AMcD

I was hoping my venerable old QHY8 would see me through to the point where I have saved enough to purchase a QHY 268M but, sadly, the DC-102 Tec Controller has developed a short I cannot find. However, the camera does allow the 12v DC supply to be plugged into it directly, which activates the camera and the fan. Is there any reason not to use it in this configuration, bypassing the faulty Tec Controller (the buttons on which I never really understood anyway 🙄)?

She’s alive! 😀

Crikey! I was saying to my wife today that I have developed a new respect for system engineers as I have struggled on with my amateur efforts that are simply designed to open a roof, point a telescope and take a picture 😀

I have spent the day trying to bring order to spaghetti. After several school boy errors and beginner’s mistakes, I am almost there. My brain however, feels somewhat knotted itself.😴

I think you might have bagged two. Is there not a second, fainter Perseid about halfway up the image on the right hand side? It looks to my eye more like a meteor trail than a satellite trail when compared to the satellite trail that appears at the top of the image

Today has been spent putting the wiring into conduits to make things tidy and assembling and labelling the pass through panel for the server cabinet 🤓

I have been looking to automate the opening of my ROR observatory for a number of years and have looked at various options. In the end I went for the off the shelf system you mention. Whilst it is pricy, and I am certain that you could put the all elements together with less expense, for me it has the advantage that someone has done all the electronics, wiring and programming that are required for safe remote / automatic operation but that I am woefully unqualified to design and build. If, unlike me, you are good at that sort of thing then I understand people have had success with garage opener type motors combined with a Raspberry Pi. The serrated track and pinion look pretty straightforward and the magnetic limit switches are easily sourced. Here is mine in manual operation... 0869C562-9E89-4A9A-8E5E-F9C9BB0A6DA9.MOV

Installed the CloudWatcher today. Plenty of clouds for it to watch 🙄

Finished installing the mechanics and the electrics on the Talon today. I moved the serrated rack to the other side of the motor (before learning that the software allows the direction of the motor to be reversed 😳) and had to play around with the location of the magnetic limit switches to get the right but it now works a treat using the manual open and close buttons for operation. Looking to set up the software later in the week...🤓 24CEBDFB-4793-4EDB-830A-4D1EBD6A3DF1.MOV

The gear required for my remote control / automation project has arrived. Today I have got as far as installing the serrated rack for the Talon roof opener and have started installing the electronics in the second hand server cabinet. Who knows what will happen when I finally get to pressing the on button 😬

With respect to the rotted parts of the frame, I suspect I was only a few openings from disaster...😳

I also upgraded the external frame with aluminium joists as after 15 years the wooden ones had rotted through. I had to reinforce them with steel framing underneath to be certain that they would take the weight of the roof (they have not bent so far). Bracing the frame with corner joists at the end is also a good idea as this makes it far stiffer.

I second the advice about not using channels if going for metal runners. I had castors in aluminum channels originally and if the roof moves slightly from the centre line after repeated use the wheel assemblies can bind against the edge of one or other channels, making it harder to move. I am about to install a Talon6 roll off roof opener on my observatory as part of an ongoing project to achieve remote control. When I upgraded the wheels and railings in anticipation of this development the supplier advised me to install grooved metal wheels running on a track on one side and hard nylon wheels running on flat metal on the other side. This way, the roof will not be at any risk of binding (and stalling the motor) if the observatory has shifted / settled slightly out of true in the 15 years since it was constructed. The new set up is much, much smoother than the old one and much easier to move.

I think you will love the G11, I have had mine now for about 15 years and it has never missed a beat. I have recently adjusted the worm blocks to achieve better autoguiding with PHD. I love following your progress with the observatory. I am currently engaged in setting my roll-off roof observatory up for remote operation and seeing the way you have done things has been invaluable.🙂

Having undertaken some urgent repairs to the observatory (see link below) I was left with all sorts of old wood and leftover parts. Those old observatory bits are now a wood store. I am going to cover it with the left over metal roof sheeting 😀

Many thanks for the tip. Is condensation a year round issue or one that tends to arise in particular conditions?

Many thanks for this advice. I will keep and eye on it. It never ceases to amaze me how much there is to learn with this hobby on so many disparate topics. I guess that is what fascinates. 😀

Ahead of a summer project to enable fully remote operation of my observatory when I am working away, I embarked on a programme of refurbishing my Alexander Observatories built roll off roof model circa 2008. I have upgraded the (rotting) frame with aluminium joists and installed diagonal braces to stiffen the frame. The nylon wheels in channels wheels have been replaced with brass wheels running on a track one side and wheels running on flat steel the other. I have replaced the (rotting) wooden roof panels with lightweight metal sheets. The old damp proof course material that was used as waterproofing for the roof gap has been replaced with neoprene rubber skirting. Finally, I have purchased a server cabinet from eBay which will house the automating electronics. Now for the final stage of saving up for, purchasing and installing the roof opening and automation gizmos in time for winter... 😬 u

I hope so too! We are expecting storms tonight for the first time I finished roof so the first test will be whether it is watertight 🙄. Have at least finished bolting the restored frame together in case it gets a bit breezy...

Have started to install the aluminium joists, together with the new wheels, track and roof. The aluminium joists required stiffening so, in addition to the new track I have bolted some steel framing to them.

I have not been able to find any replacement wooden joists at all so have gone with 3.6M long aluminium decking joists instead - they are actually cheaper than the wooden joists that are not available. I am replacing the OSB wooden board on the roof with lightweight metal sheets in order to make the roof lighter and easier to handle.

It turns out that it really was time to replace the frame on my roll-off roof observatory...😬

The mechanisms for the automated Bahtinov mask and scope cover are finished and I have started work on the control box. As I have been building it a lot of people have been urging me to get to grips with autofocus as a much more accurate method than the Bahtinov mask. If I can get to grips with the autofocus software this project might become an automated scope cover and an automated flat field panel. Or I suppose I can keep one of the mechanisms as a spare.🙂

I am still looking at this. At present I operate the observatory remotely from the house via Windows Pro Remote Desktop and use SGP to control most things, although I am told that when one starts to operate remotely at far greater distances from the observatory a server based remote desktop is less data hungry and more responsive. I am going for remote operation rather than full automation, although I do want to automate the end of the sequences to the extent that the scope parks itself and the roof shuts at the end of a session. I will take a look at Voyager when I am weighing up the way to go. Many thanks for the recommendation. Alistair

Having watched clear nights at home come and go whilst working away, I have decided to go the whole hog and attempt to move the observatory to full remote operation. Having set up LAN and WAN connections as above, I have purchased a second hand 19" rack on eBay to hold all of the electronics needed. Rupert at Astrograph is proving himself full of extremely helpful and very prompt advice ahead of my purchasing from him the bits I will need to automate the roof, scope cover and to operate the observatory from afar. I also intend to upgrade my roll-off roof to make sure that it works well with a Talon system by changing the rolling gear and the frame onto which the roof rolls off. Having spent weeks looking into this development I am in awe of people who have done it. I am doing it in my back garden but setting up such a system 100s or 1000s miles from home is a real leap of faith. Any "top tips" gratefully received...