News and Updates

April 19, 2011 – On February 5^th of this year our family was devastated with the loss of our oldest son Patrick. Pat was a good son, brother, husband, father, and friend. We are halting production of the MiniDob and other products while we reassess our priorities and try to put our lives back together.

September 24, 2010 – MiniDob Deluxe kits will be available on October 1, 2010. Because of the additional machined aluminum parts, the price of the Deluxe version is $295.00. We will be attending Okie-Tex this year and will have a few MiniDob deluxe kits on hand at special pricing. If you plan on attending we hope you’ll stop by and see the new MiniDob Deluxe.

August 7, 2010 – Minidob kits are once again available. In May, I announced that we would stop production of the MiniDob kit until we had completed work on the deluxe version. My reasoning was that I didn’t want someone buying a MiniDob and then a short time later finding out that another version was available that the purchaser might have preferred. The prototype Deluxe MiniDob is now complete. Though the kits aren’t ready to ship, at least you can decide if you want to wait for the deluxe kit or order a standard kit now. From the beginning, we’ve tried to make it possible to retrofit existing MiniDobs with any improvements or design changes. Unfortunately, due to the number of changes to the Deluxe MiniDob, it makes it impractical to retrofit the standard kit. We have metal parts in stock for the Deluxe MiniDob and are working on the instructions. We hope to have the deluxe kits available in time for the 2010 Okie-Tex Star Party, which we plan to attend.

May 10, 2010 – Sorry, but we are currently not accepting orders for the MiniDob. A Deluxe version of the little scope is in the works and though it will not replace the original MiniDob, we feel it better serves our customers to stop production until the Deluxe version is available. Thank you very much for your interest and we hope you will understand.

March 5, 2009 – If you purchased your MiniDob with one of the Optical Mechanics 4” primary mirrors, your mirror data is now available online. You’ll find a link to Optical Mechanics here. The mirror number should be marked on the side or back of your mirror. If your scope is already assembled and you don't want to remove the mirror, you can also find it listed on your receipt. If you don't have your receipt, send me an email and I'll let you know which mirror you have. I looked over the results and as expected they are all excellent mirrors. Also, Shrouds by Heather is now offering a custom Lycra shroud for the MiniDob. You’ll find a link to Shrouds by Heather here.

October 5, 2008 – We now have OMI primary mirrors in stock. Jaton and I just returned from a fantastic week at the 25^th annual Okie-Tex Star Party held at Camp Billy Joe in Kenton, Oklahoma. It was an exceptional star party with plenty of observing/imaging and great fellowship during the day. Among those attending this years star party were James and Stasi Mulherin of Optical Mechanics, Inc. James and Stasi brought more mirrors with them, and all back orders have been filled, so we now have 4” OMI primary mirrors available for immediate delivery with a MiniDob kit. Contact me for details.

September 19, 2008 – Effective immediately, the price of the MiniDob kit will increase to $240.00. Over the past year we’ve incorporated several improvements, including stainless steel hardware, time consuming production techniques, CNC machined aluminum parts, as well as a few design changes. All of these have driven up our cost for producing the kits. We work very hard at producing a quality product at a fair price and we hope you’ll understand.

August 29, 2008 – James Mulherin at Optical Mechanics informed us that the first batch of mirrors shipped today. If you are on the waiting list, you should be getting an email from us very soon.

Last revised: 4/192011

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