George Gearless

I finished my obsy mid last summer. A lot of people here gave good guidance as to how big (or small) moisture in the obsy would be a problem. Computer wise. I considered a lot of options, ranging from installing heat in the whole observatory to doing nothing at all. But I think I've found a good (cheap) middle ground solution. It is basically what I can best describe as a piano lid, with a terrarium heat plate on the inside. The heater is 10W and runs 24/7. I could put a timer on it, but I've calculated the yearly cost to be around €35. So it runs around the clock. The 'lid' also serves as an excellent dew shield, protecting the computer and screen, during 'operations'. Once my session is done, I simply turn of the computer, close the lid, and it's nice and warm in it's own little apartment in the observatory. I planned to coat the inside with insulation material, but haven't quite gotten around to doing it yet. It's been operating over the fall and now winter, with no issues. So I might not do it at all. Here are some pictures. You might note that my desk is rather slim. This is to ensure moving space around the telescope which is on the left (you can't see the mount on the pictures). Lid closed: Heating plate for terrarium (230v/10W): Lid open. Perfect dew shield:

True. Why change what works. Your mini PC makes sense now. Couldn't quite grasp why it was there :). The thing is; money is a huge object right now. Upon showing my wife the last receipt for the yoga mat floors I've put down in my increasingly expensive obsy, I had to seek refuge behind the couch and throw small pieces of chocolate out to her, until she'd calmed down. I'm more likely to survive the purchase of a 5 socket USB hub with extra long cord, than buying even a well used minicomputer. And if it works, I'm good. Still going to give Ekos a few more tries (after appropriate updates and google searches). But right now NINA's looking pretty good.

Good point about the mobility. I have access to a summerhouse on an island, Bortle 2 class. I go once or twice a year in the winter. It could be an issue. Duly noted, with thanks.

I'm in the fortunate situation that I've recently finished my home observatory. So no more running in and out for me (well, less than before, anyway). It was in fact during one of my dry runs in my new surroundings, that I revisited the frustrations of Ekos freezing the image download. This might be a stupid question, but couldn't I just run NINA on the stationary PC in my obsy? Could I run the relevant USB connected hardware (Mount, primary camera, guide camera and focuser) through a USB hub that I could extend to the PC? Both you and Scotty38 mention a mini PC, but the reason for this eludes me. Could you elaborate? George.

Hi software wizards. I've only ever used Stellarmate and Ekos to operate my gear. And until recently, I've only ever used WiFi to connect between my gear and my PC (on which I ran Kstars/Ekos). But now I have a permanent setup with ethernet connection from Stellarmate to my PC. I'm still having occasional crashes of Kstars, and also still having problems with the downloading of image freezing up. I had previously ascribed this issue to WiFi connection issues. But since I'm now using a direct cable, that explanation won't suffice anymore. The problem isn't consistent. Sometimes it freezes when downloading from my primary camera. And sometimes it's from my guide camera. Rebooting Ekos and reconnecting seems to be the only remedy. And sometimes that doesn't work either so I just give up. This is an unsatisfactory way of working. So, I've been looking around for an alternative. NINA looks like it pretty much does what Ekos does, and is reportedly more stable. So I'm considering it. But oooh do I have questions :). Granted, I could just read the online NINA manual. But in the interest of time (more specifically, my time), I have it boiled down to only a few questions that I hope you guys can answer with only minimal effort. 1. Can I utilize my current setup with Stellarmate to communicate with my PC using the ethernet cable? Or are we talking new hardware (sockets, USB hubs, routers, the lot) to be able to use NINA? 2. To your knowledge, are there features/operations/utilities that Ekos has, that NINA just doesn't. And that you wish it did? 3. I'm a big fan of the plate solving function in Ekos. It works quick and flawlessly. I'm aware that NINA also has plate solving. But I'm worried about some older posts I've read that report several problems and workarounds needed to get it working properly. Have these issues been resolved and do you find it "quick and easy" to plate solve with NINA? I'm still searching the web for solving my image download freeze problem in Ekos, and also hoping that stability issues might have been addressed in the most recent update. But in case neither issue can be resolved (permanently), I'm starting to look for alternatives. With the above questions in mind, do you think NINA would be a contender? George

