Dr_Ju_ju

forget updates here, just get it finished.. you can always catch-up when it's dark etc....

But if it was electrical failure, then wouldn't you imaging also be ruined …. or in the case of total power outage, a full failsafe & lock (spring\weight return ? etc.) would take care of that, unless the roof doesn't clear the OTA...

As it's wet, cover it with a tarp, but make sure that air can flow over\through each timber board, to help it dry out, before treating....

Well done, looks intriguing, is it for visual or imaging ? and is everything Astro, going to be in the Obsy section ?

Barring ruddy doctors, I'll be there... For Adrian, as long as he has his beer & whiskey, I'm sure he'll see loads of stars..... Now, let's all play spot the spelling mistake...

Even on USB, I wouldn't expect much cross talk, as all good leads will have earth screening. The worst possible signal crosstalk would be from the square wave pulses, that drive the focus motors, & come to think about it, the same similar pulses driving the mount itself.

Looking good, & I can guarantee you'll want\need to run some power\signal cable through the conduit.... One thought\question, looking at the pictures, is there enough of the floor studding exposed to support floorboards around each edge ??

Hi Kev, As you say there is bound to be a gap due to thickness, but get the hinged side sorted with the door freely open & closing, then adjust\plane\sand door to get an equal gap on top\opposite side to hinge. Bottom will need to be adjusted for a weather bar, so can usually have a larger gap. When the door is snug, you can add some sealant strip on the inside faces of the frame to block all drafts...

If you have a Wickes near by, there usually is, have a look at these https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-P5-T+G-Caberdek-Chipboard-Flooring---18mm-x-600mm-x-2400mm/p/133702 Already treated & easy to cut & fit

Get the hinged side 'true' & even spaced, then it will be easier just to plane down the opposite side, to match the opening...

For this area, Surrey, the forecast isn't good, with some high winds, so I hope all builders have rooves etc. tied down, to prevent any lifting\damage, especially those with missing walls, where the wind could get underneath.... And don't get me started on 70's bands when I used to promote\roadie\security etc. for said, including Slade, Bay City, Bolan et al....

Unfortunately, that version, doesn't allow the running of things correctly, (it can be made to) but it would be easier for you to use 16.04, as everything has been written & tested with that version...

A quick thing to try, assuming you've followed every step on https://www.indilib.org/download/ubuntu.html, is to re-run the full install, but with a 'fix' switch, i.e. sudo apt-get --fix-missing install indi-full note double minus sign before fix. This should repair everything. Which version of Ubuntu have you installed? as the latest 18.04.1 has some software missing that stops things running....

For your setup (as described), you could have Ubuntu running at the mount laptop, with Indi and Indi web manager (not strictly needed, but I find it easier) and then run Kstars (https://edu.kde.org/kstars/#download) on your normal indoors windows laptop. Another way, this is the way I use it, is to have Indi, Indi Web, Kstars & XRDP running at the mount computer & use normal windows RDP to connect. This keeps the system isolated from other computers, in case I need to do other work, or even control other rigs...

Most people run the system on a Raspberry Pi, but I have found Pi's lack resources, and instead use Rock64 & RockPro64 devices, but there are now a great many small credit card sized devices that will run everything.... If your laptop has spare disk space, it may be possible to install a Linux version alongside windows, but you could try booting your laptop from a USB stick, with Linux already installed on it, to at least try it out. It may also be possible to run a virtual Linux PC on your laptop, running under windows, but I'm not sure if you can access all the connected hardware that way.

Have a look at this

When its used for pond liners, the simple act of just filling the pond will 'iron-out' any creases due to the sheer weight of the water, so maybe, in reverse(ish) hanging weights around the edge, thereby stretching the material should also remove any creases....

That's one of the problems I've found with 18.04, to make it leaner, some things have been left out, which at first prohibit the running of KStars etc. I've spent some time, working out what 'missing' bits are needed, to make everything run ok, & so I now have a working system on both a Rock64 & RockPro64. I wouldn't use a Pi3, which I've tried, as it quickly runs out of resources & is missing USB 3 (needed for 1600 MM) and slower network etc. There are other small form factor processing cards, which to my mind are much more apt for what we require.

A very good controller is Tom Carpenters', AstroEq (https://www.astroeq.co.uk/tutorials.php) which is Arduino based, and can be controlled from a PC etc....

…. and the OSB turned up ??

Quick question, do you now, or likely in the future, want to 'automate' the locking\unlocking & movement of the roof ?? If so it may be worth considering some form of powered piston system ?

I won't say slave labour, but the living standards are usually lower, and they are machine made in the thousands, 24x7 excluding 'public' holidays.....

It was bitter earlier on, but as the clouds are starting to roll in, it's warming a tad, but Metcheck is still forecasting light sleet from 17:00 till 03:00 !! ? and I just needed an hour to finish the 'blues' for M33 ?….

Good luck with the weather, Metcheck is showing sleet for tomorrow evening....

I don't know the mount, but what microcontroller is it ?? maybe you can use the Arduino\Atmel software to write the code to the chip ??