sloz1664

Hi James, Great to see you are on the final throes of finishing your project. Have you been able to use your obsy to observe / image during the recent clear skies? Steve

Fabulous project and well done completing what you had designed to do. I am part way through fully automating my Pulsar Dome, The last hurdle is to automate the opening & closing of the shutter. Steve

Tremendous amount of detail there Steve. We've had a great run of clear skies recently and you have certainly used this time to gather the data. The processing is, as always, top drawer. Steve

Hi Glob, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge Steve

It's good to know someone is taking notice of LP. Bring in a light pollution tax and you would see darker skies Steve

Hi, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

Hi, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge Really great to see you jumping into astrophotography from the start, no mean feat, as it's as complicated as taking photographs can get. Regarding field flatteners, these are usually dedicated to telescopes and if you plump for the Evostar 72ED then a field flattener would be a consideration. One piece of advice I give to any budding astrophotographer is to purchase the book "Making Every photon Count." It is written by a member of SGL "Steppenwolf" and is considered "the bible" for budding AP enthusiasts. You can purchase it here from FLO Steve

Hi Mark, and a warm welcome to the Lounge. You live in a beautiful part of Northern Island, a real treasure. Steve

Thanks Hugh I'll start on this as soon as I can and complete it on my return. Steve

Hi Dan, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge Steve

Very impressive images David. I can see you are going to love that new Atik Steve

That's brilliant Hugh, I've not ventured any further from my side I'm afraid. I've been suffering with a chest infection, but on the mend now. I'm away for a few weeks and will start to build on my return, which shouldn't take too long. Just one note, I wouldn't mind seeing a stripboard layout for the relay board. Steve

Hi Kevin, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge Steve

They can be cut with a pair of scissors

Nice to see you have received your Velleman board & drive belt. The tiles are a great buy, they are exactly the same as I have in my Obsy and are brilliant, easy to clean & no dangers if you drop anything. One thing you must do with the tiles is to leave a 10 - 15mm gap around the outer edge, they expand in the heat and if there is no gap, they lift qute alarmingly. Steve

Hi Martin, and a warm welcome to the Lounge Unfortunately, due to commitments, I was unable to observe anything last night Steve

Yes, the Shutter movement will be battery powered. I have a couple of 12v 12ah batteries to use. Steve

I set my Hyrostat to cut in at 60%. Regarding the shutter I am currently building the electronics to automate the shutter via Levesdome. This is to be wirelessly controlled. Once this is working I will get my head around the physical movement of the shutter. Steve

You won't look back James. They are really great focusers. I have been running mine for over 3 years. Steve

You will need a dehumidifier, I suggest you also get a Hydrostat to ensure it keeps the humidity to an acceptable level. Steve

Hi, and a very warm welcome back to the Lounge Steve

Hi, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge Steve

I wouldn't advise using two motors as one would be fighting against the other which may cause issues. I would have one motor, which would be sprung loaded against the belt and two fixed idler pulleys set at 120 degrees to stop the dome from flexing. Steve

Hi Ted, I purchased the pulley and belt from:- https://www.hpcgears.com/n/products/1.pulleys_belts/pulleys_belts.php You could also try:- https://www.beltingonline.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=213&gclid=CjwKCAjw5fzrBRASEiwAD2OSV0B9sUJZY2HMfTLUrBucMSQb7aHcK8ODQMNPoxKaluk_VZBvHZZu0hoCXBMQAvD_BwE Steve

I have built three MyFocuser units for each of my three scopes and use Nema 17 stepper motors, one being a 27:1 geared unit and is directly affixed to my WO Star 1:1 focuser control side. It easily holds my filter wheel, OAG, Lodestarx2 and Atik 383 without slippage. I would never fit the geared Nema 17 to the 10:1 micro focus side of a focuser, any mishaps and the torque of the Nema 27:1 motor would seriously damage the fine gearing of the micro focuser. My other two focusers are driven via toothed belts. Steve