Dobsonian Mount for Short NG 114mm Reflector Telescope by drcameron

Last crawled date: 3 years, 4 months ago

I own a National Geographic 114mm aperture and 500mm focal length reflector telescope, but the tripod that it came with had limitations. See my full review here: https://youtu.be/qNegmpTLBNQ. I looked for a dobsonian mount replacement and couldn't find one. So, I designed and printed my own. The telescope is fairly cheap - <$80 on sale - but it works very well. The images of the planets and the moon were all taken through this telescope. Video on how to assemble to mount: https://youtu.be/DXCiJloXXUg.
Note: You will need a larger printer to successfully print all of the parts - in particular the mount and the bottom which are both 210mm in diameter. They will find on and Ender 3. The height of the mount is just a tad bit taller. All of the other parts should fit on a typical bed plate size. I printed the clamp out of polycarbonate, but all other parts were printed in standard PLA.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NT114CF 114MM CARBON FIBER REFLECTOR TELESCOPE: https://amzn.to/36KHc1Q
The telescope can be purchased at Sam's Club for ~$60 or less when it is available: https://www.samsclub.com/p/national-geographic-114mm-reflecting-telescope/prod22303223. It can also be found other places and prices fluctuate.
To complete the mount:
Print:
1 Dob mount (the original v2 or v3 with added alt bearing depth)
1 Dob mount bottom
1 Dob mount clamp ("version a" has a notch to keep the dovetail in tact. "version b" doesn't have this and requires the dovetail to be removed)
2 Dob mount wheels
Hardware (All M3):
1x 16mm
1x 25mm
5x 30mm
6x nuts
2x wingnuts/thumb screws
(If you need M3's here's a great assortment: https://amzn.to/3nyBmqk and thumbscrews: https://amzn.to/2GKPRX4)
Other items:
3-4 rubber feet/pads for the base bottom (should not flex and should be non-slip)
4 felt feet (3/4" or 20mm) for the wheel bearings to ride on. These may not be necessary. Teflon/PTFE pads also work if you have them.
Small pieces or felt or rubber to stick under the clamp to protect the telescope body
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