Bells Observatory 2.0

[marc4darkskies]

Nearly 2 years after moving from Grose Vale, on the outskirts of Sydney, to some acreage at Quialigo NSW, I've started rebuilding my Obs - Bells Observatory V2.0. The location has good visibility and dark, transparent skies (Bortle class 2). See daytime panorama taken from where the Obs will sit HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169751846/original).

My todo list is very long so it will be quite some time before I reach first light, but ya gotta start somewhere!!

So far I've:


Dug the pier footing hole
Built the form so I can do the footing and the pier column in a single pour (al la Mike S' Terroux obs)
Cut the formatube to size
Assembled the pier bolts in a jig ready for embedment into the concrete pier column
Determined the location of true south (so I can align the bolt pattern) using a post's shadow produced at the sun's meridian transit time

Only a few small things left before the concrete pour now.

I'll be getting a raised wooden deck build by a professional sometime in October I think - 4.2m square. My old Obs was only sitting on a 2.5m square deck and that wasn't enough to allow me to walk around the 2.3m diam Obs for cleaning and easy dome assembly. Getting in and out carrying heavy equipment was a little dodgy too.

You can see all progress pics with commentary HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo).

[strongmanmike]

Great news Marcus :thumbsup: Had a good scan over your property a few times over the last couple'a years (pining and looking envious on each occasion of course :P) and that's exactly where I thought you would site the observatory :D

That form work looks veeeery familiar, uncanny really :question: :lol:

Good luck with it and let me know when the heavy lifting needs to be done aaaand I'll..try and...get someone else to help! :D :lol:...kidding :thumbsup:

Mike
That panorama killed me :eyepop: :sadeyes: :lol:

[Joshua Bunn]

Great to see Markus. These things are always good to follow.



Josh

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers Mike!



Yeah, what are the chances we'd come up with exactly the same design eh? :lol: :P A single pour is certainly the way to go tho - cheaper too



Thanks Mike! Once the deck goes in (October probably) I'll be reassembling the dome and could use some pro help. Some muscle to lift the scope onto the mount would be nice too. We'll be sure to ply you with beer and food in return! :drink:



Cheers Josh

[h0ughy]

Excellent news, I looks forward to seeing the results

[strongmanmike]

...well of course! I'm like a mega drone when offered that...pick up heavy stuff...pick up heavy stuff...then Lasagne!

:P

[gregbradley]

It looks like a wonderful site. I am sure you will have many clear nights and some excellent images to share in the near future.

Greg.

[multiweb]

Exciting times. Looking forward to first light with that monster scope of yours. :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks fellas! For the first time in a while I feel motivated so I'm looking forward to getting back into the fray!

[marc4darkskies]

Gail's reluctant to make you a Lasagna! She's afraid of insulting your Italian heritage with her "American" Lasagna. :lol:

[marc4darkskies]

The weather since the last instalment hasn't been the best - 40mm of rain including a 100mm snowfall (the biggest fall in 60 years). Consequently my pier footing hole became a swimming pool even though it was covered!

I baled it out a few days ago and re-applied the formwork. I also secured the formwork to the ground so it doesn't lift during the pour. See HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169816076)and HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169816077).

Concrete pour tomorrow!

[strongmanmike]

Ah!...perfecto :D

[h0ughy]

Water in the hole is good as the soil will not suck out the moisture from the cement mix and allow it to cure slower making for a stronger footing down the track.

[marc4darkskies]

Concrete pour was done this morning. About 0.8m cube. At the end when I said "stop" it kept coming!!

The formwork didn't budge! :D

Other pictures HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169819080), HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169819081)and HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169819078).

[Derek Klepp]

Marcus I am enjoying your progression here.I showed my better half but she was more impressed with the stonework on your house.
Cheers Derek

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Derek! Yes, the house has that rustic country feel to it! Maybe I should've build the Obs out of stone! :lol:

Anyway, I stripped the formwork off today. I didn't have a concreter's vibration wand so the concrete didn't spread to the top inner edge of the form. I also pressed the bolt pattern jig down into the column which left a lip of concrete around the top - some of which broke away when removing the formatube. Oh well! :shrug: See HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169826681)

Tidied up (so you can't see the ragged edged footing). See HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169826706)

Happy builder - stage 1 completed! See HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/169826707).

