Astropedro

Ok guys thanks. Ill be measuring it to check shortly. The rotator on the scope is pretty beefy.......😊

Thanks for the reply Scott. Yes I've got the database installed and I've set nina to use astap and its file path etc. Astap does attempt to solve and sometimes does.....but not often so I'm assuming it's a focus problem. Spacing......I've got the filterwheel between the 1600 and the reducer and assume that's enough but I haven't measured. Along with the spacing on the camera itself I assumed(no doubt wrongly) that there's enough spacing. Pete

Thanks for all the great advice and help guys. As I say, the strong winds where I live drove me to build a dome and I did enjoy building it. No intentions of automating it anytime soon but I built it 2.2 metres in diameter so I could buy an off the shelf system if need be. The dome is fibreglass (that was fun!) So water isn't a problem. Lovely and dry inside. Will post some interior pics when I get a chance. Thanks again. Pete

I went with a dome in the end guys. There was only one deciding factor really......wind. Well......2........I really wanted to see if I could build one as I've built countless sheds as I used to be in the industry years ago. I laid the foundation on new years eve last year and finished construction mid February as work was a bit busy and time was short. Will post some photos. Now I'm battling new equipment, software, settings, drivers........its endless. 😪😪

Hi. I finally got my observatory finished in mid February and I've been spending the last few weeks trying to sort out a myriad of problems. The list is endless...... I've spent 3 weeks sat in there and haven't got a single image to show for it. So one thing at a time. I'm trying to get nina configured so I can plate solve as I really don't want to go back to using eyepieces and refocusing etc etc. Gear is as follows. Altair Astro Starwave 70 triplet, 0.8x reducer (bought with scope from Altair) zwo mini filter wheel(5) Altair 1600 mono tec Cooled camera. Guidescope and guide camera seem to work OK but phd2 is hit and miss with them. Heq5 Mount, 1 day old and bought new as I got fed up with my Exos2 Pmc8 connection problems( a whole other saga). I also bought the USB cable for the mount from the supplier which works and connects to eqmod ( eventually ). My focus with the qhy5iii guide camera and guide scope seems OK and phd2 will guide.....sometimes. My main problem seems to be getting good focus with the main imaging camera so Astap can platesolve within nina. It solves sometimes then I slew elsewhere to solve again so I can sync and it usually fails with various error messages. I've been using stellarium to slew with the heq5 connected to eqmod through stellarium. So is this more than likely bad focusing? I have an eaf but I removed it as it gave me nothing but trouble and something else to battle. Am I missing something ? The scope came with a reducer which I attached to the rotator, then the filter wheel, then the camera. The focus seems terrible at the edges of the FOV and not great near centre if I'm honest. This is ofcourse with the 1600 not an eyepiece. My skies are bortle 5. I can see polaris and several other of the brighter stars in Ursa Major, Cepheus etc but not much else. I've got lrgb and narrowband filters and I've tried focusing through a variety of them but I don't think I'm quite getting as plate solving fails so often. Anyone with experience with a similar setup? Any advice would be well appreciated as I seem to be going round in circles. I've got sharpcap Pro for polar align ent which I believe is accurate, I don't mind using something diferent than nina as I just want to get imaging of course. I've tried APT. The altair capture program seems a bit basic but I'm really open to options as I cant spend another night without any pay off. Thanks in advance. Pete

I hear you. The mini pc I bought doesn't have onboard WiFi but the seller is including a USB WiFi dongle which is very nice of him. I'll hold off on buying a 20 metre ethernet cable until I've tested it with the WiFi I think. I didn't ask if the dongle was usb3 but to be honest, I may need the usb3 ports for the 2 cameras as my guide camera may benefit from the usb3 as well as the imaging camera.

Ok I bought a mini pc for £65 with a bit more memory and WiFi should I need it. Will either remote into it via WiFi or run a cat5 cable if needed. Will buy a cheap monitor and keyboard to leave in the observatory for those times when I want to sit in there or if I need to control the mini pc directly such as to install software when it arrives etc. I'll let you know how I get on guys and thanks for the advice. Pete

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/cheap-FAST-Windows-10-Mini-PC-Desktop-Computer-4GB-RAM-SSD-19-Monitor-WiFi-/334213888100?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Guessing that will do me? Haven't bought it yet but with 2 usb3 and 4 usb2 that would cover me for connections. I have a 1600mm camera, a qhyiii guide camera, EFW mini, EAF ordered today and no dew straps yet but will cross that bridge soon enough. Then connect my laptop to the mini pc with a ridiculously long cat5 cable I suppose. 🙂 Further opinions and guidance welcome. Thanks again guys.

