Brian28

Hi Alan , I can’t comment on if it will fit or not , but I can always make parts fit if needed .. as I’ve got the workshop ..👍

just Pm me if you need anything ..  

Brian 

30 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Hi Brian,

365 is 365 Astronomy and ENS is ENS OPtical, both have branded covers.
Be interested to see the pier when done.
You hit me as very brave to leave a Mesu mount out inside a bag, why not a push away small housing or similar?

 

Hi Alan , this will be smack bang in the middle of my garden , which isn’t very big and  any structure will be imposing , whereas a bagged pier and mount will be a lot less  .. from the other posts I’ve got some good ideas to keep the damp at bay..  so I’m confident now the mount will be ok .. though if I do find I have an issue , it will be removed faster than you can imagine 💥

2 hours ago, Jkulin said:

Hi Brian,

I leave my Mount, scope, camera, filters, in fact everything outside under a 365 and an ENS cover and have done with all my equipment since getting a permanganate pier, I'm up and running in 5 mins. I tend to regularly check the PA as taking the covers on and off gives me a small concern with accuracy, but that's it, I leave plenty of room underneath so that everything can breath: -

 

Hi John ,  what’s a 365 & ENS cover ? .... 

I am hoping to leave the mount outside , and after reading the comments received so far that all seems doable with out detrimental effect to the equipment .. I will leave the scopes set up if there are periods of clear skies forecast , otherwise I will remove and store back in my workshop ..  

1 hour ago, Carbon Brush said:

Very good advice from the above posts.

One thing missed (by us scope enthusiasts) is the appearance.
There are certain non-astro folks who don't want a stick with a bag on top in the middle of the garden!😒

Somewhere (I don't remember where) a few years back I saw a fibre glass ornamental dovecote used to cover a mount.
I think it had been hacksawed in half and a weather seal on the joint.
It made it easy to lift off or replace each night.

If you don't want a dovecote, then I'm sure you could fit an ex children's playground cartoon figure or whatever🤔

David.

I’ll live with a bag ..  and so will the wife ! ✊️

Believe me I will go “belt and braces” desiccant units , heater blankets, and covers ..  ✊️

9 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Brian,

Thanks to a shoulder injury, I have not used this mount and refractor since last August and certainly the cover has not come off since probably November. I have just today removed it for a check, there is a slight feeling of dampness/coldness, but there usually is. I flicked the switch and it powered up immediately, and worked fine.

Thanks Steve 

Thanks Guys , all very interesting with some good ideas .. .I think I will definitely run a permanent power supply to the pier as well , sounds like it could be useful even when the scopes are not in use ! 😉 

Ok that sounds interesting as well .. 👍

where do these desiccant packs come from may I ask ?    
 

cheers Brian

Thanks Steve .. Is the mount damp when you remove the cover ? 

I’m going to install a pier in my garden , as my garden is too small to set up an obsy .. 

So I’m just wondering what others do or suggest in regards of covering the mount when not in use ..  

I will be installing a MESU200 on the pier , but will I need to remove it when not in use , or can I wrap it up .. my concerns are the damp

Obviously.. .....  I will be removing the scopes if not being used for a few days 
 

any thoughts or suggestions appreciated..   

Brian 

Thanks Alan ...   you must have clear skies then .. no such luck here now .. 😢

Re worked versions of the data collected over last weekend ..  

both versions are from the Same Ha and OIII subs . 

the Hubble pallet was mapped  OIII - Ha -OIII. And the other version Ha -OIII - OIII 

processed in APP , PS and LR ..   and yes I added some star spikes 🤗

As per my last post (IC410) , I this was the first session under some clear skies for months .  I had gathered enough subs for IC410  and it was getting late so I decided to try and capture Thor’s Helmet , it’s very low in the sky and as such skims the tree line in my garden , Sirius was visible so I was pretty sure I could get it , but not sure how the light pollution would effect it .. I would be aiming South across the Thames into Kent .. and you can see the light pollution halo ..   

 I wanted to shoot Ha and OIII but ran out of time due to its rotation and the bungalow next door 😤(suppose it could be worse,could be a house ! ) .

and now the clouds are back for the foreseeable short term I will carry on when skies allow .. 

this is 6 x 600 sec subs  so 1 hours worth of 3nm Ha .. 

Hi John , it wasn’t quite as good as it was meant to be here  , stopped a few times due to cloud .. but somethings better than nothing ..

glad you like it .. 😊 

Saturday , Sunday and Monday were the first nights Imaging since beginning of November last year .. 

managed Just over 9 hours of Ha and OIII subs 

processed in APP ,PS & LR .. as  OIII - Ha - OIII   
 

looks like the clouds are back so I will play with the subs over the coming weeks .. 

yes I added some star spikes .. 😉

cracking shot !

Thanks for the replies ..just for clarity  ..it’s not the bolts to hold the pier down .. there will be 4 of those 👍 , these are for the levelling plate on the top of the mount.. 

I’m constructing a pier for a Mesu200 Mount ..   but wondered how many bolts should I use for the top levelling plate ..  3 or 4 , and what size studding should I use .. ? 
 

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.. 
 

cheers Brian 

The other thing of course is human nature !  ..I would say get the best you can afford , everyone I spoke to before I brought my scopes told me a triplet was the way to go , and I can’t complaint with my 130 ..

So here is where the human nature comes into it...... if you buy a Dublet will you always be thinking IS the triplet better ! 🤔

if your not that sort of person it doesn’t matter ,  but  most of us are 🤗

anyway whatever you decide , I’m sure YOU will get the best out of it ! ....  

regards Brian 

2 hours ago, Hughsie said:

Thanks Brian.

Might be able to sneak out for 2 hours on Friday before it clouds over just to finish off the testing.

Appreciate your comments and always enjoy your images.

John

Thanks John .. Not sure I will set my gear up outside for a possible 2 hours , but will keep an eye on the weather just in case the window widens . As for testing .. I have my gear basically set up in my workshop , and I fire it all up now and again just to check everything is still working .. I have turned off automatic updates on my laptops as I found this did cause connection issues with drivers etc , which is a real pain .. 

let’s hope for some clear skies soon ..   Brian 

Hi John , nice image .. I’m down in south Essex and like you have been hampered with the weather.. and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better ..  ☹️
 

Again , nice image though ..  Brian 

Thanks for the info , not too sure as to equipment , may be a TEC140 scope ..but not decided as yet ,also looking at Observatories..

Ok that sounds promising ..👍

Not sure if this is in the right area , but I’ve seen an equipment supplier on line and I was wondering if anyone had any experience of them ? 
www_astrograph_net

apologies if this is in the wrong section ..  

1 hour ago, vlaiv said:

I would go for all mirror design. In fact I have 8" RC and I'm happy with it.

Collimation is not such a big issue (at least it was not for me). I collimated my scope in about 10-15 minutes. It was made easy by use of CMOS camera - my imaging camera is CMOS and has fast download times, in fact you can have live image on computer from it (high fps, fast download). This and software that has focusing aid - star FWHM measurement was all it took for quick collimation.

I'm not sure why you say that RC has larger stars. There will be spikes, but I don't think it will produce larger stars.

Hi Vlaiv , how do you find the cleanliness of the mirror on the RC ?