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New to forum from the West Midlands

Swampcreature

By Swampcreature
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Swampcreature

Swampcreature

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Hello to all.

Fed up with light pollution I converted my van into a mobile observatory. Ive found a few campsites within 50 miles with dark skies (and a pub) and the hobby has become exciting again.

Last weekend in the Cotswolds was a succession of clear nights for deep sky observing. On test was a Skywatcher 130 we bought off the car boot for £20 sold because its owner reckoned he couldnt see anything with it.

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badgerchap

badgerchap

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Nice plan with the van - I'm intending to do something similar myself at some point.

There are some decent areas in the Mids (used to live in Stratford) but if you can get out to central Wales, it'll be worth the trip!

Anyway welcome to SGL!

Posted via Tapatalk on an ageing iPhone so please excuse any erroneous spellings or accidental profanities!

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Swampcreature

Swampcreature

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Thanks for the warm welcome to the forum from everyone. A few have liked the idea of my van being converted to a mobile observatory. It started off with me buying an old Nissan van for a DIY camper conversion to save on hotel costs when working away. Its insulated for winter use, has a six foot by five foot bed deck that folds up but more importantly has below deck storage space for instruments where they are out of sight and safely out of the way. I`ve later added a stabilised 12 volt power supply for a Celestron Ultima mount I converted to a GEM, 240V inverter that powers a 60W tube heater and also RCD sockets for laptop, projector etc and a fold away desk. It has red or white LED lighting and useful bits like a wall mounted spice rack to hold eyepieces etc. Batteries charge by solar or I can fire up the main engine and charge off the alternator. Next job is to finish installing USB ports in a weather proof enclosure to avoid trailing leads. The van can also "Dock" with my army frame tent which acts as a "Service Module" for extended stays. There`s not a lot to it but it has extended my access to dark skies and better weather !

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