steppenwolf

Olly, I could make you up a small extension cable with a lower profile right angle plug and an in-line socket. What diameter is the plug shaft? I suspect that it is 3.5mm?

It looks like there it may be a stereo plug with three connections - the shaft near the plug casing, a centre connection in the shaft and the tip?

How many terminals are there on the plug, Olly?

That's what I'd do - I wouldn't take a Dremel to it under any circumstances! Shocking design - good ol' Meade!!

You don't get an immediate response from their server most likely for the reason you suggest - leave it for another 12 hours and hopefully you will get your notification.

Very neat and compact, Michael, I hope it performs well for you.

One of the best uses for them I've seen so far - excellent!

Enjoy your day and the cake!

A lovely classic set-up and I have no doubt that it will bring you some great observations.

Additional Note 24 - Addition of a New Imaging Telescope Requires Additional Automation A fairly significant birthday and an amazing gift from my wife to celebrate it, has necessitated an additional piece of automation. A second telescope (Esprit 150 ED Pro) with autofocuser and flat flap (not to mention the re-installation of my old SXVF-M25C CCD camera!) means that to switch from one imaging system to the other, will require yet another automated control box to switch the correct components into play. The number of connections that need to be switched soon adds up:- 1. Autofocuser motor - 2 x 12V DC power lines + 7 x data lines 2. Flat Flap - 1 x 12v power line + 1 x data line 3. Camera swap-over - 1 x AC power line This adds up to 12 individual single pole double throw (SPDT) connections to automate. Luckily, I found some suitable 12v x 8 port SPDT relay boards on Ebay and these simply required lacing up with control wires for each switched output and a series of wire loops on the inputs so that a single input line shorted to ground will trip all 12 relays at the same time. With this new control box I can now switch all the required services between one telescope or the other either manually using the toggle switch on the control panel or under software control using one of the spare outputs from my previously built USB Equipment Controller. Multiple Pole Switch Controller with Flat-Flap Cables and CCD Camera Power Connections Esprit 150 ED Pro and William Optics FLT98 Telescopes mounted together Software Switch Panel (Telescope 2) As you can imagine, it is important to ensure that all the components are enabled and disabled in the correct order especially when switching from 'Telescope 1' to Telescope 2'. To automate this, I use two batch files with external VBScript scripts and here I show the one that selects Telescope 2:- Telescope 2 Batch file : Telescope 2 :Pause to display warning message about dome locks echo off CLS :*** WARNING - UNDO DOME LOCKS *** undo_locks.vbs : Ancillaries Startup Sequence turn_on_ancillaries_telescope_2.vbs : Run FocusMax - disabled 070616 : start "" "C:\Program Files\FocusMax\FocusMax.exe : Start AAG_CloudWatcher executable cd\AAG Cloudwatcher autostart_CloudWatcher.vbs : Run Cartes Du Ciel start "" "C:\Program Files\Ciel\skychart.exe : Re-Park Mount in C du C re-park_mount.vbs : connect_focuser.vbs - disabled 270816 : Start MaxIM DL start "" "C:\program files\MaxIm_DL_V5\MaxIm_DL.exe : Start CCD Commander and wait for it to close start /wait "" "C:\ccd commander\CCDCommander.exe : Run AAG_CloudWatcher executable closedown after CCD Commander closes call close_AAG_CloudWatcher.bat : Disconnect Camera, Mount and Focuser from MaxIm DL disconnect_camera_and_mount_and_focuser.vbs : Disconnect MaxIm DL : taskkill /IM MaxIm_DL.exe : Disconnect Mount from C du C disconnect_mount_close_C_du_C.vbs : Ancillaries Closedown Sequence turn_off_ancillaries_telescope_2.vbs :Exit this batch file exit turn_on_ancillaries_telescope_2.vbs ' Turn OFF De-humidifier Turn ON Dome PSU driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 7, True ' Turn ON Telescope Switch 'driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" 'set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 9, True WScript.Sleep 60 * 60 ' Turn ON 12v PSU 'driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" 'set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 6, True WScript.Sleep 60 * 60 ' Turn ON Camera 'driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" 'set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 5, True ' Turn OFF Flat Panel 'driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" 'set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 10, True ' Turn ON Mount 'DriverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" 'set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 8, True At the end of an imaging session, a controlled close-down is also required and this is the task of the final VBScript turn_off_ancillaries_telescope_2.vbs ' Turn ON De-humidifier Turn OFF Dome PSU driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 7, False ' Turn ON Flat Flap driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 10, False WScript.Sleep 5000 ' Turn OFF Mount driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 8, False WScript.Sleep 5000 ' Turn OFF Camera driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 5, False ' Turn OFF 12v PSU driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 6, False WScript.Sleep 60 * 60 ' Turn OFF Telescope Switch 'driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" 'set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 9, False This new addition has proved to work very well indeed but sadly, there is little point in switching between instruments if there are only clouds to be observed which is the situation as I write on 12th March, 2017!!!

What a great restoration project for just £5.00 - brilliant value!

I don't have a Star Adventurer but it could well be that it is all working fine but that you simply do not have sufficient movement during calibration - even operating manually, the amount of movement would be difficult to detect by eye. Have you tried increasing the step size in PHD's setup dialogue box? This guide may be of assistance.

I use an AAG CloudWatcher for this purpose. The cloud setting has three 'levels' - Clear, Cloudy and Overcast. I arrange for the shutter on my fully automated observatory to close on Overcast as this is a precursor to potential rain! I also get emails from the system if my guide star fades which is a real early warning.

I'm much happier with that safeguard in place!

Aha, err, yes, I see what you mean!

Once you get used to how 'small' it is (Just how BIG was your last mount, Harry?) I am sure you will love it. Have you tried reading the Mesu specific manual that I have produced for the mount to save you reading through the 236 pages of the SiTech manual? Just a thought!

Well done, Mike, I'm pleased to see that you have a working solution - this year, I too got close to running out of charge as the trees on the South Downs and the low altitude of the Sun meant no direct sunlight falling on the panel. Can I make a tiny safety suggestion? Cover the gap between the two copper strips with a ridge of wood or plastic to ensure that it is impossible for one of the braids to distort over time and short across the plates as this will most likely destroy the charger or worse become a fire risk. Hopefully, your charging saga is now at an end!

I wish these hadn't landed ........ I've jumped one way (increase in focal length) but have been tempted to jump the other way (shorter focal length) for some time but there was nothing out there apart from the FSQ 85 that hit the spot and I'd already burnt my fingers with one of those! Darn it, it matches the FLT 98 as well ..........

I haven't got any further with this topic either because the skies have been cloudy but mount tilt isn't going to be the answer I fear.

OK, scrub the theory above!! I have tested it in real life with a non-accurate orientation of 103 degrees and the error is not as predicted! Soooo back to the drawing board - but I am now on a mission to find the real cause because I have noticed a small rotation in my own images and previously put this down to not achieving exactly 90 or 0 degrees, now dis-proven. I am not sure about cone error as suggested by Chris but it is as good a start place as any and I will try to simulate it to see if it has this kind of effect. It can't be an offset telescope centre line or a side by side arrangement wouldn't work so the search begins......

To be honest, I am working from what I was told many years ago so before you take it as 'gospel', I'd like to run a test for you - unfortunately, I am clouded out here (minutes into an imaging session grrrr). The theory seemed sound at the time but I've never tested it as I have always found that either 90 or 0 degrees gives me a good framing for just about any object. I'll report back when I have put it to the test as you have me thinking about it now!

Unfortunately, not so! The centre line of the telescope has flipped 180 degrees as has the centre line of the light falling on the sensor but the sensor is now 'upside down'. This means that if it was rotated 1 degree up at the top right hand corner, it will now be rotated 1 degree down at the bottom right hand corner so it will have rotated by 2 degrees. Yes, of course you can stack such an image because you use a 'rotate and slide' stacking process which allows for lateral movement and rotational movement but if you do not have the perfect 0 degree or 90 degree orientation, close examination of your field edges will show a wedge shaped overlap. Edited for 'tosh'

There are only two conditions under which there is no rotation after a flip:- 1. when the long side of the sensor runs exactly parallel to the RA axis (90 degrees) or 2. when the long side of the sensor runs exactly parallel to the DEC axis (0 degrees) At any other orientation, there will be an error of double the variance from the above. Edited for 'tosh'!

Although the solution shown here is a little 'clunky', a slimmed down version would work just as well:- View 1 View 2

Hi Mike, Sorry to hear that you still have this issue with charging. A twin copper strip with matching swipe blades is certainly one solution and is often use by dome users, not for charging but for closing the aperture when the dome is in the 'park' position. However, the principle is identical. A more high-tech solution would be to use an inductive coupling (this works on the same principle as a cordless electric toothbrush charger - you just drop the toothbrush on the charger base and it starts charging the battery by electromagnetic induction). However, the requirement for the dome to be parked still applies so a low-tech solution would be just as viable and easily a 'home-brew' project. If you need any help with constructing this, just let me know. My own dome is positioned well for charging so I don't have this issue myself.