First AP Rig...

[Tenor Viol]

I'm just about to place the order for my first AP rig. This initial system 🤣 will be 'transportable' as although I've got reasonable (Class 4) skies at home, I intend to take it out to 'real' dark skies. I've already acquired the HEQ5 mount. I already have Nikon D7500 and Z6 camera bodies and various Nikon/Sigma lenses from 10mm to 200mm. I have bought a second hand modified Canon 700D. 

After an awful lot of 'paralysis by analysis' I'm going to go with the SW Esprit 100 ED APO, with field flattener. 

I am unsure of I should go straight to guiding with a guide cam, or wait until I've got some basics sorted. 

I'm a Mac user and lack the space to put a Windows partition on the machine. So, there are software options available such as CloudMakers. Or I could go the Raspberry Pi ASIair / StellarMate route. The issues I think are that the former I don't think supports any DSLRS and the latter is probably a US direct import?

Getting through to companies to speak to people is proving difficult - they all seem to be maxed out.  

[Astrosharkey]

HEQ5 and camera bodies all sound good, cannot comment on the scope as don't know it, get your basics sorted first, accurate Polar Align, learn the mount and you should be good for 30 sec subs to start with, when you are confident you can start adding guide scopes etc.  I am also a Mac user but after lots of looking around for software etc (I now use PHD2, Sharpcap, ASCOM filter wheel and focus unit, DSS, Photoshop, registack, autostackert, pipp etc etc) I found it easier to get a second hand windows 10 refurbished laptop for putting out in the cold and damp with all the free software and monitor it all via chrome remote viewer on my Mac from the sofa! Not a purist in the slightest but even at the observatory means I can sit inside with a warm drink during the hours of imaging. 

[MarkAR]

Try KStars/ Ekos on your Mac. Works well once you get to know it.

[Tenor Viol]

OK took longer than I anticipated for various reasons, but placed order now with FLO for the SW Esprit 100 plus FF/FR and some other bits and pieces. Dependent on ships over the ocean now I suspect...

I have downloaded KStars and have started to have a look at it. I may well go with Raspberry Pi and Astroberry (which uses KStars) in the longer term and then remote my Mac into the RPi from the comfort of indoors.... The alternative would be a small PC. Still thinking about that. I do not want to try to do too much at once. 

 

[endless-sky]

Hi,

I also would advice you to go without guiding, at first. There are a lot of things that need to be sorted out and guiding just adds to the difficulty level. Once you manage to take some 30-60s exposures and learn how your system works and the various components interact with each other (optics, mount, software), you could add guiding to the mix, but you will at least start from an "everything I have is working good so far" point, instead of a "I have so many things that can go wrong in a night, I will be lucky to get an image done" point... At least, this is how it felt to me at first. Now I feel ready to add a guiding system.

As far as the PC to control the equipment, I personally went with a Raspberry Pi 4 4GB and the Astroberry suite. Takes some getting used to, at first (I have almost only used Windows for my software needs, up until I got back into astrophotography), but once you figured it out, it works like a charm. And it costs next to nothing - I didn't really see a point in buying Stellarmate (which is basically the same thing) when Astroberry is free and has the same exact software.

Clear skies,

Matteo

Edited June 10, 2020 by endlessky

[TerryMcK]

+1 for Astroberry and Kstars/EKOS. It will work with your 700D DSLR. I can’t comment on the Nikon camerabut chances are it will also work. Don’t leave it too long before you do guiding though as it makes for much longer exposures without star trails.

[endless-sky]

Forgot to mention: I have a Nikon D5300 and it works with EKOS, even bulb mode with any exposure length. With the D90, I could only get it to work up until 30s exposures. To go past that, I needed an intervalometer directly connected to the camera. If you look at this page - http://gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php - both the Z6 and the D7500 are listed to be supported by the gPhoto driver (which is the driver EKOS uses) in all the same functions as the D5300, while the D90 (along with other models) specify PTP mode. So you shouldn't have any problems controlling them with EKOS. The same goes for the Canon 700D.

[Tenor Viol]

Thank you for the comments - very helpful.

Delivery is expected to be late July or into August. I just hope that today's news from China re CV19 doesn't presage further issues. 

