Expression of interest for pre-built Dew heaters?

[Windston]

Hi.

I am a 16yo QLD kid with a real addiction to astrophotography. I have got some reasonable good gear by working on my family farm, and my family really like the photos that I produce, so they are happy to help support.
With that I have the basics, NEQ6, and 5inch newt and a 600D.

However I would like to purchase a few more nick nacks, and dont want to rely on them for cash, and want to be able to pay them back a bit.

Anyway, I just finished my first dew heater today, I was sick of using a hair dryer to heat up my guidescope's lens all night! :thumbsup:

I am currently using Nichrome wire, soldered to a 12v cigarette adapter, I use the dew heater spreadsheet made by Al Sheehan B.E or "Sheeny" to calculate the resistance for the size of the objective. I then cut the wire to size based on the ohms/m, stick it to some duct tape, making sure that it looks tidy. It wraps around your objective and sticks with velcro. At the end, you have a silver strip that is powered by a 12v DC cigarette lighter, that provides heat all night long. Cool ay?

Anyway, if I where to charge, say 25$-30$ for one of these (Takes me 30min-1hr, plus about 10$ for materials, and a few bucks postage, needing to be driven to the post office etc :lol: ), do you guys think that I would get enough interest around the community to support or lighten the financial load of my addiction?!

Kind of like what Exfso does with his light boxes.

I would ship them all tested working of course with a lighter plug, so its just plug and play.

Thanks heaps
Dan

[Exfso]

Good luck Daniel, hope it works out ok. I most definitely started something with the light boxes, what was just a bit of interest has turned into almost a full time thing. I had 4 people with expressions of interest last night alone. So I hope it goes well for you. This hobby needs more people willing to have a go and pass it on to others at a reasonable price.:thumbsup:

[Windston]

Ok awesome! Sounds great, better than get a part time job!

I will buy a small quantity of the materials that I need from Jaycar and ebay and see how it goes! :D

Dan

[Shano592]

Hi Dan,

I like your entrepreneurial spirit.

If I can make a suggestion. Along with the ciggie lighter plug, it may also be worth offering a variation, with an RCA connector instead of ciggie plug. A lot of the dew controllers, such as the Kendrick 4-port, connect via RCA jacks. I hated the Kendrick, and was glad to get custom-made one. This also uses RCA's.

Bonus is it also controls my light box!

Also, look at Goot Wicking. It is super easy to solder to.

I'll take a photo later today and post it here, so that it is clear what I mean.

I think your service is a great idea. When I made a few for myself it did take a while, I recall. For those who are time poor, your services could be very handy.

I made one each, for my eyepiece and finderscope. And I think I have a third in the crate, for the guide scope I am yet to buy, 6 years later...

[Windston]

I was thinking that I should offer something like that. I was thinking that I might be able to integrate an arduino. I saw http://www.jaycar.com.au/diy-telescope-dew-heater and thought that it would be a great idea to sell it as a package in a project box with say 4 output RCA ports that can all be controlled by the arduino.
However I would like to get that all sorted out properly before I offer it to people! I am also thinking that I will include an inline switch and some sort of fabric wrap to make it look tidier than a duct tape strip!

I am also going to make it clear that I am not trying to monopolize this market! :lol: I might get around to making a proper tutorial for the IIS community for people to follow if they have the time, otherwise they can just go through me! :thumbsup: