Build A Simple Galilean Refracting Telescope In 500 Rupees

Today I am going tell you the way how can you build a simple Galilean Refractor Telescope in just about 500 Pakistani Rupees. I think building this telescope must not take more than half hour of your’s and after this, you will be able to observe the moon and its craters and few double stars too.

So,

First, a little briefing about the design might help.

This telescope design was introduced by Galileo. Basically it works on the principle of refraction of light rays.

Light rays bend as they enter from one medium to another. In this way the light rays are brought to focus in the Galilean Refractor model.

 

 

Refracting Telescope Illustrated

 

Light from the primary convex lens is brought to focus at a certain point. At that point an eyepiece is placed to view the image.

 

 

Refracting Telescope Illustrated

 

 

 

Refracting Telescope from Cincinnati Observatory in 1848

 

Now I will move on to the parts list and some mathematics.

I am not sure about the cost of the parts but it shall be near to the ones I mention here.

Parts:

  • A plano-convex lens of +2 diopters with diameter of 2 inches. (Rs. 100)
  • A microscopic eyepiece of 10x power. (Rs. 320)
  • A PVC pipe of 2 inches diameter and of half meter length. (Rs. 50)
  • A PVC pipe of 1 inch diameter and of 6 inches length. (Rs. 20)

Total = 490 (Prices subject to change from city to city)

Additional Supplies Needed:

  • Black Electrical Tape.
  • Old Newspapers.
  • Scissors.
  • A powerful glue.

Calculations:

Lets calculate the Focal Length of the convex lens.

Since,

Focal Length = 1 / diopter

Focal Length = 1 / 2

Focal Length = 0.5 Meters.

This means that the plano-convex lens you just purchased has a focal length of 0.5 Meters (500 millimeters)

The 10x microscopic eyepiece has a focal length of 25 millimeters.

Now we will calculate the magnification of this telescope.

Since,

Magnification = Focal Length of Objective / Focal Length of Eyepiece.

Magnification = 500 / 25

Magnification = 20x

Construction:

  • From that half meter PVC pipe, cut 3 inch piece away.
  • Join the Plano-Convex lens at one side of the tube opening with the help of glue (the convex side should be facing outside).
  •  

     

    Fixed Lens at one end of the tube.

  • Let it dry and make sure its firmly attached.
  • Wrap the 1 inch diameter PVC pipe with newspapers well, so it can slide inside and outside the main tube also known as Objective Tube.
  •  

     

    PVC pipe wrapped in magazine.

  • Fix the eyepiece in one side of that little tube also known as the Draw Tube.
  •  

     

    Eyepiece in Draw Tube

  • Your telescope is ready.
  •  

     

    My 40x Telescope

Enjoy the moon viewing, or other terrestrial objects.

Be Advised:

NEVER EVER TRY TO LOOK AT THE SUN WITH ANY LENS AND ESPECIALLY A TELESCOPE. IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYES WILL OCCUR WITHIN MICROSECONDS.

Notes:

  • The Refractor Model shows erect images only when you have a negative power eyepiece (Galilean Mode). In this telescope you are using a positive eyepiece. So this design is called Keplerian Mode. You will see everything upside down.
  • This isn’t a Solar Telescope, avoid sun viewing.
  • This telescope has a magnification of 20x. You will see everything 20 times bigger than its original size.
  • While viewing moon and other distant objects, you will have to move the draw tube inside the main tube until the image is sharp and clear.
  • If you are viewing nearer objects, you will have to pull out the draw tube a little or more until the image is focused.

Troubleshooting and Help:

If you are having any problem in the construction of this telescope or have any other questions, feel free to ask. I am always ready to help.

Acknowledgements:

If today I am able to write this tutorial, its just because of the great help offered to me by Mr. Tom Pope, Mr. Jim Mosher and Mr. Ali Khan. Without their help, I would have never been able to build a telescope and write this simplified tutorial for beginners. Thank You All.

Wish You Clear and Dark Skies.

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  1. very usefull information.. brother could you please manage one for me i will pay you the price of two.. because i have no time but its very interesting and very use full , we will when we will go to gorakh hill station and look to the stars ..

