COMMENTS FROM SATISFIED CUSTOMERS

Here are some comments of satisfied Normand Fullum Telescopes customers.

I have always wanted to build the perfect Richest Field Telescope. But to build a perfect telescope, you need to start with perfect optics. This is where Normand Fullum came in. Normand has ground the most perfect six inch F/4 mirror that I think is humanly possible. His attention to detail and obsession with achieving only the best figure for a mirror even exceeded my own. Thank you Normand for helping me achieve one of my dreams after a lifetime of amateur astronomy.

John Wagoner - Observing Chairman - Texas Star Party


Je voudrais vous dire que je trouve vos télescopes très beaux et je trouve qu`ils sont des oeuvres d`art.

Bravo !!! D`un astronome amateur de la région du Saguenay.

David Martel  

Hello Normand,

Yes indeed.  I am very happy with my mirror.  I have been out under semi-dark skies on a night of good transparency, but the seeing wasn't great.  I was most impressed with the increased contrast the new mirror provides.  I was able to see fine structure details in M42 and M43, even though Orion was low in the western sky.  I was hunting some of the fainter Caldwell objects that night and was impressed with the views of Hubble's Variable Nebula and the Anntenae Galaxies.  I look forward to a night of good seeing so I can enjoy the details of Jupiter.

Thanks again Normand.  Happy IAD to you too.

Todd 
 

Bonjour Normand,

Un court message pour te dire que je passe le plus bel été astronomique de ma vie !  La température est extraordinaire et mon téléscope 10" performe à merveille  !  J'ai également l'occasion de partager ce plaisir avec plusieurs amis et enfants. Ils sont tous impressionnés par ce qu'ils voient!

Bonne fin d'été !

Yvan 

Normand 
 
Je suis sorti ce soir avec un seeing moyen pour donner à mon scope  son deuxième "first light"... 
 
 PA-TOWFFF! (moi qui tombe su'l'derrière avec le menton qui touche  l'asphalte) 
 
 C'est vraiment pas tout d'avoir de bons optiques! La  nouvelle "enveloppe" du NFO donne vraiment des résultats. J'suis content de pas avoir fait tout ça pour rien. Je répète, même avec un seeing moyen et un lampadaire à 5° de là, j'ai jamais vu Jupiter avec autant de détails! (à part *PEUT-ÊTRE* dans celui de Luc ;-) ),  plein de minuscules cratères sur la lune... Je suis très content du  résultat! 
 
 Tout est maintenant "square", enligné, flocké, bafflé. Enfin, un "frame" qui mérite un NFO! 
 
 Salut, On se voit au ROC, sous les étoiles. 
 
Yvon 
 
  
Man.......that telescope is a pure work of ART....... I have worked with wood including carving which my Dad taught me and his Dad taught him most of my 51 years but it never occured to me to build a medium size Dob tube out of it........Question......if you dont mind.  Is the OTA length entirely wood or did you laminate it onto a tube of some flavor?

It seems pretty obvious to me that if you put as much ability, skill and care into your mirror work as you did that Dob in the pics then you are as good as they come and better than most.....

Again.......Outstanding craftsmanship!  I will keep you in mind when I get around to needing some mirror work......

Hi Normand,

I was very pleased to finally meet you in person as well.  I have to tell you, the pictures of your work just don't do it justice.  The substantial feel and beautiful finish really has to be seen in person to truly appreciate.  I didn't expect them to have that much feel.  I was also very surprised at how small your workshop is!  It makes mine look enormous!  But as they say, it's all the person that makes the difference.

Thanks for getting to my mirror so quick 

I put the mirrors back in a did a decent colimation with the laser.  Close enough to be decent.  It was 10:30 by that point and the conditions were pretty poor overall.  Transparency was average at best, seeing was very poor, and all my neighbors seemed to want to have their outdoor lights on.  Plus, the scope was going from warm inside to -6c outside, so lots of tube currents.

Focus and star images were immediately seen as sharper than before, even with the thermal issues.  Mars was a sharp disk, but no details at this point and there was lots of ghosting from the unsteadiness.  Low power (36x) was starting to settle out pretty good (considering the night) and the view of the Pleides was soooo pretty!  The blues in bright stars were so vivid and the stars are tighter points then before.

But the real shocker was M42 in Orion.  WOW!!!!  I shouldn't have been seeing as much detail as I was seeing considering the night and the size of scope.  No questions at all, the best view ever for that scope and I would even go so fas as to say it's the most detail I've even seen in M42 from my backyard with any of my scopes.  Maybe not as bright as compared to the bigger scopes, but more detail.  The structure of the nebula was visible over a large area, and what was especially noticeable was the intricate structure in the center part.  Seeing was still affecting things, but at moments of decent seeing, the whole nebula had a very textured look too it, much like in photos.

And just as noticeable was the color.  I've never for sure been able to say I could see color in the nebula through the eyepiece, but last night it displayed a very distinct green.  There was of course grey as well.  This is one thing that Todd Weeks had mentioned after he got his mirror back that he found the colors were much more pronounced and vibrant.  He especially noted it on the moon.  I would definitely say I feel the same way, colors just seem more obvious.

I had another look at Mars as well since the scope had cooled down more by this point.  Still an unsettled image because of the night and not perfect equalization, but in brief moments there was lots of detail visible.  And I wasn't using very high power either.  I can't wait for a night of even average seeing!

Yes I am VERY happpy with result.  The performance even in my short look is better than I had ever expected.  I'm really looking forward to using it more.

So, many thanks for the beautiful work you did on my mirror, it's a real gem!!  It's really turned this old scope into a premium class instrument.  Also, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my many questions last night.  It's greatly appreciated!

Take care,

-Gord

Hello Normand,
I'm glad that I decided to do some observing "on the hill" Saturday night because I had an enjoyable evening talking to you and looking through your 6" f/5 Dob. telescope. The 6" is an amazing instrument!!

Just visited your website. Impressive!! If someone were thinking of buying one of your telescopes they can get an idea of the craftsmanship and quality that goes into each scope by checking out your site but they really need to see one in person and actually look through the
eyepiece. You have a great talent!! Congratlations on all your awards!!

Doug

Dear Normand,

I hope you remember me, Dennis Woos, and my son Doug and our friend Bob Horton (all of the Vermont Astronomical Society) who observed with you for a while Saturday night at Stellafane. You said that I would be surprised by how much detail could be seen in the Trifid Nebula in your 6” f/5 dob, and you were right! In fact, the three of us greatly enjoyed everything we observed with your excellent instrument. It is surprising to me that with all of the large (up to 28”) scopes available for viewing, your 6” would be one of the most pleasurable. Congratulations on your fine work, and I wish you success in your telescope and mirror making enterprise.

Dennis

A *great* telescope! You were right in claiming that it is as nice to look through as it is to look at... I am amazed that something so beautiful can work so well. It is well worth
the money I paid for it, and I'm very happy. Furthermore, my wife likes it as much as I do.

Best regards,

Bob