RayD

Superb idea, Tim. Thanks for that. You know I need to check my Baader one as looking at this I have a feeling I may be able to do this with that one! Cheers

I bet, John. I love Willow trees, amongst my favourite. As you say, not too bad with them trimmed, the light is more of an issue, so if they block that, it's a bonus. Like your idea of the octagonal shed, could look lovely.

That's correct, Tim. An unfortunate down side. You can have some control with the positioning by adding delrins between the adaptor and the draw tube if you find the focuser fouling your mount. I use a long dovetail with a weight at the front, so my focuser is clear of the mount.

That's pretty restricting, John. Mind you, as you planted the Willows I don't suppose you can complain

Coupled with your light pollution no wonder you like going to Cairds, Carole!

Looks great. That looks like a Velleman board? I use a couple of these with the Lesvedome driver on my roof and can't fault them.

As with all things in this hobby it isn't black and white Ventilation serves more than one purpose and, if you are planning to sit in the mostly sealed warm room for long periods, it is a good idea to add a small amount of ventilation to mitigate the inevitable rise in CO2 levels. If it is well insulated and has a breathable vapour barrier, as I think yours does, then condensation shouldn't be an issue at all as the cool moist air from the outside will condense on the vapour barrier, that's what it's for. In the scope room area ventilation is fine, but it definitely isn't the panacea of condensation control; your location also needs to be considered. If you live in a pretty damp area (high levels of rainfall) or close to the sea for example, you will often have quite damp air. When the outside Rh is high, such as on a misty day with low clouds, then the moisture is in the air air and this moisture doesn't stop at a vent. This is precisely why barn find classic cars still rust, even in well ventilated barns, as the damp is in the air. Victoria tells me she knows when Rh levels are high as her hair "gets big" Unfortunately it isn't only condensation we are fighting. Personally I want my warm room to be warm (clue is in the name ), so have a panel heater on a stat and a small, high level, sliding panel vent which I can open when I am in there and close when I'm finished. The gaps under the doors are sufficient low level in a room of this size with limited occupancy. There is only a small amount of heat loss through the vent, so it really isn't noticeable. My scope room is insulated, but I also have a dehumidifier to help remove the moisture following an imaging session and to keep the Rh at a level that I choose (this is 50% for me). It doesn't come on much, but when it is a damp and misty day, with high external Rh it does come on. Your kit is very expensive, buying and running a dehumidifier, in comparison, isn't.

Absolutely spot on advice from Olly as always. Can't add a thing to it that wouldn't just be opinion and add confusion.

Like Carole I usually do mine of a night time in my observatory with the lights off and roof closed. Do you have a shed or similar with power where you can leave the camera out in the dark but with the fan unobstructed? The fan needs to draw the cool air in for the peltier to work, so maybe even cut a small hole in your box directly behind the fan inlet to allow the flow of cooler air? Good warning to others thinking of the same thing and glad it didn't end in disaster, as could have been the case.

They were generally discussing how it is possible, rather than any specific techniques. Naturally they were using LP filters etc. but still managing to image M33.

He spent some time out with the Baker Street Irregulars looking at how it is still possible to enjoy astronomy from central London. Was good.

Just to close this off, Filippo was good to his word and did indeed give me a set of the modification wedges so I have made a short update video just showing what the kit consists of and how it fits on the rings. It is nothing more than we were suggesting, but they have made the mod look nice and it all works a treat, so far play to PLL for listening and fixing the issue.

Yours and mine both, Mark!!

More than happy to do it, Steve. It's fundamentally very similar to the Eagle 2, which I have used extensively, so would make a great combination to review with the RedCat on my SA.

I'm not sure even FLO would run to that one, Anne, but the combination is bordering on mouth watering