souls33k3r

23 minutes ago, WanderingEye said:

Yes that’s all you need to do, make sure you have waterproof outdoor rated sockets at the pier, and an RCD on the other end, unless like me all the switches on your fuse board are RCBO’s in which case then it’s already RCD protected.... dont over complicate it for yourself, Just make sure it’s safe... 👍😀

Yeah that's exactly what I thought I'd need but all these super technical stuff has got me even more confused than I started this topic 🤣

I already have an RCD and use that regularly. 

The sockets that I've been looking at are

Just wanted to be sure of the cable really. 

Like I said before, I thought all what I'll need to do is plug in the RCD in to the wall socket in my house, get this outdoor cable and extend it all the way to the pier and on the pier will have the above waterproof socket and that's it. 

16 minutes ago, ian_bird said:

There is a lot easier way to do all of this. It has worked for me for the past 15 years.

Which is what Ian? I like easy

15 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Why not just run a 12v supply outside? I have a Nevada 12v supply indoors and I run out a 15m cable, the yellow ones used on building sites with the 110v plugs (stays flexible even when cold). I cut the plugs off and I use 2 of the cores. Banana plugs on the supply side and a multi cigar socket on the outside? Simple, safe and doesnt need the skills of an electrician.

I do have a linear PSU that runs all my gear outside (apart from the laptop). What I want to achieve with this topic was to have a permanent power cable to the pier (rather than having to reel out the extension and then bring it back indoors every time). A double socket at the pier end from which I will constantly use one of the sockets to power a pet bed to keep the moisture out when the mount is under covers and when I'm imaging, I'll just simply plug the PSU and run my gear off of that. Mind you, the end that is coming from the house will have an RCD attached to it all the time. 

18 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Well, yes, you could probably do something like that, but you'd almost certainly have to do it yourself and it's unlikely to be as safe as doing it properly in the event of an electrical fault (always more of a possibility when stuff is exposed to the elements).

If you get an electrician in to do it they'll obviously have to comply with the relevant regulations.  If you do it yourself you can play fast and loose with what's acceptable, but you can create something that may be dangerous in the event of a fault.  If it's not a permanent connection then you probably have a bit more freedom as to what's acceptable, but you still don't really want to go wiring up something that could become live in the event of a fault (ie your pier).  If electrics isn't your bag, then DIY isn't really a good game to play.

James

I really don't get it tbh, isn't this supposed to be a simple job of just making my own  (cut to length) extension sort using a rugged power cable? 

2 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Basically, you need an earth at the pier.  The easiest way to do that is probably to take one out there that's connected to the house earth.  To work properly it needs to be of sufficiently low resistance, which isn't really the case with a normal cable reel.  The figures wxsatuser gave are the minimum cross sections for the conductors to give a suitable resistance.  So, what you'd probably be looking at is a 3-core (live/neutral/earth) SWA (steel wire armoured) cable with a minimum conductor size of 6sqmm.  You can bury that in the ground and forget about it, but it's probably not going to be a bundle of fun to work with.  I'd guess 25m is going to cost you in the region of £100, weighs around 15kg and has a mind of its own when you try to uncoil it.  For 10sqmm it's probably half as much again, both cost and weight.

If you got a sparky in to do it I'd not be surprised if their preference was to take a separate feed from the consumer unit for it, which might not be very convenient depending on how the cable might need to be routed and can be a pain if you don't have enough space left in the consumer unit.  Probably the only way to find out is to get someone out to give you a quote.

You may well decide that it's a world less pain to invest in a single decent, long extension lead to be honest.

James

I supposed buying a long extension cable sounds far more easier but how would they react to being outside throughout the year? I thought it would've been a simple case of buying a cable, attach a 3 pin plug at one end which will go in to an RCD plugged inside the house, wire up a weatherproof socket and I'll be all done. 

Most of the stuff that is being talked about has gone way over my head

This all sounds super complicated tbh. I appreciate all the input and suggestions but I thought this was going to be a simple job and by the sounds of it, this clearly isn't 🤦‍♂️ 

Ah ok, makes sense. Time to get in the sparky then. Cheers guys. 

1 hour ago, wxsatuser said:

Needs bonding 6mm minimum on a TN-S or 10mm on a TN-C-S system, preferably 10mm anyway.

