New Scope - PW - Woohoo!

[pvelez]

Last week I took delivery of my new scope. A Planewave CDK12.5.

I'd love to boast about its collimation, neat focussing set up, cool down times, resolution etc etc. Sadly, the clouds have been persistent since I mounted the scope last Saturday.

For those who don't know - its a LOT of scope. I have the STL11000 mounted on the back. Anything that makes that camera look puny is a big beast.

It will be interesting to see how the PMX copes with the weight. Slewing around on Saturday it seemed to cope well but only time and some imaging will really show how it manages.

I am one happy camper. Now all I need is some clear sky.

Pete

[RickS]

Congrats, Pete! Look forward to seeing some images when the clouds eventually disperse :lol:

[Larryp]

Congratulations-hell of a scope!

[Joshua Bunn]

Congratulations Peter,

Im eager to hear how it goes for you.

Josh

[pvelez]

Thanks guys

I'll post a report when I get the Beast out under the stars

Pete

[Kunama]

That is a big beast indeed, congrats.

(I turned your pic upright, easier to see.)

[graham.hobart]

That's intense!!
Lovely looking thing. Can't wait to see some images from that Pete!
Good on you. Only a wee bit jealous!
Graham

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Well , that's a lot of scope , condratulations !
Beautiful indeed .
Brian.

[gregbradley]

Congratulations.

That should be an excellent setup. I have seen some great images from the CDK 12.5. Its a great scope and the STL11 is a great camera.

Greg.

[Draco]

congratulations ;)

[FlashDrive]

Nice indeed........carbon fiber to....

[Camelopardalis]

What a beauty! Congrats on your new scope :)

[Logieberra]

Pete, the MX and 12.5 are a superb combo and well within spec of the MX's carrying capacity etc. I've seen CDKPhil's setup a number of times - the same as yours - and the build quality of that CDK always catches my eye. Congrats.

[Paul Haese]

Nice setup. It should be well within specifications.

Just one thing. You need to put you mount directly down onto the pier. Those bolts completely remove the rigidity of the pier and the mount. Just my opinion but having discussed this with several structural engineers they all say the same thing.

[astronobob]

Far-oouutt ! !

[stevous67]

Well, don't want to be a party pooper, but don't be fooled that easy collimating a CDK 12.5 is a given.

My CDK was a nightmare, and my friend Josh above, is also suffering with trying to achieve acceptable results. Those with an APS sized chip slip through issues full frame users get plagued with. Mine needed heavy modification to provided balanced results in all viewing orientations. Soon as you do a camera rotation with meridian flip - collimation was different, and image quality suffered.

Watch out also for the arm chair advisors who insist your problem is CCD tilt. With a massive CFZ, it's often unlikely with quality fittings and an STL (but not impossible).

Good luck, and hopefully you got a good one, as its all in the assembly most of the time with these scopes, as individual parts are normally precisely made.

Steve :thumbsup:

[RobF]

Wow, looking at that nice and tidy pile of goodies Pete, what makes you think the clouds are ever going to clear :lol: :P

[batema]

Beautiful looking set up Pete. Is your set up on a permanent pier? I always set up and pul down my scope and I wonder do you take the mount of your pier or do you cover it and leave it out. If so how does this go. I am thinking of setting up a permanent pier but wonder if it OK to leave out for a while?

Mark.

[DJT]

Great setup. Looking forward to the obsy build thread though..that's a lot of kit you are wheeling in and out.

Did I say it's a great set up??

[Lee]

For the moolah they expect, you'd hope every scope was lovingly tapped together by a master craftsman, and individually tested/certified..... :shrug:

[pvelez]

Thanks everyone for your comments/responses.

I managed to get things running for a few hours the other night. As Logan suggested, the PMX handled the weight with aplomb. No issues slewing about.

I know what I should have done - run a big T Point model, take some PEC data, do a dozen V Curves for FocusMax and initialise it all in CCD Autopilot. There had been bushfires in Sydney that day and there was a heavy duty norwester blowing so it was not an imaging night... But of course I had to put the Beast through its paces.:D

So I took a single V Curve, ignored PEC and relied on the existing T Point model for the FSQ and took a few images. I managed 3 shots of NGC 253 - 5 minutes in L only before the clouds rolled in.

First impressions? The EFA unit and software that controls the fans and focuser are simple and intuitive. There are relatively few setting and it connects and runs as it should straight out of the box.

