My Barn Door Build

[happy-kat]

First foray in looking up was using some very old bins I had since oooh about 10, from there purchased a Heritage 130p love the speed, ease and portability of it. Got reading and bought an Xbox webcam to have a go with imaging Saturn and Jupiter. Didn't even get off to a start beyond modifying the webcam as laptop went pop. Tried a Kodak fixed directly to the GSO 32mm eyepiece and discovered that although it has a CCD the light capturing was pretty poor and the Heritage focuser unit not exactly great for hanging heavy stuff on. Onwards tried the 1100d in it, couple Moon shots very happy with but focusing is very hard to manage again the focuser does not lend to heavy stuff hanging in it.

So where next, really like the wide field images members post. So off to eBay and got a circa 1964 50mm f2.0 lens and stuck that on the Canon and using the tiddly tripod I had with a spotting scope rigged up to my tablet gained focus and took shots had a go with DSS and Gimp and created a first start at imaging and really enjoyed it. Next ideas, love having ideas, was what if I made an equatorial platform for the Heritage to sit on and found that fab kitchen timer project... maybe a bit too ambitious for now! More thinking and reading the word Bard Door came up... more Goggle, got to love Google, and here I am at this project.

Have been collecting the metal fixings for a while now, no rush got to fit every day life in, but today project ground was broken so to speak, found a sheet of chipboard in the garage as the wood I had collected was not big enough after I used that calculator for the distance to the bolt I had... and my partner cut the two main boards, much straighter edge than me. So it is started.

The finder scope was the one that came with my Orion ST80 and it has a cross in it so perfect.

The camera ball head is a really well made metal one I got from Astroboot for a brilliant price may even be an AE one.

Many fixings off various shops on Ebay and also Namrick shop who I found from a post on here.

Rubber bands from the asparagus.

Fence post dog end which will be used for a latitude wedge for on the tripod.

Might get ambitious and make a base for table mounting using more of the chipboard and some feet levellers.

Epoxy glue in the garage for coating any cut chipboard edges.

One of those remote release gizmos that is also programmable.

Barn Door Android app to help with cranking the handle.

Trying to do as cheaply as possible.

It will most likely be ages till I finish it but the project has started.

[happy-kat]

Have handle mkI and currently fabricating handle mkII but Jam making with fresh blackberries interrupted progress yesterday.

[Alien 13]

I have always wanted to make a barn door tracker but i usually end up over engineering stuff and am still working on modifying my existing mount but good luck with the project.

Alan

[happy-kat]

Handle is now finished but had to abort screwing the hinge on the boards got slightly too long screws ...

[happy-kat]

The essence of this build is finished.

I am leaving setting the camera ball head and wedge (not shown) until I have the tripod to fit it to to see where best to place the items.

Just need to make a clear disc with 15 minute markers to place on the top as an aid though also have the Barn Door Android app to use to help with turning the handle. Oh and paint PVA glue on the exposed sides.

[happy-kat]

PVA now painted and on the the hunt for the mounting plate for my ST80 sight scope so I can mount it on this.

Need to make the disk and proably print a reminder about hinge direction when using.

[Ptarmigan]

The essence of this build is finished.

, ,

clear disc with 15 minute markers

Looking good,

er, but that is a typo for 15 seconds ? !

[happy-kat]

lol yes a typo

[happy-kat]

Dug out the tube mount for the sight scope and I have a foot plate so that is next to be fitted.

I wont be able to align it until I have it rigged on the tipod at this stage just got make sure I mount it the right way round for using the barn door.

[leeseafish]

for some ideas on motorising your mount etc try here - http://www.bencooper.karoo.net/AstronomyMountsBarn.html

[happy-kat]

Thank you.

Thoughts of motorising would be a mkII happy for now to start with a manual one.

[happy-kat]

I love Astroboot and have been browsing and they have several small RA motor drives and one has a variable speed dial so looks very temping to be a motor for my barn door.

I will put it in the basket.

Where am I with it got the base to build for it to use it here as no tripod at home.

[happy-kat]

A question.

My platform I am constructing for sitting the barn door on will have the wedge built in for my lattitude.