    1. Surely Shahzaib brother I can build one telescope for you, you may contact me through this contact form http://astronomerbilal.net/contact-me/ and tell me something about you and I will be happy to help you.

    • Rukhama on July 7, 2010 at 4:51 pm
    • Reply

    lush hai… aap to genius ho…:)

    • Rukhama on July 7, 2010 at 5:23 pm
    • Reply

    quiet affordable…

  2. Awesome!!
    nice work bilal bhai… keep up the good work…
    u currently working at any new projects or not yet?

    1. Dear Xulfi, thanks for the appreciation, Its very encouraging.

      I had started a project for building a Reflecting telescope with a magnification of 447x (compare it with the above telescope which has 20x magnification) but due to low budget and lack of resources in Pakistan, I had to postpone that project until some time.

      I now adays frequently do sky observations and blog about it.
      If you liked my blog, kindly become a fan of it on facebook and suggest to other friends too. Moreover, check out my other blog posts too may you like it. Wish you all the luck. Thanks

  3. Its a huge difference right from 20x to 447x…
    i know there is lack of resources here… but bilal bhai keep on trying… u ll surely get success…
    i have already became ur fan… and i would love to help… : )

  4. billal bhai one more suggestion i would like to share…. i think there r many others having same interest… try finding some people near u and form a group… it would help u allot… if i were near u, i would love to join u…

    1. Dear Xulfi,

      So far I have been able to locate only 1 person interested in Astronomy and he is my friend. We have made a group at facebook by the name of “Hyderabad’s Astronomer Folks”. I am trying to spread it so much that people with same interest in Hyderabad may find me some day. If you are interested in Astronomy, you may want to join our group.

      Once again, your comments were really encouraging, thank you.

        • xulfi on July 8, 2010 at 7:42 pm
        • Reply

        i have noticed ur webpage is having some glitches. if facing any problem in that,i think i might help….

        1. Dear Xulfi, could you please notify me of any glitch you are experiencing? Its all ok at my side. I use my webpage at 800×600 and 1024×768 resolution. I see no problem down here.

            • xulfi on July 9, 2010 at 12:57 am

            dear bilal i m currently using 1366×768 and i also tried it in 800×600 but still something is wrong with left corner and some texts are invisible because they mix up with bg… never mind….
            i joined ur fb group … and i wanted to ask if i can invite some of my friends…

          1. Well, to the best of my tries, I have fixed the glitch at this time of night (4:56 AM). Let me know if you are still experiencing the problem.

            And yes sure, you can invite your friends to our group too, maybe someday we can have a star party with some Astronomer guys from Hyderabad :D.

    • Rukhama on July 8, 2010 at 3:25 pm
    • Reply

    bilal do let me know if u make any group i’ll join that…. keep it up

  5. well bilal bhai now its perfect…. and every word is clearly visible…
    but fixing it at the time (4:56 AM) was not really necessary… that shows ur passion towards ur dream… if i were at ur place i would say “there is always tomorrow”…
    but as u said “Astronomers are like Owls, they remain awake at nights and sleep in day”.

  6. sure i would love to join u in that party… 😀

    • Imran on July 9, 2010 at 6:42 pm
    • Reply

    hello bilal
    really nice work u haf done a platform is required to bring the creative minds like u over there whr u should be promoted just keep it up ur efforts in such type of projects……and i”ll try to make a telescope in five hundreds following ur instructions and procedure that u haf told us

    1. Dear Imran,

      Thanks for your kind words,

      The day you build the telescope will be of great happiness for me, I am sure you will enjoy this project as much as I did InshaAllah.

      Should you require any help at any time in this project, I am always there, you can use the contact form at my blog to contact me. 🙂

  7. Dear Xulfi

    You can register yourself at BuddyPress (displayed on top of my blog) and add me as a friend there, easy way to communicate with me right inside my blog 🙂

  8. I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style of blogging. Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.