[strongmanmike]

Well done, looking good Marcus :thumbsup:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Mike ... and yes, I've been working out! :D

[strongmanmike]

yes...with the chainsaw I believe!:eyepop:

[Paul Haese]

That's a great start Marcus. Can I suggest a modification? Perhaps put in another pier and build a roll off shed. If you have two piers you can have two systems working at the same time. Scope dome are starting to build roll off kits and that might suit you. :)

[marc4darkskies]

3 chainsaws no less! ... but not all at once ;) I figure it'll take me a year to clean up the mess from that blasted snow storm.



Well, 2 scopes would be nice but being that I'm a poor retiree I can only dream about that. I'm just hoping everything still works so I don't have to spend any money on equipment. I must say, Scope domes are some nice kit - especially now they have a door in the side panel! Maybe I'll win the lottery! :lol:

[Paul Haese]

Or you could get a loan from the bank and set up a medium sized roll off roof and host others equipment for a fee. I am working on doing something like this now too. If you do that and hire out your own equipment I am told by the accountant that purchase of equipment is then a depreciated expense. The caveat is that it is only on new equipment, not that which you already own. It can make a bit of coin and pay a bit for equipment to be bought. Only thing is you will become a real farmer. You'll need to be around quite a lot to ensure equipment is working.

[marc4darkskies]

Not. A. Chance!! Good luck to you though mate - renting out equipment can be lucrative but the workload in having to keep everything humming and whinging users happy is more than I would want to deal with. Astronomy is my hobby and I want to keep it that way, esp as I head into my golden years.

[Sunfish]

Well done. That is some tricky formwork .

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Ray. It's actually quite simple really!

The deck construction has begun! I'm having a local (Goulburn) deck building guy do the work. MUCH faster than doing it myself although I did tell him how I wanted it built.

Post holes laid out and dug.

All progress pics HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[h0ughy]

Wow look at all the sinkholes

[marc4darkskies]

It's a holy site. :prey:

[gregbradley]

Looking forward to your upcoming images with your big RC Marcus.

Living in a dark site would be a tremendous advantage.

Greg.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Greg. Lots of work to do before imaging starts but looking forward to seeing what a difference dark skies make. I think it will be the new year before everything is installed and working again! We'll see.

[marc4darkskies]

Post holes concreted with stirrups in place. Work is moving ahead nicely. Bearers and joists next. Guessing hardwood decking will go in next week.

All progress pics HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[marc4darkskies]

Bearers are in! Rain and hail has stopped play for a little while now.

[strongmanmike]

Looking good. So are you doing this work yourself now Marcus?

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Mike. No, leaving it to the professional. I decided that a 4m deck was beyond my capability in any reasonable time frame. I'm the project manager though :D. Weather permitting it could be done by the end of next week. He was out in the pouring rain today still working but retreated when it started to hail! :lol:

[marc4darkskies]

Joists were attached using triple grips. After checking stability it was clear that while rigidity in the N-S direction was excellent, the E-W direction was quite wobbly (as some of you might expect). The design was augmented with bracing as indicated on the diagram and included bottom-of-post to bearer braces on the E and W sides and bearer to bearer bracing in the middle section. Nogging was also added.

E-W rigidity is now excellent with no significant movement of the deck at all after a solid kickl! The builder also attached tension straps, as can be seen in the first picture, to insure that squareness is retained. This also improved rigidity.

Steps are next, then the decking boards (Merbau)

All progress pics HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[marc4darkskies]

Steps are framed and decking boards are going on!

There will also be a "skirt" of decking boards going around to hide the bearers and joists so it will look prettier. After that some mesh to keep the rabbits and snakes out and a door for sub floor access.