Focusing was a bit of a challenge. I only had a single V Curve and it needed some refinement. However, I think the real issue was that it was blowing a gale - over 40kmh. So the scope must have been wobbling about a bit. FocusMax has a default minimum acceptable FWHM of 6 and I exceeded that a few times in a focus run so the program reset the focuser to the initial position. I didn't have any problems on the following night.

Paul, I will look into dropping the adapter plate down to the pier. The Tak FSQ had no issues but as the PW is so much bigger I guess there is more potential for movement.

CCD Inspector reported a range of collimation results - down to around 5-6 arcseconds. That said, I believe that the wind may have played a part in this result. On the following night (when the wind had dropped to more sensible levels) I checked the spacing between primary and secondary using the supplied Ronchi eyepiece - it was spot on. The collimation looked good too on the screen. I do need to examine that more closely.

There are plenty of things to tinker with till the Moon goes away. I have been testing guiding with the STL's internal guide chip - I still need to get the settings right. Again, a big wind didn't help. I have been considering a MMOAG though the spacing with a Lodestar is not as straightforward as I'd like.

Then there are spacers - the issue with having a selection of cameras is the need to buy spacers and adapters. No set suits more than 1 camera. The SecureFit adapters supplied by PW are fantastic - rock solid and easy to install. I plan on figuring out the spacing required to use the LISA spectroscope with this rig.

So it will be a while before I post any real images as yet.

Pete

[pvelez]

Thanks Matt - I must learn how to do that

Pete

[pvelez]

Cheers Steve

I have some work to do on collimation. It is not my strong suit. However, I suspect its easier than the RC8.

Pete

[pvelez]

Mark

The pier, mount and scope all live outside. I have a series of covers (sheet, towel and 2 Telegizmos 365 covers) which I strap down each night. These keep the equipment dry - I expect as dry as they would be in an observatory. I do however bring in the electrical gear each night - unless I leave it running when there is no risk of rain/clouds.

I have power and an ethernet cable run from the house to the pier and there is an all weather power outlet on the side of the pier. I use a FitPC3 as the imaging computer - this is also strapped to the pier. I control it from inside the house using Real VNC - the ethernet cable works marginally better that wifi.

I am sure that others wouldn't leave the gear outside. My thinking is that the main issue is the electrical gear including the mount. The mount is designed to run outside at night - despite the dew and humidity. My main concern is that it doesn't get rained on and that there are no electrical connections to the equipment if there is lightning.

The other precaution I take is drying everything out each morning after an imaging run.

Its the best I can do till I have something more permanent. As the pier is right in front of the pool, there is NO chance of receiving authorisation to put up a dome or roll off roof. I expect I will move to a remote site at some stage. For now, I'm just looking to get all the gear playing nicely

Pete

[PRejto]

Hi Pete,

Great scope! Best of luck with it.

What about building up a "temporary" roll off structure (not roof...structure)? Would one actually need council approval for that? I built a small structure on wheels that sits on my deck. So far it has worked a treat and never allowed a drop of water in. I installed a solar powered fan (J-Car) that helps keep air moving. I can be imaging within moments of powering up. If you are interested in seeing how I built my rolling "shed" I can put up some pictures. Or, come by as I'm in Sydney too and you can take a look. You can see my structure a bit in the background if you look at the equipment page of my picture at pbase. If I had it to do again I'd figure out a more creative way to park the scope and build something wider rather than taller!

Peter

[alocky]

Hi Peter,
I'm getting a severe case of scope inadequacy with all these lovely imaging OTAs about. I don't know how heavy the 12.5" is, but can the OTA be removed from the mount without disturbing the polar alignment? I've got a similar problem with domestic authorities at the moment, and have found that I can often leave the mount covered in the backyard but keep the optics inside.
The bore pump and reticulation are another problem entirely!
Cheers,
Andrew.

[pvelez]

Thanks Peter

I'll PM you

Pete

[pvelez]

Andrew

I have no doubt you can be persuasive with your domestic authority - a fine bottle of red or 2 should help:D

Until the Beast arrived, I routinely switched from the FSQ 106 to the RC8 without any bother with PA. The TPoint model became a bit fussy but a quick 10 - 20 point recalibration into an existing model did the trick.

I have yet to take the Beast off the mount let alone try and remount it. Its a heavy scope and while I can lift it on my own, it needs a second set of hands to help guide it onto and off the mount (hence the need for clear approval from the authority as she will doubtless be involved in this). I'd be surprised if this threw the PA out too much.

Pete