  9. It took me a long time to search on the web, only your site unfold the fully details, bookmarked and thanks again.

    – Laura

    • Saad on November 22, 2010 at 12:24 am
    • Reply

    Hey Bilal,

    Great article and great blog too. Its in my Google Reader now. I’m attempting to build this telescope and wanted to clarify some things:

    Isn’t it very important that the lens and magnifying eye piece be exactly perpendicular to the pvc tube and even a slight variation will result in a bad view? How do you ensure that the lens is fixed exactly perpendicular?

    Second, is the microscopic eyepiece hard to find? Can you tell me where I can get one in Karachi?

    Keep up the good work!

    1. Dear Saad,
      Thanks for the appreciation.

      It indeed is really very important that the eyepiece and the objective lens shall be inline. Even the variation of 2 or 3 degrees can cause significantly bad performance of the telescope. What happened in my case that the PVC I bought was slightly bent from the middle, which was so minor that it was hard to be noticed, but it causes very fuzzy images.

      About the eyepiece and objective, the arrangement should be like it is shown in the image.

      Microscope eyepieces are easily available in Karachi, but unfortunately I don’t know the exact location of any such shop since I am based in Hyderabad. You can try searching at any scientific store or optics shop.

      Should you require any help, feel free to contact me through the contact form.

      Yours
      Bilal

    2. Hello, I just found a location for you to purchase microscope eyepieces in Karachi. You can buy them from G.A Scientific store ,Urdu Bazar near Radio Pakistan Karachi. These are available in labeled magnification like 5x,7x,25x not in focal length. All sizes are available in 0.96 inch diameter barrel. Around 300 to Rs 1500..

      Contact me if you need anymore help.

      Thanks.

    • Saad Awais on December 19, 2010 at 3:46 pm
    • Reply

    hey im building a telescope, can u plz tell me what to do if eyepiece is of 20x and secondly what to do if i have to see images erect not upside down, plz reply me quickly i have to build in 2 days

    1. Saad, If the microscope eyepiece is of 20x power, it means that its focal length is 12.5mm. That will give you a magnification of 40x. Everything will be same as above.

      BUT things change if you make an erecting telescope.

      500mm will be objective lens focal length.

      Get a convex lens of 2 inch focal length.

      Place erecting convex lens 4 inches away from 500mm.

      It means the position of erecting lens is 500mm+100mm=600mm from objective lens,

      Then comes eyepiece, eyepiece will be 112.5mm from the erecting lens.

      Complex calculations, right?
      It doesn’t really matter for astronomical observations whether you are seeing erect images or inverted images. Leave erect images, thats what we always do. Even the biggest newtonian reflectors show inverted images because whether you are seeing a planet upside down or erect, it doesn’t make any difference.

      Let me know if you want any more help.

    • saad on January 5, 2011 at 3:41 pm
    • Reply

    bilal can u please give me blank calculation method for an erecting telescope, i have to submit it by tommorow im using one convex as an object then after 16 inches is an plano convex then after 4 inches is eyepiece of 10x

    • sidra on February 11, 2011 at 4:16 pm
    • Reply

    helo bilal i hv to mak a telescope n i hv bought two sets of lenses one is of two convex lenses of focal length 20.5 n12 cm n their aperture is 2 n 1.5 inches…….. n other set cntain a plano convex lens of focal length 55cm n its aperture is 4inches as a objective n concave lens of siz 1.5 inchs as a eyepiece …………….plz tell me which will be better one n wat shld i do???????plz tell me as early as possible i hv to submitt my telescope on coming tuesday . i il be realy thank full to you.

    1. Hello Sidra, seems like you purchased the lenses in a hurry, without asking someone.

      20.5 Centimeter = 8.1 Inches

      12 Centiemeter = 4.7 Inches.

      Since we know that magnification is

      Focal length of objective divided by the focal length of eyepiece.

      therefore

      20.5 / 12 = 1.78x Magnification. You can’t really call this a telescope, rather you may call it a tiny magnifying tube.

      That was for the first set.

      In the second set, you have not mentioned the focal length of eyepiece.

      I suggest you to buy some other lenses if you really wish to make a telescope for Moon observations.

      Ready to help, anytime.