[strongmanmike]

Wow, some serious engineering there...look at those steps...should take the weight of me, carrying you, carrying your telescope, easily :lol:

Me thinks this is not a $2K job like my toothpick construction was..? :lol:

Mike

[Sunfish]

Very tidy project with some good sub floor bracing and easy shallow steps and although the post bases are not webbed , they are short and plentiful.

Are those braces and bearers h3 treated?

[marc4darkskies]

:lol: That's for sure. It's a little over-engineered but that's what I like to do! I didn't want the deck wobbling / shaking / making a noise when the dome rotates - esp since it's relatively high off the ground. Anyway, I could park a truck on this thing!



You thinks right. 6k on the button. Materials alone were 4.2k. And I only did it because Gail insisted! ;) :D



Thanks Ray! Yes, all H3. I kid you not, this thing is very solid and rigid. Essentially my design but the builder added a few ideas (of course).

[strongmanmike]

By the looks of it, I think that is a good deal :thumbsup:...you must love Gail :love2: :P

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Yes I think it's a good deal too. It's a bit more than I wanted to spend mainly because of the hardwood decking boards. But it's build to last and it'll look good.

So it's nearly finished now. Should be done and dusted by Monday - the builder is off tomorrow. The deck is finished and the skirting is going on. I think it's looking pretty sweet :). The stairs will also be clad with boards.

[marc4darkskies]

The deck is finished - a two week build. Very pleased with how it turned out! I'll be leaving it and rinsing with water every few days for a couple of weeks before I apply decking oil. Apparently, Merbau leeches tannins and oils and darkens in sunlight and it's best to wait until that process completes before applying oil. I'll only be oiling outside the observatory walls too so I'll erect the observatory first. I did think of painting it but it looks way too pretty to paint!

Gene, the builder (Lomaco Constructions in Goulburn), did a great job IMO! He went out of his way to satisfy my design and rigidity requirements and his attention to detail was excellent!

All progress pics HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[marc4darkskies]

Reassembling the 2.3m Sirius observatory. Dome halves are back together.

It was dirty before I stored it in the barn for 2 years. Now it's filthy! First I'll be pressure washing and giving it a thorough once over with a good car wash. Then I'll use a mild cutting compound followed by a polish and a ceramic wax coating.

There's lichen growing in places too. This grew while it was in use in Sydney.

I'll get it clean but it won't be a glossy as-new finish again.

[strongmanmike]

With out a doubt, the best thing about that photo....is the standard of footwear :eyepop: :lol:

[marc4darkskies]

:lol: Yes, clearly I'm trying to maintain amateur astronomer dress standards. No wait ... that means I shouldv'e worn sandals with socks!!

[strongmanmike]

Go Geoff! (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=177808) :P :lol:

[multiweb]

That deck looks like a million dollars. Very cool. :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

:lol: Definitely a look to aspire to and emulate! :lol:



Thanks Marc!

Now imagining what kind of observatory I could build with a million bucks! :question:

[ChrisM]

Just seen your project for the first time Marcus and it's looking really good. A great set of construction images too.
Cheers, Chris

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks very much Chris! I'm not even in the same ball park when compared to your sensational masterpiece, but it will get the job done!

[gregbradley]

Lookin good Marcus.

Greg.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Greg!

Well, I've cleaned all 6 wall panels (still got the dome to go) and I've just done a test with the cutting compound (Meguires Ultimate compound). Not a bad result (see pic - the right hand side is the raw washed surface) but I can see this is going to be hard work and take a while!! I need to do all 6 panels and dome twice - the second round is a polish only. :sadeyes:

[gregbradley]

Spiffy Bro!

Greg.

[marc4darkskies]

Initial clean (pressure wash and car wash) of all surfaces is finished. It's still wet hence the glossy look. The surface is completely matt because of oxidation and the lichen has left surface marks. However, my testing indicates I should be able to remove the marks with cutting compound and restore the surface to maybe 80% of it's original gloss finish ... but it will take a lot of elbow grease!

