At last - the Obsy is finally taking shape

[fondofchips]

Still waiting for the shed builder to finish off, the ROR roof is now felted, both rooms stayed dry during the recent wet & windy weather.

Have fitted white rope light, red LED strips & 13A sockets in the viewing room, can't do anything in the warm room until it's insulated & boarded out.

Working on a 12V control box for the charger/battery & 12V supply to the pier.

Pier & 2 extensions ordered last week.

I don't think I've ever done a more time consuming project than this one.

Anyway I was out stargazing for about an hour Saturday night, would have been more comfortable if the obsy was finished.

Want to take some pictures with the roof open but the end stops haven't been fitted to the runners yet.  So its staying shut for now.

[fondofchips]

The shed builder has finished today & I've been doing some more work on the electrics & warm room.

Just waiting for a PC to arrive & wall bracket for the monitor in the warm room.

Pier should be finished soon, hopefully this week.

Pictures here: - http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/2984-obsy-shed-finishing-touches/

I have installed a 180AH battery based 12 volt system and have used this battery conditioner to keep it topped up: - http://www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/Battery_Chargers/Battery_Chargers/AccuMate_Pro_12_24_Battery_Charger_Maintainer.html

This means my obsy will work during a power cut.

[fondofchips]

Using the obsy for the first time tonight, PC working in warm room, scope is on its tripod as my pier isn't finished yet.  Really enjoying it, set up at 6pm and I'm intending to stay out here until 2am if it stays clear.

Lapping up the fruits of my obsy project, started 11 months ago.

[Stevp]

Using the obsy for the first time tonight, PC working in warm room, scope is on its tripod as my pier isn't finished yet. Really enjoying it, set up at 6pm and I'm intending to stay out here until 2am if it stays clear.

Lapping up the fruits of my obsy project, started 11 months ago.

Any report?

[fondofchips]

Any report?

Rolled the roof back & set up as soon I got home from work about 5pm.  I started with the moon as the sun set, nice detail on a mountain range on the terminator as the light changed.  Stopped to set up my PC & screen so that I would have Stellarium handy.  Sat for a while in the warm room with a bottle of beer and had this really nice feeling of reaping the rewards for all my work in the past 11 months.  Switched to Jupiter, there was quite a lot of aircraft engine trails about which made observing a bit hit & miss for a while.  (I live near East Midlands Airport which can be a nuisance at times).   I then tried to locate M44 and had some trouble finding it, but it was well worth the effort and then on the the 7 Sisters.  Next was the Orion Nebula and I had a break for a while.  I went back to Jupiter and stayed with it until I had played with all my eyepieces and rechecked the scope balance, also worth the extra effort as I got the best views of Jupiter so far.  I then had another break and my plan was to wait for Mars & Saturn to rise above the adjacent house roofs but the cloud rolled in just as Mars was about to clear the roof.   A very good night though, really felt like I had achieved a lot, in observing, equipment and the shed build.

Thanks for your interest.

Fondofchips.

[Gina]

Great   Well done

[fondofchips]

Pier has arrived today, shown with the EQ6 adaptor & backing ring on top of the pier - picture here - http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/22414-my-pier-picture/

In the background are the 2 pier extensions, they can be combined to give me 4 different heights.

Weather not looking particularly good this weekend, but the job is inside.

More pictures when the pier is installed.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[fondofchips]

Installed the pier, leveled it & aligned best I can on a cloudy day.

Fitted the EQ6 & adaptor to the pier, some minor problems - bolts not quite long enough to bolt the EQ6 & adaptor to the pier & centre hole was 10mm not 12mm as needed for the EQ6.

Otherwise the mechanical bit of fitting the EQ6 to the pier is more or less done.

12V electrical supply for the EQ6 to do next.

Pictures here: -

http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/2984-obsy-shed-finishing-touches/

[Gina]

Wot no fins?   Looks nice though

[fondofchips]

Wot no fins?   Looks nice though

I did mention fins to the metalworker who made it, though the tube is 200mm diameter & 8mm thick walls, seems sturdy enough.

I never intended doing any astro photography, the upgrade to the EQ6 is mainly for the extra payload & picking up objects quicker.

The obsy is all about getting the most out of any clear skies that we get.

One thing for sure, if you think that you can build an obsy in a certain time (my original plan was to get it up & running for Comet Ison last year) then double that time at least.  Makes putting your build on here even more important to help others who are planning their obsy's.

Thank to all that put their build on here, I don't think I would have attempted to do it without other stargazers ideas.

Just power supply to the mount to do now and some clear sky would be nice.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[Gina]

Sounds like your pier is well rigid enough - even for AP if you should decide to give it a try   Good luck

[fondofchips]

Not new to the forum, but new to me is Felix’s modified 200P, - picture here: -  http://stargazerslou...8-200p-in-obsy/

Had a mixed bag of results with my stargazing last night, late evening viewing difficult due to a garden fire near me.