    • sidra on February 12, 2011 at 2:19 pm
    • Reply

    yes bilal i also think tht i mad a mistak bt cn u tel me now wt shd i do n of which focal length i shd bye new lenses n in a secnd set eyepiece is a concave lens we cnt calculate its focallength directly n if v cn thn i dnt know how to calculate . plzzzz help m very much woried itis of 25 marks plzz help me. n thanksss alot for ur sugeestions ni il b very great ful to u thank u

    1. Hello Sidra,

      I suggest you to purchase an Plano Convex lens of +2 diopters. And your eyepiece can be a +40 plano convex lens. Then assemble both in the way mentioned above. If you can’t find +40 lens for eyepiece, use a 10x microscope eyepiece. That should do it.

    • sidra on February 12, 2011 at 7:12 pm
    • Reply

    hi bilal

    ok i il chk it bt as i hv shrt tme i hv an idea if i use a 4 inch objective with 1.5 inch cnvex lens as eyepiece tht i mntion earlier tht i hv biught lenses, thn it il be fine thts magnification il 4.58x isnt it enough?????

  10. Sidra, you mentioned focal lengths of 20.5 centimeter and 12 centimeter, that gives you a magnification of 1.7x, and this is not a good idea.

    • sidra on February 12, 2011 at 11:46 pm
    • Reply

    brther i told u tht i hv another lens whose focal length is 55 cm

    1. Use 55 centimeter focal length objective with 12 centimeter focal length eyepiece. That gives 4.58x magnification, again its not a very good idea to build such telescope.

    • sidra on February 13, 2011 at 8:22 pm
    • Reply

    hi bilal
    thank u so much for ths help i il follow u inshallah n thanks again

    • Thankx on December 7, 2011 at 7:33 pm
    • Reply

    Thank you you are the best 🙂

    • Thankx on December 11, 2011 at 8:06 pm
    • Reply

    how can I make this telescope a 50x & what can I see with this telescope.

    Please help me.

    This is for my science fair and with what power can see Jupiter clearly.

    Please help me.

    1. Hello, unfortunately, you can not see Jupiter “clearly” with this kind of telescope, because refracting telescopes have a limitation, they can not show you clear sharp images, for doing so, they require a special kind of primary lens called “Doublet” lens, which is hardly available anywhere.

      If you make the telescope with above mentioned lenses, you will be able to see the Moon “Clearly” and 40x is a great magnification to start with.

      Hope that helps.

        • Thankx on December 12, 2011 at 6:00 pm
        • Reply

        Thanks,But I still want to make a 50x telescope.
        Hope this does not annoy you. Please help.

        1. Hello. Just follow the above tutorial. Instead of +1 objective lens, use a lens of +1.25, fit them in a tube, get a 10x microscope eyepiece. That should do it. Thanks and no issues 🙂

    • Thankx on December 12, 2011 at 6:16 pm
    • Reply

    I forgot to ask you .Where will I get a 40 diopter lens. 🙂

      • Thankx on December 13, 2011 at 6:04 pm
      • Reply

      I got it.

        • Thankx on December 13, 2011 at 6:51 pm
        • Reply

        I didn’t get it. 🙁

    • Thankx on December 13, 2011 at 6:50 pm
    • Reply

    hi Bilal,if I joint 2 +20 diopter lens will I get the same magnification as a +40 diopter lens.+40 diopter lens is not available anywhere. Please help.

      • Thankx on December 13, 2011 at 6:53 pm
      • Reply

      I only have 2 more weeks. Everyone has got there things. PLEASE HELP ME.

        • Thankx on December 13, 2011 at 6:54 pm
        • Reply

        I only have 2 more weeks. Everyone has got their things. PLEASE HELP ME.

      1. A +40 diopter lens will give a focal length of 0.082 feet.

        Be very clear about what you want. Do you want 50x magnification? If yes then get a +1.25 diopter lens and forget +40.

        P.S: Re read the tutorial.

        Hope that helps.

    • Joash A on June 14, 2012 at 7:41 pm
    • Reply

    hai bro.some images are not opening.can u help me.

    • Waqas ahmed on January 17, 2014 at 1:31 pm
    • Reply

    CoOl article!

