Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

Discuss your home observatory!
User avatar
KathyNS Canada
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2584
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
4
Location: Nova Scotia
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#21

Post by KathyNS »


We had a warm(ish) day yesterday, so I rigged the replacement cable. It is hard getting the tension adjusted with the Exploradome setup. I have it close, but it may need some tweaking. I ran the shutter through several cycles successfully. I might still supervise it next time, just to avoid unpleasant surprises, like a shutter that fails to close.
Image
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
User avatar
UlteriorModem
Local Group Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2112
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:32 am
4
Location: Florida
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#22

Post by UlteriorModem »


KathyNS wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:41 pm We had a warm(ish) day yesterday, so I rigged the replacement cable. It is hard getting the tension adjusted with the Exploradome setup. I have it close, but it may need some tweaking. I ran the shutter through several cycles successfully. I might still supervise it next time, just to avoid unpleasant surprises, like a shutter that fails to close.
That and the cable will stretch out after some use.

Glad to see you back in action!
Tom

Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
User avatar
yobbo89 Australia
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 2561
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:44 pm
4
Location: australia qld brisbane
Status:
Online

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#23

Post by yobbo89 »


KathyNS wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:54 pm With several new-moon clear nights forecast this week, I thought it would be a good idea to clear the snow off the dome.

P1160122-1000px.JPG

That turned out to be harder than it looked. Not only is the top of the dome impossible to reach, but the recent cycle of storms started with an ice storm, so the base layer was frozen solid. I managed to chip away enough snow and ice to rotate the dome, with manual assistance. (The rotation motor was trying, but I had to haul the dome around by hand to keep it moving.) That allowed my to reach all azimuths of the dome from the front deck. I paid extra attention to the shutter track, clearing as much of the snow and ice as possible from it.

So the final step was to try the shutter. It has a very powerful geared DC motor, so I was optimistic that it could break the remaining ice free. Nope! The motor is indeed powerful, though: the aircraft-grade stainless steel cable snapped! I guess the ice was stronger.

So, with no way to open the shutter until I can do repairs, the observatory is out of commission for a while.
nice igloo :lol:
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .

Image
User avatar
John Fitzgerald United States of America
Jupiter Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 211
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:04 am
4
Location: Arkansas
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#24

Post by John Fitzgerald »


Kathy,
On your Exploradome, do you use the lower door at all?
Double and multiple star observer. Over 3,500 unique pairs logged.

No good deed goes unpunished.
User avatar
KathyNS Canada
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2584
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
4
Location: Nova Scotia
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#25

Post by KathyNS »


John Fitzgerald wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:52 pm Kathy,
On your Exploradome, do you use the lower door at all?
I tend to go after targets that are high in the sky, but sometimes mother nature doesn't give you a choice. The doors are automated, and I can't open one without opening the other: the sequencing is automatic. So I don't pay much attention to whether the scope is looking out the upper part of the aperture or the lower part.
Image
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
User avatar
KathyNS Canada
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2584
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
4
Location: Nova Scotia
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#26

Post by KathyNS »


I spent about an hour out in the dome today, adjusting the tension of the shutter cables. It is a nasty adjustment that has to be made in three dimensions, using two wrenches, with a third hand holding the orientation of the stop nut relative to the cable. Anyway, it successfully ran through several open/close cycles.

Since we have a clear night tonight, I have a session queued up ready to go. We shall see.
Image
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
User avatar
UlteriorModem
Local Group Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2112
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:32 am
4
Location: Florida
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#27

Post by UlteriorModem »


Sweet! Best of luck to you!
Tom

Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
User avatar
KathyNS Canada
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2584
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
4
Location: Nova Scotia
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#28

Post by KathyNS »


Well, between the persistently cloudy weather and the dome problems, it has been so long since I had an imaging session that I forgot to press the RUN button!! :o It wasn't until I got home from the theatre at 22:00 that I realized nothing was happening. I did manage to get it started and it got a few frames, but an hour later, the target was in the trees. :violin:

Oh, well, at least the shutter worked properly. :sprefac:
Image
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
User avatar
UlteriorModem
Local Group Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2112
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:32 am
4
Location: Florida
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Drat, there goes my imaging for a while!

#29

Post by UlteriorModem »


Oh well, yea its always the little things.

My constant 'woops' is calibrating PHD2 before having the mount synched :p
Tom

Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Home observatories”