DaveL59

7 minutes ago, Gina said:

My first thought was to feed a shaft through a gland for sealing - this does seem the simplest solution.  I have a box of small O rings.

At first it seems simple enough to make a remote controlled cover but when you look into all the details, it isn't.

1. The cover must not obscure any part of the all-sky view so all of it must be below the top of the lens
2. It must not collect rainwater.  Even though it will only be opened in good weather, rain can come suddenly.
3. The drive mechanism must not be subject to corrosion
4. It must be robust enough to withstand storms

yep, was thinking that when you first suggested doing this. A simple 2-lever affair may do the job and if you get the lengths correct you should be able to achieve an open/close rig, though you may need to gear the 2 levers where they operate against each other so they don't invert, as it were and then the dome doesn't move at all. Tho a stop at the dome joint would prevent that perhaps which may be simpler. Don't forget to factor for the gearing etc too, more complications.

Something like this but with more smarts to handle how far you rotate each way, microswitch limiters in the internal gearing may suffice as used with sunroof motors in cars perhaps.

if it were me I'd prefer to get it stripped and cleaned. Even tho it may not affect the image it'd bother me and any moisture getting between the elements would collect where the remnants are. Not sure if that'd increase the potential for further effects such as coating damage or regrowth coalescing there but I'd not want to chance it. Problem seems to be finding an optical specialist who would carry out the work for you. While I've worked on a few of my binos and scopes I'm not so sure I'd chance attempting it either, I've not had to do anything with my TAL100RS main objectives and would likely seek a specialist if they needed this level of fettling.

Do be aware tho that some coating damage may have already taken place so even once cleaned there will be signs of where the growth areas were but they shouldn't affect the view. I would give the lens a Sol treatment over several days just to be sure and store with lots of desiccant when put away.

perhaps also consider the effect of wind as it'll act as a sail and could lead to other damage or vibration.

In terms of operating, an external cam-lever could crank the cover while the motor remains inside the body, with o-ring seals to prevent water ingress to the housing? Much as windscreen wipers operate, tho you'd need to maintain the pivot points to keep them cleaned and greased. Getting the dome to flip far enough for it and the crank/lever to be below the camera horizon and still be able to return back to park could be a challenge tho. Thinking about it, if you flip that cover so it's an inverted dome, any rain would collect in the bowl which would add to the problems, as well as dousing the main casing when trying to close. Would test the water sealing for sure.

I wonder if a split clam-shell type would work, overlap where they meet for UV protection. Wind would still be an issue tho but perhaps less in terms of being a water catcher.

6 minutes ago, LeeHore7 said:

It looks a great bit of kit, is there anyway of just getting the phone holder part to fit another telescope or do you have to buy the whole star sense scope all as one 

at the moment, no, sold as a complete kit only and you can't buy the activation code alone either. Things may change tho if Celestron see a demand and decide to offer a standalone option but no reported plans so far.

59 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Yes uses a mirror so wthout the mirror the camera would see things the “wrong way up” and wouldn’t work. The app needs a unique unock code to work which is only available with the scope.

Te Acetal sheet I need to make up an adaptor between the phone holder and a finder foot has been posted so hopefully will be able to get it sorted this wekend. 🙏🏼

 

fyi John, tried a small prism from a miniature bino against the camera on my note-10, hand held and no shielding so not an ideal test. Plus the prism is spalled on the long edge. To give an idea of size:

 

and a pic with it holding it to the camera lens, camera set to x1.0 to not use the wide-angle lens:

Will try a regular size from a 8x30 or 10x50 when I have one apart and show the result in the other thread. May give a better (wider) image without the vignetting but in principle it may work. Wonder if a BK7 may be better for this than a BaK4 in but I expect a lot of my junk ones are BK7 so won't be able to compare the types.

Thing is, new it's worth that from a supplier. Used, it's worth what someone will pay. Same with cars etc. You lose on the warranty which you can't really price until you need something and that could be a lot more than the difference. How likely that is you'll never know until...

But the important thing here is it's your call, if it fits the bill and you're happy to accept the risk etc and you can have it in your hands quite quickly.

5 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

But what exactly happens if you just turn your phone 90 degrees, in a phone mount, with the camera facing in the direction of the telescope?

Sorry if its not really part of “The postman thread”.

there's a mirror under the camera so the phone "sees" the sky 🙂 It was tried to just aim the camera at the sky and didn't work - on the CN thread IIRC.

1 minute ago, Neil H said:

Yeah i know what your saying but 270 is my buget really and i need to buy an extension at £70

maybe worth asking if they'd go £250 😉

10 year? FLO's page says 2 years. But I agree, for £40 difference I'd go new and be sure to have all the parts and support from a good supplier. 

edit - just saw your post Neil, depends how quick you need to have it I guess, how new is it and can warranty be transferred to you?

looks similar to the phone connector Samsung use too on the USB3 models

20 hours ago, Dazz_4130 said:

Hi Gazers,

i live in a Flat and my garden is 70M away, which i use a very long cable to reach.  im wanting to get set up more indoors so i do not have to stand in the garden evening when not doing visual observations any would like to know what other people do if they have long runs im currently thinking of doing the following Scope+Utility's into a powered 7 port USB hub, from their connected to a USB to CAT5 cross over , cat5 cable to Power line internet hub extender > other end of extender in the house with cat 5 cable to cat5 to usb into my laptop next to a cosy fire!  has anyone done this set up before? does it work? any issues u had?

