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Skipper Billy

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Everything posted by Skipper Billy

  1. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/723142-batteries-for-orion-10mm-illuminated-ep/
  2. Phase 1 nearly completed - just a good bit of minor adjustment and sanding of edges and painting when its dry.
  3. A bit more progress made today. Heavy duty drawer sliders and the outer sides fitted, frame to support the roof made and fitted - internal bracing fitted to keep the roof square whilst moving - this will become important when the electric drive is fitted as only one side will be driven and it it moves from square it could jam.
  4. Gosh, that's a blast from the past - I had forgotten I did a wee video - I have added it at the top of the conversion page for a giggle..... https://www.davidbanksastro.com/observatory-conversion
  5. You are very kind. I got the grand tour of Glasgows Hospitals - the heart, lung and aerobic fitness tests to see if I could stand the op were at the Vale of Leven, consultations were at the Gartnavel, MRI scans at the New Queen Elizabeth Imaging Centre, The op was at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and follow up at the Golden Jubilee !! The Golden Jubilee was an odd place - part Hotel and part Hospital. I have to say the standard of care I received at every stage was world class and delivered with outstanding care - even down to choosing appt. times that suited me as I had a 2 hour drive each way. I had a new Aorta and both femoral arteries - pre op I could walk about 200 metres - now I am climbing Corbetts !!
  6. Thanks Olly I did consider having the roof high enough to close it with the scope in the normal park postion, but it would create an unnaceptably high (to my Wife!) structure. Its only a 1.4m cube. The plan is to use an Arduino to open and close the roof and it will be set up in a way that prevents the motor being activated if the scope is not in its custom park position and confirmed by magnetic sensors - it is also monitored by an IR camera and Mk1 eyeball. The entire rig is run from 2 x 110 amp hour leisure batteries which are on constant charge - partially to provide 'clean' current, but also to stop imaging runs being interfered with as we suffer a lot of power outages. Upper temp extremes in the Highlands of Scotland are measured in single digits Celsius! 🙂 All the best. David
  7. Hi Tony I am planning to re-use the original roof and it will stay in the same orientation ie ridge running North-South and it will slide away to the North towards the trees which block my view (they arent our trees so I cant 'adjust' them!). The whole roof will move ie no gable remaining in place as my view to the south is pretty good and usable. This was what dictated raising the walls 150mm as it is required for the roof to miss the scope even in its custom park postion ie weight bar parallel to the ground and scope parallel to the ground. The apex design is a must to cope with snow loading and the orientation of the ridge was chosen to cope with strong winds - when we get really strong winds they are almost always from the west so the effect on the roof is to push it down rather than lift it and if it was 90 degrees turned round it would also put strain on the electric open/close mechnism (when its eventually fitted). Thats the thinking - we will see what happens! All the best David (aka Skipper Billy)
  8. Following major surgery at the end of 2023 I have found it a struggle to open and close the clamshell roof - each side is ~25kgs and an awkward angle to lift especially in the middle of the night in the freezing cold. I decided to convert it to a roll off type. There is a page on my website that follows the conversion process. Stage 2 will be to motorise the opening and closing of the roof. Stage 3 will be to connect the motor drive system to the computer that controls the telescope and mount so I can ask the roof to open then the mount to unpark and commence an imaging run all completely autonomously and remotely from the comfort of our Lounge or anywhere in the world. When the routine has finished the scope should park and the roof should close. It will also be linked to rain, cloud and wind monitors and if any report a danger situation like rain or very strong gusts of wind the scope will park and the roof close automatically, with the option of reopening the roof and resuming the imaging run if conditions improve. That's the theory - we will see what happens! The page will be updates as and when progress is made (largely dictated by the weather!) https://www.davidbanksastro.com/observatory-conversion
  9. Thank you all - I have learnt something !! I have seen and imaged STEVE's before but this was a new one for me. Thanks again.
  10. Timelapse of last night's Aurora before the clouds rolled in and spoiled the party! I have never seen the red arc just above the Zenith before - any suggestions ??? (North is at the bottom of the image)
  11. No problem with any other filters apart from Oiii and Blue - I am fairly convinced that the issue is with the filters and Baader are looking into it for me. Meantime I am just making sure that all other possibilities are explored whilst the rig is in bits and spread across the dining room table! 🙂
  12. True but I think i read somewhere (Vlaiv?) that Blue light and Oiii are more easily scattered than all the other wavelengths??? Cant do any harm so black insulation tape and sharp scissors required 🙂
  13. I have carefully inspected the entire optical train with a really bright torch looking for anything that is reflective. The only thing I can see that is reflective are the screws that hold the camera together - see attached. (The inside of the scope is beautifully baffled and darker than a coal hole!) Is it possible that light is passing through the filter hitting the screw heads and bouncing off the back of the filter into the camera causing the halos??? I am toying with the idea of making a mask to cover the screw heads from stiff black card and sandwiching it between the filter wheel and the camera.
  14. Cracking image. Lucky you with the clear nights and you are just up the road from me! Well done.
  15. Thanks Bryan that restores my confidence a little! I am well - now - I had a new Aorta and femoral arteries a few weeks ago but I am well on the mend now.
  16. I have spent years trying to develop a lighter touch to my processing and I think you nailed it in your original. I wouldnt stretch it much at all. The web is full of grossly overprocessed almost comical images with blown highlights !! Jewellers dont put their goods on a market stall ! 🙂
  17. Yep - I am not a happy bunny at the moment! Anyway - I won't hijack your thread - cracking image by the way - just shows that there is no substitute for plenty of exposure time !
  18. Nope - no reducer or flattener. This is a very heavy crop - maybe less than 10% of the whole image using the Blue filter - the Oiii is just the same.
  19. I wish I hadn't read that! I am having issues with my Baader Blue & Oiii filters and was considering a set of Antlia 2" filters as a fix!
  20. Do you not watch the news? I think it's underway!! 🙂
  21. More testing of various images in the claculator and spending more time on it than I could at work shows the problem lies between 2.5mm and 4mm in front of the sensor. Given that the distance from the sensor to the mounting threads is ~19mm then the issue must lie within the camera.
  22. Just had a quick play with the calculator and it is telling me that the issue exists 2.5mm in front of the sensor! So NOT a filter issue?? The plot thickens!
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