[Tenor Viol]

On 10/06/2020 at 17:45, endlessky said:

Forgot to mention: I have a Nikon D5300 and it works with EKOS, even bulb mode with any exposure length. With the D90, I could only get it to work up until 30s exposures. To go past that, I needed an intervalometer directly connected to the camera. If you look at this page - http://gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php - both the Z6 and the D7500 are listed to be supported by the gPhoto driver (which is the driver EKOS uses) in all the same functions as the D5300, while the D90 (along with other models) specify PTP mode. So you shouldn't have any problems controlling them with EKOS. The same goes for the Canon 700D.

Thank you for that. 

[discardedastro]

On 10/06/2020 at 17:45, endlessky said:

Forgot to mention: I have a Nikon D5300 and it works with EKOS, even bulb mode with any exposure length. With the D90, I could only get it to work up until 30s exposures. To go past that, I needed an intervalometer directly connected to the camera. If you look at this page - http://gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php - both the Z6 and the D7500 are listed to be supported by the gPhoto driver (which is the driver EKOS uses) in all the same functions as the D5300, while the D90 (along with other models) specify PTP mode. So you shouldn't have any problems controlling them with EKOS. The same goes for the Canon 700D.

I've not actually tried this but I have got a Z6 and an Ekos box set up so can give this a try if you want a check. But Ekos/KStars is an excellent ecosystem to dive into. The Esprit 100 should be a great scope with any of the cameras - I'd echo the comments that guiding is a good thing to add later on. I'd plan on a piggyback scope rather than OAG for a frac, which will work fine with Ekos/KStars. I use KStars on a Windows PC and a Raspberry Pi 4 running INDI on my telescope, with control and imaging over a (wired) network connection between the two. I think this should also work on OSX. I find it very straightforward as a setup and reliable/robust. PHD2, which is the gold standard for guiding, will work on OSX with such a setup, I believe.

[Tenor Viol]

OK an update after more research....

The SW Esprit 100 is on order from FLO and will probably arrive in August. 

I have also bitten the bullet with respect to computer control and I have now ordered a Raspberry Pi 4 from Pi Hut with 4Gb RAM, a decent sized aluminium case, various cables, and cooling fans. I will load Astroberry onto it which uses KStars and Ekos, and other things. I will be able to remote into it from my Mac or iPad. 

That will be a lot of learning in due course... Once upon a time I used to write computer code for a living - more than 30 years ago! I don't need to do that here of course, but it gives me a chance of managing it 🙂 I could spend some time learning Linux if needed, but hoping I won't have to do too much in the console....

It will keep me busy until the 'scope arrives. 

[endless-sky]

Nice! You won't be unhappy with the Raspberry/Astroberry package! Sure, it will take some getting used to, and the learning curve, as with everything new, is quite steep, but once you figured it out, it will work very nicely. If you need advice on it, follow this thread: 

Plenty of good tips in there!

Clear skies!

Edited June 18, 2020 by endlessky

[Tenor Viol]

The box RPi bits arrived today. No assembly instructions... admittedly it's not difficult and there's plenty of stuff on the RPi web site and elsewhere online. Only tow minor issues getting it going:

1. I opted to spend £10 on the aluminium heatsink case. There's only one support pillar at the top left of the box as I look at it with the USB ports to the right. I struggled to get the little threaded bolt into the post through the PCB. Looking carefully there was a very slight alignment issue.

A quick Google showed that this was issue with this case. Basically, the USB-C slot (which is what he power supply uses) is a smidge too far to the right. No idea how come, but I happen to have a small set of files. So a few strokes with a small file and problem solved. Probably all of 0.5mm... 

2. I loaded the Linux OS OK - it had an installer pre-loaded (NOOBS) on the SD card. It powered up OK and loaded the OS straightaway. The problem I got was I couldn't get it to connect to my wi-fi.

After a while, more Google. Seems there was an issue with the RPi 4 with the HDMI cable not being adequately shielded and interfering with the wi-fi. Also seems to be tied in with a screen resolution issue. No, there is meant to be some sort of firmware fix for this, but (I'm guessing) it's not in the out-of-the-box software and has to be applied as one of the updates that happens when you update after the initial set-up.... Definite Catch 22...

I happened to buy two HDMI to micro-HDMI cables, which was how I was connecting the HDMI cable from the monitor. I switched to the other cable and briefly had wi-fi, then it went away.

Trip to Argo and £15 to buy a proper 1m HDMI-micro-HDMI cable rather than an interconnect. I get wi-fi. It's a bit unstable, but I manage to get the updates downloaded and installed. Re-boot and it seems OK.

