Welcome To The Universe Of BORG Telescopes!

The Borg System Design Philosophy

Borg offers a wide array of telescopes and accessories for both visual and photographic (film
and digital) use. Designed by an accomplished amateur astronomer and astrophotographer,
these products embody Borg's System Design Philosophy.

1. Portability
BORG telescopes are extremely convenient to store and transport. Scopes disassemble into
manageably sized pieces, so there are no bulky items to contend with.

2. Modularity
BORG's modular design means you can either buy a complete system or select individual
comonents for your own custom scope. Modularity also reduces the risk of "overbuying" by
allowing your scope to be upgraded as your needs change.

3. Photo-Visual design
BORG's photo-visual design provides high performance for astrophotography as well as visual
observing, supporting 6x7 (medium format) and 35mm film as well as CCD, Video and Digital
SLR capability, and providing specialized high-end accessories.

4. Accessories
A wide selection of visual and photographic accessories further enhances the capabilities of
BORG telescopes and provides compatibility with other popular equipment.

For a description of BORG telescope options see the BORG Telescope Systems section of
our catalogue.

Borg - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

* Are "Borg" telescopes from Scandinavia?
Or does the name come from the Star Trek TV show?
Borg telescopes are designed and manufactured in Japan. "Borg" comes from a contraction of
two Japanese words:
Bo-enkyo- (telescope)
Do-gu (equipment)
This is combined into "Bo-gu" which becomes "Borg" for the non-Japanese-speaking world.
But Mr. Nakagawa at Borg also likes the fact that "Borg" is a shortening of "cyborg," which is
itself a combination of "cybernetic organism" implying that man and machine are working
together as one.
As far as we can tell, the choice of the name was not influenced by the characters from the
Star Trek TV series!

* Are Borg scopes made of plastic?
Just a few components for the entry-level Borg line of scopes are plastic. In the past, Borg
produced a line of very lightweight, all-plastic entry-level scopes, but currently there are no
plastic tube assemblies. All parts for the larger models have always been made of metal
(usually a special stiff aluminum alloy), and are precision machined to the tolerances required
for high-quality performance.

Unlike the other "traditional" Japanese telescope makers, Borg does not use heavy castings.
This results in a comparatively light scope, but this is not due to the use of plastic!

* What are helical focusers and why does Borg use them?
Helical focusers work by turning a ring to focus as we do when using a conventional camera
(at least in manual focus mode). A true helical focuser works like a camera -- when you turn
the focusing ring, neither the lens nor the camera (or eyepiece and diagonal) rotate. The only
motion is in and out. Some manufacturers implement a "pseudo-helical" focuser which results
in a rotating camera or eyepiece, but Borg focusers are true helical focusers.

The advantage of helical focusers is the fine adjustment possible, in part due to the fine pitch
of the focusing ring's thread, and in part due to the large diameter of the ring. In the case of
the Borg helical focusers, virtually backlash-free movement and graduated markings on the
focusers allow repeatable return to the focus point simply by noting the focus position reading.
The graduation spacings for some Borg focusers are:

#8167 (large focuser) - 80 microns
#7857 (M57 focuser) - 100 microns
#7835 (M focuser) - 80 microns
#7315 (S focuser) - 50 microns

A complaint sometimes heard about helical focusers is that they have insufficient focus travel.
In the case of Borg scope systems, a draw-tube is an option which allows more than enough
extra travel to accomodate accessories.

In addition to being a standard component on Borg scopes, a common use for a Borg helical
focuser is to add it on to an SCT or any other scope with a coarse focuser such as a
rack-and-pinion focuser. Especially in the case of SCT's this allows for fine focus positioning
without the annoying image shift which is often large enough to move a target off a small
imaging or guiding CCD chip.

See the May 2002 issue of Sky & Telescope for a review of the Borg 100ED.
Also visit the cloudy nights web site at www.cloudynights.com for reviews of other Borg
telescopes.

Borg Scopes Make Sky & Telescopes 2002 Hot Product List! See the January 2003 issue.

Visit our dedicated Borg Website at www.borg-telescopes.co.uk.

The Astronomy Shop

1 Tone Hill. Wellington

Somerset TA21 0AU

United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0)1823 665510