Thanks again guys. There's never a shortage of help and knowledge on here. The gambler in me says buy a USB extension and hope for the best. However.......mini pc's do seem cheap so I may go down that route.

What about this: AV Access 60M(196ft) High Speed 4 Ports USB Extender Over Cat5e/6 up to 480Mbps, 4 × USB 2.0 Supports 2 USB Web Cameras Synchronously and All Operating System, Plug and Play Design https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EV33R8S/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_6VB5R2AQ3XK23K8ED2VH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the replies guys. So.....a repeating usb cable to a powered USB hub from my laptop in the house won't work? Just looking at simplifying of course.

I'm right in the middle of building my observatory in this lovely cold January weather we having. I have made a few purchases including filters, an 1600mm camera, filter wheel and I'm looking for an autofocusser. It has dawned on me that my laptop will be roughly 25 feet away from the observatory as I've no intention of sitting in there whilst imaging. I want warmth and comfort....... 240v power to the observatory is sorted. So how am I going to get all the cameras, focuser, filter wheel etc to communicate with my laptop? So........options....... 1. a powered USB hub on the end of an expensive USB cable? 2. A wireless USB hub? 3. Do I have to fork out for Asiair unit or similar? My observatory won't be finished for a few days and then there will be at least a year of clouds......sorry guys......I'll post some photos and some comments of how the build went. In the meantime I need to sort something out. As always, thanks for any help with this.

Astroshop just got back to me...... Hello Pete, the next delivery date for the NexDome is mid of March 2022. You can order now and pay when the goods are ready to ship - we will inform you. The NexDome is sent on a normal EURO palette. Shipment to UK can be around 400 EURO. Decisions decisions decisions.............

Thanks for the detective work malcom. Made my mind up....its not worth that much. I've just enquired on astroshop.eu regarding a nexdome. Seen mixed reviews but mostly positive. Where have you seen a pulsar for £3,000. On their site they're closer to 4k.

Yes spot on......that's the one Malcom. Its the only one I can see anywhere on the Web second hand. So I'm guessing I won't be able to use an off the shelf automation kit if I went down that route. Nothing is easy is it......🤣🤣. My head hurts.......🤣🤣🤣

Well.........he won't budge on price and its going to cost me at least £250 to collect it by the time I've hired a van bug enough and factor in fuel for 9 hours driving. It looks like a pulsar. 9 foot high by maybe 7 foot wide. Needs a good clean and a coat of paint. Other than that it looks fine. Asking price is £1500. If I could get the price down 2 or 3 hundred I would probably buy it. Anyway.......loving your obsys guys n gals. All good advice and I thankyou for your sound reasoning and arguments for both domes and roll offs. Stuart.....love the simplicity of that! Looks a nice shed too. I don't need a warm room as my living room/dining room is only a few feet away from where it will be sited. I already have an outdoor socket I can tap into for power too. I also have a self build large shed and workshop right next to where the obsy will go too. Could always make room in there for somewhere to sit with a laptop etc. That's a nice setup malcom. I remember reading some of your posts when I was living in Spain a few years ago. I may still go down the ror route yet. I have a bbq and decking area next to the site though so i would have to negotiate with my partner as it will alter the plans somewhat. Just thinking.....is a used pulsar worth £1800? If it even is a pulsar I wonder.....

May have spotted a used fibreglass dome. Trying to negotiate for it as it's a bit over budget and a 4.5 hour drive away in what would have to be a rented flatbed truck or Luton van. It's a tiny bit taller than I would have liked too but I can always sink the base a few inches so long as I sort out good drainage. It looks like its functional and just needs a clean up and maybe a good coat of paint. Will let you know how I go on. Still undecided if i dont secure it. I did originally plan on a ror but talked myself in to a dome. Now, after speaking to you guys, I find myself torn. I read somewhere on here that you can still image in high winds with a dome. Is this true or are you still at the mercy of the elements somewhat?

South, east and north views. I assume this is enough sky to work with?

The observatory will go where the metal shed currently sits. The wooden shed is 8 foot high so I will aim to keep to this height for the obsy.

