The 2000 Riverside Telescope Makers Conference was hot, dry & dusty. But, the observing was good & I enjoyed using the 10" aluminum Dob for a little recreational stargazing for the 3 nights of the event.
Saturday around noon, I decided to enter the scope for consideration by the judges & to just be on hand to talk telescopes with others on the "telescope field". Most people were intrigued by the compact design and by the unusual red truss tubes. More than a few people described the scope as "cute"... and I guess it is. Several of the judges thought it was an 8" telescope when they first looked at it, so they were impressed with the compact construction when they realized it was indeed a 10" instrument.
And apparently they were a good deal more impressed than I realized because on Sunday evening, I was awarded a Certificate of Merit for an "Ultra-compact 10" Newtonian". I was very surprised and quite pleased.
Dave Kodama shot this picture. Those are some of the judges in the background. Did I mention it was dusty?
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