Skipper Billy

The latest version looks like this - you can't see the camera adjuster for 'gubbins' but there is no 'Captains Wheel' - the colour rendition of the blue paint is fairly accurate.

Hope that helps.

Still a fine scope though - I guess it depends what you paid for it - they are £6800 from a reputable dealer. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/takahashi-fsq-106-series-refractor-telescopes.html

10 hours ago, Mark2022 said:

That is a fantastic design.  I have been looking for something which just fits what I need and I think that's it. I'd want to house a fork mounted Meade 8inch SCT and a Skywatcher EQ5 with 120mm aperture F6 refractor however so I'd simply have to make mine wider. If you have drawings etc that would be fantastic to see.

You are very kind!

I dont have any drawings or plans etc - I made it up as I went along. If  can help in any way just message me - delighted to help.

It has worked very well for me and has never let a single drop of rain in despite biblical rain and winds over well over 100 kts and temperatures down to -20º

Here on the NW coast of Scotland we have had one clear night since astro darkness returned at the of August!

How about a simple 12v battery - something like this

Easy to charge, cheap, plenty of power for several hours in the field.

4 minutes ago, 900SL said:

That's a nice bit of work Billy. The roof sections presumably are not too heavy as a dead lift?

I'm planning on using a nominal pitched roof to shed rain but I'll design it for snow and wind load, size is 2.4 X 2.4m (8' square). 

 

My day job is stuff like this so I might try to get a bit architectural

Each half of the roof is only about 15kgs so it's fairly easy to open and close.

Good luck with the day job!!  

Mine is a slight nod in the direction of your design.....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/113316085@N05/albums/72157663274320360

https://www.davidbanksastro.com/micro-observatory

When I was planning it I avoided a flat roof as I could imagine issues with weather sealing - ponding water that could end up in the observatory when the two halves are parted to open up. Also snow loading issues - we are in the Scottish Highlands - it may not be an issue where you are 😉  We often get winds of >100mph and whilst I add storm straps when storms are forecast they have never been required to do anything - yet!

The only downside I have thought of is that in its current format it would be difficult to motorise it if I wanted to.

31 minutes ago, tomato said:

And another vote from me for NINA, I suffered lock ups and hardware connection issues in SGP, their change in pricing policy was the final straw for me. 
NINA’s advanced sequencer is really good.

Exactly the same for me.

I noticed a significant increase in guiding accuracy when I upgraded from a converted finder to a WO guidestar 61 - probably because it was much more rigidly mounted but also the focus mechanism is so much better. Standard Lodestar in both cases

I also noticed another increase when I added a UV/IR block filter

And again when I upgraded to a WO Zenithstar 73 III and again when I upgraded to a Lodestar Pro.

In decent seeing I am now routinely getting guiding around 0.25 p/arc" (milegae on other mounts may vary!!)

Is it better - yes!!

4 hours ago, iamjulian said:

I just know the neighbours are going to look out tomorrow and see me in a neoprene wetsuit, spraying the inside of my weird little roofless shed with mint water.

And ???  😉 

I think trying to create a physical barrier to spiders is probably a lost cause 😞 

I spray the inside of mine with Peppermint oil at the start of the season and rarely see a spider.

A dozen drops in a spray bottle of water is all you need. Waft it all over the walls and floors.

It smells lovely too 😉 

The new Bluewalker 3 satellite is going to give our rejection processing software something to get its teeth into!!!

The gap in the light trail is where the first image was downloading before starting the second image.

It was travelling - South to North (bottom to top of image).

My fanless Intel NUC has been outside for >4 years now without any form of protection - zero issues. The small amount of heat generated keeps the connections etc dry.

With a fan cooled one it would be drawing damp air into the casing - that doesnt sound like a good idea.

JFYI the Intel NUC's state they run on 19v - they will run quite happily on a 12v supply and replacement lids with an extra two USB ports are available. 

1 hour ago, assouptro said:

I’m currently imaging with your old 460!! What does that make me?? 😂

Wise, and appreciative of quality over shiny new things!!! 😉 

51 minutes ago, assouptro said:

are you still using the big Atik camera? 

Hi Bryan

Thanks for your kind comments.

Yes - the Atik 16200 - I feel like a Luddite now but I love it!!!  

All the best.

David (aka Skipper Billy)

V2 - I am happier with this but feel that it still needs the Ha toning down.

I only run mine after an imaging run when everything is covered in dew - 'laundry' mode for 2 hours.

When its not in use I have two extractor fans running 24/7 to ensure good ventilation (ex PC cooling fans) - never had a problem.

That's just about the clearest, most succint explanation of how to get the spacing right I have read in a long time !  

This is my first ever attempt at combining Ha with LRGB.

My 'elegant light touch' seems to have escaped me !!!!

Well over cooked but the principle of combing Ha with LRGB was very interesting.

I used this guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYzNmx7KOGA

On 08/09/2022 at 11:25, Elp said:

If they're in stock already the prices shouldn't have changed, it's when they're changed in this instance which irks, unless they have commercial agreements to pay later.

As a retailer - I disagree!

One of the lines we sell is specialist paint - a 750ml can of a particular paint has gone up £1 per week every week for the last 8 weeks - from £18.50 to £26.50 a can. When we sell a can we have to replace it and effectively we would be retailing at less than the cost price to replace it !!! On top of that our payroll has gone up along with all our other costs and energy costs have gone through the roof. Whilst customers are squealing we are having are profit margins slashed to the bone.

A warm welcome from the West Coast (near Oban)

2 hours ago, tomato said:

You can balance a Mesu 200 MK 1 by feel, but when the mount load goes up I have found balance to be more critical for good guiding.

I have also found that when it is well balanced it guides more smoothly.

I use one of these and it makes balancing an absolute breeze. 

https://www.prologik-astro.com/product-page/ioptron-gem-series-prologik-balance-meter

I use the ethernet version and it works a treat. The GUI wont win any awards but it has been totally reliable.

1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

What..??  a RED Tak???

Nooooooooooo!!!😱😭🤣😂

Apparently - red is the new blue !! 😉 

There seem to be a lot of people looking through their 'scopes. 

I hate to admit it but I have never looked through mine 😉