[marc4darkskies]

Holy mackerel!! This isn't easy ... as the red face testifies (it's 32C today)! I've patched a couple of chips and done 4 out of 6 very oxidised wall panels now with 2 rounds of compound (cutting) polish and one round of "Super Resin" polish plus a buff. I've got 2 left to do then the dome followed by a spray of liquid ceramic wax. I reckon I'm getting to about 70% of the original finish. The moral of the story is maintain your fibreglass dome on a regular basis!

[Rainmaker]

I hope you have an electric buffer/polisher......
Great work so far :thumbsup::thumbsup:


(If you come to Canberra you can borrow my electric polisher)

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers Matt! I have a small Ryobi buffer that can do some of the work but I do most of the cutting by hand. Thanks for the offer though!

[alan meehan]

really nice job Marcus that's a nice dance floor , one suggestion hand rail on the stairs in stainless will finish it and be safer as well just a thought

[marc4darkskies]

Hehe ... thanks Alan! I did dance a jig on it when it was finished ... and it didn't bounce at all. :)

I designed the stairs to have wide and broad treads so I think they're safe enough - they're certainly better than my last obs. When I'm old and doddery enough to need a hand rail I'll get out of the game and find another hobby :fishing:

PS: I'm still polishing! :(

[marc4darkskies]

The shine is back!! After 2 rounds of cut & polish (3 rounds in places) and a round of "Super Resin" polish I'd say around 70% of the original shine has been restored. Still have to spray the ceramic coating on but that can wait until it's assembled.

Next steps are to oil the deck and assemble the dome!

All progress pics HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[PaulSthcoast]

Hi Marcus,

cut and polish and super resin you say ?

Sure its not all the elbow grease ?

Great work, looking good !!

Paul.

[Rainmaker]

Marc, I have a 7m AutoTrail FB that has lost the gloss, I am happy to bring it out to Quialigo so that you do not run out of work....

Nice job on the dome....if you need a hand to install the dome send me a PM, happy to take a drive out Windellama way...

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Paul. And yes, plenty of that! :) I'm glad it's done! My wife pitched in as well so that sped things up a bit.



:lol: Sure Matt - swing by and leave it with me for a year or two. It'll be as good as new when you come back to pick it up. :P

And thanks for the offer, I'll let you know if I need a hand!

[marc4darkskies]

The weather here has been appallingly windy for most of the last few weeks, preventing me from oiling the deck (because of dust) and assembling the obs. This week is looking better though so I've oiled the deck now and should be able to reassemble the obs on Friday when low winds are expected.

The oiled deck looks nice! :) A bit of work to keep it that way, but oiling is easy!

[h0ughy]

Looking good, I made the mistake of buying 4litres of merbau decking oil only to find out after I rolled it on the it was a decking paint and not oil. I did do it early evening. So I got stuck with a dirty brown green instead of a beautiful finish like yours.

[marc4darkskies]

Aaaarg, nooo! :sadeyes: I was careful to buy the "Natural" Cabot's Aquadeck. All oils have pigment in them (for UV protection) but the natural one is only lightly pigmented so the natural colour is enhanced (darkened a bit)

[marc4darkskies]

Got the dome assembled today. :cool: A neighbour helped me lift the dome on.

Tons of work to do still tho!!

All progress pics HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[Wilso]

Looking great Marcus,

I was going to ask you how you plan on waterproofing the base but from your first photo it comes with a base :thumbsup:
In South Oz I’ve used agapanthus around my deck and once it grows actually preserves the edges of the deck from our harsh sun. Also acts as a good fire retardant. Could possibly be classed as a weed over there though?
Have enjoyed watching your build from the start!

Cheers

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Darren!

I'll be running a bead of silicone around the outside of the walls at the base. Because they're decking boards, water will simply drop through before it makes it inside. Same as my last obs - zero water ingress around the base. The false floor (marine ply) will have fly screen underneath to keep the bugs out and carpet over the top for comfort.

[JA]

That looks wonderful Marcus. When is the dome-warming-party?

Best
JA

[h0ughy]

Looking good Marcus

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks guys!

