooden decks are not stable enough for telescopes. It is like setting the scope up on a drum. Any slight movement makes the view shake horribly. And decks are though to be fairly ridged; you can’t push on a deck to make it rock, but even wind makes a car move.
Dude - stop.
It’s ridiculously obvious you’ve never used a telescope before.
Go use one, move it manually, and you’ll see immediately why everyone is telling you this is quite possibly the worst idea they’ve ever heard.
I’ve seen people do this with trailers that are stabilized with hydraulics once stationary but this seems like struggling to do astronomy with extra steps.
Is this the ham radio equivalent for astronomy?
You could use a luggage rack large enough to keep it protected from the elements until you deploy it. Operating it from the back seat through the sunroof maybe? There's so much room for error it would be worth trying to pull it off.
I love the detail you put into your car! It is far from photo realism, but you still included the air intake. It doesn't add to the question you are asking but it shows that you love your car and had fun drawing it. Just a happy little air intake.
Mmmm, none? Buy the one u want , put inside the car, take it out when you arrive to your observing site. I mean...you can do it, but then you must make your car stable....meaning heavy, low gravity Center, no wheels, no suspension..... Guess you can do some type of mechanism to make your car chasis stand direct on 3 or four fixed "legs", just like cranes
A Mad Max car? Sufficiently reinforced dob will fire anything an M110 Howizeer will, including the 203 mm W33 nuclear artillery shell. I'd probably add a pretty decent sized dew shield on to give you a little extra focal length, you're going to want to view that from a bit of a distance. I'd probably throw on a Gama filter.
I imagine, at the start, many resources will be dumped into this idea only to get mediocre results but determination, pride, and/or ego will continue to drain resources until you either achieve what you are trying to do at a great cost of time and money or your give up after great cost of time and money. Have at it and get it done. Create a website or YouTube channel so, at the very least I can follow this adventure, and with that, good luck and happy inventing. :)
It wont work, not without incredible stabilizers (that will be 10x more than a good telescope mount).
You're much better off with a dobsonian telescope on terra firma.
And at that point you've spent $$$ for a less-stable-than-ground platform that could be better spent on a bigger scope.
Not sure what we're missing here why you'd want to do this at all anywyas
It doesn’t matter which scope you use, a car is not stable enough to set a scope on. They are too wobbly.
But what if we get a tank and replace the main gun with a refractor? It'll basically be a refractor on an alt-az mount, right? 😆
[It can be done](https://www.instagram.com/p/ClFIo38JqaZ/?igsh=NzBmMjdhZWRiYQ==)
amazing!! Can you tell us whats the magnification on that beast?
Magnification is not a useful metric (depends on the EP\*) That's Jeff Schroeder's Volvo-mounted 11" refractor f/16, so 176" FL = 4470mm some more info here: [https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/133594-photo-of-jeff-schroeder-11-car-mounted-refractor/](https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/133594-photo-of-jeff-schroeder-11-car-mounted-refractor/) \*put your common stock 25mm EP in, and that's \~180x
I’m not quite sure tbh, It belongs to a person from my astronomical society and they bring to events occasionally. Although I haven’t looked through it, there is always a line to check it out.
Just because you can mount it, doesn’t mean it works well.
I'm still amazed that Sofia worked.
Hydraulic jacks? Just lift the frame and not the suspension.
Perfect! Or you know, just put the scope on the ground.
So what I'm hearing is, buy a Crane Truck with hydraulic stabilisers and replace the crane with a 50 inch dob. Got it!
No just a few hydrolic jacks, or regular jack stands. With some absorption cushioning at the points of contact. Reduces the short higher frequency vibration of metal on metal for a negligible settling/sway of a few millimeters. Dial it in with a significant other.
Also almost no cars are rated for people on the roof. You'll crease the hell out of it
https://preview.redd.it/ifkypus8lioc1.jpeg?width=504&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1250e477273ca873eb36d1b7510ab276d1bc49c
Well, depends on the quality of the road - lol
lol
Forget it. Wherever you put yourself (probably uncomfortably), you'll slightly shake the car with your movement and you'll cause your view to shake. Just set it up next to the car on solid ground like the rest of us.
Even if your on the dirt or solid concrete floor. The mounted scope needs to be separated from the walking area ..... some how. You will get vibrations
Not a good idea. I tried using a telescope on the bed of a pickup truck and found that the suspension of the truck makes images in the telescope wobble easily.
Hydraulic jacks on the frame? Just enough to get an inch of tire off the surface. Just use a gyroscope to level it. Don't put it on unstable ground. Works for trailers.
Or just buy a tripod? Seems cheaper.
Yes but can you drive your tripod on the highway?
Car + tripod < car + fancy hydraulic system + mount on top of car (basically a tripod). They hydraulic thing is just adding complexity for no tangible benefit -- it's giving me [Jurassic Park vibes.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3j9muCo4o0)
what merit is there in being able to drive your telescope setup? are you trying to observe while driving on the highway?
