fifeskies

Yes I used a pier and set the height so that my scope can peek over the side walls (all but the last 5 degrees or so of horizon anyway) Altair Astro pier sits on a concrete block base with cemented in screwed rod for fixing the pier down. The side walls help guiding by keeping a lot of the wind away , not really an issue with my refractors but for my big Newt it helps a lot. With the Newt I do need a small step to use eyepiece at high elevation but I got a nice lightweight plastic one. A pier for my NEQ6pro gives me a lot more space and I no longer trip over the tripod legs in the dark.

I got this message before Turned out I had accidently included a single jpeg along with my CR2 "raw" files for stacking, easy to miss one when there are a big set of lights.

All 3 of my current scopes were bought 2nd hand , (the bigger 2 on here). All 3 have proved to be excellent and allowed me to get a higher quality instrument that I could have afforded to buy new. Buying from long time members is a fairly safe bet , though of course you want to inspect at purchase point. I have only bought smaller gear by post/courier, for a big item like a scope you probably want to look it over first , but not easy under the current COVID issue. (or agree a return policy with the seller for remote purchase)

I modified my roofline to have a low angle pent roof over the warm room and a flat roof over the scope room side (by raising the scope roof slightly) Only possible if you can raise the roof and still satisfy everyone with an interest in the design.... 🙄 Used lightweight rubber slates on the slope. Made it easy to manage the roll off track and fit a seal. (I modified an existing block built outhouse , but principle works the same for a wooden shed)

You mention a wall "down the middle". I would make the scope side the bigger side , make it square and use what is left for your warm room. Ie 6 x 6 for your astronomy gear and 6 x 4 for the warm room. The rail carrying the roof can extend on a bracket over the short side as the roof will need space to roll away fully , but 2/3 will sit above the warm room so should carry the weight easily. You never know, if you buy a bigger scope one day you might need the turning circle of a 6 x 6 space. ( HA HA HA ........IF !!!! )

My ROR section rolls off on rails above my warm room at the side so is similar to your plan. Below are some photos showing how I dealt with the seal at the join and how I used latching pins to secure the roof as it closed , hope they help. I used Brundle track , as have many others , its very good , my roof runs with finger pressure. Z roof seal.mp4 Z pinlock.mp4

A quality 50Ah lithium ion phosphate battery is around £240 , and that's at a SPECIAL PRICE DISCOUNT List price of one is nearer £450 https://www.batterymasters.co.uk/lithium-phosphate-batteries/li50-12-12v-50ah-lithium-iron-phosphate-lifepo4-high-capacity-deep-cycle-battery-charger-included.html a 36Ah is about £180 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultramax-LI36-12-LiFePO4-Phosphate-Performance/dp/B084BQQ8LM/ref=sr_1_47?dchild=1&keywords=lithium+ion+phosphate&qid=1605456872&quartzVehicle=88-1161&replacementKeywords=lithium+phosphate&sr=8-47 Also check any solar panel controller is suitable for lithium ion phosphate if you plan to charge it from a solar panel Most people use deep discharge lead acid

Your small original solar panel will be fine for a bit of occasional LED light in the observatory as this will be a much smaller demand.

That way you are doing your bit for renewable , and still gaining convenience. Doesn't need to be a huge size if you take it back in after each session.

Yes , its best to go big from the start. With 2 batteries on 12 v they need parallel connection which is not ideal unless there is an A/B switch (like in some motorhomes) so adding a 2nd later is not as easy as it seems.

At a 3 amp draw a 24AH battery will last 8 hours However that's not the full story , it will start off at 13.8v fully charged and the voltage will drop as it empties , at some point below full discharge it will fall below 12v. This can cause issues on some mounts when they need to slew , the power LED can end up flashing with the sudden high current demand. (which causes the voltage to dip further) Should not be such an issue just tracking however. I agree with James Unless your observatory is really remote , the cost of getting mains installed will start to be comparable to a big stand alone system. And no-one can bother an underground cable , a big solar panel is easy to flog if nicked.

