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michaelmorris

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Everything posted by michaelmorris

  1. michaelmorris

    My new mount is off with my mate Chris at the moment. So, for the first time in years, there are no scopes in my observatory.  Chris is making a pier extension to raise the whole kit and caboddle by 15cm. Hoping to have it back within a fortnight.

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. michaelmorris

      michaelmorris

      No, not really!

      What have you bought?

    3. Mr niall

      Mr niall

      Bought an XT8 plus, very excited although will have to disguise it as a hat stand or something during the day....

    4. michaelmorris

      michaelmorris

      NIIIICE :icon_biggrin:

      " although will have to disguise it as a hat stand or something during the day....". What about the boat shed at work?

  2. michaelmorris
    You sussed me!
  3. michaelmorris
    Since first posting details of my new set up on the Blogstronomy blog I've been literally inundated by an e mail from a Mrs Trellis of North Wales. Mrs Trellis writes "Dear so-called Top Gear. When are we going to get that lovely Ginger person back on Gardeners' Question Time? P.S. Show us some pictures of your new mount, scope and camera." Who am I to disappoint my fan base?
  4. michaelmorris
    Following an inheritance, I've taken the decision to carry out a major upgrade of the set up in my observatory. Gone is my venerable Meade 8" LX200 and in has come a Skywatcher EQ8 mount carrying a 2nd hand C9.25 and my 80ED and my 66mm ED simultaneously. This is all held together using around 40,000 tonnes of ADM Losmandy dovetails and clamps. Added to this is an Atik 460EX Mono CCD camera + a ZWO 8 position filter wheel with a full set of Baader RGB and narrowband filters and I am one very happy bunny. Now comes the hard work. It's going take a LONG time and a lot of work to set this all up properly and to learn how to use it all. I've decided that I'm going to try really hard to spend at least 90% of observing/imaging time in 2017 just setting it up and getting to know how to use all this new stuff. I already seem to have spent an equivalent to the combined national debts of Greece and Spain on adaptors, rotating adaptors and spacers. Because I really haven't got enough to do already, I'm also taking the opportunity to switch over from PHD to PHD2, to build an Arduino-based focus controller, to learn how to use Sequence Generator Pro and to install a new 12v power supply in the observatory. Happy Days
  5. michaelmorris

    Another night of trialling out the new set up.  Back on the Jellyfish Nebula in Hydrogen Alpha.  Getting some nice 10 minute subs coming in, but the general murk has meant that I've lost three subs due to PHD2 losing the guide star.  I've now selected a new guide star and we're off again. :icon_biggrin:

  6. michaelmorris
    Nice idea. I'm looking forward to this.
  7. michaelmorris

    Just spent a lovely hour trying out my new-to-me C9.25 on my new EQ8 mount.  All I can say is WOW,  it is all such an improvement over my old 8" LX200. :icon_biggrin:

    This very happy bunny is off to bed now as I have work in the morning.

    1. Marky1973

      Marky1973

      Looking forward to getting mine out when the clouds go - all I've managed since it arrived on Wednesday is aligning the finder during the day and building a dew shield! Impressive and hefty beast though! :-)

  8. michaelmorris

    I've finally managed to get a hour or so of clear skies and (after a 3 or 4 false starts), I've finally got the marvellous SharpCap 'Polar Align' tool to get a rough polar alignment on the new mount. :icon_biggrin:

  9. michaelmorris

    The EQ8 is now installed on the observatory pier and the three scopes mounted and balanced. :icon_biggrin:

    I've spent a frustrating few hours trying to get the computer in the observatory to communicate with the mount via EQASCOM, but I eventually bent the damn computer to my will and the computer and mount are now chatting away merrily.

    The next task is polar alignment, but that relies on some clear skies and it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon. :sad:

    Once it is polar aligned, the next job is to work out how far I can actually view/image things before the observatory walls get in the way.  Once I have that sorted, I can then try to work out the optimum height for the mount.  This will be a compromise between -

    • minimising limitation of views by observatory walls
    • making sure the eyepiece position isn't too high to view comfortably
    • making sure the observatory roof will clear the scopes when it is opened and closed
    • minimising glare from surrounding street lights and so-called security lights

    My guess is that I'm going end up asking my mate Chris to build me a pier extension to raise the whole kit and caboodle (mount + counterweight + scopes = 1.34 solar masses) up by somewhere between 10 and 30 cm.