You absolutely lost me there mate. I have no idea what those terminologies actual mean

1 hour ago, Saganite said:

I should make it clear that whilst I did all the ground work and laid the cable chosen by an electrician, it was he who did all the connecting.  Like you souls33k3r I would not dabble with things II know nothing about.

It was definitely worth making the permanent connection to mains though.

Appreciate you chipping in mate. Do you remember what cable and where did you buy it from? 

2 minutes ago, wxsatuser said:

Is your pier metal and part of earth?

Yes it's metal but it's not part of the early. It is bolted on 4 x M16 bolts

Hi All, 

From my other thread I gathered that I really should have a mains power from inside my house to the pier (about 15m).

The purpose of this would be firstly to power the kit at the pier and secondly to power some sort of moisture control gizmo.

Currently what i do is, I reel out my 10m cable (RCD connected inside the house) and then daisy chain another extension to give me necessary power sockets and length. I would like to eliminate this altogether for the reasons I mentioned above and also with something that will last forever. 

The idea is to have long enough cable, RCD at one end which will be in the house, weatherproof power cable and at the pier end will be a weatherproof socket powering my astro gear. 

My knowledge around electronics and anything electrical is next to nothing so any advice on the cables and type would be appreciated. What I saw on wickes were these and I'm not sure if any of these will be fit for purpose

https://www.screwfix.com/p/nexans-pond-flex-3183p-3-core-0-75mm-25m-black/169fk

https://www.screwfix.com/p/nexans-3183yag-arctic-flex-3-core-25m-ylw/773gp

Thanks in advance.

51 minutes ago, WanderingEye said:

I too am having this same issue with a TG 365 cover, and after inspection inside the cover I too can see light through the stitching, in a few places, and am not happy, I have it over my 2k mount fitted tight at the bottom around the pier, with a dew heater and humidity sensor under, and as soon as it raining the humidity rises big time, and after taking the cover off it’s wet inside, so I tested with a hose pointing up and the water falling onto the cover, and yes it pours through the holes where the stitching is, but only in three small places....

on dry days it’s fine and humidity stays below 45%

Am currently in contact with both TG and the supplier... which by the way was not FLO.. 

but If someone can explain to me how a stitched seam with needle holes through the layers of material when they leave holes, is ok and is not supposed to leak, I would love to hear it, I had no idea that these covers were stitched and not taped until it was too late....

Also why is there only holes showing on small sections of the stitching and not all the way round.... All very confusing...

 

OK now this is very interesting. I was led to believe that you would be able to see the light coming through the stitches if you put your head inside of the cover and look at the sun for example but was assured that these holes are covered with (not going to quote because I might have heard wrong or it was something completely different substance) wax or something so it should never leak. 

I just bought mine as well but haven't tested it tbh. 

Please keep us posted @WanderingEye and let us know what it was in the end and the fix if possible. 

15 minutes ago, Skyline said:

Ahmed, on my pier I have put a wardrobe dehumidifier tub next to the mount covered with a thick plastic rubble bag and the final cover is a waterproof tarpaulin cover with handles. All held down with a bungee cable.

I have no moisture on my mount or signs of rusting.

However two things get removed after a session,  scope and camera.

I have a small keter storage shed, which inside has a 105ah leisure battery on a trolley, which all my power is supplied from. The only thing I need to do is unreal one cable wrap with all my power connections included inside of it, plugin and off I go.

Welcome to come and see Ahmed.

Nadeem.

Hey Nadeem, how are you keeping buddy? How's the spine now mate? I hope you're on your way to recover. 

Ah yes, these wardrobe dehumidifier business is something a friend of mine mentioned it to me. How long do they last? They're not rechargeable I take it? 

I do plan on coming to see you at some point buddy but only once you've fully recovered. Good to hear from you. 

