Berry Thompson brought several solar telescopes

Carter Roberts received the Warren Estes Award for his adjustable height 6" F/4

The 31" Clyde-O-Scope of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society - it is equipped with stepper motors for tracking

Cliff Holmes with Debbie Byrd

Paul Mahoney received a Merit Award for his 18" Newtonian on a split ring mount

Peter Hirtle received a Merit Award for his 5.4" F/4.5 Maksutov Camera System

Jose Sasian received a Merit Award for his new optical configuration for an unobstructed newtonian design

Don Adkins received a Merit Award for his Wood Craftsmanship on his 8" Dobsonian

Attendance: 1,762

The 31" Telescope of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society again dominated the center of the field of the 1989 Riverside Telescope Makers Conference. This fabulous instrument provided superb views of deep sky objects.

Unique telescopes graced the Telescope Field and Telescope Alley. These included a beautiful 8" F/17 Clark Refractor brought by Patrick Wiggins; a wonderfully constructed 4" refractor made from brass, stainless steel, and titanium; and a spar mounted 12.5" field corrected Newtonian by Bob Schalck.

Debbie Byrd, the originator and producer of 'StarDate' gave the Keynote Address.

Speakers (Partial):

• Chris Schur, "Sky Shooting Comets - A Challenge for Astrophotgraphers"
• Alan B. Gorski, "A $17 Concrete Foundation for a Portable Telescope"
• David Levy, "The Magic of Variable Stars"
• Dan Gordon, "How to Eliminate Out of Focus Astrophotos"
• Barry Simon, "Some Comments on Refractors"
• Douglas George and Robert Morris, "A Computer Driven Astronomical Telescope Guidance and Control System with Superimposed Star Field and Celestial Coordinate Graphics Display"
• Michael Chibnik, "A Simple Way to Take Good Pictures with a Video Camera and Telescope"
• Dr. David Crawford et al, "International Dark Sky Association Material"
• Dr. Douglas S. Hall, "How Do I Choose a Photoelectric Observing Project?"
• John Sanford, "Visiting the Great Observatories of Chile"

Merit Award Winners:

• Paul Mahony, Excellent Construction Using Simple Tools - 18" Split-Ring Mount
• Jose M. Sasian, New Concept in Unobstructed Telescope Design - 6" Unobstructed Optical Path Using a Tilted Primary
• Peter Hirtle, Outstanding Design and Craftsmanship - 5.4" F/4.5 Maksutov Camera, Stepper Drive, Crayford Focuser
• Bob Schalck, Well Corrected All Spherical Newtonian Optics - 12.5" All Spherical Optics Using Two Corrector Lens
• Vince Mele, Excellent Craftsmanship in a First Telescope - 10" F/6 Equatorial with Homemade Fiberglass Tube
• Bob Drew/R.A.S.C., Outstanding Design and Craftsmanship in a Group Project - 17.5" Transportable Newtonian
• James Stevens, Innovative Design For a Flip-up Secondary - Easily Convertible Newtonian-Cassegrain
• Don Adkins, Excellent Wood Craftsmanship - 8" Dobsonian Newtonian with Rosewood Mount

Honorable Mentions:

• Randy John, Telescope Control Software - Laptop Computer Controlled 8" Schmidt/Cassegrain
• Tom Mathew, Novel Solar Finder
• Jeff Barden, Good Craftsmanship and Fiberglass Tube Construction - 13.1" F/4.5 Dobsonian with Homemade Tube
• Richard Beaver, Perseverance in Construction of Classical Cassegrain Optics - 20-Year Evolution of his 12.5" Newtonian Cassegrain
• Steve Collett, Well Designed Guidescope Mount - A Simple 3-Point Tangent Assembly Made with Simple Tools
• Gary Grue, Innovative Use of Materials in Tube Construction - 24" Hand Formed Fiberglass Wrapping Light Tube

Warren Estes Award:

Carter Roberts - Adjustable Height, 6" F/4

Cliff Holmes Award:

David Levy

Bob Schalck's 12.5" Spar Mounted Telescope received a
Merit Award. All spherical surfaces were field flattened

Vincent Mele received a Merit Award for this
cleanly designed and built 10" F/6

This is a job for SuperBob