I finally put together my Newton’s Reflecting Telescope Kit by Gakken. It was a lot of fun to build and it works great. This kit would be a perfect gift for anyone getting into astronomy. By the time I was finished, I had a really good understanding of how these types of telescopes work.
A neat working replica of Newton’s Reflecting Telescope. Features a 10x magnitude. Includes it’s own base. Instructions are in Japanese but features highly detailed assembly pictures, sorry no English translation at this time. Easy to build. Made of high impact plastic.
I took a series of pictures of the build to give you an idea of what is involved in making this kit. Keep reading for some tips & tricks on how to build your own.
I love the magazine that is included with the kit. It’s in Japanese, but it’s still cool to look through. This issue has a few funny pictures, see page 79!
The instructions, like the magazine, are in Japanese. This really isn’t a problem since they are filled with detailed illustrations of each step.
The only issue I had was figuring out what screws were used in each step. Luckily, this is really easy to figure out. There are 3 different kinds, large, medium, and small. I labeled the screws A, B & C. In the instructions I looked for the corresponding symbol and marked them appropriately.
The first step involves making the reflecting mirror. It goes together really easily.
It can be challenging to put this assembly together without touching the mirror.
The base consists of 4 parts that are snapped and screwed together.
This is the support bar and the sphere of the universal joint. This allows for the entire telescope to rotate 360 degrees.
Making the tubes can be tricky. Use a pen to pre-bend the paper into a semi circle. This makes the process a lot easier. The card-stock tubes are surprisingly sturdy when wrapped around the end caps. Be careful with the supplied double-sided tape. It is very sticky and you only have one chance to get it right. Fortunately, it isn’t difficult and the instructions are very clear.
Here are both tubes all assembled and ready to put together. The kit is almost done.
Now you can slip the (2) tubes together and attach them to the support rail. Next, attach the eyepiece with the supplied double-sided tape.
Next, attach the (2) pieces of foam, supplied with the kit, to the (2) support legs. Finally, the (2) legs are attached with screws to the base and the telescope.
All done! I planned on adding my wireless video camera to the telescope, but I had some issues mounting it to the eyepiece. However, I do have an old web-cam that will definitely work. I’ll keep you updated on my video modification.
In the Maker Shed
Newton’s Reflecting Telescope Kit
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