3 hours ago, windjammer said:

I keep my rig outside all year round under garden furniture covers - three layers, top one lasts a year before UV kills it.  Being basically large plastic tents dew and condensation are  a problem.  I run 12V from a power unit inside the house, out to the scope with a high current pond cable, like this:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/nexans-pond-flex-3183p-3-core-2-5mm-10m-black/5002t

Inside the tent I have mounted power resistors to make a warm air blower:

https://www.rapidonline.com/aluminium-clad

I use four 6.8 ohm 50W resistors in parallel at 12V on heatsinks with a small fan to blow warm air inside the telescope covers.  It generates 80W or so, and takes about 7 amps.  It works a treat.  I have mounted a greenhouse remote RH and temp sensor (ThermoPro TP60s Wireless Thermometer):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ThermoPro-Thermo-hygrometer-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Temperature/dp/B07G2YM494?ref_=s9_apbd_otopr_hd_bw_b5zxl5j&pf_rd_r=M1YG8Y42H5YYTJ6DWBY5&pf_rd_p=dd27ab4b-5b90-57e6-98da-609b80414dcd&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=5496263031

on the scope.  Whenever the RH goes above 70% I turn the heater power on from inside the house.

I would not want 240V mains anywhere near the scope.  If you are OK with that, you could always put a 100W incandescent bulb under the cover - should work....

Simon

 

 

Wowzer! You went technical on me super quick mate but I'm sure you know what you're talking about. Please do pardon my ignorance on the electrical side of things, never done any DIY stuff so don't have a clue. 

The cable you mentioned from screw fix looks like a real deal but I guess I'll start a new thread for that subject. 

Cheers matey. 

On 08/02/2020 at 14:19, Davey-T said:

You've only just started 🤣

Dave

Hahahahaha like they say, nothing ever just works out of the box. You need one thing to make the other thing which then makes the other thing work lol

2 hours ago, Bukko said:

If you are really going to leave the mount for only a few days, I have found wrapping the pier and mount with a cotton bedsheet is effective at soaking up any moisture that forms. Every few days, take it off and allow fresh air to circulate (And dry the sheet, of course.)

Before I built my observatory, I had a pier and mount fitted to the base and used a sheet with a plastic bin bag over it to keep it safe.

Worked really well.

Long term, of course you need something better but this is pretty much instant.

HTH.

Gordon.

Cheers for the valuable tip Gordon. I guess I'm really getting concerned about nothing if I only plan on leaving the mount out for 2 nights max. Wrapping it up with a "cotton bed sheet" or a "towel" might be all what I really need then. 

1 hour ago, DaveS said:

Nope.

Never mind telescopes, you know you're done for when you end up buying a new house .

Seriously though, I have a pet-bed plugged into one of the exterior sockets by the telescope. Keeping it on low is usually enough, but like Dave above, on sunny days I open everything up, including the computer cabinet for a good airing.

Cheers Dave. Yeah seems like I might look in to a pet bed at some point but at least out of this thread I understand what I really need is an exterior socket by the telescope for which I'll have to find a long enough cable (at a sensible price) that is going to be weatherproof and rugged so that I can zip tie it to the fence and which will last me forever. Not sure if these pong cables are the ticket item. Will start a new thread for that shortly to find out. 

Cheers for all the helpful suggestions everyone. Much appreciated. 

Ok I'll be the odd one out too and like your original more than the LRGB / RGB image purely because I didn't like how the brighter stars looks like and plus the bright stars had a sort of black ring around the edge of the star. 

Saying that, now I really love the blend of original and LRGB image. That's by far my favourite. 

Like Bryan said, I would be more than happy with any of the above images. They're all superb in their own way. 

9 minutes ago, discardedastro said:

I've had a TG365 cover over my newt for a year and a half now.

Definitely seeing some moisture issues - there's some visible rusting on the counterweights, for one. I took my dust cap off the guidescope last night to find a bit of white material I think was some sort of growth but might've been a little spider's nest - took the scope off and cleaned it today and it's all fine. When I took the cap off the main scope the main mirror was sitting with a light coating of dew on it. The electronics all seem entirely fine and after 5 minutes sat in the sun the tube was dry inside and out.

Hadn't considered intermittent heating but it does sound like a good way to help protect against this stuff. I have a plastic cover on the back of my OTA to protect from stray light and I was thinking about putting in some silica gel between the mirror back and the cover, but the heater would be neater. I haven't got permanent power outside just yet (I keep holding off for the "proper" solution of an observatory with a dehumidifier) so a battery/solar would be my only option (unless I go sort that); might have a think about a sensible way to control some heater strips based on measured RH and temperature...