OK so far, now for the Astroberry....

So, I need to download an image of the software to my Mac, flash it onto the SD card, then load it into the RPi. First, I need to download some software to carry out the flashing of the files (a simple file copy won't work). So I download ETCHER.IO to my Mac and install it. I then download Astroberry, which takes a while as it's well over 3Gb. I insert the micro-SD card into a USB card reader and plug that into the Mac. Open Etcher. It's very simple: you click on the source file i.e. the 'what' you want to flash and click on 'where' you want to flash it to. Be careful: flashing wipes the card / USB stick / disk that you target and reformats it. Writing the data to the card took a while, but was OK.

I then dismounted the card reader and took out the micro-SD card and put it into the RPi and powered it up. The RPi booted up and loaded Astroberry. Some minor configs and I had to re-input wi-fi details, but it all worked this time (not sure why it didn't inherit details from the OS but I'm not techie enough to know why).

Conclusions? Overall it was reasonably straightforward. A minor QC issue with the alignment of the slots in the aluminium case. I'm not a skilled mechanic/engineer type of person, but I did have a set of small files (no idea why - they've never been used!). The wi-fi issue was more complex. My day job is designing big IT systems, once upon a time 30 years ago I was a mainframe assembler programmer... but I'm not into scripting or console commands etc with PCs etc. However, I am 'proficient' at trouble shooting stuff and I stand a reasonable chance of solving basic issues by just being methodical, which worked in this case. 

It looks to be good piece of kit. You cannot complain though: the 4gb RPi 4 was £54 and Astroberry is free... And it's in a box about 2" x 4".  

 

  

         

 

[endless-sky]

Nice! Glad you got your kit and started sorting it out. I think the reason why your WI-FI information was lost after you installed Astroberry is because, from how I understand it, when you flash the Astroberry image to the memory card, it completely wipes it and overwrites the new image. It's not like a regular software installation that goes on top of the operating system, Astroberry IS the operating system (Raspbian) plus all the packages needed for astrophotography that the developer of Astroberry pre-intalled and configured in the image he provides on his website.

Now that you got everything installed, the real fun begins! Getting KStars / EKOS configured and working with all your gear!

We are here to help, in case you need it!

Clear skies!

[Tenor Viol]

Funny how things progress.... 🤣

I have the HEQ5, the 100mm f/5.5 APO is on order - ETA due around early August...

PUTTING OLD C8 TO USE

So, pending that I got to thinking... lurking in the garage is a vintage 1980 (December 1980 to be precise) Celestron C8 which has not been out of its case since I moved here (so 21 years) and I don't think it had been used much for the 10 years before that. Why? Basically it was never easy to use. In this climate it is prone to dew and back then there was no such thing as dew heaters. I had a huge piece of card as a dew cap... The motor drive (for visual use only really) was only usable off mains, so no use away from home...

I had a bit of an aha! moment and after an online chat earlier in the week I'm getting the ADM dovetail kit to mount it on the HEQ5, i.e. I will de-fork it. That will give me a 2,000mm f/10 which will be really good for lunar photography and give me another string to the bow when I can't look at or photograph DSOs. With a bit of luck, I should have the dovetail kit next week. 

As I said, I've not even opened the case in over 20 years, so I hope the optics - especially the mirror surface - are OK.

I do need to make a list of what eyepieces are lurking around the house: there are some very basic 1.25" ones dating back 40 years, then some better Plossls and Lanthanum EP including I think a couple of 2" ones...

SET-UP

Been giving this some thought too.

Initially, I will be using the standard SW tripod that came with the HEQ5. Now, my garden has good and bad points. Good - local skies are Bortle class 4 and immediate lighting is low pressure sodium and it goes off at 11.30pm. 

My garden slopes badly. Think of a sort of letter P with a 13m x 13m ish rectangle plus a 'leg' that is tapering quadrangle of about 20m length down the side of the house and goes from around 4m down to 2m by the time it gets to the front. I will post some photographs of this later as it's hard to explain/visualise.

The slope is in two planes: the 'square' bit looking out of the back of the house, the top left hand corner is +3m compared to back of house. But, it also slopes down the right from the same viewpoint. It drops about 1m across the width of the garden. Down the side 'leg' it drops about 1.5m across a narrow width.

For the last two years major landscaping has been underway to a)bring the ground to the same level all the way around the house, b)terrace the main 'square'.

