upahill

Well thats the Magellan installed Thanks again to @michael8554 for spotting it and ENS for speedy delivery again. Easier than I thought although I havent done an alignment/test yet - just the mechanical installation. It actually took longer to find imperial alan keys than perform the install 😁

Just managed to get the scope set up in time, and had a go at taking a recording - epic fail - but was nice to see what was either the GRS or transit inbetween the clouds

Was hoping to use a small tablet I picked up for imaging, in particular with the LX10/Planetary It has a single USB-C port, which I bought a hub for, with power pass through - was hoping it would all plug and play, got all the software running, went to plug in the camera and nothing. The light on the ARCAM flashes, so its getting power but no device notifications. Anyway im wondering if the power isnt enough, the supply it came with is 2A, and im not sure thats enough to power the hub, tablet and camera - anyone use anything beefier?

Some of the other articles on the site are very informative though: Paris Mayor Announces Vin Diesel Will Be Banned From Entering City Starting 2022 Geologists discover a natural mineral spring of Coca-Cola in Yellowstone National Park But the one about everyone leaving their fridge doors open to combat global warming was the gem 😂

Been tripping over the pier on the LX all week, so my vote is for pier. My Tordmorden is still going strong over a year in so as a budget option its great.

I have been reluctant to dig the hole out for the pier in this weather for obvious reasons but might make a trip to T.P tomorrow to pick up some blocks and pavers. Since im re-using the metal pier my current plan is to dig a 450x450 hole as deep as it will let me until I hit rock (probably 8-12 inches) then build my height back up to the level of the deck using two side by side hollow blocks in alternating directions per level. Will either glue or mortar each level - I drew out the existing hole pattern from the base and pending any major mis-measuring I should be able to fill the cavities with wet concrete before lowering a 450mm paving slab onto the top with the 4 studs sticking out the bottom with bends in. When that sets im hoping for a level slab with 4 embedded bolts at roughly the height of the deck + a few mm for a floor. Is it best to backfill with soil around the blocks once buried, or use something else to fill the gap and add a little extra vibration damping? Im going to end up with horse stall mats in the obsy I think, cut to semi circles and just a few mm off the pier itself, there will be an extension of the deck to fill the rest of the gap first whilst not touching the pier.

Nice setup! Love the design of the iOptron stuff.

Cracking shots, love seeing all the pics of Jupiter here and these are fantastic. Cant get over the apparent rotation in just half an hour. Need to research if that is jupiters speed, or our change in position relative to it as its blowing my mind up. Best view i've had so far i've only barely been able to make out a couple of lines and never isolated the GRS visually - need a barlow I guess. Thanks for sharing

No calipers handy but just slid a 13mm spanner over the nut on the wheel, that would indicate an M8 bolt I believe. The only option I have found so far outside of china are these - https://www.bilcastors.co.uk/product/bzl50wvgrbjm828/ 50mm OD / 8mm Bore / Ball Bearing. Of course, im assuming these have ball bearings but they could be plain bores under the plate which would make life simpler.

@Paddy Herbert ah that makes sense then. Yeah file it is Although you may have that extra half mm in the bolt holes themselves - I know I did, and if you can loosen them, whilst simultaneously lifting the dome, pulling the bracket and re-tightening it might do it.

They look right, will need to take some measurements. Would want the same size so I dont have to redrill all the mounts.

Will do, I suspect the bearings are standard and cheap, may even find a suitable material for the roller and try cutting it on the CNC

I find its better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission in cases such as this 😂 Cracking job, hope your hand heals fully and you are observing in no time!

Actually that makes no sense, forget what I said. I cant work out where the flanges are unless you have a wheel directly in line with one I cant see how they are rubbing on anything. My pic above if looked at upside down could still be relevant.

Ah, my dome is a slightly earlier one I think, all in one piece. I wish it unbolted but its solid. If you have no adjustment in the bolts, and its only the flanges that are rubbing I would say a few minutes with a file would probably be all it takes. A few mm off the edge shouldnt affect anything and will stop the rubbing. Im actually looking for replacement rollers for mine, if you ever do the same and find they have worn you may need to create additional clearance anyway. The plate that is attached to the dome itself I never removed, nor did I remove the top wheels at all - so im unsure if they are chemically attached, but if not its possible perhaps that there is some play available to adjust - do all wheels foul on the flange? Could it be alignment of the dome pieces setting one edge ever so slightly lower than the other? Ill try doing a pic to illustrate what I mean.

We run an espresso bar, so its locally roasted brazillian beans freshly ground espresso 😉. It would be filter if I wasn't buying wholesale! But yes I would be nothing without my coffee!

Not something I have read, hopefully it wont be a problem, or will be easily solveable. I looked at the Astrodons but couldn't justify it for my first foray into NB. Ended up with a set of ex-display Baader 36mm unmounted for £250 - will upgrade them if I ever find the need to. I just didnt want to have to come down to a 5 position zwo wheel. Still need to source the LRGB, but will wait for the right deal.

I am building my proper imaging set up slowly and had to make this decision too - went for the 36mm as a middle ground. It was ultimately influenced by a deal on a set of HA/SII/OIII filters at FLO but I liked the idea I could have 3NB+LRGB in one wheel with the ZWO 7x36. I didn't buy into the whole "matched to the sensor" marketing, maybe its true, no idea - but have used Baader before and been happy so went with their filters. 2" might have given me better future proofing but the cost jumps significantly and so does the wheel problem. If I ever get the camera ill be able to test them

This is how mine was assembled, and how I put it back. Seems the same as your left design. I cant see the part that your drawing is indicating its rubbing on. Also, im sure its just the drawing, but would opt for the dome head on the bolts to be out the exterior of the dome for asthetics.

I was horified to do it to be honest, but the largest van I could get was a luton, and it was pouring down so couldnt even set up for nice straight cuts. Next time its dismantled it will get fibreglass lips installed for bolting. If it had been 20cm smaller in diameter we could have got it in, but there was no way (I even made a cardboard model of the van, dome and rear door to try! Originally these were supplied in one peice from what I gather, and later editions were as seperate panels. The cuts I made were along what looked like factory joined seams.

Amazing picture, the time invested alone shows the dedication and the result is superb.

Just read the thread, thanks, that video is amazing and shows such a smooth rotation. You have gone for a solution similar to what I was thinking, a shelf attached to the inside of the dome above the base ring, I was looking at epoxying bike chain around the outside and using a sprocket to drive but your belt system has irradicated the fears I had of that having a poor mesh. So I may just have to shamelessly copy it What's the saying ... imitation is the sincerest form of flattery 😆 Trimming it with the router is genius, im not sure how much horizontal movement I have in the dome itself but as someone said on your thread i suppose an idler on the other side of the dome would reduce that issue if it came up. The other idea I had was a friction roller wheel on the shelf itself, with tension wheels underneath it, but never really liked that idea as it would be tricky to guarantee constant contact. Is your shutter as much of a PITA to open? Maybe I just don't have the knack of it yet....

The dome is on! Four of us just about managed to carry the dome through the barn, across the field and over the fence to get it into place. Im already not looking forward to getting this out of here in the future. My rejoining method has a slight bit of unevenness in each of the three panels which was painfully obvious once the dome was on, but I have since managed to compensate for that. With the weight of the dome on the deck structure is clearly starting to strain a little, im not too bothered as it wont be for visual use, but more as a remote obsy and the vibration in the deck will be isolated from the pier anyway. Providing you dont bounce up and down on the deck when you are visually observing its not too bad and some concrete pavers and bottle jacks underneath may mitigate this if it becomes more of an issue. Got the meade in there for a bit of fun (and to appease the wife who has been tripping over it in the hallway, had some cracking views of the lunar eclipse, saturn and jupiter that night. The LX10 is fast becoming my favourite scope ¬_¬ There are 8 rollers which site on the fibreglass ring, at any one time about 6 actually touch it. It may be worth me considering building adjustable brackets - but generally it was quite smooth if a little noisy. The 3 sections are bolted together along that fibreglass ring, and agin about 2/3rds of the way down the ring with fixing plates. This is hopefully going to be enough and whilst the joints are taped over at the moment I will likely come back with either a plastic plate to cover them entirely or just re-fibreglass the joins. Underneath the dome are the remaining rollers, these help to centre the dome on the lower ring and have smoothed out the operation of the dome significantly. The biggest bug-bear I have right now is the aperture opening, it is far from smooth, or elegant. I would love to automate this eventually but right now the mechanics of it are appauling and it just doesnt like to open/close. There are two thin rods, attached the base of the dome, and then to the aperture, with just some electrical glands as runners - there must be a better solution but cant think of one.... It's quite roomy inside really for the small dome. The electrical centre will become a table for the tablet that runs the scope to sit, with some shelves adjacent to it. Im hoping to go from this tablet to a hub on the scope with a single USB-C lead, and 12v power. Fairly happy with how its going, no idea how to motorise the shutter or dome yet but hopefully someone has some good ideas for me Going to have to scrub it clean soon....

After it got past the tree I managed to get a quick eyepiece capture on the Meade. Happy to have at least caught the end.