[Rainmaker]

Great work Marcus, are you sure you don't want to cut and polish some more f/g.

[FlashDrive]

Marcus ..... I've been watching this come together ...outstanding job indeed....Love the wooden deck and stairs to.

Col...

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Matt. Ummm, no thanks. I am missing the Mr Miyagi voice in my head tho ... "wax on ... wax off"



Thanks very much Col.

[marc4darkskies]

Fit-out underway:

1) Attached wheel covers and dome motor
2) Installed insect screen, false floor and carpet in that order
3) Attached wall seam covers
4) Installed pier

Next steps are to clean the telescope mirror (not looking forward to that), run power, install the electronics & sort out cabling, install the mount and route cables, install the scope, connect everything up and then pray everything still works!! :prey:

[multiweb]

Oooh nice! Getting very close now. :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Marc. Yes, I can see the end of the tunnel now!

[marc4darkskies]

Power is in! :) I also did my back in! :( Note to self: always limber up and hydrate before wielding a mattock into hard ground!

[marc4darkskies]

I did a number on my back when digging the trench but it's getting better now. I was next intending to move the scope to a suitable place, disassemble the front truss assembly and clean the primary, but that's waiting for a few more days until I can lift some weight.

In the meantime I've started installing the electronics. My DIY uninterruptible power supply is installed (top orange box in the schematic diagram). The picture shows (from left to right) the 12V power supply (for battery charging and running telescope-side equipment off mains power) sitting on top of the box containing the inverter (for the mount power brick, lights and any other 240VAC stuff I want to keep running during a blackout).

The scope electronics will be attached via a heavy gauge cable to the Inverter input and will run off the battery during a power outage provided the Battery -> Inverter switch is "on". Note that the battery can be disconnected from both the PSU and the inverter to avoid charge leakage while not in use.

[marc4darkskies]

Mount is in.

Still to go:

Clean telescope mirror
Install Ethernet cable from house (wireless is too slow)
Install telescope
Sort out all the spaghetti

[Imme]

Great work..really coming together now!

I’ve enjoyed watching this thread.

You won’t know yourself once the obs is up and running.......makes imaging so simple

[multiweb]

Nice mount! :eyepop: How do you clean your primary? Remove it and wash it with distilled water?

[marc4darkskies]

Glad you've enjoyed it Jon, thanks! Yes, observatories for deep space astrophotography are a must IMO. It's been over 2 years since I disassembled it from its last location and I'm looking forward to getting into it again.



You can't beat a Paramount (although certain people recently acquiring AP mounts might disagree! :D)

See the picture below. Alas, these earlier model OS scopes don't have a way of removing the mirror from the rear. :shrug: Consequently, I'll be cleaning the mirror in-situ. Unfortunately, that means removing the front truss assembly completely via the red truss clamps so I can reach in. Not looking forward to that! I'll be taking plenty of precautions to make sure I put it back in exactly the same position so, hopefully, the resultant upset to collimation isn't too great! :prey:

BTW, the blue rope (on both sides) is to facilitate easy lifting.

PS: Planning to wash with cotton balls, distilled water and a little detergent

[marc4darkskies]

I've hit the pause button on any obs work due to the heat (41C yesterday) and the smoke from the horrendous fires affecting NSW. Hoping for some rain relief in the near future! :prey:

The picture below was yesterday! :(

[Foxinsox]

That is a very haunting photograph.
How are you dealing with the extreme temperature cycles on your equipment ?

[marc4darkskies]

It's not operational yet but when I was in Grose Vale severe temp cycles had zero effect. Having said that, I would never actually operate the telescope and electronics at anywhere near those temps.

[sharpiel]

That is quite a picture.

[sharpiel]

Everything ok out there I hope...

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks for asking Les! Yes, all is well here (touch wood), just very smokey & dry.

[alan meehan]

that's good to hear Marcus stay safe not much observing for anyone at the moment

[sharpiel]

Good to hear mate. Stay safe.