On a more practical note https://cpc.farnell.com/yuasa/npc3812/battery-deep-discharge-cyclic/dp/BT00583?st=deep discharge battery and https://cpc.farnell.com/yuasa/npc24-12/battery-deep-discharge-cyclic/dp/BT03978?st=deep discharge battery

This should do 😜

The last thing you want is for your system to shut down in the middle of the one clear night you get decent imaging conditions. Get a decent power monitor you can use to check the battery , something on a push button so its not on wasting power all the time, though perhaps the charge controller will have a good monitor built in.

That looks more like it 🤔 When you consider the size of panel that you see attached to eg stand alone speed warning signs , they are around this size for something that is only on now and then.

If you run a warming blanket continuously you will struggle to keep a battery charged , but it can be set to only kick in if its gets cold or use a timer so its only on a short while each day you can get both 12 v timer and 12v temp switch that simply fit inline with the cable

Yes if it is 5 amps continuous then a hefty panel is needed. But your mount will average out well below its peak current when it is slewing, Tracking I have not measured mine but I think its under an amp. You need to balance cost of a big panel against convenience , if you are running battery down a bit mid winter the odd top up in the house from a charger will refresh it for another good while of use getting its trickle charge, so a smaller panel is not that inconvenient. Also batteries do leak charge over time (self discharge) , even if not being used they will lose charge slowly over time, but its not a lot compared to weekly use for astronomy.

If you are using 3 amps continuously 3 amps x 12 volts is 36Wh , every hour x 3 hours is 108Wh. that said your mount will not be using 3 amps if it is just tracking , maybe if slewing in RA and DEC at the same time. also leisure batteries will often be rated in Ah (amper hours) at 12 v , 1 Ah is the same as 12Wh.

All comes down to how often you use your gear and for how long. Throw into that how much sun does your location get. Also this "20w" panel will not output anything like 20w unless it is in the Sahara with the sun directly overhead. 😜 You may need to look at a bigger panel for this to be a realistic proposition. Since you probably use the telescopes most during winter take a look at this information about the much lower winter output levels of solar panels. Try to estimate how many Wh you will need. At 12v running 1 amp for an hour is 12Wh , for a 4 hour session this becomes 48Wh. If you use dew heaters and 12v camera supplies as well as your mount then you can easily be drawing 2-3 amps. (so 24-36Wh every hour 144Wh for a 4 hr session.) In winter even a 150w panel does not produce 144Wh on an average day. A leisure battery can power everything easily but you will probably need to take it indoors to recharge after a session or two unless you have a large charging solar panel. But a trickle charge from a solar panel will help reduce how often you need to take the battery indoors for a full recharge.

Try here

(David got there just before me 🙄 )

Also as a temporary fix remember that adding in a diagonal will take up a lot of extra backfocus until you get some extenders or a reducer. You don't want it there for serious photography , but as a get you up and running for testing its fine (just be careful not to drop in any extender too far into the diagonal as it could scratch the mirror element)

It varies by type but my reducer/flattener screws into my DSLR then the whole lot fits into the 2inch aperture. (I use a 2in clicklock with my Vixen, my 80 Equinox has a moonlight that holds the camera with reducer/flattener nice and secure) Similar I expect for a ZWO , I believe there are adapters to fit ZWO to a reducer/flattener (I have a ZWO guidescope camera but don't need a reducer with it).

what refractor to buy I love my Equinox 80ED , gives great results, no longer available new. It is very similar to the Evostar 80ED pro, the 72ED pro would be a good choice too and probably a better match for the AZ GTI being slightly lighter. I use a field flattener/reducer that screws into the DSLR body , this then fits into the 80ED body. Small imaging refractors like these are often for sale on the forum (I got my Equinox 2nd hand). North America Nebula from my ED80 with DSLR

You should get some good results with your DSLR on your AZ-GTI. Once you upgrade to a telescope a small refractor would be my advice , it will just be like using a very long lens on your DSLR so will feel familiar.