mhard26339

From the way I operate remotely it would be great if somehow I could get notification by SMS of a clear night; if not available yet it will come but the HiTech may be another step along the way and worth considering. The problem with this site is the more you read up on things the more money you spend!!!, replace existing cloud sensor, flip-flat (yes I did see your build thread Steve), sky quality meter etc etc. Regards Mike

Hi Dave, I had not had that but as I said I do think the software is a bit quirky but at £305 I consider it a good buy. Before I changed to the GT-81 I used a Starizona for my SCT at that now retails at £800+ the focuser but I must admit it is a very smooth bit of kit. Regards Mike

Hi, To date the focuser has worked OK. Load in the driver but you must load the Utils program to do the calibration, after that it works OK with Maxim, Focusmax but it will not allow you to connect to the Utils program whilst connected to POTH in ASCOM, a bit quirky but when you know it is OK. When I had it operational for a couple of days on start-up it was not recognised by Maxim, Focusmax and would not connect for no apparent reason. I checked all of the plugs and sprayed with cleaner and when switched on again it was recognised but it had lost its calibration. After a straight-forward calibration all has been well since. I don't know what happened but I operate remotely so sitting in Spain I remain a bit nervous but all OK at the moment. For the money it seems a shoe in for the GT-81 and the service from Ian King was excellent. If anything untoward happens I will post but at the moment, silence is golden (from me not the Hmmm of the focuser motor).

As you can see Steve perspex added to ensure that stray strands do not short out the charger. Also added a shot of my new set-up a Willam Optic GT-81 triplet + Lakeside focuser, laser pointer and Baader Skysurfer V. Still using the Trius 814 OSC, cannot afford to change to Mono and filters yet.

It does me very well Gina, as you know I operate remotely often 1200 miles away and cannot just stick my head out of the door, it and my cloud sensor are invaluable, in fact essential before I open the shutter on the dome but I envy the speed of your camera, I need 1 to 2 minute exposures but they are always spot on. Having read this blog when I am next home instead of selling the ZWO, lens and housing I may put it together for a play, just need to sort out the heaters; there is a picture of the Ocullus on my build thread. Regards Mike

Hi Gina, Excellent as usual, great job. A while ago I was collecting bits for an ASC but an Ocullus came up S/H at a price I could not ignore so I bought it, However, for followers of this thread I did much research into domes and ended up buying one from http://www.sunlightplastics.co.uk/acrylic-domes/?gclid=CM-2i9TypMQCFayWtAodoi4AOA The product was very good and not expensive, for those without a 3D printer I started to assemble mine in one of these https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/WK1010G.html cut away the top area, the dome (100mm from memory) fitted well; may be of use to someone on here. Regards Mike

Thanks Steve, on my way out to the Observatory now! Regards Mike

Hi All, The continuing saga of no charge from the solar panels in November!. The induction loop package duly arrived from the US and worked However, trials did not prove as successful as I hoped, to get maximum transfer the distance between coils had to 1mm and uniforn to each other, not a serious problem but the main failure was from the battery charger point of view in that the one I bought senses the condition of the battery (essential I thought due to remote operation) and regulates the charge, with the inductive loop it did not sense a battery load at all so no charge!! I then turned to a version of Steve's (Steppenwolf) version above and hopefully improved on it?? My initial idea was to use spring loaded carbon brushes from a washing machine, swiping copper plate, they would ride up into their housing and transfer the 12V seamlessly; upon the first rotation the brushes did not ride up, broke the brush and jammed the dome rotation . Next try was to use braided cable to swipe the plate and with a block of foam inside the loop to help hold the shape and give an element of more pressure (although not needed) it works a treat. The woodwork skill is not the best, it may be tidied up later (sorry Tinker1947 not to your standard) but it works and November/early December should not be a problem with dead batteries any more; I will continue to use the solar panels for the rest of the year but now I have the alternative fix, the charger on/off is controlled by the APC 7920

Hi Spillage, Thank you for your advice although I have already done the deed and moved to Zen; to date all seems well albeit a bit more expensive but I now no longer need to use Dyndns so savings there. regards mike