    • Wahaj on April 4, 2014 at 10:36 am
    • Reply

    That’s a nice artic;e and blog, I tried it but i m facing a proble,…! you still there in 2014???

    1. Hey Wahaj. Thank you 🙂

      Yes I am still here in 2014. Please let me know what problem you are facing and I will try my best to resolve it. 🙂

        • Wahaj on April 15, 2014 at 10:16 pm
        • Reply

        I built 20x magnification but now i m trying to construct a 180x magnification telescope or even more! But i lacks the basic knowledge for it! first of all i got 0.5 diopter lens within my range, But first i planned to use 20x eyepiece, but now i discovered that eyepiece with f=4mm are also available, should it be appropriate to utilize a 11mm or 4mm eyepiece with 0.5 diopter lens? and what should be the diameter of the lens? further more i also gone through a term aperture, on what principle the aperture of the lens depends and in what it helps???
        i m pleased with ur idea and tried it out, it is really fantastic, and i don’t want any limits, so i want the best within my range
        Plz Help!
        btw ur gr8!!!

        1. Wahaj, thank you for appreciation my friend.

          180x magnification refracting telescope will be too difficult to use, unless you have a sturdy mount. Do you have any idea how big the telescope would be if your desired magnification is 180x? Let me define you that magnification is focal length of primary lens divided by focal length of eyepiece.

          Mag = FL (obj) / FL (ep)

          Desired magnification is 180, eyepiece available is 4mm

          180 = FL (obj) / 4mm

          4mm x 180 = FL (obj)
          FL (obj) = 720 mm , or 0.72 meters

          Now how much diopter will give us a focal length of 0.72?

          Diopter = 1 / FL
          Diopter = 1 / 0.72
          Diopter = 1.38 (positive)

          So that is the configuration you will need for 180x, but I really doubt if that will be of any use, because as you increase the magnification, three things happen.

          1: Object becomes fainter.
          2: Even a slightest instability can cause the object to move out of the field of view.
          3: Objects run away from the field of view faster as you increase the magnification.

          So using at 180x will be useless anyway unless you have a rock steady mount.

          Aperture: Diameter of the primary lens (or mirror if the telescope is Newtonian). Larger aperture = Better light collection = brighter objects, and more magnification.

          No achromats found till last searching. Try, you might succeed.

          P.S: 720mm is very short focal length, you will have lots of chromatic aberrations.

          Please write to me if you have more confusions.

          Bilal 🙂

        • Wahaj on April 15, 2014 at 10:40 pm
        • Reply

        + I also want to know that if now achromatic lenses are available in pakistan now????

    • wahaj on April 19, 2014 at 7:48 pm
    • Reply

    That’s a gud help! What is the basic magnification to see jupiter or other planets? And i got much inspired by ur reflecting telescope article! and i’ve decided to build that one, first I want to know that is there aberation in that telescope? are the convex lens of greater focal length are available and in reasonable price? how the plane mirror placed without touching the sides, to let the light in? Is it gud for space viewing? and can we have more than reflectors to bend the light if it doesn’t effect the image? and explain me what u were discussing about the coating? I rather suggest u would just publish an article about that making of telescope at home!, that would be of great help for me and my friend! after building that telescope, we are much moved to see planets! and thanks for the help!

      • wahaj on April 23, 2014 at 11:39 pm
      • Reply

      You there??

    1. Wahaj, I am sorry for late response. I was caught in some other things meanwhile 🙂

      I will step by step answer to all of your points.

      1: Basic magnification to see Jupiter and other planets varies. See, you can view Saturn and Jupiter and Mars and Venus and Mercury with your naked eye, though they will appear as points of light, or as a star 🙂 But from telescope, minimum magnification needed to resolve Jupiter’s atmosphere and have an idea of its moons should be near 20x to 30x. I have not exactly tested it, but my telescope shows Jupiter’s atmospheric bands and its moons at 37x. It’s a reflecting telescope. Saturn’s rings require a much higher magnification. Somewhere around 60x.

      2: Yes, in reflecting telescopes, there is an aberration called Spherical Aberration. It produces unclear images (unfocused). It can be resolved by keeping focal length long. If short focal length is desired, one will have to give the mirror a shape of a parabola to avoid Spherical Aberration. Parabolizing is difficult step than making a simple spherical mirror.