[marc4darkskies]

The smoke was much less this morning so I dug (by hand) the trench for the Ethernet cable. The ground was very hard because of the drought, but with my wife's help we managed to get it done before it got too hot. Hopefully we'll thread the cable through conduit tomorrow morning or Sunday.

I was originally planning to use a wireless connection but it was far too slow and flaky.

I'll still need to clean the telescope primary (which means some disassembly) but once that's done and the mount gears are regreased I should be close to re-collimation and first light.

[Joshua Bunn]

First light, that's always an exciting moment :D

[marc4darkskies]

Ethernet connected ... and working (I've never made up my own cable)!

Weather was, mercifully, much cooler today but the smoke from the fires is being blown in by south-easterly winds and is very bad :(. Definitely needed a mask on.

Next stop - cleaning the telescope mirror!

All progress pics HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[marc4darkskies]

... some disassembly required!!! :scared2: Alas, these older OS scopes have no way to remove the rear cell / primary for cleaning. Consequently, cleaning in-situ after removing the front truss is the only safe way to go to avoid a lot of work and major collimation issues.

Quite a stressful thing to do in any case!! First I made sure the laser dot was on the secondary spot. Then I taped across the 4 truss blocks to make sure the front truss goes back on in exactly the same position. Then I took my time ..... and said a few hail Marys! :D

I unbolted and took the front truss off - very slowly and carefully. I was afraid the truss would collapse when I removed it but thankfully the four truss pairs were quite stiff. Then I unscrewed the primary baffle and pulled out the primary shroud.

Sounds easy doesn't it? And it is if you've done it before - which I haven't!!

Now ready to clean the mirror (in-situ)!

[Joshua Bunn]

always enjoy seeing the insides of these scopes :)

[marc4darkskies]

Cleaning (in-situ) is done. There are still some smudges and streaks (seen under bright light) but they're impossible to remove without creating new blemishes! They shouldn't cause any issues though, right? :prey:

[h0ughy]

I will say this from the cover of a rock, have you tried a microfiber cloth, I found when cleaning my Scopes it always comes up nicely. I also use bintels snake oil cleaner as well. But I'm not doing this and it's not mine, so just use steel wool. ..

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks for the steel wool tip!! I now have a beautiful, thick, frosted, yellow glass paperweight. Always wanted one! :P

Like everyone says, NEVER look at your mirror with a bright light - you'll always be disappointed. I'm fine with how it is now. I used to clean my refractor glass with diluted (distilled water) isopropyl alcohol and white kleenex - always worked a treat. Moreover, the google consensus seems to be not to use alcohol (or even acetone) on mirrors.

[marc4darkskies]

Back together now. The back-plane to secondary optical axis is unchanged (phew!).

Next steps will be to re-grease the mount gears and then mate the scope with the mount.

[strongmanmike]

Meah!...looks good to me, I'd be happy enough with that :thumbsup:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Scope mated with mount again! :party: Just need to re-attach the camera equipment and I'll be able to get everything tested, re-collimated and working again! Many thanks to Mike Sidonio for the extra muscle!!

[Peter Ward]

As Magda would say: Noice !! Rooly Noice!

[strongmanmike]

Oh yeah...it was a tough day :scared2: worked my bloody butt off carrying a $25K scope 60m and lifting it 1.5m onto a mount (with only one slight bump :whistle:) heck, at least 5min (including the pause for the photo) of excruciating labour :(

Mike

[h0ughy]

Mmmm the origami of folding themselves in the dome would have been worth the price of admission.........

[strongmanmike]

Oi! :mad2:...there was plenty of room :ashamed: :lol:

[marc4darkskies]

:) Thanks Peter! It's getting exciting now. I'll be happier when I've proved all the electronics are still working though!



Yep, 5 mins work - if that! But then you hung around for nearly 3 hours!? Some people just can't take a hint! :P ;)





The fit was, shall we say, intimate? :lol:

[strongmanmike]

It was Gail's yummy salsa and the sausage sizzle that kept me interested...:D

[marc4darkskies]

... Not to mention our stimulating company! :P

[marc4darkskies]

Reassembled the camera, filter wheel and AO-X (left of image). I needed the manuals to remind me what to do - I must be getting old :(. I bench tested and everything is still working ... a sigh of relief could be heard!