This has involved shifting around 120 tonnes of earth. A retaining wall down the long side was built from concrete to bring the side to common level. This brought the level up by over 1m. It required hiring a digger (not the small ones) and a powered dumper truck. That was two long weekends (4 days each) about a year apart... At the end of that, 48 tonnes of earth was carted away by grab wagon on three trips.

For the terracing, looked at all kinds of options and eventually went with oak sleepers. Full-sized ones were used for the posts and these are sunk 3 feet into the ground. Half-sized ones form the rails of the retaining. Behind the 'wall' there was a deep trench with concrete foundation and perforated drain. This was covered with landscape fabric and backfilled with gravel. A 'sump' or low point was created and that goes off to drain away. The same was done with the creation of the raised level down the side of the house. New drainage was also added around the conservatory and under the new patio area. 

This first retaining wall is about 1m high. There is then a path about 1m wide which opens into an 'apron' about 3m across. From there there are steps (waiting to be finished) to go up to the top level. This is about a 1.5m rise (ish). The top level is quite a large area and puts me eye-level with the first floor windows (2nd floor for transatlantic cousins 🙂).

Observing. The 'base' patio area I can walk onto out of the conservatory. Dead ahead is WSW, but is blocked as I'm low down and trees/houses behind mostly block the view. Good view to S and also to N. N is unobstructed as it looks out towards nature reserve and a minor hill. The house obstructs E.

From apron on the 1st terrace level. improved view to SE, S and N OK, W not really. Top level. Much improved view to E and NE. SE and S good. SW and W blocked by houses/trees. There is potential to improve this a bit by taking the crown off the weeping beech tree...

In addition, I could go to the long bit down the side: that does have a view to W and NW and to E. View to W would be improved by reducing crown of the tree.

I might move this part going forwards to a more appropriate thread.

More to follow (got a music lesson next! Online...) 
          

Edited June 25, 2020 by Tenor Viol

[Tenor Viol]

Picking up as I wasn't able to write everything this morning... I realise that was a lot of words and some pics are needed - I will try to spend some time on that tomorrow and put them up. 

The garden when it's finished will have mains power available on all three levels. I suspect the 'apron' on the first 'terrace' (path with a 3x3m area at the end of it) may be the best place tout the 'scope. That's because it has a bit more view to E of S, so providing a bigger 'window' for photographing stuff that's rising. East is blocked by the house I think. I'll go up with a compass tomorrow and check.

I probably need to experiment but if one place is noticeably better, then I think I will buy a much heavier duty tripod pillar and leave it in place permanently with a cover.

I am hoping that by the end of summer at least the patio, paving, and steps will be completed, which will provide me with usable space, currently lacking. 

To set the scene, a pic from the 'top' of the garden before the terracing was in place, apart from the initial 'digging out'...

  

Edited June 25, 2020 by Tenor Viol

[Tenor Viol]

As mentioned the other day, I've now taken some pics and labelled them with the relevant compass points. There are challenges - the landscaping work is still in progress and until for example the steps to the top terrace are completed it's not very accessible. So, no pics from the top today - will add shortly. So let's go through the various issues... All the pics have been taken with a 10mm lens on a Nikon D7500 so 1.5 crop = 15mm efl. 

I am hoping by the end of the summer, this will be mostly sorted out in terms of completion of path area, installation of electricity and lighting, and weeds gone. 

The first pic from 'ground level' shows the view NW and the challenge I have with the rise of the ground, trees, and houses behind me and impact on views to the west.

 

The next pic is from the top of the steps so on the first 'terrace' which is roughly a metre above ground level. As you can see there is a clear view to the north and it there's only a couple of houses until you hit the nature reserve in the background. This means the N-S meridian is a clear line.

 

 

At the end of the first level it opens out into a roughly 3m x 3m space, which looks down the side of the house to NE. Obviously view to N, overhead, and S are OK from here. On the lower level, there is a big space down the side and it opens out. But it is limited to  a strip, but it does provide a view to NW and W, but trees and houses behind are an issue. The main issue with NE is the town centre is that way - about 2/3 mile away. However, a lot of lights go off at 11.30pm and most of what is left on is low pressure sodium. The house blocks the view to E and SE.

 

    

 

Finally, from the back of the house we have the view to the south. This one is from 'ground level' and you can see the edge of the 3x3 apron on the first level on the right. The issue to the south is limited view towards the SW as trees get in the way then as you move towards the west, the garden itself and houses behind get in the way.

