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Outdoor mount head covering?

aGreyarea

By aGreyarea
in DIY Astronomer

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aGreyarea

aGreyarea

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

I'm going to fix a pier in the garden as (I've been told) I cant have the whole lot standing in the dining room anymore.

As I dont have a shed or the room for an Obs, I'll just have to plant it in the garden. What worries me about leaving the mount on it is how to protect the electronics/motors from the weather?

I had thought about building some sort of louvre'ed box to go over the top but would welcome suggestions or examples please.

Liam

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cgarry

cgarry

Posted
Posted

I use a rubble sack and cover the whole thing with a patio chair cover.

post-21918-13387760792_thumb.jpg

I was thinking about making a pine box to protect it. Then I realised they were available ready made:

Coffin-Not-the-ideal-place-to-live-in.jpg

Cheers,

Chris

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cgarry

cgarry

Posted
Posted
The argos delux BBQ covers are great. They are black also so hide it at night and I think look better than green (personal preference).

My whole setup as been outside for 6 months under one.

My green one was bought from the pound shop, costing £1!

I was actually thinking of getting a lighter coloured one to avoid the electronics getting cooked by the sun in the daytime.

Cheers,

Chris

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aGreyarea

aGreyarea

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Brilliant, I have a scope cover from the witch, but the instructions made it said like it's only suitable for very occasional use, despite saying its rainproof, frostproof etc etc.

Funnily, the box I was thinking of building would've ended up looking a lot like that coffin! I'll save more than a few hours not having to build that now.

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CGolder

CGolder

Posted
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I use a rubble sack and cover the whole thing with a patio chair cover.

[ATTACH]59337[/ATTACH]

I was thinking about making a pine box to protect it. Then I realised they were available ready made:

Coffin-Not-the-ideal-place-to-live-in.jpg

Cheers,

Chris

Chris OMG, couldnt you have found something better to do with your time and decking seriously lol

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cgarry

cgarry

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Chris OMG, couldnt you have found something better to do with your time and decking seriously lol

You may laugh, but I think my kit is safe as I can't see anybody breaking into it...

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Carbon Brush

Carbon Brush

Posted
Posted

To pull back to a more serious note.

Electronics and damp do not mix well.

As a minimum you will get corrosion on connectors, component leads, etc.

Then, if there is moisture on circuit boards at power up, strange things might happen as the water conducts in strange places.

Worst case is power gets into places it should not and components fail.

I would stronlgy recommend running a 12V underground line from the house. As a minimum leave the kit permanently powered so self heating drives off condensation. Alternatively fit a couple of resistors into the electronics housing. Choose values to dissipate a couple of watts and leave these running. The self heating will again keep off condensation. The cost of the electricity to do this is virtually zero. The cost of putting right damge is well - astronomical.

My kit, which has been in an observatory for a few years, is showing connector corrosion, etc. Much of it stems from before I bought it. Now it is left powered much of the time.

Also think about stripping the mount and applying grease everywhere. Many mounts don't have grease in screws that don't move very often. After a few years of corrosion, they won't move at all.

Hope this is useful.

David.

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malc-c

malc-c

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Nice work though, quite an undertaking...... I'll get my coat.

:D:p:D

To pull back to a more serious note.

David.

Spoilsport ;)

Electronics and damp do not mix well

Your dead right there....

Sorry couldn't resist :D

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