Update - 2023 Alt-Az Workshop final agenda and Zoom links
Portland XVI Alt-Az Workshop
October 27 – October 29, 2023 Portland, Oregon
The 16th annual Portland Alt-Az Workshop will be held Saturday October 28 and Sunday October 29 at Dan Gray's Technical Marine Service (TMS) plant. An informal BBQ on Friday evening, October 27 will also be held at TMS for those who attend in-person.
BBQ’s will also be available for Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch. A $5.00 donation for each meal is requested to help pay for the food – and feel free to bring your own. A limited continental breakfast will be available Saturday and Sunday mornings, but bring your own coffee if you can’t live without it.
The Alt-Az Workshop is held in a relaxed, informal environment. There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions, discuss the presentations, and examine the telescopes that will be on display.
There is no registration fee for the workshop, and the only requirement is to inform the chairperson (hbanich at gmail dot com) if you plan to attend in-person.
Just like in 2022, this will be a hybrid workshop - we’ll have both in-person and Zoom-only presentations. All presentations will be seen live via Zoom to all attendees, and recordings will be available on YouTube soon after the workshop is finished.
Throughout its history, the Alt-Az Workshop has brought together advanced amateurs, professional telescope makers and astronomers in an informal collaboration. Our goal has always been to adapt technologies used in the world’s largest telescopes for the design and construction of low cost, high performance 1.0 to 2.0-meter amateur telescopes. We’ve never been closer to achieving this goal.
Dr. Russ Genet founded the workshop, Howard Banich is the chair, and Dan Gray is the local host.
Workshop Location
6650 N. Basin Suite E/F
BLDG 4
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 285-8947
Accommodations near TMS:
Shilo Inn Rose Garden
1506 NE 2nd Avenue – 866-430-2692
Portland OR 97232
Monticello Motel Station
4801 North Interstate Avenue - 503-285-6641
Portland, OR 97217-3623
Super Value Inn
5205 North Interstate Avenue – 503-285-2556
Portland, OR 97217-3726
Portland XVI Alt-Az Workshop Agenda
October 27 through October 29, 2023
Russ Genet – Founder, Dan Gray – Local Host, Howard Banich – Chair and Zoom Host
All times are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
(U.S. west coast time zone)
If possible, please wear earbuds or headphones while logged on to the Zoom presentations to reduce feedback.
Friday October 27
BBQ Social at TMS (for in-person attendees): 5:00pm to ~7:00pm
Saturday October 28
8:30am – Morning Social at TMS (for in-person attendees)
9:25am - Welcome to Portland XVI (start of Zoom meeting for day 1) – Howard Banich
9:30am – Making a 16 x 3/8 - inch F2.9 Thin Meniscus Mirror, and the new Ronchi Unwrap Test – Mel Bartels
10:30am – The Lateral Image Test (L.I. T.) - Bill Thomas
11:30am - The EZ Hartmann Test - Lonnie Robinson
BBQ Lunch Break: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
1:30pm – At the Focus Hartmann Test – Jeff Baldwin
2:30pm – Beyond Stiction & Friction - Applications of Fluid Motion Mechanics on Dobs and Other Scopes – Ed Allen
Break: 3:30pm – 3:40pm
3:45pm - SkySolve Plate Solving Finder – Dale Eason
4:45pm – The Peter Abrahams Astronomical History talk: Anguish at Yerkes: The Hitherto Untold Story of Early Grave Concerns over the 40-inch Objective - John W. Briggs
End of day 1
Sunday October 29
8:30am – Morning Social at TMS (for in-person attendees)
9:25am - Brief welcome back (start of Zoom meeting for day 2) – Howard Banich
9:30am - One year of automated speckle interferometry of close binaries on the 1m PWI telescope in Chile, and the 60-inch at Mt. Wilson. Also, a report on the 0.5m PWI telescope at our local community college, and my custom L mount observatory - Russ Genet
10:30am - 24-inch Alt-Az Cassegrain - Bruce Howard
11:30am - UL40 update – Tong Lui
BBQ lunch Break: 12:30pm to 1:55pm
2:00pm – Epoxy Putty Tools – Gavin McGrath
2:30pm – Adventures in Making a 16-inch Meniscus Mirror – Rob Brown
Break: 3:20 – 3:40
3:45pm – Radio Telescopes Upgrade to SiTech – Dan Gray
4:45pm – The Reanimation of the 36-inch Boller and Chivens – Alan Sliski
End of workshop