After Stuarts comment, I've been rethinking my heating 'strategy', and concur that local heating is the way to go. With this in mind, the power required to achieve this, is a minor financial burden. So the wind turbine is on the backburner for now. Because on top of the purchase of the windmill itself, I'll need a deep cycle battery of an appropriate capacity, which only increases the installation cost. For this installation cost, I could run a small localized heating device from the grid for several years before breaking even. I think the 600W is only what the turbine theoretically is capable of supplying. So I too would be surprised if it gave that much in practice. Still, I'm not yet ready to let the idea go. This particular product seems to be very much a "plug'n play" kind of thing. It's got a built in controller as well. So all you'd need to do is connect the controller to the battery, and the heater/ventilator/whatever to the load out terminals. It seems to have skipped all the technical stumbling blocks that would normally make me hesitant to entertain the idea of such a thing. I'll be sure to post about it, if at some point I do go for it.

I've just finished my self-built obsy. And I've been trying to figure out how to best avoid damp and moisture in the relatively un-insulated building (by it's design, the roll off roof leaves some openings to the outside). Needless to say, installing a 4KW electric heater, would cost me a fortune during the winter months. In any case, the goal is not to heat it up to a pleasant room temperature. The goal is to keep it a few degrees warmer on the inside than on the outside. So I found this car heater that operates on 12v DC, 150W. It's designed to de-ice your windshield by heating up the cabin, before you start the engine. So it's car battery operated. Ok, so far so good. During winter, it is going to require some pretty large solar panels, to keep a deep cycle battery charged enough to run the heater. There simply isn't enough light hours. But there's often wind. So I found this 600w wind turbine. It has a current and voltage modulator built in, so you can attach it directly to a 12v car battery. 600W is ofcourse peak performance. But it's still going to deliver a lot more power than even a large solar panel. Especially in the winter time. Basically, I'm thinking of letting it run 24/7. Yes, there will be days where there is not enough wind to charge the battery. But those days that there are, I'll be protecting the interior of the obsy. Free of charge (apart from instalment costs). Does anyone have experience with this? And even if you haven't; what's your take on this idea? Feasible? Impossible? Pointless? George

I've just finished building my observatory. I used a pent roof, roll off design. I had some trouble with the roof bending downwards in the middle. This was due to four factors: 1. The roof is 3x3m as is the observatory it covers. It's quite a stretch using wooden beams. Either use VERY sturdy and thick ones, or use many. 2. The wooden boards (that make the actual roof) onto which I've nailed the bitumen shingles, were extraordinarily heavy. The aforementioned beams can carry them, yes. But the strain is far greater than I had anticipated. Add to that, the bitumen shingles. Or whatever you choose to finish the roof off with. 3. I was (too) worried about the roof being to heavy and that I wouldn't be able to move it easily. So I deliberately chose some slimmer beams to support the roof, than I might otherwise ideally have chosen. 4. The inclination was initially too small. Because of the low inclination, the middle of the roof sagged down below the lowest part of the roof where the water was supposed to run off. Instead it ran down the first row of shingles, and settled in the middle of the roof, where it proceeded to run under the second row and into the observatory. I've managed to remedy the situation. But I've re-laid my roof 2 times now, before the problem was solved. Good luck with your build.

Did a final update/edit on OP.

Just edited my OP for update.