Now just need to test the telescope electronics, the rotator and the focuser but I need to do that in the obs ... and of course it's too darn hot in there today! :mad2: Maybe in the morning.

[gregbradley]

Super.

I had to evacuate my gear from my observatory and now putting it back together. These larger scopes are a 2 man job.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Bah!...when it's your own (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/134140809/original) Meg$ OTA caution can be thrown to the wind... for a photo :P could'a done this eeeeasily with Marcus' scope, it even had poles to hang on to like a barbell.. but I recon he would'a cracked me one! :lol:

[marc4darkskies]

Yes they are! The low end of my saddle is over 1.6m high so lifting the scope to mate the dovetails together smoothly is quite tricky - even for 2 people!



Double bah! No comparison there! Dropping a lightweight scope onto low slung rings is a piece of p***! :P :scared3: :lol:

[strongmanmike]

He he yeah, lifting the OTA overhead was just a photo op :D truth be known though, I did it a few times to get the right shot, using the 10sec timer and had to hold it overhead for up to 10 sec each time to make sure I got the right shot, from memory I did it about 6 times to get it right, ie set the timer then run, lift, and hold...a bit of a workout :lol:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Closing out with a photo of the completed rig - fully reassembled (finally). All the spaghetti seems to be plugged into the right places and I've done as much daytime collimation as I can. Only jobs remaining now are to polar align accurately, do star tests (and re-collimate as required) and start imaging! Soon now.

Full reconstruction page HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/quialigo)

[h0ughy]

Have a corona to celebrate Marcus

[multiweb]

Very close now. :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

PROOF OF LIFE PHOTO! .

This is to prove that Bells Observatory 2.0 is now up and running! This annotated, very preliminary B&W image is of the barred spiral galaxy NGC4731 65 million light years away.

There's a lot more work to do to get to a finished image I can post in the Deep Space section, but "first light" is always cause to celebrate!

Alas, seeing was not good on the night and there were a few gremlins to sort out (mostly because of my rusty memory) ... but who cares! :D

[gregbradley]

That looks terrific Marcus.

Greg.

[h0ughy]

Hey it's a great start :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks guys! Lots more work to do gathering data & processing, but it sure is nice to have everything working again!! :party: The only thing that's been sputtering a bit is my brain - it's been the better part of 3 years since my last image!

[gregbradley]

Its like riding bike though. It'll all come back and we'll see the maestro processed images again!

Greg.

[multiweb]

Good to see you out again. :thumbsup: Now you can play with your toys again.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks guys. Yes, good to be back in the saddle again! Naturally, it's been mostly cloudy, misty and rainy with seeing much less than optimal. The moon is now going to be getting in the way too :lol:

Anyway, I managed to get 260 "First Light" minutes of luminance on this cute little (6.7 x 4.1 arcmins) galaxy though - see FULL RES image HERE (https://pbase.com/gailmarc/image/170666070/original). Seeing was only fair at 2.6 arcsec FWHM (before decon). Heaps of data yet to gather so this one is being added to my "Work in Progress" section.

The system seems to be behaving well (touch wood) and has good collimation.

[gregbradley]

That looks great. A new one for me as well.

Greg.

[Logieberra]

Welcome back Marcus! A beautiful part of the world. If I ever “dome it”, I’ll review your install pics in the first instance. Top stuff.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks mate! So you haven't imaged this one yet? It's quite hard to draw out the fainter parts of the arms so getting some decent RGB is gonna be tough.



Thanks Logan!

[marc4darkskies]

What do you do when the weather conspires to prevent imaging??

You build a path to your freshly minted observatory rebuild of course! :D

No more wet, muddy, grassy feet on a dewy night!

[h0ughy]

:lol: be like walking on frosty grass with the crunch :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Very schmick :)