I got up again just before 4.00am & had a look at the Orion Nebula & Jupiter. 

Obsy working well now, ventilation tube between the warm room & the observing room has a small fan drawing warm air through 24/7, keeping the observing room dry.  The warm room is warming up well during the afternoon when the sun is on the 2 windows.  Have stained the obsy darker to help it blend in with the surroundings.

Picture here: -  http://stargazerslou...e-surroundings/

Cheers,

fondofchips.

[fondofchips]

Sounds like your pier is well rigid enough - even for AP if you should decide to give it a try   Good luck

I've had to fill the pier with kiln dried sand Gina, you were right about the rigidity, every time I knocked the pier or tapped it with my knuckles it started ringing.  Besides the quick setup time the other thing that sticks out with the obsy is how much more stable a good pier is than a tripod.

[fondofchips]

Having some hassle with dew & heat rising from the Main mirror up the 200P OTA tube.  It was particularly bad on a day that the sun had been on the obsy all day & the woodwork was still warm at observing time. 

So I've fitted a cooling fan to the 200P - http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/24031-200p-fan/

Some have reported problems with vibration from fans but this one is fine, running in the slower 600rpm mode, (fast 800rpm).

Also increased my dew protection, 2 more dew heaters on order for the focuser & the finderscope, picture shows the main dew heater band & the connector at the top of the scope is for the secondary mirror heater, (hitecastro controller) -

http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/24667-dew-control-200p/

There seems to be different ideas for running the fan during observing but I just turn the fan RPM right down after the initial cooling down is done & leave it running.  I think some air circulation may be beneficial, early days yet though.

New eyepieces: - bought a job lot of 5 nearly new ones - Nirvana 28mm, WO UWAN 4, 7 & 16mm & a Nagler 2-4mm zoom, very impressed with the Nirvana 28mm, the UWAN's are also good, the Nagler will be pretty good in good seeing conditions.  But the surprise here was that my existing 8 & 13mm Baader Hyperions compared well with the WO UWANS, they seem to complement each other & no reason to use a Barlow either.

Not connected to Astronomy but I've also bought a Tecsun PL660 AIR/FM/MW/LW/SW SSB SYNTHESIZED PL660 FM RADIO, which I'm using for music in the obsy, also short wave broadcasts & air bands used by East Midlands Airport.  Bought on Ebay direct from Hong Kong for $80 which comes out at around £65 when shipping is added (which only took 5 days to arrive).  UK sellers charging £85.  A long wire full length of the garden is my SW/FM aerial.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[fondofchips]

Having problems with the runner arrangement its very stiff at the open position.  I've removed the stops at the viewing room end & rolled the roof half off & checked the bearings & rollers.  I have lightly greased the runners & oiled the roller bearings.  The movement is very stiff as the roof opens and gets more stiff towards the fully open position.  I think the supports for the open part of the rail have sunk a little.  I'll check the level of the runners at the open support end.  I've got a 10 ton vehicle jack & a strong length of timber that should lift the runners temporarily so I can check if sinking supports is the problem.

I'm working on using the SW 200P newt again, I've bought a SW ST80 to use as a finder......just got to work out how & where to mount it.  

Nearly 9 months since first light & still enjoying the obsy, don't find dark sites as tempting since I've had a warm room! 

All the best for 2015 & clear skies to all.

Fondofchips.

[Fish]

Happy new year :-) and a very nice build hope you get the roof sorted. Could it be movement of the timber , very dry summer followed by this very damp end to the year?

[saac]

I think your probably right re checking the level of the runners.  I found that the rolling resistance of my roof increased when I added the third rail.  It eased a bit when I repositioned the rail taking care to get it as near as I could to be parallel to the other two.  I also slackened off the mounts on my wheels, that gave them a little bit of slack to take up any misalignment in the rails.  Keith raises a good point about dimensional change in timber due to moisture take up.  I had to rethink a few design changes on the moving parts where I had gone for a tight fit - I went back and shaved off a few mm to allow for movement.  Good luck with sorting out the roof snag, just be careful forcing it to move if it does not want to go - there is a lot of weight there.

Jim

[fondofchips]

Happy new year :-) and a very nice build hope you get the roof sorted. Could it be movement of the timber , very dry summer followed by this very damp end to the year?

The support posts are in a soggy part of the garden next to a pond, I'm not taking the runner stops off at that end, the roof may end up in the pond.  It took 4 of us to lift the roof up without the felt on it.