      3: You can check out your local optician for an updated quotation on prices, and how long focal length they are making at this step. They don’t know what on Earth is focal length. All they know is “number in + or -“. Tell them that you want “smallest possible positive number”.

      4: Plane mirror or as it is called Secondary mirror is mounted on something called “Spider”. See this: http://www.sfsidewalkastronomers.org/uploads/images/scopes/dobgallery/spider.jpg

      5: Reflecting telescopes are by far the best choice for home usage and inexpensive start. Of course it depends on the brand.

      6: 1 reflector is generally enough. However other compact designs like Schmidt-Cassegraine, Maksutov-Cassegraine, and Ritchey-Chretien telescopes employ more than 1 reflectors, and they are better in quality than the simple “1 reflector” Newtonian Telescopes.

      7: Mirror needs to be coated with aluminium to make it usable for telescope. Toilet and dressing mirrors are second-surface, silver coated mirrors. Their back is coated. For telescopes, we require a mirror, whose front is coated, and that too with aluminium, not with silver. Aluminium coating for mirrors when I was in this project was not available to me. Maybe you can find out in some industry. They will give it to you.

      8: I shall send you some useful resources and links if you are interested in making a mirror of your own. It’s a great project. But first, get your hands on refractors and learn thoroughly about telescope making before making your mind to start it. I shall help you wherever I can.

      Bilal 🙂

    • Faraz on June 4, 2014 at 2:58 am
    • Reply

    I have a few questions…
    Can I use objective lenses of diameter 3 or more inches for a telescope like this? If so what should be the suitable focal length for those diameters? (I’m aiming to achieve magnification of around 40x)
    What is the reason for using plano-convex lenses as opposed to biconvex or any other type of lenses?
    Can I use 2 lenses, one small one large, as opposed to 1 lens and 1 microscope eyepiece? does microscope eyepiece provide better image quality?
    how to make a cheap stable mount for this scope?

    Thanks

    1. Hello Faraz. Thank you for your queries.

      Yes of course, you can use 3 or more inches objective lens for this telescope. However lets suppose if you make one with 4 inches diameter, then since you are not using an Achromat lens, you will have lots of Chromatic Aberration
      ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration ). You will have to tackle that by covering about 1-1.5 inches of the diameter with a tape, leaving effective aperture of around 2.5 to 3 inches. Whatever size you will choose, covering part of the objective lens will help you defeat Chromatic Aberration to much extent.

      About focal length: When I made my own Galilean telescope, I also got 40x magnification. I achieved that with a +1 objective lens ( +1 lens gives you FL = 1 meter) and an eyepiece of FL = 25 mm (1 inch). These specifications will give you magnifcation of around 40x. Longer focal lengths are more desirable in Galilean telescopes, because increase in focal length decreases Chromatic Aberration. But you will not be able to handle a scope beyond 1m or 2m.

      Plano-Convex lens gives least Spherical and Chromatic Aberration. Biconvex will give more. However all will work as objective if they are convex.

      Yes, you can use two lenses 1 small and 1 large. In my case, I used microscope eyepiece because it is of better quality than a standalone lens you will purchase. Also, lens at eyepiece is very small, so its bit difficult to handle it and fix it in tube as compared to larger lens at opposite side. The microscope eyepiece which I used in my telescope was of 25mm FL. You can use any lens with that FL.

      A negative (concave) eyepiece will give you erect image but narrow field of view. A positive (convex) eyepiece will give you inverted image, but wider field of view. Inverted image doesn’t really matter when you are looking at Moon or planets, (imagine seeing a cricket ball upside down, its same everywhere) 🙂

      You can find how to make mounts here: http://galileo.rice.edu/lib/student_work/astronomy95/telescope_design.html and http://www.telescope1609.com/Telescope.htm

      Hope that helps. More queries? Feel free to ask. 🙂

      Bilal

    • Waqas on July 14, 2014 at 4:19 pm
    • Reply

    i have a query.
    Though you purposed a good way for building simple telescope at home, but kindly please help amateurs like me by telling that where i will get these parts.thanks.

