Jump to content

Narrowband

JimB

Members
  • Posts

    28
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

14 Good

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    north hampshire

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

  1. Thanks for the reply Merlin. Sorry for taking so long to acknowledge your input, just back from holiday. The OTA design doesn't allow this as the part where the rings fit is only a few inches long. I have bought some pillers that FLO shell and together with some thick M6 washers have mounted the tube sucessfully. I have bought some aluminium bar to cut to size to increase the stand off further, this will allow me to mount my power box etc under the tube. Using the piller type stand offs has the advantage of providing a gap for cables to be routed under the rings.
  2. Hello all, I have removed the mounting foot from my Skywatcher Espirit 80 and fitted 101mm diameter tube rings. In order to allow the fingers of the focusser assembly rotation lock to clear the mounting plate the rings need to stand off the plate by about 20mm. The rings are metric with a 30/60mm pitch to the mounting holes and the plate naturally has to match. Primaluce lab produce just the thing but for a 55mm pitch so can not be used. Does any one know of a supplier of 20mm standoff blocks with a 30/60mm pitch for its mounting holes? I can not locate one myself. I have ordered some 20mm square aluminium bar to make my own but would prefer a bought in, preferably anodised finish, set. Bye the bye I read some advice here on taking the foot off. I found that you don't need to peel the rubber strip underneath the foot right off, just lift the coners to expose 4 small scres holding the bottom plate, and rubber strip, on. You can now access the allen head bolts securing the foot to the tube. The two nuts inside the tube can just be held with the fingers whilst the allen key rotates the bolts. no sockets etc are required, just the allen key. If I was Sskywatcher I would have used stff nuts or nyloc nuts. Frankly I think the mounting foot is a poor idea and causes more problems that it solves. Other than that it's lovely piece of kit.
  3. I am new to imaging. For simplicity I have settled on an ASAIR Pro and a ZWO ASI ASI533MCC colour camera. I power my mount etc from a 13.8V linear power supply. The ASAIR has a nominal supply voltage of 12V, (minimum 11.5V). No maximum voltage is stated. I shall ask ZWO, but in the meantime what do you use to power your ZWO ASAIR and indeed your ZWO camera? and with what results? Has any one used a 13.8 V supply. I would appreciate any insight.
  4. Thanks for the replies. I have fitted it on the slow motion side and it works. It is quite slow taking 8.5 seconds to move 1mm using the fast setting on the manual controller, or 45 seconds on the slow settings. When I get time I will operate via the computer to see how it runs from there. The bearing of the reduction gear is exposed so I will have to find a suitable cover to protect it. I have ordered a pulley and toothed belt so that I can try a belt driven set up. Luckily the pitch of the teeth on the belt match the pitch of the grooves on the coarse knob so the drive should be quite positive. The belt drive would have the advantage that manual focussing can be restored by simply slipping the belt off. Also the drive would be under the focusser instead of projecting out to one side, so would be less susceptible to damage.
  5. I am new to astrophotigraphy. I have bought a ZWO eaf to fit to my Altair astro wave 115ED refractor. The focusser is a rack and pinion type. The EAF should be fitted in place of the coarse focussing knob, however the knob does not have a hole with a grubscrew like the other knobs on the fine focussing side. There is clearly a grub screw in the frame of the mounting just by the coarse knob but I suspect that this is for some other purpose rather than securing the knob. As usual there are no instructions detailing what the various grub screws are for. I don't want tp find out the hard way. It may be that the knob is one piece with the shaft and does not come off. I would appreciate any guidance on what the various screws do, and perhaps some information on wheather it is likely that the knob will not come off from those with experience of focussers in general. If the knob cannot be removed and I fit the motor on to the slow shaft justhow slow will the focusser move? will it be useable? and can the settings in the software be adjusted to increase the drive speed. I would appreciate any advice and help, thanks.
  6. Has anyone fitted a ZWO electronic focuser to an Altair Astro 115 wave series apo with the rack and pinion mounting? I'm thinking of buying one and would like to be sure it will fit first. Many thanks.
  7. I am considering getting an ASIair Pro. At home I use a 13.6V fixed linear power supply with my kit. Has anyone used the ASIair Pro with a 13.6V input. The manufacturers data only lists 12V and a minimum voltage, no maximum being stated. I don't want to buy it and blow it.
  8. I have some fur lined snow boots that are pretty good. Recenly bought some Grubs Frostline 5.0 sub zero field boots which are comfortable and warm, with athin and thick sock combo its like toast. They are wellingtons with a built in thermal break similar to those recommended by Reddoss, however rated to -10c but good enough for here. (Reddoss' boots go to -50c).
  9. I have been toying with the idea of getting one of these too. I'm glad to know it will definitely fit in my Yaris.
  10. If you must clean the mirror use isopropyl alcohol and distilled water. Some suggest a few drops of washing up liquid in the mix as well but avoid those containing lanolin. I use 25/75 mix, (alcohol/water), and pulling medical cotton wool over the surface without applying any pressure. Lastly I rinse with distilled water. Best done outdoors or in a very well ventilated area. Avoid cleaning unless it's really necessary. I hope you enjoy your new scope.
  11. An engineers Vee block is great for this. They can be got second hand from ebay.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.