The culmination of many years of amateur astronomy is my current telescope, a custom-made truss Dobsonian telescope, built by SDM Telescopes of Australia.

 

Peter Read, owner of SDM Telescopes manufactures big aperture Dobsonians in the tried and tested style of Obsession-style telescopes providing the Australian amateur astronomer with a unique visual experience. Peter custom builds Dobsonians from 15-32 inch apertures and each instrument is individually handcrafted and customised to suit the owners needs. No two are the same. SDM Telescopes can be found at http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/

I chose to have Peter build me a 16-inch SDM Telescope - the smaller of his range - which was more than suitable for my needs, convenient to setup and it suited my budget perfectly. Some of the features include:

• 16-inch GSO primary mirror
• 18-point mirror cell with cooling fan
  
• Galaxy Diagonal, Astrosystems secondary mirror holder and spider
• Moonlite 2-speed focuser
• Telrad with flip dew cover
• All stainless steel fittings
• All marine ply timber construction
• Ebony Star on Teflon bearings
• Powered ground board
• Temperature and humidity readout
  
• Stainless steel split system wheelie handles
• Heavy duty carry case for UTA and truss poles
• Light shroud and storm cover

 

 

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A part of SDM's famous customer service is personalised delivery to the new owner, and Peter obliged on a wet and windy afternoon where I received a one-on-one demonstration for my new telescope.