After having viewed a ton of youtube videos, many of which have been found by way of this forum, I've finally decided to make an observatory for myself. I'll be working on it on and off over the summer, my work schedule and wheather permitting. So it's not going to be one of those "look what I built over the weeked". But I do plan for it to be up and running before the dark 'season'. And hopefully quite a bit before that. Anyway, here's my meager progress so far. This is the corner of my garden where I'm going to place it. As you can see there's already a small terrase. Unfortunately it is so unevenly laid (or just old and sunken) that I could not build directly upon it. It's going to be a 3x3m roll off observatory. So one concrete sunken pillar in each corner, and one in the middle of each side. The floor is going to be raised 10cm from the stones, because water usually gathers here since it's the lowest part of the garden. Here, they're all snugly planted and I've also dug the foundation for the pier. The foundation is 50x50x50 cm. (approx). At the top left of the picture, you can see one of the 8 concrete pillars that I dug in as foundation for the observatory structure itself. It's adjustable, which makes it very easy to level once I start actually building. The all important mountholder. I've used two breakdisks (RIDEX 82B0037) where the center hole fits precisely and snugly around the base of my Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro. It took me quite a while to find the disks that had the dimensions I needed. So if you're looking too, here's a link to the disks. It's a perfect fit. I did need to get four holes (ø14) drilled in each of them, for the m12 rods to go through. I had a local blacksmith do it for me. The steel is hard as you wouldn't believe, so I figured I'd just wreck 4 or 5 drill bits before getting through with a handheld drill. I used two cut off rebars to act as counter for when I fasten the mount. It looks like they're welded on, but they're actually glued with two-component glue. My father has a hobby welder and it melted the rebars just fine, but hardly made a dent in the thick disks. Since it's not going to bear any stress sideways, but only needs to be kept in place while tightening the tensioning nut, glueing it made for the most practical solution. I placed this 25cm cardboard on top of the rebar frame (actually, one and a bit. One was not long enough). Filled the hole with concrete and then the tube. Sunk the squidlike mount into the concrete, and two days later...voila. I npw have a "working" pier to do sun observations from :). Next, I'll be laying down the frame of the building and the floor. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I have some building time again. I can fix an outlet in the house, and rotate the tyres of my car without too much fuss. But beond that, I haven't done much DIY. So as small as this 'shed' may seem to you, it's quite a big undertaking on my part. Fortunately, I'm not under serous time pressure. I have all summer. But it is soooo satisfying seeing it take form. Not to mention it is going to be so much easier making time for my favourite passtime on clear winter nights. Will update. --------------------------------------------------------------------------Update 19-06-2023------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Update 19-06-2023 My summer holiday started a few days ago, so now I've been able to kick this building thing into gear. I'm fortunate to have the assistance of my 80 year old dad, who dispite his formal education as a math and physics teacher, has undertaken many a building project in his time. His advice and help has been invaluable. Here are some picture updates: Laying the foundation planks took a lot longer than anticipated. I relaid them twice! My dad insisted that it was laid down to perfection. Not just a mules hair off complete level would satisfy him. As he explained, and this is sound advice for all, if you make even the slightest compromise on the foundation, that small error will be multiplied many times as you progress. While I was perfectly willing to accept a few discrepancies here and there, my dad stuck to his guns and insisted on nothing less than perfection. My dad's a smart guy. Same build-time, different angle to give an indication of the size. It's 3x3 meters, outside measurement. It's starting to look like a building. I deliberated long and hard on whether to structually support the diagonal with planks. The building isn't going to have a roof that will give any structual support and give rigidity. The steel bands on the diagonal is a good way to give the structure the support it needs to not collaps and fold sideways. It's quick and easy to fit, and realy doesn't take any measurement. Just roughly place them at the diagonal and tighten them with a pair of pliers. It renders the structure completely rigid and sturdy. I was fortunate enough that the pier happened to be situated in the middle of one of the floor boards. It would have been a nightmare to trim 4 different boards to make a complete cirkel. Or even just two. But as it was, a screw, a piece of string tied to a pencil, and you have a (almost) perfect circle to saw out. I was terribly pleased with how it turned out. When my dad inspected it, he nodded in brief acknowledgment, and then proceeded to critique the one misaligned floorboard *sigh*. I love that guy :). Here's a wider shot of the floor halfway done. Floor all done, and the clouds started rolling in, pregnant with rain. So I had to quickly cover it with a tarpaulin, because the floorboards haven't been treated yet. I'll most likely just fit some linolium floor on them when I'm done. Again with the assistance of my dad, I managed to get the door fitted also before it started pouring. My home observatory is starting to look the part :). Will update soon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Update 16-07-2023------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Finished! Well, pretty much The outer shell of my observatory is finished. I still have quite a bit of interior 'decorating' to do. But by and large, my building project is finished. But not without hitting a rather large snag. The roof leaked. A lot. The reason was that I'd used too light timber to make the frame light, and the wooden boards were so heavy, that the beams supporting the roof, bent down like the belly of a pig. This meant that the lowest part of the roof was actually in the middle of the roof. Not great. This is precisely where the bitumen shingles overlap, and so the water ran back underneath the top shingle, and onto the wooden boards. And subsequently, down into the observatory. There really wasn't anything else to do about it, but to remove the shingles the wooden boards, and raise the one side of the roof even more to achieve the declination/inclination needed. It was a whole days worth of work. And a whole day of swearing and cursing my own stupidity. Painted the whole thing with a wood-protecting coat of oil-based black paint. The inside as well, to give at least some protection against falling dew. I had initially only planned for the observatory to be a "shed to cover my pier and telescope". Nothing more. But the size has pleasantly surprised me. I have way more room than I thought I'd have. When I planned the first steps, I envisioned myself walking around the telescope, looking in various directions. I am used to stepping over and walking around my fully extended tripod. And this takes a lot of floor room. Using a pier, I realize that a lot of this space can now be used. The observatory is 2,86X2,86m (inner measurement). So my initial plan to only have a small shelf in the corner for my laptop, is now exchanged with a full (albeit slim) desk with permanent flat-screen and my older stationary computer. It's probably something I'll make out of the left over boards from the build. And here it is (sorry about the mess). Roof to the side, and door is open. You can juuust see the white dew-shield at the top of my telescope And from the inside: I'm putting down a floor of interlinking yoga mats, for a pleasant stand during long observation sessions. The picture doesn't do it's size justice. But I hope you get the idea. As you can see, there's a smudge of black paint on the cardboard tube in which the steel enforced concrete is. I've since learned that the tube is not only cardboard, but contains a plastic membrane to keep it watertight while the concrete is curing. I'm still debating if I should just paint it and let it be. Or strip the cardboard off, and live with the not so pleasing looking bare concrete. The smudge of black pain is just a test to see how well the paint stuck. So, for all intents and purposes, I can now do in my observatory, what I previously had to do on a tripod on the terrasse. But there are still many things that I will be doing to the inside over the next months, to make my observation and photography sessions even more comfortable and pleasurable. Power, PC desk, decorations, watertight equipment boxes, shelves and so on. But I can now reasonably say that I have my own observatory. Can hardly wait for winter :). George.