  10. michaelmorris
    Great piece of work. However, the results are a little depressing with Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all very low in the sky for the next few years. :-(
  11. michaelmorris

    Had a marvellous day at Astrofest on Friday.   It was great to bump into a few familiar faces (Hi to Steve, Grant, Owen and Callum).  Great talks including the inimitable Dr. Allan Chapman. 

    I also did a wonderful job of emptying my bank account by buying a ZWO 8 position filter wheel, an Atik 460EX and a Skywatcher EQ8! :-)

  12. michaelmorris
    Thanks. I can see no need at present for a switching via software. Eventually, I hope to convert all the focusers to stepper motor-based systems as part of a more automated set up. Because I plan to have a dual imaging rig, at that stage software-based switching would be desirable, but that is probably a year or two down the line.
  13. michaelmorris
    The hand box for the focuser is now starting to take shape and I'm now looking at the final configuration of the housing for the Arduino, power supply and motor driver board. The plan it to use the focus controller to operate either the the Meade Zero-image shift focuser on the back of the C9.25 or the Skywatcher Accufocuser on the refractor. The Meade focuser uses a mini jack whilst the Skywatcher uses an RJ11 plug. But how to wire this up? I presume the simplest way would be to simply wire the sockets for both focusers into the same pair of terminals. However, this creates a problem. I would like to be able to leave both focusers plugged in all the time. But, if I do this, sending a signal will surely operate both focusers simultaneously. So what I really need is a simple selector switch that diverts the signal to one of the two sockets. Does his sound logical? If this is a viable solution, is this the sort of switch I should be getting? http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/10a-toggle-switch-spdt-b-jk28f Thanks
  14. michaelmorris
    I've been mucking about with 'Fritzing' electrical design software ( http://fritzing.org/home/ ) to try to get my head around how I'm going to wire this all up. I've by no means mastered the software (I can find half the components I need), but I've put in some proxies and notes where I can't find what I'm after. Once the final components have arrived, my mate Dave has 'volunteered' to help with soldering it all up.
  15. michaelmorris
    Okay, wiring fault spotted. All now working as I would hope.
  16. michaelmorris
    I've got some pots, but accidentally ordered ones with switches (Doh!). I assume I just ignore the two pins at the back of the pot and just use the front three. Is this correct? Playing with the system, they don't seem to make a vast difference to the motor speed, it varies between almost stationary and slow. The movement of the focuser motor is a bit jerky with the pots connected. Would getting pots without a switch give a me greater number of degrees of rotation and would this give a greater range of speeds? Thanks
  17. michaelmorris
    I'm now investigating the best way for me to physically mount all this electronics hardware. For me, I think the best set up might be to put the Arduino and driver board in one box attached to the mount head. This would include connections for 12v power, USB and the control/power cables going to focuser motors. Connected to this would be a separate small box used as a hand controller. This would include potentiometers and momentary switches, along with related resistors. Hopefully, this hand controller could be re-used when I eventually upgrade to stepper motors and a stepper motor control board (using MyFocuserPro2). Does this sound sensible? If the above is a feasible idea, I would need at least five wires between the hand controller and the Arduino in the main box (5v, ground and three signal cables). I assume this could be best achieved by using a single multicore cable between the hand controller and the main box. I would propose using a DE9 (RS232-type) connector to attach the hand controller to the main box. Is this the best option? If yes, can anyone recommend the most suitable multi-core cable for this connection lead? Thanks
  18. michaelmorris
    That's a well thought out budget project, that seems to have produced excellent results. A good low cost upgrade might be to use APT software to control the camera.
  19. michaelmorris
    Thanks again.
  20. michaelmorris
    Are the R10 and R11 resistors shown in the myDCfocuser guide the potentiometers for manually altering the pulse interval and length? If yes, will cheap 10kohm potentiometers from Ebay do, or is there a specific type or make I should be looking to get or avoid? Thanks
  21. michaelmorris
    I've just order a small 9 x 20 Vero stripboard for producing the permanent circuit for the buttons.
  22. michaelmorris
    Thanks for the tip.
  23. michaelmorris
    The resistors arrived yesterday. I followed Robert's excellent and clear step by step (i.e. idiot proof) instructions and wired it all up using patch cables and a breadboard. And for the moment of truth ... It works!!!!!! Thanks Robert, you are a true hero! Next to arrive is the 12v to 9v thingy, then put it all in a box.
  24. michaelmorris
    Thanks for the link. I wish you well with your project.
  25. michaelmorris
    Thanks ?
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