Seems like you and I are both in the same boat mate apart from the fact that I do not intend to leave the mount under covers for more than 2 - 3 days if that. 

Sounds like I will have to look in to getting a socket put in then... Ugh! When will I stop spending money, is there an end? 🤣

Again like I said, I do not have means to keep it powered on 24/7 unless I put in a weatherproof power socket in there for which I will have to dig. For now will have to work with my situation and running dew straps does not work for me

Hi All, 

I have a pier in the garden and have recently bought a TG 365 cover. It's a bit OTT purchase because I do not plan om leaving my kit out under the cover all year around, well not even a week... The mount head at least will be under the TG 365 cover for 2 - 3 days at max. The scope will only stay under it during the day and if only it's clear at night but the scope and camera will come back inside after each session leaving the mount out (again if it's clear the next day/night). 

I have a question regarding condensation control. What is a sensible a good solution to keeping the condensation/moisture under the covers? I do not have power socket around the pier so I always have to reel out the power plugs. 

I want the solution to be cost effective and reliable but needs to be practical as well for the above situation. 

I know there is a dog blanket solution but how do I keep it powered on? I don't have a battery to keep it powered. Then there are wardrobe dehumidifiers... Never worked with one so not sure about how good would they be for outside. 

Any suggestions? 

Thanks in advance. 

36 minutes ago, Uranium235 said:

I guess if its just for the heater, you could try a lithium pack with a 12v output, maybe something like this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TalentCell-Rechargeable-6000mAh-1a4XT9/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=12v+power+bank&qid=1581114689&sr=8-7

 

Sorry mate the link doesn't work. 

2 hours ago, knobby said:

Cheers Ahmed, I have one for the mount / camera and another (slightly less impressive looking) one for the dew heaters. Could have probably got a bigger battery but I like the idea of light weight kit since I damaged my shoulder , also prefer having separate supply for the draining dew heaters. 

I couldn't agree more Gary but then you can always have a larger battery and have it on wheels. I've seen quite a few people do that too. Just another idea I suppose. 

That looks super impressive matey. Love how you incorporated this in a briefcase.... Genius!!! 

You really can not fault the brilliant service from @FLO. Ordered a TG 365 cover just before midday yesterday and it arrived at my door step in less than 24hrs. How good is that! Thank you @FLO.

Since it's a 365 cover, I hope it does not contain clouds because the whole point of this cover is meant to keep the clouds and subsequent rain "Out" of it

53 minutes ago, FLO said:

A replacement telescope was dispatched to Adam some time ago. We are assuming no news is good news... 🙂 

Steve 

Ah awesome! I can never fault FLO's customer service but just wondered what was the cause of these stars and what had fixed them but a replacement scope and no news means Adam is happy

@Adam J any updates on this mate? Would love to know if your issue got resolved.

26 minutes ago, carastro said:

I saw Ahmed (souls), Mo (Marmo), Lorenzo, Apophis and a number of other Astro chums, but unfortunately no-one else from SGL.  Didn't seem to crowded this year, I guess some people are going to other shows.

Carole 

I was lovely to see and chat with you as always Carole. Good seeing you Marmo and Apophis... Hopefully you'll see my mug more often once I have this car thingy sorted out

Throughout the day I was found at the ikarus stand and it was lovely to chat with Rob, Grant and Ray. Best nerd out ever!

Did anyone see how cute and impressive the new Rainbow Astro RST-135 mount was? Super light weight, slightly pricey for an average guy like me but that didn't stop me from dreaming and dribbling all over it (if FLO decides to put this mount on their "Offer" page and if the lucky owner sees some marks on the mount, yes these are my dribbles) Gawd! It was gorgeous and equally impressive was the StellaMira scopes. Very well machined, beautiful glass and tbh who doesn't like Red & Black combo. 

I agree with Carole and also since I gave the last few years a miss, I really did notice that the herd was not as massive as it used to be. Also i did go there with the intention on buying something which wouldn't take a massive hit on the wallet but didn't know what. In the end didn't feel like it was worth opening up my wallet. 

6 minutes ago, carastro said:

Probably about 10.30.

Carole 

Perfect, will find you... Unless you find me first

Will be there tomorrow. Aiming for around 10am. Coming to meet up some names from here and also a few mates off SGL (Facebook). 

@carastrowhat time you coming?