Bizibilder

My first "Moon" for almost a year! (last one was 10th Feb 2019!!!). Been a bit busy lately. Also surprised myself that I could (almost) remember what to do to control the scope, camera and get an image - there were a few naughty words spoken getting everything working properly. The kit was fine - it was just me being a bit rusty Seven mono panes with 200 from 1000 frames stacked in each.

Excellent images - the full res is superb!

Looks like a good design you have there. Just one comment - have you considered replacing the two internal stud partition walls with a simple single sheet of plywood (18-20mm thick)? This will have similar strength (as in bracing the whole structure) even with a doorway cut into it and will gain you about 8-12 inches of extra useful internal space.

Personally I would steer clear of inverters to run laptops (or any other Astro grear) - much easier to use an "in car charger" to run direct off 12v. If you use an inverter you are fighting the inefficiencies of both stepping up the voltage and then stepping it back down again.

Just add up the total Amps drawn by your equipment and then multiply by the number of hours you expect to use them. For example: Mount 2 Amps, Camera 2 amps, Laptop 4 amps and Dew heaters 2 amps is a total of 10 Amps. If you run for 5 hours then 5 x 10 is 50 Amp hours. This would work on a 100 amp hour battery (it is inadvisable to run batteries down below about 50% of capacity). Please note the numbers above are just guesses! You will need to work out the exact values from your own equipment. I used to use a 100Ah battery with an EQ6, DSLR camera and laptop and never had issues with running out of power for a 5-6 hour session.

They are most certainly NOT the same as standard photographic filters. These foil filters are used for "white light" solar observing and photography - ie they transmit all wavelengths in the visible spectrum. An Ha 7nm filter is NOT the same as a proper Ha solar telescope. Unfortunately a true Ha telescope (or device like the DayStar Quark solar "eyepiece") is a very expensive piece of kit! One safe alternative to the foil filter is the Herschel wedge diagonal - but again this is quite an expensive alternative. (Just an afterthought - there are "Solar Filters" that can be screwed into a normal eyepiece. These used to be sold with cheap telescopes. They are EXTREMELY dangerous!! They will shatter in the heat from the Sun and, should you be looking through the telescope at the time you will be blinded. Don't even think of using one!!)

I would advise you to use the Baader foil of ND5.0. This is quite safe for both visual and photography. The ND 3.8 foil is ONLY suitable for photography and NOT for direct visual observations. You can make a filter holder quite easily from card and strong tape. One sheet of A4 size should make at least two (possibly three or four if you are careful) filters. I keep my own filter in a plastic box with a lid. It is about five years old now and still in excellent condition - I am always careful not to touch the foil and to check the foil is in good condition before EVERY use.

Assuming you mean space around the scope inside an observatory I would suggest 18" (450-500mm) minimum all round. That gives you just about enough room to squeeze yourself past the scope - assuming you are of at least only moderate proportions!! 😯 It also allows room for the inevitable additions and extensions to the scope that will happen as you use it.

Yes - try some WD40 or similar to try and get into the joints. Then try using something like this rubber jam-jar opener (less than £2 on the bay of fleas): You may be able to get things moving. If not then try a little heat from a hair dryer (or hot air paint stripper gun but be careful!) When all else fails brute force may be required

The Sun was out and I had time for some imaging today - even better as there is some activity! AR 2741 - 200/4000 frames with the ZWO ASI 120mm mono camera. The seeing was pretty poor!

I use 12v LED strips on dimmer switches in the warm room - works very well. I also have a red bulkhead light. In the scope room i have a white bulkhead with the switch in the warm room. Dimmers are these: Dimmer switch (of which I bought four I think - useful to have a few spares! ), LED's come in just about every shape and size imaginable!

Yup - Ebay is the cheapest by quite a way. As nigelg said leave a gap - about 1/4 inch (6mm) at winter temps of 1-5°C. If you don't it will buckle badly in the summer months. You can buy bigger "mats" of the stuff - look for anti fatigue matting - If you can find the right size you can create a floor covering with fewer joins in it. It also make a good lightweight dew shield material ?

My own warm room/observatory window is a piece of clear acrylic sheet let flush into the wall. This has a sliding black opaque acrylic cover so that I can close it and keep the warm room lights on but the observatory dark - very useful. The sliding part, slightly larger than the window itself, just runs in a top and bottom "U" channel made from an aluminium extrusion from the hardware shop.

An excellent job!! Gina beat me to say put a bit of foam in that gap (Don't ask why I know that is a wise decision !!).

If you do wire up before cladding the walls draw a diagram and take some pictures as well - It's easy to forget where the wires are should you need to drill a hole later!! ?

OSB should be fine - 18mm or more to get a solid floor. Get the "damp proof" stuff. No need to use marine ply - its far too expensive and your observatory will not be submerged for most of the time! If there is a little air circulating underneath then OSB will last for years.

Those creases will go og their own accord after a few warm/cold cycles over winter and spring. Looking good now!!!

May I suggest that you don't oversecure your observatory. To the prospective thief it is a shed plain and simple and one decent lock should be enough for him to try his luck elsewhere. Any truly determined thief will get in no matter what you do!

I would also suggest three - both for security and to help control things when you open and close the door on windy days. Don't forget that if you put the top hinge 6" down from the top of the door the bottom hinge goes 8" up from the bottom! It is an old carpenters trick as evenly placed top and bottom hinges just look strange - all an optical illusion of course. (I suspect everyone will be checking their doors now ? - honest its true!!!!)

How about the "pins and holes" locking method Pins and holes As long as you have a drill you can make these easily enough - use bolts for the pins that only have partial thread, saw the thread off and file the ends "conical". Just one bolt to lock/unlock. Mine have survived several storms with no ill effects whatsoever. The roof is very solidly locked down.

Daytime temperatures (13-15° C) - especially with the Sun warming the EDPM should be OK. I would suggest you put battens along ALL edges of the roof to have something to attach the EDPM to (sorry if you have thought of this already!). I would also suggest that you need two people to do the job - Mrs Bizibilder helped with my own roof. So much easier to have one person on each side. Also a long handled roller (sold for painting behind radiators) is really useful for getting the glue in places other rollers cannot reach. Also a spare clean roller helps to push the EDPM into close contact with the glue - but be careful not to stretch it. Talking of stretching - you may be better off gluing down on a relatively cool day, in the heat of summer the EDPM will have expanded quite a bit and will shrink as the temperature drops. Hope these notes help.

I've never been able to find cammo paint in my local shop !!

I used "Willow" which seems to blend in quite well.

Try the bay of fleas for SS nails in smaller quantities. It is false economy not to! 50 x 50mm for £5 here: Here

I would suggest drilling for the nails- maybe drill 3mm for the 3.5mm size. The nails will still grip but you won't split the timber and it won't split later either. Those SS annular ring nails are real devils to remove!! By the way drilling also helps keep the nails going in straight and you get far fewer "bendy" ones. You can pre-drill quite a few planks at one go then spend a happy ten minutes annoying the neighbours whilst you bash 'em in with an 'ammer??? (Nails that is not neighbours!!).