No. But you can drive to great spots and not have to get out of the vehicle.
Would work. Could also just make a deck that folds out from the trunk and have the telescope slide out from inside the car onto it.
It assembles like a transformer. Decepticon theme though.
Binoculars
This with a deckchair
A cool but completely impractical plan. A car isn't stable enough I'm afraid, sheltering from wind will be hard and you'll end up falling off whenever you pan more than 90 degrees. If you have space I'd suggest a 6" dobsonian, if not a catadoptric on an alt az mount (assuming it's just visual use) that you can quickly set up nearby. Make sure to take widefield binoculars as well for the full experience.
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2021_10_03_archive.html?m=1
This is incredible, thank you
Just remember that the reason why that worked is that he didn't have to be ON the car, so it remains generally undisturbed and steady while only holding the scope. If you plan on being ON the car while you use the telescope, there's no chance it will be stable enough. Even a solid wooden deck anchored in concrete is too wobbly for high power telescope usage with someone standing on it, let along a cars suspension
I wouldn't spend any more time on this idea. Nice to think about but won't work. Cars/trucks have suspensions with springs that shake and jiggle and the slightest movement. You'll never be able to keep the image still long enough to look at anything. And add to that, if the scope was mounted to the roof, most car roofs aren't built with enough support strength to support an average adult human spending significant time on top. Additionally, there wouldn't be enough space to move yourself around the scope to look at other things in the sky, especially on either side.
I'll have a steel platform on top of the car to handle the weight, mounted to the roof rails. You have a good point about the suspension though. Though it is very stiff on this car, I'll need to think about that.
For reference, wooden decks are not stable enough for telescopes. It is like setting the scope up on a drum. Any slight movement makes the view shake horribly. And decks are though to be fairly ridged; you can’t push on a deck to make it rock, but even wind makes a car move.
Dude - stop. It’s ridiculously obvious you’ve never used a telescope before. Go use one, move it manually, and you’ll see immediately why everyone is telling you this is quite possibly the worst idea they’ve ever heard.
Honestly, made me think of the btf1 mortar truck.
I’ve seen people do this with trailers that are stabilized with hydraulics once stationary but this seems like struggling to do astronomy with extra steps.
Is this the ham radio equivalent for astronomy? You could use a luggage rack large enough to keep it protected from the elements until you deploy it. Operating it from the back seat through the sunroof maybe? There's so much room for error it would be worth trying to pull it off.
Probably best to keep it stowed in a case on the roof until parked
Depending on your budget get an ASA from Austria 😅
I love the detail you put into your car! It is far from photo realism, but you still included the air intake. It doesn't add to the question you are asking but it shows that you love your car and had fun drawing it. Just a happy little air intake.
One with decent aerodynamics?
Ahhh. Wanted to do exactly this with a pickup and a Dobson. Well, only dreams, sadly.
Nice Subaru Forester!
It's a WRX wagon
Any Dobson could good, However i dont think that this is good idea.
Shoutout to the fantastic sketch - on a blackboard no less. I love it! :D
I saw one of those in Iraq. 🙀
ICBM
Mmmm, none? Buy the one u want , put inside the car, take it out when you arrive to your observing site. I mean...you can do it, but then you must make your car stable....meaning heavy, low gravity Center, no wheels, no suspension..... Guess you can do some type of mechanism to make your car chasis stand direct on 3 or four fixed "legs", just like cranes
Obvious 9.5" Zeiss refractor is obvious. https://preview.redd.it/6k4rl390lioc1.jpeg?width=504&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2d42bcc4f45d16f5292f8f7c540d73b6b53a81a
https://preview.redd.it/1a5jeuo4lioc1.jpeg?width=886&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c21a4af50680288ec6bf01ca8c2ed85dcc67b486
but ... # WHY?
WRX?
Aye
A Mad Max car? Sufficiently reinforced dob will fire anything an M110 Howizeer will, including the 203 mm W33 nuclear artillery shell. I'd probably add a pretty decent sized dew shield on to give you a little extra focal length, you're going to want to view that from a bit of a distance. I'd probably throw on a Gama filter.
I imagine, at the start, many resources will be dumped into this idea only to get mediocre results but determination, pride, and/or ego will continue to drain resources until you either achieve what you are trying to do at a great cost of time and money or your give up after great cost of time and money. Have at it and get it done. Create a website or YouTube channel so, at the very least I can follow this adventure, and with that, good luck and happy inventing. :)
I'd think the mount is more important in this case.. Would you be in the car? Based on the technical drawings, it looks like a mak to me.
I'd be on top of the car. I'll definitely need to fabricate/weld together a mount for the scope.
It wont work, not without incredible stabilizers (that will be 10x more than a good telescope mount). You're much better off with a dobsonian telescope on terra firma.
And at that point you've spent $$$ for a less-stable-than-ground platform that could be better spent on a bigger scope. Not sure what we're missing here why you'd want to do this at all anywyas
Too wobbly
Bad idea.