TheSkySearchers

The scope finally arrived today. I just installed it on my G11S and found the sight pretty impressive so I wanted to share it.

The OnStep controller had no problems moving it around! I will need another counterweight however, 33 lbs. can barely keep it balanced.

Let's hope I can actually use it, it's quite hefty. I have some ideas to make it easy to install the scope with gear and all.

What a nice rig. Looks like it was worth the wait and just in time for galaxy season! Enjoy.

A nice looking setup Henk, I hope you get a lot of use from it.

That is a thing of beauty, Henk! Congrats on (finally) taking receipt and getting its initial setup. We eagerly await great thing!

Bob

Damn, Hank!
That is a beast (a beautiful one too)!
You are going to be able to pull some photons in with that!
Can’t wait to hear the first light. Congratulations!
Didn’t you also order a dedicated astro camera?

This is a great boy, congratulations.

Thanks guys yes it's quite a scope. The first opportunity will be Saturday, perhaps Friday according to clearoutside.

First thing I will do is drill two holes in the Losmandy shoe for a backstop. That way I can lift the scope on the mount in one swoop, rest it on the saddle and have two hands free to tighten the screws. Having to keep the 40 lbs. scope from sliding down with one hand while the other adjusts the screws is too hard. Otherwise it's quite doable. With the camera and guider mounted it will be 45 lbs or so.

I may make a caddie using the 8" air wheels of the triangular caddie that I built for my AVX to move the whole scope into a Rubbermaid shed. I rarely use that caddie anymore. Carrying it for 10 m is not hard though. Getting a good handle on it is important, and at F/4 it's just the right size.

Juno16 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:06 pm Damn, Hank!
That is a beast (a beautiful one too)!
You are going to be able to pull some photons in with that!
Can’t wait to hear the first light. Congratulations!
Didn’t you also order a dedicated astro camera?

Yes I did, last ETA I heard is early April. The ASI2600MM was bought on preorder so it's not quite released yet. Though one of our members in SA has received one and reported that it's a fabulous camera. I will keep my eyes open and will not let it become a moving target.

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:20 pm

Juno16 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:06 pm Damn, Hank!
That is a beast (a beautiful one too)!
You are going to be able to pull some photons in with that!
Can’t wait to hear the first light. Congratulations!
Didn’t you also order a dedicated astro camera?

Yes I did, last ETA I heard is early April. The ASI2600MM was bought on preorder so it's not quite released yet. Though one of our members in SA has received one and reported that it's a fabulous camera. I will keep my eyes open and will not let it become a moving target.

That is an awesome camera. And, you went with mono. Cool.

I really like my 533 even though the fov is small with the small sensor ($$). Hoping to get a small 60-70 mm refractor later this year. I just don't get enough good sky to go mono, so I will stick with OSC.

You are going to have an amazing imaging package!

messier 111 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:40 pm This is a great boy, congratulations.

Thanks Jean-Yves.

Hey, I looked at your website and noticed you used my PA method for your barndoor. Nice job documenting it, thanks! I still use it today every time, it works best for adjusting once the tripod is placed in approximately the same position each time.

I want to build a quality portable barndoor mount for a 300 mm lens and was looking at your cool design, which I remembered. Very nice web page with great images. Especially the epoxied female screw profile is interesting. Like you wrote, it can cause PE. I have a screw against screw propulsion on an EQ platform that caused the same, I had to fix it.

Eventually for the barndoor I concluded that the main bottleneck is the tripod. I will try my current barndoor with my Tiltall tripod. The tripod is too heavy to carry on a hike in the mountains though.

Sorry I am going off topic, just wanted to let you know I visited your web site.

Juno16 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:25 pm

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:20 pm

Juno16 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:06 pm Damn, Hank!
That is a beast (a beautiful one too)!
You are going to be able to pull some photons in with that!
Can’t wait to hear the first light. Congratulations!
Didn’t you also order a dedicated astro camera?

Yes I did, last ETA I heard is early April. The ASI2600MM was bought on preorder so it's not quite released yet. Though one of our members in SA has received one and reported that it's a fabulous camera. I will keep my eyes open and will not let it become a moving target.

That is an awesome camera. And, you went with mono. Cool.

I really like my 533 even though the fov is small with the small sensor ($$). Hoping to get a small 60-70 mm refractor later this year. I just don't get enough good sky to go mono, so I will stick with OSC.

You are going to have an amazing imaging package!

Yes I certainly won't have crappy gear to blame! Having a 12" opens up a lot more targets that are too small for my 6" such as galaxies. I also suspect I can make it work for planets. It is still transportable. I look forward to taking my gear to the Kaibab star party by the Grand Canyon in June for a week long astrophotography/hiking vacation. The skies should be superb. At home I can use narrowband but oftentimes LRGB too because the weather is usually quite good. The mountains are nearby, should I need to escape the lights.

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:36 pm

messier 111 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:40 pm This is a great boy, congratulations.

Thanks Jean-Yves.

Hey, I looked at your website and noticed you used my PA method for your barndoor. Nice job documenting it, thanks! I still use it today every time, it works best for adjusting once the tripod is placed in approximately the same position each time.

I want to build a quality portable barndoor mount for a 300 mm lens and was looking at your cool design, which I remembered. Very nice web page with great images. Especially the epoxied female screw profile is interesting. Like you wrote, it can cause PE. I have a screw against screw propulsion on an EQ platform that caused the same, I had to fix it.

Eventually for the barndoor I concluded that the main bottleneck is the tripod. I will try my current barndoor with my Tiltall tripod. The tripod is too heavy to carry on a hike in the mountains though.

Sorry I am going off topic, just wanted to let you know I visited your web site.

Good evening,
I'm sorry but I don't have a web site.
Unless you're talking about Juno16.

Congrats! Sweet setup! My 10" f/4 Schmidt Newtonian ia about all I can handle by myself, at least for now! I'll be interested to see your innovations for handling that baby!

That's a monster! Congrats.

Oh my, there be monsters here! Love it!

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 5:36 am The scope finally arrived today. I just installed it on my G11S and found the sight pretty impressive so I wanted to share it.

messier 111 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:14 am

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:36 pm

messier 111 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:40 pm This is a great boy, congratulations.

Thanks Jean-Yves.
(....)
Sorry I am going off topic, just wanted to let you know I visited your web site.

Good evening,
I'm sorry but I don't have a web site.
Unless you're talking about Juno16.

Sorry my mistake, I mixed you up with another Canadian member AstrogazerQ without double-checking (viewtopic.php?f=18&t=13904&p=117054&hil ... ac#p117054)

Well here’s my setup that I will try tonight.

I have added a wooden stop underneath the Losmandy dovetail. There was a screw hole already so all I had to do was cut the wood to the right size so it is balanced, shorten the screw that I found, drill a hole and screw it in. I only have to make a power push to lift the scope on the mount, flip it down so the stop holds it, then tighten the screws. Not too hard really, it’s only 48 lbs. and when I grab it at both sides it’s easy to carry. I can still see the DEC level with the stop on.

I fixed the counterweight problem by making an adapter for my guide scope to fit at the bottom of the counterweight bar. It doubles as a stop for the two other weights. It balances perfectly, there is more space to push the weights out if I have to. Over all it is better for balancing than putting a guide scope on top of the OTA.

I line up the guide scope to the OTA by pushing a glass fiber tent pole segment against the base of the guide scope shoe and eyeball if it lines up with the OTA. Should be pretty accurate. Keep in mind that for now I need to use my guide scope for plate solving so long as I don’t have my ASI2600MM yet, so it needs to be lined up.

I installed Astroberry on my Pi 4B with 8 GB and it looks great. I have not yet hooked it up but maybe I will, tonight. One problem is that it is powered by USB-C and I want it to be powered by a 12 V cigarette lighter socket. I can use the power adapter that came with it for now if I add an extension cord.

I figured out how to an old Boost cell phone as a web cam and view it through a web browser through the LiveDroid app. It will be fun to watch the scope move from my computer. If I want smooth video I need to hook up an ethernet cable. The Pi is powerful enough but the Wifi dongle is slow.

Impressive adaptations Henk! I would have to seriously ramp up my daily planks and Kegel exercises to power lift and hoist that ota.

Excited to see how it goes tonight.

ohh yes ! finaly !

diy spring loaded worm, custom motor/driverboard ?