 

Thx in advance 

 

I expect you'll find that those USB-RJ45 are not LAN converters but simply allow you to use a length of network cable to extend between USB connected devices. Even if they were LAN converters they'd not work as the powerline adaptors won't have drivers and neither would the USB hub so they'd not operate and form a link. You also wouldn't be able to connect a 70m LAN cable between them as the signal wouldn't be strong enough to make a reliable link and speed would drop significantly even if it did manage to connect.

Simplest way would be a LAN cable out to the rig and appropriate gear at the remote end to serve the scope etc as others have mentioned. Network-USB hubs are available but not cheap and I've yet to see a USB3 one in the flesh but Digi and others do solid USB2 versions. I've a couple from Maplin some years back, more consumer than business version, that are fine for serving things like a scanner or webcam across the network. Was thinking I'd use one remotely for the sky camera if I switch to a USB camera later on.

Personally I've never bought the Baader fluid, I use a regular lens cleaning fluid for glasses and it works just fine. Have gone through it quite quickly tho so will need to order some in a few months. Then again I used it on my glasses and have overhauled a fair few pairs of binoculars over the past couple years. I tend to use Zeiss wipes now for my glasses (easier to carry a few in the work bag) or other optics that aren't too in need of a deeper treatment.

no idea re dry-ness of either, but there would be a much smaller quantity of ambient air if you can purge the ASC body was my thinking.

As an alternative, how about...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vacu-Vin-Wine-Saver-Concerto/dp/B00005U2FA/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=vacuum+pump&qid=1599749527&sr=8-7

So long as you can make the unit airtight then this may get you a vacuum that you can easily top up and help keep moisture low. Downside tho, any slight leak in the casing would potentially suck water in if its raining. I'd prefer the purge approach tho, at least there's little/no residual pressure or if anything a slightly higher pressure than the outside of the casing.

hmm Helium cannisters aren't cheap tho would be able to do a lot of refills. If you don't mind CO2 then air pistol cannisters are a lot cheaper.

You'd have to figure a way to safely purge the ASC and then seal, bike schrader valves perhaps or a suitable stop valve that you can turn on/off as required. Also the pressure from a canister may (will) be a bit much so you'd need to regulate that too. Either way you'd purge the moist air out and it'd be replaced with whichever gas and then it'll just be ingress of outside air with moisture, which silica gel should handle till you re-purge.

If you can get an inflated helium balloon of course then it'd be low pressure and you can just squeeze to flush via tube/valves and if you're sniffing the exhaust you'll know it's done when your voice goes all squeaky 😄 

shame you can't draw a vacuum to help reduce/eliminate moisture in the air, but then you'd need a strong pump to boil moisture off and risk the casing collapsing. Might be worth trying with a large syringe to at least get a low vacuum tho...? Or perhaps go get a helium filled balloon and use the gas in it to purge the air 😉 

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

 A couple of boxes for a little project.and a few other bits. 🙂

 

ooh let us know how you get on with the starsense hack 🙂 Been considering ordering one too but kinda have to watch the funds for the moment.

would that risk focus shift tho depending on how you drive the cam? Might be ok if using a worm drive to adjust the cam rotation.

Rigidity of the cam may be an issue too under hot conditions? or become brittle under extreme cold?

Figured best to ask as I don't know how the 3d printed material stand up to heat/cold in a stressed component so I'll bow to your knowledge on that front  🙂 

Mars has risen above the roofs here but too late to be getting the scope out to play. Plus the neighbours might think I'm aiming at their bedroom windows lol

15 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

That’s plane amazing, Dave!
 

I wonder if those pilots have handle bar moustaches.

No doubt they got a handle on you as they flew over.

 

🙂

 

likely woke them up with that huge rocket launcher he was aiming in their direction 😉 

was a dark cloud blanket here earlier and light rain. Then it's cleared but some light hazy stuff floating by. Sadly I won't be out late as I'm meeting my former boss tomorrow. Always the way huh, clear skies and no chance to play lol. Still there'll be other nights, after all am between jobs again so can play when I want after tomorrow 🙂 

wow, so much more complex than my thrown together mod'd cctv rig 🙂 But then I'm not super-cooling mine so a lot less to worry about.

Not having one but some here do so hopefully will chip in...

Are you able to get good focus with the camera in your scope (which scope is it?) or is it just running out of travel before you get a sharp image?

Worth trying it on a distant land target in daytime and see if you can get any result, though the focuser would be further out given a target that is closer than anything in the sky at night. Aim would be to get familiar before trying again in darkness, though you could try for the moon in the morning as it was high in the SW around 8 this morning from here in Kent.

a couple of my eyeball type CCTV cameras are done that way for zoom and focus, very handy for making the odd tweak with just a small screwdriver. No issues with moisture so could be the simplest solution.

that'll be a lead battery unit, likely only 7Ah or maybe 12Ah so you would need to be sure and charge it after a session and then maintenance charge it every month or so to prevent a dead battery. Upside the battery can be replaced reasonably cheap, downside weight and you really only get 50-60% of the rated Ah capacity, less if its cold before the terminal voltage would drop far enough for the mount to struggle.

Other than that, yeah it probably would work ok 🙂

the circuit and motors will draw what they require, so long as the power source and cables are able to deliver it.  The voltage applied tho, if it exceeds the max could cause issues hence I suggest to test the voltage before hooking up and why I've put a buck converter in to limit it to 12v after finding the pack I have can deliver a bit over 15v.

Best not to try stepping up from 5v to 12v tho as that may not keep up with load demand during a slew and you'd get errors. You'd need some significant capacitors on the 12v side of that sort of setup to soak up peak demands especially on a long skew which would be drawing peak current.