Ok. Thanks for your replies. I have to admit that looking at you and Budgie1's observatories stirs ambiguous feelings in me. On the one hand, I'm getting a feeling of trepidation because it's such a vast undertaking (for me). Sure, I can rotate the tires on my car and do small electrical jobs around the house and such. But to build a roll off roof observatory from scratch, is beyond anything I've ever done before. On the other hand, I'm also exited at the prospect of just having to unfasten a few clamps, roll off the roof, and start 'shooting stars'. That's the dream. I'll be following your build thread for sure. It's looking great so far and only ignites my enthusiasm over the project even more. Despite my trepidaton .

I'm thinking along the lines of what Budgie1 has done (roll off roof, self build). I'm not sure I can match his building skill. But that's where I'm heading. So if I've understood you correctly, you do intend to keep the observatory heated (above dew point, that is)? This is where my problem lies. If I am going to heat it, I'm going to have to insulate it vigorously. I'm also going to have to make it as airtight as possible. All of this increases the cost. It also makes me worry about the powercosts over the winter.

I'm looking at a simillar build of observatory. Although, I've "invented" a lever system for the roll off roof, so that when it closes it rests firmly on top of the wall frames, thus eliminating the gap. I thought it would be desirable to have the build as airtight as possible to protect equipment from the outside. Now, with the responses I've gotten so far, I'm not so sure anymore. Your observatory looks absolutely amazing. This is what I picture inside of my head, when I think about my project. Mine might be a bit larger when finished, because I plan to build it in the corner of the garden where there is a natural 3X3 meter stone terrase. But basically, it's the same idea. Thankyou for your helpful response. Gave me something to think about.

