Graeme

I ask because I posted a guiding question on the PHD Google Groups and the recommendation was to 2 x 2 my 290 to increase the sensitivity. But I have put my planetary ASI224 in the OAG to try now and I'm waiting for a clear night! Graeme

Do you bin it 2 x 2?

That's helpful Rich, thanks.

Does anyone use a ZWO ASI 174MM Mini for guiding on an SCT with an OAG? I was using an old QHY but it struggles now! So I tried my Altair GP Cam290C. the image in PHD2 was a lot larger but it was too dim and 2 x 2 binning is not available with that camera so I can't improve on the number of guide stars available. The 174MM was recommended by a retailer but I don't want to over stretch the budget unless the results justify it. The ASI174 sensor is good and large but the ZWO OAG mirror and aperture is quite small. So I wondered if the ASI174 was overkill and a lesser camera (ASI120 etc) would suffice. Graeme

Thanks Long John. I hope my build lasts as long, 8 years should see me out! Graeme

Cheers Neal I love a bit of techy! Edit: Also, the flat frame light box is not too techy, it's left over white LEDs, cardboard and duct tape covered in some A1 white paper! Graeme

The cables are pulled into the pipes and the pipes are boxed in. I fitted a desk which matches the drawers, made out of the same G Plan teak, veneer wood. If it's clear tonight I'll be setting up the guiding. If it's cloudy I'll re-do my darks library.

That's an excellent image. You've got more outer shells than I've ever seen before! Is that the capturing power of the ASI2600? Graeme

Brilliant aerial shots! It's nice to see the finished thing. Graeme

Does anyone know what happened to John? Graeme

Take off 30 and half what's left!

Everybody needs a roll off roof observatory! I look forward to watching you build yours. Good luck Regards Graeme

Got a floor now! Got a temporary table too which will get replaced by a fixed desk. But I can get up and running with the laptop. I need to get the mains cable and Cat 5 cables in from the garage next. I've got a pier that's sprayed black, a mounted mount with a telescope on it and it's a clear night tonight! Shame about the Moon!

Well that's the outside all done! I used the remainder of the roofing felt to cover the gable ends. I think it works but not sure if I like the roofing tac nail heads, it might need some sort of trim around the edge. But for now I need to crack on! Using a different type of wood on the last strip at the top of the walls might have been an error, probably should have got some more feather edge boards and cut them to fit. Then I would have got a better colour match. I've knocked out the bricks for the air vents but I need some sort of anti spider mesh before the vents goes in. I must do something about that gap at the end of the angle iron when the roof is open, but that can wait for now. Need to crack on with the inside now! Graeme

M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, now with added supernova! This is my first image since last August! I was off sick for the second half of last year and I've been building (slowly) my new observatory this year, so it's the observatory first light image too. The build is still unfinished but the astro imaging withdrawal became too much after I heard about the supernova! 9.25STC, CGX, f/6.3 Focal Reducer, Pegasus PB Advance, ASI294MC Pro. 65 x 60 second Lights, unguided because I couldn't focus the guide camera! 10 x Darks, 30 x Flats, 30 x Dark Flats. Captured in NINA 20/05/23. Stacked and processed in Pixinsight. It's great to be back in the game! Regards Graeme

And here's my processed observatory first light image: 64 x 60 second subs, 10 darks, 30 flats, 30 dark flats. Captured with NINA. Stacked and Processed in Pixinsight. Not bad for an unguided image but I probably need to watch some more processing videos! It's been too long! Graeme

The round base looks good. Did you auger it? Graeme

Thanks Peter, I've always managed it before now but matching the guide camera focus to the main camera focus when using an OAG is a lot easier during the day. I had a look at it today but the trees in the distance that I used before are no longer visible due to the observatory wall! I could take the OTA off the mount and bring it out where it can see the trees but I'll probably just keep going out to the observatory and tweaking it some more! 😀 Graeme

Partially successful! The camera failed to download a couple of times and I had to disconnect and re-connect to get it going again. The guiding didn't display an image probably because I didn't focus it in daylight like you're supposed to do! And I didn't seem to be able to focus it in the dark. As a result I wasn't able to guide and was limited to 60 second exposures. But I'm still claiming this as a win since the aim was to set up, polar align, test everything and capture an image of the supernova in M101. I'll have a look today to see if the trees in the distance that I used previously for day time focusing are still visible over my observatory wall. In the meantime, here's my observatory first light image, single frame, 60 seconds, unprocessed, M101, SN2023ixf:

I've put in four more diagonal supports under the roof roll off timbers and they're fixed with 6" x 5mm screws. That should do for now! And I've put the floor subframe in today. Can't put the floor down yet till I've done the air bricks, put a conduit in for a light switch and done a final check for water ingress after it rains. It's not going to rain tonight, in fact it's forecast clear, So I've set up the mount, the telescope and the lap top. I'm going to have a go at M101 and see if I can capture an image of the supernova that was spotted yesterday. And if it's clear tomorrow too, I'll get some more data, because I can now I've got an observatory! Graeme

Hello I'm contemplating getting a grab and go set up to grab if I go anywhere and I was looking at the Sky-Watcher Startravel 120T and EQ3 PRO Go-To. Anybody used these? It would be for visual and for astrophotography. Regards Graeme

Thanks for that Malc. Your input is appreciated. I would agree with all that you are saying. The beams are sitting on a noggin fixed to the post rather than just hanging off the screws because I wanted to get the posts in, concrete cured ready to go before I cut the posts to height so as to allow the beams to be fixed at a perfect horizontal. So they are held with 4 x 3" x 12s at each end in total. I think my way forward is to put in two more 4 x 2s to double the thickness of the beams and 4 x diagonal braces to support them and crack on! That should suffice. My first priority is to get the thing up and running so that I can do some astrophotography, it's been a long time! I can monitor the cross beams each time the roof is opened and if I do get some sag in the future I'll add two more uprights. Graeme

Hello NN. I did consider turning the support beams from horizontal to vertical for rigidity but decided to keep them the same as the other timbers. Good job I did now that the steels need most of the width to remain parallel. I like your T section idea, cheers. Graeme

Thanks for the input. You're both right of course, I didn't appreciate the total weight of the roof once all the OSB and roof felt was added! The calculation I did to work out the weight required under the legs to mitigate against the risk of wind lifting the roof when rolled off was done quite recently, after I added together the weight of all the component parts. And even then I thought the angle iron would stiffen the 4 x 2 adequately. Probably should have gone for 5mm angle iron but that adds a level of difficulty to the construction. 3mm angle iron is easier to work with but a lot more bendy than I imagined! So the plan now is to put in additional 4 x 2s to the underside of the two that are there now and add two diagonal braces to each one. Graeme

We have lift off! I got the wheels on and the cross members up then I put the steel angle iron up in the centre of the 4 x 2 but that was a bit of an error because it followed the slight curve of the wood. The first roof roll off was not as smooth as I hoped. So I had to re-fix the steels to lay them parallel. It's still a bit stiff so I'll have to put some thought into that. But otherwise smoothish and to be fair the roof does weigh about 130kg! It's a pleasing milestone, I might get the telescope in this week and start setting it up, The finishing touches, the gable ends, the air bricks and the floor can wait till next weekend!