DIY Flat Field Panel

[kbrown]

Hi, 

So I'm about to build an EL panel based flat field generator. I've got the panel and a suitable 12V inverter already but I haven't really got a detailed plan how to put it together yet so recommendations are welcome. 

The panel is A3 size. A little on the big side for my 10" newt but I was going to use the whole panel anyway instead of cutting it to ensure even lighting. 

Maybe put it in a picture frame behind a plexi such as this: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F172815175264

The inverter would go on the  backside together with a handle of some sort. Then I'd fabricate a suitable adapter perhaps out of mdf or plywood so that it sits nicely on the scope. 

[kbrown]

Some progress on this. Got the panel in a picture frame and the inverter and battery pack on the back side of it. The inverter has a manual dimmer built into it so at least I can use this as is already.

My long term plan for this is to have it controlled by an arduino which I can connect to from KStars/Ekos via an INDI driver. I'll probably add a dc-dc step up converter behind the battery pack to stabilize the voltage even when the battery charge starts to drop. Then after the converter I'll add an adjustable voltage regulator with a digital potentiometer the arduino can have control over. This way I should hopefully have a consistent way of taking flats with all my filters etc.

Any comments / suggestions are welcome as always.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

To keep the weight down, I just sandwiched mine into come stiff card, which can fold over to provide a cover, when not in use. For this reason I also kept the inverter separate as well.

BTW, it is possible to cut the panel to the required size, with a pair of good scissors, but I'm probably going to look at an Arduino based flap opener\closer for my ota's to enable SGP to automate flats creation.

[kbrown]

3 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

To keep the weight down, I just sandwiched mine into come stiff card, which can fold over to provide a cover, when not in use. For this reason I also kept the inverter separate as well.

BTW, it is possible to cut the panel to the required size, with a pair of good scissors, but I'm probably going to look at an Arduino based flap opener\closer for my ota's to enable SGP to automate flats creation.

Good points, thank you. This won't be attached to my scope permanently for now so I'm not too worried about the weight. 

What is SGP? 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Sequence Generator Pro, great bit of software to integrate a complete imaging run....

[RayD]

20 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Sequence Generator Pro, great bit of software to integrate a complete imaging run....

+1. 

The automated flats and flats calibration wizard is superb.  I have the Alnitak flat flap and this makes adding and taking flats fully automatic and a total breeze.  I've just finished a video for my YouTube channel on setting this up which is being posted tonight.

[kbrown]

SGP looks like fun but sadly it's windows only. Ekos in KStars has a scheduler too to do the same. Been happy with that so far.