    A plano-convex lens of +2 diopters with diameter of 2 inches. (Rs. 100)
    A microscopic eyepiece of 10x power. (Rs. 320)
    A PVC pipe of 2 inches diameter and of half meter length. (Rs. 50)
    A PVC pipe of 1 inch diameter and of 6 inches length. (Rs. 20)

    • Waqas on July 14, 2014 at 4:21 pm
    • Reply

    “”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””KINDLY REPLY TO THIS ONE””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

    i have a query.
    Though you purposed a good way for building simple telescope at home, but kindly please help amateurs like me by telling that where i will get these parts.thanks.

    A plano-convex lens of +2 diopters with diameter of 2 inches. (Rs. 100)
    A microscopic eyepiece of 10x power. (Rs. 320)
    A PVC pipe of 2 inches diameter and of half meter length. (Rs. 50)
    A PVC pipe of 1 inch diameter and of 6 inches length. (Rs. 20)

    1. Hello Waqas. Thank you for your comment and appreciation.

      1- Plano-convex lens can be found at any optician. Although they might not know PLANO-CONVEX, so you may have to draw a shape and tell him.

      2- Microscope eyepiece can be purchased from any scientific store.

      3- PVC pipes can be purchased from sanitary/hardware stores.

      Hope that helps.

      Bilal

  11. I Just Stumbled Upon to Your Blog because Just This Evening I Had An Idea To Build A Terrestrial Telescope. And Here You’re Just The Right person To Help Me Out.
    My Plan Is To Go For A Really High Focal Length Double Convex Lens As Object. Say +0.25 Diopter. And Then I Am Willing To Use A Similar Lens Just To Invert Back The Image Upright (From 2F To 2F) And Then Use A Very High Power Eye Piece Something Like +20 Diopters. All Double Convex Lenses. What’s Bugging me Constantly is The Length Of The Apparatus. I Gotta Have To Pay Quite High In Terms Of Length For higher Magnification. Say 80x Magnification But Atleast 20.05m Long Tube 🙂 I want your Suggestion on How I can Cut The Tube’s Size To Normal One Meter Max Without Cutting A big Deal To Magnification.
    Warm Welcome 🙂

    • Kamal on January 14, 2015 at 1:10 am
    • Reply

    It is great. From which shop I can get the eyepiece

    • Kamal on February 5, 2015 at 12:09 pm
    • Reply

    Hello from where I can get the eyepiece?

  12. Any shop name from Rawalpindi or in Islamabad. Please

    Jawed.

    • Angel sadaf on May 16, 2015 at 6:41 pm
    • Reply

    mr. Bilal i wanna contant u I am in some confusion about binocular glasses ? but how can I contact ?? plzz tell me, plzzzzzz

      • Taurus The Great on September 27, 2015 at 2:21 am
      • Reply

      do you wanna buy binocular lens or use them in this project ?? They are a bit expensive here in karachi … I bought mine for rs 1200/- single eyepiece of 16x wide view …

    • DHAWAL on May 28, 2015 at 4:21 pm
    • Reply

    Sir bilal can u plz giv me the calculation for making a telescope of magnifying power 80><

    • Dhawal on May 29, 2015 at 8:28 pm
    • Reply

    Can u please give me the calculation to make a refractive telescope of magnification power 80><….

    • Dhawal on May 29, 2015 at 8:38 pm
    • Reply

    nd thanx for the info
    I had made it nd it was an incredible experience to observe sky with it…
    U r doing a too gud job
    actuall it is social that u are doing

  13. Kindly fix the images. They are not loading.

  14. Mr Bilal let me know where can I get telescopic lenses.

  15. I live in Karachi so let me know where I can get lenses in Karachi

    • Undisclosed on July 26, 2010 at 9:13 am

    Thank you for sharing..I will vist again very soon….

  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Azhar Hussain Tanwri, Azhar Hussain Tanwri. Azhar Hussain Tanwri said: Anyone wants a telescope of his own? Build one now. (Bilal Mughal) http://fb.me/vSkG0etU […]

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