I think your probably right re checking the level of the runners.  I found that the rolling resistance of my roof increased when I added the third rail.  It eased a bit when I repositioned the rail taking care to get it as near as I could to be parallel to the other two.  I also slackened off the mounts on my wheels, that gave them a little bit of slack to take up any misalignment in the rails.  Keith raises a good point about dimensional change in timber due to moisture take up.  I had to rethink a few design changes on the moving parts where I had gone for a tight fit - I went back and shaved off a few mm to allow for movement.  Good luck with sorting out the roof snag, just be careful forcing it to move if it does not want to go - there is a lot of weight there.

Jim

I'm fortunate as most of my LP comes from that direction so I can manage without the roof fully open for now.  Will check it out at the weekend.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[fondofchips]

I've checked the level of the runners at the open end & found that one was sloping down more than the other.  I found an old washing line post made of scaffolding pipe in the garden, cut it to length & used it with my 10 ton jack to lift up the runner.  Tried the roof & it was running free again. I've put some brackets under the runner to give the joint between the upright & runner more strength.  No doubt it will move again sometime in the future as it is a wood structure but it's OK for now at least.

Now I can get on with mounting a SW ST80 as a finder on my SW 200P ready for Comet Lovejoy .  I've tried it out with my AE 1.25" diagonal & my Bresser 32mm Plossl & it works well as a standalone scope.  Hopefully it will be easier to find objects with it as a finder.

Just need some flat aluminum bar to mount it with.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[saac]

A good battle damage repair, if it sees you through the season you can tackle a more permanent solution in the better weather.  I've an idea to replace some of my own upright supports but that's definitely a job for July.  Hope your comet session goes well, good luck.

Jim

[fondofchips]

Have now fitted the SW ST80 to the 200P as a finder, using with it the Astro Engineering 1.25" diagonal & Bresser 32mm Plossl eyepiece.  If you use low power widefield eyepieces in both finder scope & main scope then the need to have accurate alignment between the two isn't as crucial, as even a relatively small target like Comet Lovejoy is easily visible in both.  (I only aligned the two using a neighbours chimney).

Came home around 10.30pm Saturday night and it was all clear, found Comet Lovejoy with my 8 x 42 bins then with the ST80 and finally the 200P fitted with the Nirvana 28mm.

Compared with the hassle I've had finding targets with the 9 x 50 finderscope & 200P it was an absolute breeze.

Finding objects & dew problems were the reason I put the Lyra F11/102 refractor back on the obsy mount for a while.  I'm now well equipped to tackle the dew now & the ST80 as a finder should mean the 200P will be on the mount longer this time.

A couple of pictures of the ST80 in my Gallery, had to be quick as it started to rain as soon as I opened the obsy roof: -  http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/2984-obsy-shed-finishing-touches/   (last 2 pictures).

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[Fish]

Glad you found the problem with the roof, your new finder looks very nice :-) .

[fondofchips]

One of only 2 minor design errors with the obsy, I'm planning on strengthening the open runner support during the Summer.  The other problem was that the top edge of the warm room roof felt wasn't stapled down well enough to stop the rubber seal on the back edge of the ROR roof lifting the felt.

I also need to cause as little disturbance round our adjacent wildlife pond as out newt colony is now returning to the pond to breed.  Around 40 newts will soon be in the pond and busy breeding, a short break when around 80 frogs arrive to spawn, then a another short interval until all the frogs go away.  Then the yearly battle commences, Newts VS Frogspawn, the Newts eat the black centres on the frogspawn eggs so that they don't hatch & eat Newt tadpoles.

The frogs haven't caught on yet, we only got baby frogs the first year (2008) and my money is on the Newts to win again this year.

We also get 2 types of Damselfly & 3 types of Dragonfly emerging from the pond during the summer.

Anybody who has fish misses out on all this as fish eat all of the above. Newts won't breed where fish are anyway.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[fondofchips]

Some more details and additions.

I have 2 street lights that are giving me trouble to the North of the obsy, in the picture the one on the right didn't give me much trouble.  Then a neighbour lopped off about a third of his Leylandii hedge and exposed another brighter one: -

http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26228-street-lights/    Yes you can barely see them in daylight, ringed in black on the picture.

I have fitted some removable boards to cut out this light - http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26229-street-light-boards/  not had first (no) light yet but they should do the job, note the right hand side board hangs over the obsy wall a little.  Held in place by short lengths of 30 x 30mm wood with a 6mm pan head screw & wing nuts.

http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26229-street-light-boards/

The 2 opening outward doors have allowed me space to fit a tall bookcase in the warm room: -   http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26230-obsy-bookcase/

Just need some clear sky, (don't we all).

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[fondofchips]

I'm pleased to say that the removable boards have transformed the viewing conditions, no more street light in the viewing room.  Patchy cloud going past, (8.30pm) though I'm out here until the conditions stop my stargazing tonight.

Link to pictures of the boards on above post.

Hope the sky is clear where you are tonight.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.