Well, you really can't beat practical experience. Which was why I posted my question here :). I'd just like to make sure that I'm on the same page as you: I plan to have an older laptop, my Stellarmate, cameras and other electronic equipment, fitted and 'ready to go' at the roll of a roof. You have had no issues with simillar equipment?

Hey guys. I'm in the (very) early stages of planning my very own home observatory. I've got loads of questions, but particularly one is very important for my further planning. Heating and/or dehumidifying. Do you heat and/or dehumidify your observatory? If you do heat it, by what means do you do it? Is dehumidifying your observatory enough to protect electronic equipment and optics, or is heating required if you live in a place where the temperature regularly drops below zero in the winter (I live in Denmark)? I'd be interested to hear from people who live in a similar climate on how you've solved this problem.

Wow! This was very helpful. Thankyou so much. I guess I was expecting the same visual perception as when I was merely observing through my various eyepieces. I'm trying to figure out a way to fit my autofocuser on my Skywatcher mak. I'm sure that would be very beneficial in obtaining perfect focus. Focus is always important. But I'm sensing that it is even more so when photographing planets. Thanks again. George

Thanks for the response. I have a Omegon V-tec 533 Colour. My mak is the Skywatcher Skymax 180/2700 I've got a couple of seasons experience as a DS photographer. But as you can tell from my question, planetary photography is completely new to me. I've watched some U-tube videos and it was from them that I noticed that the live images in the video were much larger than what I got in mine. So I naturally assumed some sort of 'zoom' was applied. I tried 'zooming' digitally, but got no useful results. My 'logic' then dictated that I'd need to 'zoom' optically, just as I would when observing to see more details.

Hi Loungers. I've got a 180mm Mak that I've primarily used for observation. I've previously only done DS objects with my trusty ED80 refractor, but now I'd like to have a crack at some planets. The problem is that when I place my camera directly in/at the bottom of the Mak, Jupiter turns up like a small speck of light that I don't think will produce any useful photographs. It's ok for the moon. But I need magnification for the planets. What adapter do I need so that I can utilize the eyepieces that I already have? I've got a 25,20, and a 10 mm eyepieces. I've browsed around on my usual vendors webpage, but can't find my way through the multitude of adapters. Can anyone help me pinpoint what it is I need?

From the datasheets the EQ5 (23,4 kg total) is heavier than the EQM (17,5 kg total). I'll let you decide if it's much or negligable difference. To be honest, carrying the scope attached to the mount and tripod is probably not a good idea for more than a few meters. Although I'm sure you can carry a weight of say 25kg's, the weight distribution of scope, mount and tripod is going to be unmanageable. You're bound to break something during transport.

It was a little tight in the beginning which made balancing a little more tricky. But after one or two nights of use, it fazed out on its own without any intervention on my part. I ascribe it to possibly being on the shelf a bit too long before being sold to me. My theory is that the internal silicone lubricant was 'clumped up' during a long time on a shelf in a warehouse somewhere and needed a good vigerous exercise to be distributed evenly around the moving parts. I'm not expert, but that's my theory. My short answer would be 'no, I didn't have any problems'. In fact, feeling a bit guilty now as I'm writing this. It could propably use a good cleaning and relubrication. Even so, I never went above 2 arcsecs when guided (unless I'd completely messed up my polar alignment) and was usually running around 1 to 1½ arcsec in deviation. You just can't ask for more. 5 min exposures are a doddle. I'm sure it can go longer without trails, but I've just never had any reason to. Balancing, leveling and polar alignment is key here. If I may make one suggestion: Get a polar angle scope . Adjusting your mount while not-quite-standing and not-quite-crouching is a pain in your back. Literaly. If you're straining while adjusting the scope, you're tempted to go "oh, that's good enough" and kick yourself the rest of the evening when realizing it wasn't. From your setup picture I think I can see an ASIAIR. If I'm not mistaken it has a polar alignment function? In which case my suggestion is moot. Just thought I'd mention it.