   

 

The 'missing' images are obviously from the top level. That will have good views to S, SE, E and NE but not low down because house is in the way, N, unsure about NW, W is obstructed.

You have to bear in mind until I started this work, the back garden was just a grassy slope - 120 tonnes have been shifted to get to this position, of which 48 tonnes were disposed of, the remainder was rearranged to bring lower lying levels up to the same level as patio area (the side had to be raised by nearly 1,200mm and the front by 600mm.

I won't put a permanent pier in place until I see what the 'real' sky accessibility is like. I think it will be a toss-up between the 3x3 area on the first level or the top.

I will post separately about the options I have at the front of the house, which does have possibilities.  

   

[Tenor Viol]

Just had an update on the ETA for my 'scope and it's looking like it will be end of August at best. 

[TerryMcK]

It will be worth the wait

[Tenor Viol]

Finally had a brief clear spell last night - first for nearly 3 weeks. Barely lasted an hour deg 23.00 to 00.00... Set-up the HEQ5 for only the third time. It's getting easier with more practice. Polaris was in the field of view of the polar scope straight off, which helps. I put the Z6 and lens on a short dovetail and attached it to HEQ5. I used the 70-200mm lens at 200mm to trial that.

Conditions weren't ideal and rising Moon didn't help. I had the lens wide open at f/2.8 - would probably benefit from knocking that back a little as there is vignetting. Need to remember to take darks... but I didn't have the images to stack either, not clear enough for long enough. The power supply for the HEQ5 needs some thought.

The mains one has a stupid bright blue LED on it. The cable is not quite long enough for that to be on the ground. Long term that's not how it will be powered. I should have a better location when the work is finished on the garden (just don't ask what year...).

Last night was also the first test of the iOptron Star Guider - definitely needs a solid tripod. First impressions OK, but lacked the conditions to test better. 

   

[discardedastro]

12 hours ago, Tenor Viol said:

Conditions weren't ideal and rising Moon didn't help. I had the lens wide open at f/2.8 - would probably benefit from knocking that back a little as there is vignetting. Need to remember to take darks... but I didn't have the images to stack either, not clear enough for long enough. The power supply for the HEQ5 needs some thought.

You'll really want flats to fix vignetting - darks won't do anything for that. An inexpensive approach can be as simple as an old monitor or TV showing a white/grey signal (I use a spare tablet w/ HDMI out and have the desktop background set to a 80% grey), or several layers of plain white bedsheets/linens/tshirts stretched over the end of the lens with elastic (taking care to avoid any creases), pointed at a reasonably even light source (such as the dawn/twilight sky).

Black PVC tape will fix any errant LEDs. If you're going to be moving things around much then a Polemaster is an excellent addition to the arsenal.

[Tenor Viol]

OK as the usual posting 'home' is currently unavailable.... a chance to provide an update on where I am up to at the moment. 

This last weekend there was finally a little clear weather and a chance to take some pics and test out kit. I am taking it slowly and not rushing ahead. This weekend saw a short one hour spell Friday night - it clouded over much earlier than forecast. Saturday was better but suffered from poor transparency. The rising Moon curtailed events: I don't have any filters at the moment that would help matters. 

HEQ5 - Set-up and Use

I used the HEQ5 with the Nikon Z6 body which has an ftz adaptor to take standard F mount Nikon lenses. I used the hefty (1.6kg) Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I changed the way I mounted it. I just bolted a dovetail plate onto the tripod hole in the tripod mount on the lens. I'm learning a few tricks to get PA done more easily. I have a spirit level to level the tripod. I had already worked out to stand well back and use a compass app to get north and do a line-of-sight alignment. Before using polar scope, I sight along the top of the mount to confirm azimuth is right and altitude is 'near'. I learnt how to reduce the brightness of the reticule, which made using the polar scope easier. I'm finding now that Polaris tends to be in the field of view straight off and with teh use of a phone app alignment is quick.

What I don't like are the adjustment bolts for altitude and the knobs for azimuth adjustment - they are both poor and badly designed / implemented. For the cost of an HEQ5 and extra couple of quid would surely provide a much better solution? At UK latitudes, the altitude adjustment bolts are particularly bad. I will probably look to see if there are after market options to improve this.

