I was interviewed about Astroscans, and a little about this wood-bound Dobsonian book, for the Astronomy Garage podcast by John Dreese. 1h 37m! https://youtu.be/7WXJMSK3F1c
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Smarts and smiles! This website rewards time and thought with original ideas and products. Everything here is by and for real humans. Nothing here is mentioned in, or described by, Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification. Not for “tl;dr” simpletons; suckers seeking instant oversimplifications should retreat back to the rest of the Internet. No artificial intelligence hallucinations, no loyalty bribe, no app.
Email: normsperling@gmail.com Postal: 2625 Alcatraz Avenue #235, Berkeley, California 94705 USA.
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Dobson on Dobsonians
How and Why to Make a User-Friendly Sidewalk Telescope,
by John L. Dobson, edited by Norman Sperling. 978-0913399-63-7. BISAC TEC030000 optics. Product code DOBS.
To Dobson’s mind, the “why” led the “how”: everyone should see nature’s wonders. So he developed telescopes that more people could use, and make.
I edited and published this classic in 1991. I was criticized for its $39.95 price, though it saved $200 for everyone who did what it said to. I earned enough to complete the down-payment on my first house. Used copies now sell for >15 times original retail.
I was criticized for the plywood covers, which make you feel the telescope you’re building. Many said it couldn’t be done — a dare I mastered.
The first printing, 100 copies with foil-stamped binding, sold very well at that year’s Riverside Telescope Makers Conference. The second printing, 1,000 copies, continued selling briskly.
I have 2 copies for sale, one from each printing. Both are autographed by John Dobson. At the buyer’s option, I can autograph them, too. Retrieved from the farthest depths of deep storage, neither copy was ever sold or given, so you will be its first owner. Free US shipping.
#1: First printing. $700.00.
#2: Second printing. $650.00.
Contact me at normsperling@gmail.com .