All my reading says for northern hemisphere hinge on left pointing to NCP. So the top board opens E to W as I crank the handle.

So as the earth spins counter clockwise this arrangement feels counter intuitive. Like it will effectively double the rotation.

What am I missing in my understanding to understand why hinge on left please?

(I know camera can point any direction).

[NEM]

Remember that the sun, moon and everything else in the sky rises in the east and sets in the west. So the arm has to open east to west to match the movement of the sky.

[happy-kat]

Thank you, I will have faith and carry on, can't wait till I can try it out.

[happy-kat]

Progress.

As I have no tripod here I have fashioned a mount for my barn door (I found something on the net for inspiration here).

The whole lot is made from a saved peice of chipboard and all the raw edges will have three coats of PVA glue.

The mount will be placed on a flat based chair sited on a paving slab.

Boards almost finished marking up pre cuting.

Boards cut and loosely assembled. This is from the front, the angle is cut for my lattitude.

There are three adjustable feet.

The leveller will go dead centre between the front feet and straight to the back centred foot.

From the rear showing the bracing board to stop any skew and to help lock everything together.

The barn door is not quite located where it will be as I need more room for cranking the handle on the East side.

I will be using the sight from my ST80 and I have a base to fit (better next time as it fell off once!) and that will go the hinge end where the two marks are.

The camera thread is already positioned.

So progress is trundling along.

[happy-kat]

Pencil lines all rubbed of now and ready to start PVA glueing all the raw edges, I will do 3 coats.

[happy-kat]

The base is well under way my partner screwed it together.

Need to:

Fix the mini spirit level.

Wind the adjustable feet right through and back down little too much pva glue in the way once through the t-nut.

Re fix the sight base to the barn door top board.

Fit the barn door to the base mount.

Cut the wind handle down in size.

Slot in the finder sight base then attach the sight tube.

Align the sight tube to the hinge.

Fit ball head to tripod thread.

Attach camera, polar align and give it a whirl.

 

[Fred_76]

Hi !

I did a quite extensive review of all barndoors designs, and I finally compiled everything here :

https://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.astrosurf.com%2Ffred76%2Fplanche.html

I designed a corrected barn door design that I explain here :

http://www.astrosurf.com/fred76/planche-tan-corrigee-en.html

Concerning motorising the BD, I was quite disappointed with the very poor results. A lot of time spent, quite some money spent also, and nothing convincing. Buying an old EQ1 and motorising it will be faster and cheaper for good results.

[happy-kat]

I have my eye on a motor from astroboot but for now happy to experiment with a home build which had slightly stalled but should get finished over this Christmas break.

Will have a read of your link :-)

Interesting to see the various designs all on one page. I am aiming for no more than 60 seconds.

I will use Barn Door Clock kindly shared to time the turns and it helps with tangent drift.

[udaiveer]

An old CD/DVD is good to use for turning the bolt(nut

[udaiveer]

Scre a 1;4 size nut through the Bolt and then a washer(wider than the hole in a CD) put a CD-DVD after the washet and tighten with another washet and nut.

This makes precise rotation very easy and damping the shaking because of touching.

Can make a clock face on the CD so u can be accurate to seconds.

[happy-kat]

I won't know if I have room yet to for a cd on the spindle until I finish attaching the board to my base. But the idea sounds good and I would do the face to match the app I will use for counting down.

[udaiveer]

Yes the way the Barn doir moves is very "counterintuitive"

But if u flip it to the other side.

I think the barn door going DOWN will be smoother as "gravity" is on your side.

Also moving a small nut to push up the long threaded bolt, is much more stable for the whole apparatus.

[udaiveer]

Flip it to other side

I mean the Spindle is on the Left then the going down will b in sync (sidereal rate).

After many trials n errors later, i think making the nut move to push up the bolt makes it easier to keep the bolt erect (n not move outwards.)

I managed to "Stick a 1/4-20 Nut" in the middle of aCD! So i can very easily spin the nut slowly n with almost no shaking.

To minimize friction put another CD on the barn door surface or

Glue the nut inside a small sized ball bearing n glue the CD to the Nut.

I will Post some photo s later.