At the moment I only have the camera so no finder or 'scope to help with alignment. Both nights, I used two star alignment. Live view on the Z6 worked out. Some visual alignment required to check that 'about in the right place'. I was surprised that Lyra was clearly visibly in live view. All I could do was put Vega in the centre of the screen. The move to Deneb required no adjustment - it was in the centre. For focus, the Nikon has 'focus peaking' which means the stars turn red at best focus - takes a lot of pain out of the process.

I keyed in to GOTO NGC 7000 fo Amy first attempts at photographing it. Obviously not much chance of seeing anything on the screen, so I trusted the computer to put it in the right place. When I processed the images NGC 7000 was bang in the middle of the frame. 

However... on Saturday I had an issue which I have seen some beginners complain about online, namely the scope pointing nowhere near where it should... I think I know why this happened, but a detailed explanation is probably worthwhile.

I put the camera on the HEQ5, but due to the way I was holding the camera it went on 180 deg opposite to Friday, with dec axis with lock on RHS instead of LHS which is how I have previously used it. I assumed (🤔) that the electronics are 'intelligent' enough to be aware of this... Went through alignment - spot on, no issue - mount went straight to Vega with little adjustment and Deneb was spot on. Key in M13 and it is pointing too low by pretty well 90 deg. I'm thinking that putting camera on opposite way is behind this, but that means it should be out by 180 deg.... Try another object, NGC 7000 which is overhead. Camera ends up pointing at my conservatory window.... definitely 90 deg out. umm.

Go through alignment procedure. All spot on, GOTO M13, 90 deg out. Turn off, move mount to 'home position'. Run alignment, spot on, GOTO NGC 7000 - points at conservatory... Re-set, unplug power supply, re-run.... all OK.

As someone who has worked in IT as a programmer, an analyst, in live support... etc for 35 years here's my take on it. The alignment process is independent of the GOTO process and stores key data items separately. Every time alignment was spot on without issue. GOTO must have some parameters stored in the handset about 'where' it thinks the mount is pointing and these data items are not refreshed by the alignment process. I suspect there is a means of forcing the re-set of this but not sure at the moment what that is.

I used the lens at 200mm and around 105mm on a mix of NCG 7000 and the Sadr region. No trailing evident up to about 200s exposure.

iOptron Sky Guider - First Outing

The weekend saw the first outing of the SG. The only tripod I've got for this is either a Manfrotto or a carbon fibre travel tripod. These are OK for lightweight travel use, but 'serious' use requires a more rigid tripod than these.

Having done the HEQ5 already, the set-up is straightforward but the wedge is fiddly - I can understand why the WO one exists, but struggle with the price of it.

I put the Nikon D7500 on it with the Sigma 10-20mm lens. I have an IR trigger for the D7500 and used that to start and stop 'bulb' setting exposures and ISO at 800. I took images up to 290s and whilst very wide angle (I used 10mm so 15mm ff equivalent) there was no sign of trailing at all. There was coma at the edges which is understandable for such a wide lens.

Results

Here's a wide angle shot with the D7500 on the SG. My PS skills are at the novice stage so I'm aware of processing artefacts and I tried to remove the trees in the foreground and failed...

      

This is from the Z6 on the HEQ5

 

  

[Tenor Viol]

I have a major landscaping project underway on all of the gardens around the house (I'm on a bend of a cul-de-sac and I have three gardens: front, side, and back). The developers lied to me about the final position of the groundworks. I was left with the top left hand corner of the back garden being what we now know is nearly 4m higher then at the back of the house and the ground falls away down from left to right as you look out of the back door. It's about a metre for teh back garden but a good 1,200mm down the side where for a large oart it is only 2 - 3m wide...

I am hoping that by the end of September I will have the primary paving completed. It will have taken over 2.5 years to get to that point. Landscape contractors wanted £60 - £75k to do it... 😬  I ahve friends who work in this area and I get a bit of their time as and when... hence the time frame. We have moved 120 tonnes of earch, disposed of 48 tonnes of it and re-arranged the rest so that we have the same level all round the house. The garden at the side has had to be brought up by nearly 600mm.

In Spetember, the power will hopefull get installed on the three levels and I'm hoping that the upper level will be good for astro (but a pain to carry gear up) as it will give me a decent view over the roof to the east.

I nuked the weeds that have sprouted and cleared them at the weekend so this is the upper level looking north. The bottom patio level is where I've been takign pics so far, but I can only see a narrow strip of sky as I'm sunk down so low.