Hi Steve, Thank you for your input, I don't care if it is clunky as long as it is reliable and works, it does look similar in principle to what I was planning. However my intention is to use spring loaded carbon brushes from a washing machine (AEG part no 50680490005 ) as the transfer medium, spring loaded should be better for my extended remote operation at least IMHO, I can't pop down to adjust the screws. The success of the system may be determined on how the spring loaded brushes ride up the slip tube on initial contact but if the spring pressure is enough for it to work at set-up it should be OK for some time. I think that the induction method would complicate things unnecessarily but you never know if this"clunky" method does not work!!!! There are induction systems available for 12V to 12V (the majority appear to be for 12V to 5V) this one may be a contender http://www.robotshop.com/uk/12v-600ma-wireless-charging-module.html suitably housed Regards Mike

AGHHHH, the November curse has struck again and my battery's are flat from no sun on the (3) solar panels so I cannot open the shutter. Another problem apart form the siteing of my dome is that the solar controller shuts down totally if the voltage drops below 9.5V and I have no way of recovering the situation from Spain. Fortunately my son is visiting the house this weekend so he can charge them up so all should (could) be OK but of course I have missed some clear nights. The shutter hardware (the older Shelyak) must remain live and obviously draws current however small but Pulsar are not aware of any-one else with this problem but with my dome position/installation I get this problem every year, normally as we change the clocks; I am working on (another) solution as it must be solved. The problem is that the top of the dome revolves around the base so no permanent connection from a mains battery charger can be made to the battery. However, the dome always returns to the same "Home" position so the plan is to use this fact to install some form of swipe contact system with a connection at that point, battery charger on the base ring through to the battery via the interface, the battery charger would only have a connection with the dome at the Home position but that would be enough for me to regain control of battery status. I would be able to switch power to the battery charger from the APC 7920 so when the sun is higher and more powerful and the panels are in sunshine I would continue to use that charging system. I have my ideas but has anybody else come across this problem and solved it successfully? Any ideas would be welcome. Regards Mike

The one that I have just fitted is Vstarcam H.264 1280 x 720p Home Surveillance Camera Wireless IP Camera Built in Microphone with One Key WI-FI Configuration APP, Motion Detection, Remote Viewing Function, 3dBi WIFI Antenna,Black from Amazon. initial impressions are good, easy to set up and always loads, also a zoom function. regards Mike

Latest update, to totally remove the problem of tracking my IP address via DynDns for the remote operation I have changed internet provider to ZEN and now have a Static IP address. For safety I have also installed a second IP Camera inside the dome. Regards Mike

I have just found this thread and thank you for a comprehensive tutorial on PHD. I now know what I was doing wrong but more importantly UNDERSTAND what I was doing wrong; saved in my favourites as a reference work!. I now cannot wait for a clear night to try it out. Thanks again. Regards Mike

Hi, After a couple of glitches with the IP 9258 shutting down my remote operations until I return back to Norfolk for a reset and a replacement item that was a disaster I have now switched all of my power switching requirements to the APC 7920. Although much more expensive, to date the control software appears much more stable and positive and no glitches, fingers crossed having said that now!! Regards Mike

I am just about to install a security system into my dome but I have a question, is it better to have the alarm box on the outside for a visible deterrent or inside because if anyone can stay inside a dome with 130db going off in their ear they are a better man than me. There will also be a 1500W strobe should we say "happening". Any ideas would be welcome! Regards Mike

Another bit advice for operating remotely, Update windows manually, not automatically, just had another glitch due to a windows upgrade not going in properly. From the IP camera I can see that it just needs a key press to finish the installation but!!!!!. still I shall be home for a treatment next week so no problems. Must admit I had not double guessed that one. Regards Mike

Looking good Steve, I particularly liked the period with Gary and Dave's head bobbing up and down from within the dome walls. Did you see my last post re remote operation, I had the chain snap when I was operating from Spain!! the only way I knew it had gone was that I always monitor operations on an IP camera in the dome; Maxim would have shown the shutter closed and I would have thought all was well. I have also added an Oculus to the cloud sensor to monitor the weather. Lessons learned!! which also include having a spare set of keys with a reliable neighbour who can close the shutter manually; Gary supplied the spares FOC Thanks for the IM re security, will ring you when I get back to UK. Regards Mike

