beren
10-04-2005, 12:40 PM
I guess this is a usual experiance for most of us but for a third time in a row my attempt to try my hand at getting some prime focus images failed again last night due to horizon/horizon blanket cloud cover. As the evening started things looked sweet although a cloud belt could be seen to the extreme south , with no wind apparent thought chances of incrouchment of this front would be nil or later into the evening .
Giving up the chance to see West Coast belittle the hapless Dockers {hooray the dragons finally won} started prepartions....main objectives
1. set up SCT with wedge on mobile dolly system.
2. get good polar alignment , mark driveway for future reference
3. try new A.D.D.S {anti dew defence system}
4. go for a ambitious shot of M104 using D70 at prime
First objective achieved , the JMI dolly system to move a scope around from storage to location worked very well , what a relief not to go through the saga of scope setup/teardown plus the option of hasty retreat if conditions turned bad. Second objective achieved after a bit of fiddling getting wedge adjustments sorted , noted for the first time with the compass with good alignment the true north marker was set at 4 degrees east instead of west using the markings .After completing that task noted the massing clouds to the south where advancing northwards , still no low level wind present , muttering curses set about hooking the camera up to the scope using the necessary hardware including a 6.3 focal reducer . In reality i wasnt expecting nothing flash, no guidescope yet nor PEC training done just a unguided lucky dip shot using the D70 inbuilt noise reduction. Using nearby jupiter to get the focusing right all set to go but the cloud had beaten me , decided to wait another hour but it was there to stay.The A.D.D.S comprising of a dew controller and 4 heater belts covering main objective , finderscope, eyepieces and diagonal put a end to my arch nemisis"s sneaky attacks . With that i simply rolled the scope back into the shed {RELIEF} , at least 3 out 4 wasnt bad ......this morning wouldnt you belive it , not a cloud in the sky:confused:
Giving up the chance to see West Coast belittle the hapless Dockers {hooray the dragons finally won} started prepartions....main objectives
1. set up SCT with wedge on mobile dolly system.
2. get good polar alignment , mark driveway for future reference
3. try new A.D.D.S {anti dew defence system}
4. go for a ambitious shot of M104 using D70 at prime
First objective achieved , the JMI dolly system to move a scope around from storage to location worked very well , what a relief not to go through the saga of scope setup/teardown plus the option of hasty retreat if conditions turned bad. Second objective achieved after a bit of fiddling getting wedge adjustments sorted , noted for the first time with the compass with good alignment the true north marker was set at 4 degrees east instead of west using the markings .After completing that task noted the massing clouds to the south where advancing northwards , still no low level wind present , muttering curses set about hooking the camera up to the scope using the necessary hardware including a 6.3 focal reducer . In reality i wasnt expecting nothing flash, no guidescope yet nor PEC training done just a unguided lucky dip shot using the D70 inbuilt noise reduction. Using nearby jupiter to get the focusing right all set to go but the cloud had beaten me , decided to wait another hour but it was there to stay.The A.D.D.S comprising of a dew controller and 4 heater belts covering main objective , finderscope, eyepieces and diagonal put a end to my arch nemisis"s sneaky attacks . With that i simply rolled the scope back into the shed {RELIEF} , at least 3 out 4 wasnt bad ......this morning wouldnt you belive it , not a cloud in the sky:confused: