After reading about better ways to cool the primary mirror I came across a discussion on the internet forums about a ring baffle installed just above the primary mirror.
The purpose of the ring is to redirect the air from the fan across the top of the primary to help scrub the warm air boundary layer that sits on the face of the mirror.
This is what I came up with:
I found a 12" ring from Michael's. The ring is made from biodegradable wood fibers making it easy to sand and file.
First I traced an outline of the ring to help keep track of the measurements and make sure it stayed round.
I filed and sanded smooth the outside of the ring until it was slightly smaller than 12" to make a snug fit in the tube.
The primary mirror is 9 3/4" so the inside was filed and sanded to be just a hair bigger so none of the mirror face was being blocked by the ring.
First I traced an outline of the ring to help keep track of the measurements and make sure it stayed round.
I filed and sanded smooth the outside of the ring until it was slightly smaller than 12" to make a snug fit in the tube.
The primary mirror is 9 3/4" so the inside was filed and sanded to be just a hair bigger so none of the mirror face was being blocked by the ring.
After filing to size I painted the ring flat black then used flocking paper for the top just to make sure it was dark in the tube.
I'm attaching the ring to the primary clips so I drilled out holes for the screws and filed a notch to fit over the seam in the telescope tube.
I'm attaching the ring to the primary clips so I drilled out holes for the screws and filed a notch to fit over the seam in the telescope tube.
Making sure it all fits right!
Here is the completed boundary layer ring baffle attached to the cell with the freshly cleaned primary mirror ready to go back into the tube!