Hi Goran, My equipment for this shot was Celestron 9.25 with a Starlight Xpress SXVR-H9 OSC (recently replaced with a Trius 814 OSC) and the Hyperstar. Processing was carried out in Maxim for the colour conversion, Pixinsight and finished off in Photoshop. From this thread you will realise that I image remotely for about 6 months of the year, consequently I am somewhat reluctant to set an imaging train off and leave it running for 5 to 6 hours. The M42 above is stacked from 100, 30 second exposures which with download/dwell times took circa 75 minutes after set-up, no Darks, Bias or Flats. Guiding was on but not really necessary up to one minute. The one thing with Hyperstar that is critical is focussing due to the narrow depth of field generated by the f2, for this I use Focusmax via a Starizona Micro-focusser and take time to get it as good as I can for the seeing; I do have failures in this aspect but I love the Hyperstar system, at the moment it suits me perfectly. Hope that this helps, any more questions just ask! Regards Mike

In my last post I said that I had recently added an Oculus All Sky Camera which is shown below. The Aurora Cloud Sensor can also just be seen bottom right. Regards Mike

Hi All Another update on the attempts at operating remotely. I found out what was the problem with the IP 9258 power switch, the router had "lost" it from the network. When I got home as soon as I connected manually from within the network it was found again and all has been well ever since (at least with that item) As an aside switch on switch off by the key-holding neighbour did not resolve the problem. However, using the dome remotely, I have found that one item of equipment that is essential is an IP camera so that you can keep an eye on what is happening inside your Obsy. Last night whilst operating from Spain my shutter chain snapped with the shutter open!!! If it was not for the camera I would not have known that the shutter was open, Maxim would have shown it as closed as soon as I hit the close button; you also need a friend (with keys, or hidden keys) who can go round and at least secure the dome if there are any problems such as this; at least it was clear when the shutter was opened so minimal threats of rain in the short term but my new Trius 814 left exposed overnight!! I have also added an All Sky Camera to my cloud sensor for viewing the weather and I now find it an invaluable tool, I started to collect the bits build one but then found an Oculus for sale in UK Astro Buy and Sell More money I know but proving invaluable, potential hidden costs regarding remote operation but!!!! Lessons are coming thick and fast, fortunately I had double guessed this one and my friend Tinker1947 who lives a few miles away is going round this morning to try to secure the dome; Pulsar have also said when the problem has been analysed parts will be FOC but out of action again!! When operating remotely you are going to get problems and you must have thought them through or Ryanair will be getting more of your business and money that could be better spent on Astro. Regards Mike

Hi Steve, Thanks for the mention in the "credits", a pleaseure, I will follow your project with great interest! Regards Mike

AARRHH, Grounded, just as I thought all was going so well the router is not talking to Dyndns so I cannot connect to the dome, so frustrating. I am not back in UK for 4 weeks so must grin and bear it as our key holder is not a techie, all I wanted was a router restart to see if that solved the problem!. I guess that the next time we are home for a while I must change my ISP to one who allows me to have a Static IP address (at a reasonable cost) any contenders please?. I hope it is a simple fix because after much racking of the grey matter between an 814 or 694, I have just bought a Starlight Xpress Trius 814 and started building an all-sky camera based on a ASI120MM. Will keep you updated Mike

Great thread Gonzo. I have just completed my automated dome (New Obsy in Norfolk UK) with a Pulsar dome but using should I say more available off the shelf technology; hats off to you, well done and keep going, it is worth it in the end, last night I had my first light actually using my UK dome from Spain, I have been testing it from within UK for a couple of months but now all up and running. I will follow the rest of your build with interest, I could do with something like this on my veranda in Spain but it will still not solve the serious light pollution that caused me to do it the other way around in the first place. Regards Mike

David, I have finally got around to having another go at setting up the APC; success, under your tutelage all now working as advertised; I also realised what I was doing wrong deduced from your typo, I was setting up on 192.168.1.150 and then trying to connect to .1.150, dumkoph, set it to .1.151, connects to .1.150 no problem. Phew what a marathon!!! Thank you again. Regards Mike Mike