skybadger

Do your nylon blocks ride in a moulded recess ? Mine don't. But it's still a great idea. Cheers

Hi Across, I'd like to understand more about your last paragraph, since I believe I have one of the too. My shutter rides on Teflon slides. Is this what you are describing ? Do you have some photos please ? Mike

I used a power washer to strip the rubber sealant remaining after splitting the clamshell halves. I also used the balde of a plane, used flat to slide between and cut the seal effetivelyy and later to remove the residual silicone. Worked well, just dont cut yourself. I powerwashed the dome and then brushed it down and applied polish via the power washer, like they do in a car wash. Wasn't ever going to polish Just needs a wash now to get the algae off, In the same way as everyone else's I spose. Mike

Looking at the manual, https://inter-static.skywatcher.com/downloads/synscanwifi_102.pdf, it seems to be a straight forward pass through with some scope fo rconfiguration of the wireless settings. First thing to do is to provide an access point with a specific name that the app detects and then configures..

I get that the synscan app is a Wi-Fi client but it doesn't make a lot of commercial sense to invent another interface to maintain. I'd like to put a network sniffer on this and I bet the app has just wrapped the serial commands into a udp packet which the Wi-Fi receiver just unwraps. Hence any Wi-Fi to serial should do.

I've been looking at this myself and had seen the project on github. How does an app that expects to see a serial port talk to this remote port ? Would I use a specific virtualised comm port app or is it safe to assume that all virtual come port apps package the serial data for transmission over IP without changing it in any way and that the receiving device does the same ? At that point, I don't see why the esp project you reference needs any change in code, just the logic level management you have shown.. is that correct ? Mike

It is. I love being able to open up and image or view in minutes. There's even pieces of your kit in there ...I'm trying to rename what though.

I always tend to have a baader uv/ir cut filter in place but that's about it. It gives great detailed views of Jupiter.

Here's my na140 and VC200 on a non-vixen mount. There's an additional 80mm guider hanging off the visac. Had the visac for years. Good as a bucket but not on the planets.

I really like my na140. It's a real delight on the planets and has a low degree of colour and quite a large flat field. It's my goto scope unless I wheel the 12" Newt out.

It looks like mine is a copy of a pulsar then, based on Anne's pictures rather than an original. (Ta muchly!). I'll upload some pics into my gallery https://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/4361-skybadger-dome/tonight to show what I mean. Basically I have internal ribs that project into the dome which means I can't drive off the inner surface which is why I've had to make a drive unit to fit inside the internal lip. Cheers Mike

Anne, could you provide a picture of the internal s of the dome please - so I can compare with mine? Sloz, that's a fab drive. Well done. How do you couple the sprocket to the motor ? I have several of those motors which have a male mating thread on the output shaft which means a threaded shaft extension could undo itself occasionally ... Mike

I'll give that another go then. See what I can turn on the lathe. The system I was planning to use is a wire rope over pulleys and returned back via cable guide . I was aiming at something with very low visual obstruction.

I have a single groove round section belt wheel and tried wrapping 3 turns around it, with offset in and out feeds, to minimise overlapping. Do you think if I turned a purpose made bobbin with multiple turns on it , that would work better ?

Any views on the shutter mechs either of you are using ? I have explored using wire rope and cable guides but ca get enough tension for the 'winch' bobbin to bite in the endless loop. So will likely be using a 12v winch modified to wind on and wind out at the same time from either side of the bobbin. I also have a pulsar 2.7m, either early version or copy... Mike

Interesting approach. Won't the wood rot from accumulated condensation running down the dome onto the flat surface where the wood is mounted ? I don't understand the need for the wood, others have bonded the belting direct to the inside surface. The trick is to make the motor move to take up the in and out variation. The whole dome can move back and forth an inch or so and will be in a different place in each rotation. The approach I have taken for this, since I have what seems to be a copy of a pulsar dome, is to squeeze the motor between the inside lip and outside edge, on an expanding spring to keep the pressure up. The problem is more ensuring motor grip than motor power. You might find that you need another motor at 180 degrees to prevent skew driving increasing the overall friction. Good luck. Mike

Machine mart do a set for a good price. Essential. As is a variable diameter tank cutter. I seem to use nothing but holes in my constructions. I'm sure you could have bored it on the lathe too...

Why is the view upwards a problem ? All our domes need slot clearance overhead. You will face larger problems with sideways wheel forces for dome rotation and bearings gravitating downward to the lower end of the track. Alternatively you might think about making it all alt-az and using a field rotator.

Pour yourself a concrete mount block and add two altitude adjustment bolts. Azimuth by rotation only. No fabrication of complex parts.