Tuesday

August 5, 2008 #019 - John Dobson, Odyssey 1, Coulter Optical Co.

Many of you can probably remember when the 17.5 inch f4.5 Odyssey 1 telescope appeared in the advertisements of Sky & Telescope. The amazing thing was the unbelievable hunk of glass, the portability (well not really portable), the unheard of price of $595.

John Dobson, what an amazing person, started something he probably never dreamed would catch on like wildfire. He could have been a very rich man but chooses to share his vision with the ATM community.

Coulter Optics ran with the idea and a long line of Dobsonian Scopes came off the production line. Even today new variations continue to be produced and improved. John's simple design has evolved into computer driven marvels. I would guess he chuckles as his idea was to simplify so that it was easy for anyone to have a scope. A scope on every sidewalk corner is his dream.

Clear Sky - Rich

No comments: