Go Back   IceInSpace > Equipment > Equipment Discussions

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread
  #1  
Old 21-10-2019, 10:51 AM
h0ughy's Avatar
h0ughy (David)
Moderator

h0ughy is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NEWCASTLE NSW Australia
Posts: 33,156
fitting a celestron focus motor to a RASA8

well if i can do it anyone can, how hard can it be!

to be honest i didnt have any dramas, used a bit of tape to hold a bracket in place and remembered not to over tighten and strip the plastics....

have to wait for some camera extension adapters before i can test the focusing - no visual eyepiece
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021111854.jpg)
176.3 KB17 views
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021111900.jpg)
185.2 KB15 views
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021112134.jpg)
167.5 KB14 views
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021112537.jpg)
162.4 KB15 views
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021112718.jpg)
193.0 KB16 views
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021113147.jpg)
170.8 KB17 views
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021113156.jpg)
102.7 KB14 views
Click for full-size image (IMG20191021113207.jpg)
186.1 KB16 views
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 21-10-2019, 04:22 PM
Dennis
Dazzled by the Cosmos.

Dennis is offline
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 11,704
Very nice David, but does it sound like a purring Maserati Quattroporte when it operates...

Cheers

Dennis
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 21-10-2019, 04:28 PM
h0ughy's Avatar
h0ughy (David)
Moderator

h0ughy is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NEWCASTLE NSW Australia
Posts: 33,156
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis View Post
Very nice David, but does it sound like a purring Maserati Quattroporte when it operates...

Cheers

Dennis
When I fire it up I could dream, but I fear that it will be a datsun 120y
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 21-10-2019, 04:47 PM
The_bluester's Avatar
The_bluester (Paul)
Registered User

The_bluester is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Kilmore, Australia
Posts: 3,342
One thing to periodically check on on these, the lock ring you can see over the thread on the main shaft came loose on mine which allowed the main gear to move around on the bearing, it started fouling on the housing and jammed the motor. It was doing it occasionally for a while and makes the motor behave strangely, it will move then you suddenly hear it move much faster than normal for a moment and stop suddenly. Eventually it just refused to move and that is when I worked out what was going on.


I reckon an occasional maintenance tweak of that lock ring/nut would be wise and if it starts moving unpredictably, the first thing to check.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 24-10-2019, 09:41 PM
astrod (Rod)
Registered User

astrod is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Jerrabomberra
Posts: 5
Looks good. I have the same focuser on a RASA 8 in operation (literally right now as I type). I've had near zero issues with the focuser; it is not noisy and works exactly like another motorised focuser I have on a small refractor. A new youtube video link tends to trash the focuser but it is far from my experience. Roughly you should get 30000+ counts ranging from fully in to fully out (and this is about 30 revolutions of the focuser knob). I run it through USB and connect through SGPro. Did I say zero issues? Actually if you connect it via the AUX connect to a Celestron mount then it seems to port share with the mount and SGPro won't let you use both at the same time. That's why I used USB.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 25-10-2019, 07:06 AM
The_bluester's Avatar
The_bluester (Paul)
Registered User

The_bluester is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Kilmore, Australia
Posts: 3,342
With the lock ring sorted my only real criticism of the focuser is the lack of a temperature sensor built in. It is noisy compared to the ZWO one on my refractor, the difference really being the Celestron makes an audible noise, and the ZWO is as good as silent, but it does not bother me.

The lack of a temperature sensor is my only real gripe, given how sensitive the SCT is to temp changes.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 25-10-2019, 07:12 AM
h0ughy's Avatar
h0ughy (David)
Moderator

h0ughy is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NEWCASTLE NSW Australia
Posts: 33,156
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_bluester View Post
With the lock ring sorted my only real criticism of the focuser is the lack of a temperature sensor built in. It is noisy compared to the ZWO one on my refractor, the difference really being the Celestron makes an audible noise, and the ZWO is as good as silent, but it does not bother me.

The lack of a temperature sensor is my only real gripe, given how sensitive the SCT is to temp changes.
I have a temperhum that I bought ages ago and haven't used yet. I will have to get it working after I find it

Last edited by h0ughy; 25-10-2019 at 07:26 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 25-10-2019, 07:28 AM
The_bluester's Avatar
The_bluester (Paul)
Registered User

The_bluester is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Kilmore, Australia
Posts: 3,342
I have one too but I have had no success getting it working in SGP as it does not recognise them. I had a play with the ASCOM driver that is elsewhere on these forums but it is not a device that works with that (Given how many different versions of a "Temperhum" there are) and then I bought the refractor and ZWO focuser so I never went any further with it.

When I use the SCT I just have SGP set up to focus in the best tradition of elections, vote early and vote often, figuring it is better to lose the equivalent of a couple of subs time wise over the night to focus runs compared to getting a lot of throwaway, out of focus subs. It will be interesting to see how touchy the RASA is to temperature changes, the lack of a magnifying secondary mirror might actually make them better than an SCT.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 11:52 PM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement