Mount Stu Observatory mkII

[adyj1]

Brilliant job, well done.

It's a shame about the roof automation, but it looks very easy to move and it looks like the magnets keep it firmly in place when it is closed. 

Mine looks like a shack and yours looks like a telescope hotel... 😁 

[Graeme]

That's a great build. The insulation gives it a futuristic look! And the Alexa control is a nice touch!

Regards

Graeme

[powerlord]

Last night it got its first true weather test - around 01:30am all hell broke loose - 30+ mph winds and rain battering down sideways so quick it was flooding the drive. It didn't last longer than 10 mins or so but a lot of sideways rain in that time.

So I was with slight trepidation that I entered Oiii this morning to check....

bone dry. not a single solitary drip of water on the inside of the roof joins, walls or anything. nice. 😁

[M40]

Superb👌 and a great idea with the toolbox to keep everything tidy. But I have spotted something that you have missed, a doormat. You know you will be distracted by that muddy footprint  😉

[powerlord]

oh no - there IS a doormat. I bought it the day after that photo! as you say, otherwise it gets messy quicky!

 

[powerlord]

With start trek noise

[Alan White]

3 hours ago, powerlord said:

With start trek noise

Hmmm, not sure to comment or not on April 1st!

[adyj1]

7 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Hmmm, not sure to comment or not on April 1st!

Oh, I think this guy is serious... 😁 

@powerlord can you provide a few brief details about the hardware you used for the sound? 

[powerlord]

oh yeh. forgot the date. yeh - serious. its esp32, with a wee I2c MAX98357A audio amp. you just stream i2c data (raw sample of the star trek door) to it. I'm using this library:

https://github.com/pschatzmann/arduino-audio-tools

I would have loved to adjust the delay a bit more, and reduced the stepper steps, but I did the same thing I did with the first board - connected power to the esp32 at same time as plugging in to usb, and the crappy chinese ones I have promptly stop allowing code uploads after that - so by that stage I'd had enough, and didn't feel like trying to desolder 40 pins from a crappy chip to replace it with another one again - hence it is what it is.

🙂

 

[adyj1]

@powerlordThanks for the info 👍 

[powerlord]

The first hot today today. Not air wise - it's 13 degrees, but very sunny. On  day like this the old plastic obsy even with the white roof used to get very warm - about 15-20 above ambient. Similar to my conservatory where its in the 30s today. However in Oiii it's a cool 17 degrees. The south facing wall and roof are hot to the touch on the outside, but inside the insulation is just a bit warm. Mostly it seems to be reflecting the heat away. So seems to be doing a good job.

[powerlord]

Well, I designed oiii to fit my largest scopes.. And tonight is first attempt with two of em..note.. That's my 300 pds.. I can fit inside it... And c925.

Roof closes JUST.. I'll be imaging the same target with both which should avoid clashes... Tonight I be huntin' galaxies!! Both at 1500mm (x. 63 reducer on sct).. F4. 9 vs f6. 3..sct vs newt..

Just waiting for the sun to get low before I collimated the newt as not used in a while. M101 and M63 tonight.

Edited April 13, 2023 by powerlord