NOVAC members are active amateur telescope makers (ATMs) who make and use their own instruments and accessories. A special interest group (SIG) has been formed within NOVAC to help members share their ideas about telescope making. ATM-SIG meetings are held on the third Saturday each month in a members house.

Here are a few examples of their efforts:

"Sweet Sixteen" is NOVAC's new large club telescope.  Club member Bill Powers generously donated a large (16" f/7.5) mirror, other optics, and structural material to NOVAC.  Club President, Ed Karch, designated a "Gang of Sixteen", all notorious ATM nuts, to build a telescope from this treasure hoard.  Six months of work have resulted in an unusual large Folded Newtonian reflector, with a special "flexing" mirror design, on a modified Dobsonian mount.

Brad Davy's Homebuilt German Equatorial Mount

Two truss travel scope, Bob Bunge

4.25"f4 fence post scope, Alex Lim

4.25" f4 truss plank - 6" f/4-f/10 Truss Plank Telescope (w/ selectable 2.5x Barlow Diagonal)

Dobsonian

LX200 control console

Binocular Mount, Mike Mills

Binocular Mount, Bob Traub

Web cam CCD ,Michael Hubbard

Radio telescope

Small red dob by Ralph Marple. See his ATM site also.

Focuser, secondary holder and spider, Mike Mills

Square tube dob

Suitcase scope using tension compression with truss poles and bungee cord

Off axis mount and sun filter, finder scope from old binocular, Mike Mills

First light at Mickie Gordon - Here's a link to Barry's page site describing its construction and trips

Jakob Hand and the "Astrocan"

Check out Bob Bunge's ATM website at http://www.ladyandtramp.com/scope.htm .