I've used my EQM 35 Pro for quite a few years now and am extremely satisfied with its performance. However, a couple of months ago I upgraded to EQ6 because I had a wish to use bigger (heavier) telescopes. Not because I was dissatisfied with the EQM. The load capacity of the EQM is 10 kg's. This is the only limitation to this mount. It performs beautifully compared to my new EQ6. I usually used the EQM in combination with my Skywatcher ED80, DSLR, 50mm guidescope and a ZWO 120 miniguide scope. The closer you get to the 10kg mark, the more care you have to take with your polar alignment as well as star alignment and balancing. I did 'stress test' it with my 180 Maksutov which weighs in at 8 kg's (I think). It wasn't happy about it, but soldiered on none the less and allowed me some excellent planetary views. Tracking was spot on. But I doubt it would have kept alignment very well, had I done some star hopping in larger arcs. For your purposes, which includes mobility, I think the EQM is a good choice. You can do 5 min exposures easy peasy, when the target warrants it. Telescope wise, you still have a little bit of wiggle room, although not much. But it handled my ED80 flawlessly, even with all the bells and whistles (cameras, heatbands, guidescope, automatic focuser, Stellarmate with the weight of several connecting cables). For a 'serious' mount, that still has reasonable mobility, I can't really think of a better mount. Even as I've upgraded to the EQ6, I'm not getting rid of my trusty EQM workhorse. I still use it on occasion when I go to our summerhouse (really dark place). Transporting the EQ6 is do-able ofcourse. But it's soooo much easier with the EQM. And with smaller scopes, it's just as capable. My vote goes to the EQM. No doubts at all.

I've only every used my Mak 180 for observing. And I'm actualy quite pleased with it. I've done a few test runs for imaging, but I've found focusing to be very difficult. I already own a ZWO EAF which I use for my Skywatcher Evostar 80, and also very pleased with that. So, how to get those two to work together? I can't seem to find anything that is specifically designed for my Mak, but I found these brackets at FLO that were designed for Celestron C8/9 SCT's. They look like they're what I need, but I'm obviously worried about too much DIY to make it fit. I then found this video on youtube (Astrogadge) where the guy uses a Crayford focuser. But without the EAF. It made me wonder if I could get a Crayford focuser where my current brackets would fit on, and so circumvent the DIY on the Celestron brackets. Obviously, it would mean additional cost of the Crayford focuser. But according to Astrogadge, it's almost a must anyways. Any ideas or perhaps 'hands on experience' with this issue? George.

Ok, so I've checked up on the recommended stacking settings for ST and tried to do a re-run. Pretty big difference, I have to say. How to attain the pitch black bacground of space, still eludes me. I did try and crop, vigerously, to try and get the wipe function to work, and you were absolutely correct. Once I cropped out a significant amount of the picture, the wipe function did not mess things up as bad as previously. But still, I haven't quite gotten the hang of the function and need to work more on it. I'm convinced that this is key to getting the proper light. Incidently, I gave the glas plate in front of the camera a quick dust-off with a photography equipment brush, and it's all gone now. Was starting to bug the heck out of me. I'm perfectly aware that I still have a long way to go. But because of the help I've recieved here, the journey doesn't seem so long and daunting as it might otherwise have. So thankyou to everyone for the help and very helpful advice. While I don't consider this picture the 'final, end all, be all' result because there's still so much to learn, I'm sure you'd agree that a prettier picture of the Andromeda galaxy has never been taken .

You have very much achieved what prompted me to ask in the first place. Namely to get a darker background. I suspect the key to this is the 'wipe' function in Startools. A function that completely obliterates my pictures with strange lighting shapes. And by 'obliterates' I mean that you can hardly make out what the picture is supposed to be. I'll see if I can post a picture of it, so you can see what I mean. I am wondering why I am having this issue, when you are clearly not. A question probably more suited for an actual Startools forum. As Lee suggested above, I've tried fiddling around with my stacking settings. Specifically Kappa Sigma clipping. And it did indeed remove the satellite trail precisely as he predicted. But on top of that, I've found the stars to be, not only a bit tighter, but remarkably so. I'm at work at the moment, but will post a new picture when I get back home tonight. Thankyou very much for taking the time to work a bit with the picture. And also for your advice that is helping me pinpoint, at least some of, the problems.