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sloz1664

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Posts posted by sloz1664

    Position of Rain Detector

    in DIY Astronomer

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

    I don't know how large\sensitive it is?, but one of the things that struck me was the small target area, for rain to hit. So to increase the capture area, I was thinking of some sort of funnel with super slick top layer, to ensure the water ran off very quickly..... 

    The only issue here is when dew forms on the funnel sides and drips onto the sensor.

    Steve

    • Thanks 1

    Skywatcher 100 ED Pro Esprit - Great Performance

    in Member Equipment Reviews

    Posted

    On 22/07/2019 at 22:19, Costabrava Skies said:

    Hi Everybody,

    This is the first time I have submited a question on this or any other astro forum. I plan to purchase a Skywatcher Esprit ED 100 with the aim to start getting into DSO imaging. Until now I have just done planetary and lunar imaging with my Skywatcher 12 " goto dob. I live in Spain and have pretty good seeing conditions. I know that I will need guide scope etc. but what I am not sure about is what equatorial mount to buy. I was planning to purchase a Skywatcher HEQ6 goto mount as by my calculations it should be more than enough to manage the payload but my local telescope shop are suggesting that it might not be enough and that I should go for the NEQ 6. This bumps up my budget which is already over the limit I had set myself. The ccd camara I will using will be my ZWO ASI 224 colour. I know it is not really designed for DSO imaging but will buy a better dedicated camara when I can afford it. Any advice regarding whether or not the Skywatcher HEQ6 mount is suffient would be very much appreciated.

    Many thanks to to yoi all.

    paul

    Hi Paul, and a warm welcome to the Lounge :) The HEQ6 is more than capable of mounting the SW Esprit 100, even if you also added a reducer, filterwheel, OAG and guide camera and a AP sized imaging camera.

    Steve

    Upgrading to a cooled mono cam

    in Discussions - Cameras

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, Space Oddities said:

    If that helps: I went for the ASI1600. It's a proven camera, and despite being more expensive than the 183, the deals with the filter wheel and LRGB filters made it more attractive.

    Also, as someone said above, it's a more forgiving camera for the beginner that I am :) It leaves me some room for improvement, and should be good enough for most situations and scopes that I own.

    Good luck with your new purchase. You will certainly enjoy the mono side of astro imaging. Once everything is set up :)

    Steve

    Gina's Observatory Roll-Off-Roof Automation

    in DIY Observatories

    Posted

    12 hours ago, Gina said:

    Time to look at the electronics...

    To control the motor I have a Pololu Dual VNH5019 Motor Driver Shield which I bought several years ago when I was first looking into my observatory roof automation.  With hindsight I could have bought the single motor driver board as everything will work off the one motor but I've got the dual one now so I'll use it.  This is a proper H-Bridge DC motor driver will all sorts of protection and was recommended by the late Per Frejval who also kindly supplied me with the motor unit with clutch.

    Testing of the motor driving the ROR has shown the current needed is just 1.4 to 2A and the full 13.8v observatory supply drives the roof at a reasonable rate, maybe a bit slower than optimum but quite adequate, so reduced current is not needed.  Also, with the chain slightly loose, no acceleration is needed on startup - straight to full speed is fine.  Also, no deceleration when stopping is needed.  All this means that only a simple logic system is needed.

    A signal from either a remotely controlled Raspberry Pi or push button in the observatory will set the roof and window opening whilst similarly a signal from RPi or push button and also a signal from the rain sensor will set the roof/window closing.  Limit switches in the form of metal sensing proximity sensors will detect when the ROR is open or closed and these signals will stop the motor.

    All this could be controlled directly by the RPi but the number of GPIO lines are limited and I find an Arduino slightly easier to program than the RPi plus I might as well make use of the motor current sensing to confirm that things are working as expected, so I think I'll use an Arduino to take care of the main logic.  It also means the roof can still be controlled locally should the RPi fail (I have found the failure rate of RPi higher than Arduino though I don't know why).  Another point is that I can get the basic motor control working with the Arduino and sort out the RPi later.  Arduino control alone will do most of what I want and I might decide not to bother with the RPi and remote control.  The main reason for a motorised roof is to close it automatically if rain is detected.

    Hi Gina, I'm not a fan of proxy sensors, I would use mechanical actuated sensors. I've had failures with proxy sensors, but very rarely have I had failures with good old mechanical devices :)

    Steve

    • Thanks 1

    HELP: NEQ6 Dec Worm Adjustment

    in Discussions - Mounts

    Posted

    On 19/07/2019 at 15:19, Peje said:

    I hadn't considered the temperature, it has been much warmer the last month or so. I wonder if when I previously adjusted for no backlash it was fine because the temp was around 10C cooler.

    When I had my NEQ6; I belt modded & super tuned it. I adjusted it to within limits that were unknown to man :) I'd adjust it so that it would turn 180 degrees without stalling, on both axis and thinking that was it. Then over time the temperature dropped and the motors stalled and they needed to be fine tuned again. So yes, to gain the fine precision needed to make the EQ6 an excellent mount, you will need to tweak it from time to time.

    Steve

     

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