fifeskies

If you have an old PC case around you can mount the PSU inside it and use the case fan mountings positions before putting it all into an external box 🤔

yes anything I have in the cloud is a) backed up locally b) Not anything I need kept private

Only trouble with cloud storage (and I do use some myself) is that astro files are so big it takes ages to upload or download significant amounts of it.

Bigger diameter fans run quieter 😜

If you have access to a 3d printer , thingiverse has templates for fan cooling this module

Probably not unless you install a local RCD It would prevent the tingle problems but compromise the protection unless you use a local RCD. Your domestic installation actually ties together earth and neutral at source , but its probably best not to tie N and E at the PSU All fine as long as you place it inside an insulated box. fan ventilated is best.

Yes that tingle is the exact problem with earths not at the same potential that can arise from these types of installation. The wood floor is a good extra level of protection (as long as it is dry). More a nuisance than a proper threat unless there is a major fault. I try to run as much as possible from my 12v supply , lights etc all at the 12v end and avoid mains under my open roof.

I got myself a usb connected dock for hard drives I had collected from my old PCs these are easily dropped into the dock and used as cheap and cheerful backup devices But like Dave above , finding what your looking for can be an issue , so clear labelling of folders helps , in particular date references.

Cheap and cheerful external HDD as an archive is what I do. Connect it once in a while to offload data I no longer work with but "may" just want to come back to. Doesn't need to be a fast high performance (read expensive) drive , just data dump overnight.

I have an electrical engineering background, so apologies for becoming a bit technical. And don't be too worried about what follows , your installation has clearly been working well without problems for some time. Its just a "for info" comment. (and not having seen your installation I am making a few assumptions). You have turned your observatory into what is termed a "TT" installation by using the local earth rod if it is connected into the incoming supply. This now makes your observatory earth point and your source earth point at your consumer unit at a very slight changed potentials. While in all probability all should be fine with this I would still be tempted to install a local 2 pole RCD/interrupter at the observatory end. The disconnect time can be affected by relying on the source protection at a far origin when you "TT" your installation. A local protective device will ensure you get the fast disconnect at 30mA fault you need. If just the pier is earthed and not the incoming supply you have an "exported TN-S" type supply and the source protection should probably be adequate, a local RCD will not cause any problems, but may be superfluous. Exported TN-S does have cable resistance limits to function correctly , a long cable that is not of adequate thickness (cross section) will mean circuit protection can fail to operate as expected. In the UK exported TN-S is actively discouraged for this reason. However with exported TN-S you need to ensure any mains equipment of type 1 , ie with an earth connection , does not come into contact with the "TT" earthed pier as this then reverts the electrical installation to a "TT" type. https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/rcd-plugs/7508450/ https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/rcds/0490157/ My own observatory has a TT installation with its own earth rod and I have used a local RCD in the observatory to ensure maximum safety. Note: 1 Most computer screens running on mains are type 2 (no earth) so dont cause problems when you mount to a pier 2 All the equipment run on 12 v from your supply will be isolated from the mains so should not cause any issues on the earthed pier. However the ground (-V) line on the supply is connected to earth via a capacitor to help avoid it floating too far away from local ground potential and supress ripple noise. So try to avoid the 12v supply touching the pier.

You will be protected at source and all your power should be safe as long as your property meets Danish standards Since the early 1990s earthed sockets have been required in all new electric installations in Denmark. Older sockets need not be earthed, but all sockets, including old installations, must be protected by earth-fault interrupters (HFI or HPFI in Danish) by 1 July 2008. Earth fault interrupters are essentially the same as RCD in that they disconnect inbalance faults caused by a person touching a live wire.

Supply the PSU via an RCD to be sure you stay safe. All my mains in my observatory is supplied via a 30mA 2 pole RCD in the small local consumer unit powering my sockets.

Thats the 200w version. OP has the next one down , the 150w version. Looks like 200w has autosense but the 150w is manual set

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/183695/rs-150-12-ac-input-switch

Its possibly a small slide switch on the PCB though there is a chance its a pin header you lift up and move across

will not survive 230 if set for 120 I suspect see diagram for switch

These are usually dual voltage "88 ~ 132VAC / 176 ~ 264VAC selected by switch 248 ~ 373VDC(Withstand 300VAC surge for 5sec. Without damage)" there is probably an internal switch to set either nominal 120 or nominal 230

Yes I wanted to be sure my dew heaters were on so added the LED monitor, cant just trust they are on and end up ruining lots of exposure time. My controller sits under the owl cage plate so I can see the faint reassuring red glow. 🥵 solar isn't something I have tried (yet) , but it suffers just the same from clouds I expect 💭💭💭

Most resettable fuses have a trip factor of 2 so again try to choose a slightly lower fuse rating if you used resettable fuses. Most cartridge fuses trip at 1.5x factor ie a 5 amp cartridge will break at 7.5 amps , a 5 amp resettable will trip at 10amp , in this case use a 4 amp resettable to trip at 8 amps. resettable types are best for protecting more robust items , ideal for dew heaters , less so for mounts where I would prefer a fuse. Fuses will trip much faster on a very high fault.

Blade fuses (car fuses) tend to be slow acting, but good enough if you choose a slightly lower value than you would for a cartridge fuse, not twice running current for certain. I avoided too many LED monitored fuses as they add to light pollution for night imaging , but have my dew heater outputs on LED so I can see how high they are turned up. Have been reducing my treeline with a reciprocating saw to reduce height a bit but have neighbouring trees I can't avoid out to the East.

The custom horizon is very useful and not that difficult to set up, there's a guide online for doing it. I too had a similar tree in the way , I improved my custom horizon with the aid of a reciprocating saw (much easier to handle than a chainsaw). 😜

The alloy plate will be needed as a heatsink I suspect. Tidy now as just had a big clear out ready for the winter You can never get away from the wires tho, my baby rig has them running in all directions. (Its easier to be tidy when I have my bigger scopes on the pier)

I'm about 30 mins from Rosyth. Not that I have any call to go there. For a while they ran the Rosyth to Zeebrugge car ferry and I took it once on holiday. Shame its gone as it made Europe a lazy sail away overnight for us. Been to Denmark but as a touring student many many years ago. I have a warm room for imaging so dont need to be at the scopes except when I'm enjoying some actual visual views , which I will always do. Always happy to help out anytime.

For dew straps , they should never draw significantly over the nominal current. So I use 2 amp fuses for my 4 inch dew straps rated at 8 watt (0.7amp) , but could actually probably use 1 amp. My heaters work through a control box with 2 channels and 1 fuse each output at 2 amps , the contol box input cable has a 5a fuse I have a 5 amp inline fuse for my NEQ6 to allow for a surge if both RA and DEC motors start together, and that seems fine , tracking the current is far below that. 1.5 times to 2x the nominal steady current is usually about right , though anything very sensitive to overload might need closer tolerance. I have LED strip lighting in my observatory on 12v , that only needs a fuse slightly above the load rating as it is usually dimmed well down. So for a 4 amp length of LED strip (when on full) 5a can protect the circuit. Photo shows Moon and Venus from the observatory with the LED lights on full for the photograph (usually dim red).