Thanks for the responses guys. I take your point regarding weight Malcom but unfortunately my budget just wont stretch to a new dome at present. I have tried the second hand market and cant see much especially in my area(northwest). With this in mind, I'm still leaning towards a homemade plywood and possibly fibreglass covered dome on a timber clad base. I build campervans for a living and I've noticed that 3.6mm ply is fairly strong and very light. Cant say the same for 25mm ply that I would have to use for the dome frame but I'm curious to work out what the timber weight alone would be. Then if it's already a hefty thing, maybe just fibreglass tape all the joints, sand down any rough edges and give it a few coats of what I can only imagine to be very expensive waterproof exterior paint of some sort. Fibreglass on the exterior sheets might be an option too. I'm ok with planning so long as I dont go over 2.5 metres high which I have no intentions of doing. Was thinking of 4 or 5 foot sides and a 3.5 foot high dome. Automation...........Again point taken Malcom. I have no doubt I will end up having to cobble together some sort of drive system rather than something off the shelf if i go down this route. I can see windscreen wiper motors or something similar...............Hopefully I can keep the weight low enough for this not to be too much of a headache. Never even thought of insurance............I'll get on it as wont be long before this gets mentioned by my partner!! Swop........good point.....I will run a length of plastic pipe through the concrete base for cables galore. Although I'm fairly confident in my skillset to build this, I do see complications. The door, making it weatherproof and secure, and automation. Hopefully you wonderful ladies and gentleman can assist me when I stall or stumble. Why do I get the feeling this is going to take longer than I thought........... Completion before xmas perhaps?...............pleeeeeaaase.......😊😊

Hi. I'm looking to make a pier for an obsy I will soon be building. I have an exos2 pcm8 mount which I will need to attach to it. Any ideas as I cant seem to find anything? Pete

I've been in and out of both visual and imaging for the last 12 years. Put simply, I'm well aware that if i had an observatory, i wouldnt be able to leave this hobby for any great length of time regardless of family life, golf commitments(sorry😄), work constraints or anything else that consumes time for that matter. I love astronomy........but........... the setting up of my gear in the dark, with not so good eyesight anymore, has put me off slightly. So..........I recently built a large 18' x 6' tongue and groove shed to house my tools and for some home business storage. This has freed up an 8' x 6' area (threabouts) where my old metal shed stood. I still need to completely empty it and dispose of it. My partner has no problems with me building an observatory in this space as she too shares an interest in astronomy. Lucky me!! She did say, however, so long as it is aesthetically pleasing. With this in mind, I would very much like to build a 7' or less diameter dome observatory from leftover timber I have from building my shed and decking. I will have to get some ply sheets for the dome frame and skin but I'm confident I have enough timber for the bottom half of the obsy whether that ends up being square, round or hexagonal etc. I was thinking of following "How to build a home observatory" guide on the BBC Sky at Night as it seems to tick a lot of boxes. I would like to automate it as much as possible too. My house faces east and I have uninterrupted views to the north, east and south. At present, I have no pier but dont mind making one from concrete or getting one made from steel. My current mount is an exos-2 pcm8 and I have an unused Altair Starwave 70ED Triplet APO. I also have a Canon 1100d and a QHY5ii426C for imaging. I dont mind getting more gear as needed especially if what I already have is unsuitable. My primary interest is deep sky imaging but I'm toying with buying something portable to go to a nearby dark site to observe and maybe some planetary imaging. Was thinking maybe a Nexstar 5 or 6. Anyway.........I've read a fair few threads of SGL members building their own observatories ( WOW!!!) and I would love to hear from you regarding your thoughts on my plans for the obsy and my current gear etc. I would like to start prepping the ground this weekend if it isnt too cold or wet so any advice would be gratefully recieved. I have an electric mixer and no shortage of power/cordless tools and diy knowledge and confidence, however, the dome aspect of the build has to be a challenge!! I'll post some photos of the area to be used once its cleared. The base will be concrete with an isolated concrete cube for the pier. So long as I have a good idea of the design over the next couple of days, I'll get the concrete base and pier base in over the weekend. look forward to hearing your thoughts. Pete

Hi guys. I have just taken delivery of an Altair Starwave 70mm ED Triplet APO. It looks awesome!!! It also came with a 0.8 reducer/flattened which was a nice surprise. I have also bought an exos-2 pcm8 mount and tripod and a 50mm guidescope. I cant wait to have a go at imaging with this setup. The mount came with a polar master and I already have a Canon 1100d and a qhy5iii462c. Apart from a bahtinov mask and a diagonal, is there anything else I'm likely to need other than a break in the weather? Does anyone else use a similar setup and do you have any tips you can share? Thanks. Peter.

Thanks KP82 The mount i bought ended up being out of stock and it has taken me until yesterday to source a good used one at the right price. This one came with a power-pack and a polemaster, which I'm very pleased with. So, I then had a look at what funds I had left yesterday and decided to go for an ALTAIR STARWAVE 70 ED TRIPLET APO REFRACTOR. I have had to up my budget somewhat to buy it of course. I confess, I hadn't seen your post prior to making the purchase. I'm guessing its not a bad choice but please tell me your thoughts. I am now looking for a guide scope and bracket that will fit. Also, I believe I will need a flattener? So looking forward to receiving the scope. I am very impressed with the mount and can't wait to get the scope mounted and give it a try. Pete