...mate hmmm? anyway glad it's you and not me, I recon I would just plug er in and hope for the best ...ok well maybe not but if I ever go down this route I may need to have you down for a weekend (or week) of food and drink
The Aurora Flatfield panel is excellent (I named it that too by the way )
....if I ever go down this route I may need to have you down for a weekend (or week) of food and drink
Say, when ARE you getting a PME (??) I tell you what - by the time you get round to doing these kinds of geeky things (yes, you are a geek too - admit it ) we might be neighbours!!!
Hi Mark,
Beware the worst interference is not when the scope is pointed at the pole. The outside edge of the front aperture when looking ~2 hrs away from the meridian (east or west depending on the flip state) is the highest point the scope will get, but possibly worst is when looking near the zenith, the scope is not as high but far from the center of the dome. Watch out for protrusions (motors, ribs, shutter rack, etc) on the inside dome surface, they will always find a collision point!
Before going ahead with the scopedomes in Ark, I had made a 3D cad model and swung the 20" around virtually, I found that I had to optimize the pier height to have about 2" clearance (too high I hit the dome, too low I hit the base ring). Then later when I changed the mount from the PME to the 200HR, again I had to model it. It was a good thing I did since it would not have fit without offsetting the mount on the pier with an adapter plate. Now I have about a pinky's clearance with the shutter motor.
If you get it wrong your best solution (instead of cutting the pier) is to add counterweights to the front of the scope and pull the scope back in the saddle plate. This is fine if your are a long way from the mount capacity...I definitely wasn't with the 20" on the PME!
Hi Mark,
Beware the worst interference is not when the scope is pointed at the pole. The outside edge of the front aperture when looking ~2 hrs away from the meridian (east or west depending on the flip state) is the highest point the scope will get, but possibly worst is when looking near the zenith, the scope is not as high but far from the center of the dome. Watch out for protrusions (motors, ribs, shutter rack, etc) on the inside dome surface, they will always find a collision point!
Before going ahead with the scopedomes in Ark, I had made a 3D cad model and swung the 20" around virtually, I found that I had to optimize the pier height to have about 2" clearance (too high I hit the dome, too low I hit the base ring). Then later when I changed the mount from the PME to the 200HR, again I had to model it. It was a good thing I did since it would not have fit without offsetting the mount on the pier with an adapter plate. Now I have about a pinky's clearance with the shutter motor.
If you get it wrong your best solution (instead of cutting the pier) is to add counterweights to the front of the scope and pull the scope back in the saddle plate. This is fine if your are a long way from the mount capacity...I definitely wasn't with the 20" on the PME!
Best,
EB
Thanks for the advice Eric. Mine is only a fairly rough diagram but I think I'll be fine. In any case I won't be swinging the scope around much until I've very gently discovered the clearances . I was planning to go with Option 2 if I had to shift it back a few cm. All will be revealed on Sunday!!
It was a team effort but we managed to get the scope on the mount without dropping it!! Still a few things to do before first light though - hopefully that will be before Christmas!
It was a team effort but we managed to get the scope on the mount without dropping it!! Still a few things to do before first light though - hopefully that will be before Christmas!
It was a team effort but we managed to get the scope on the mount without dropping it!! Still a few things to do before first light though - hopefully that will be before Christmas!
Looks FANTASTIC. Can't wait to see what this can do.
Mark
Thanks Mark. It's been slow going because work makes me pretty time poor But, there's light at the end of the tunnel - literally!
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
Marcus! you and I have more in common than I thought we are brothers ...
Yo Bro! ... Wassuuuuuuuup?
Quote:
Originally Posted by h0ughy
.... tell me will the 150TOA be the finderscope?
Unfortunately, at this point, I don't see the TOA being able to tandem with the OS - there's just not enough space in the dome. Side or top mounting on the OS is not practical either because the TOA is over 14kg without the tube counterweight and 19kg with - too heavy to put on the OS.
Where did you get those declination counter weights from? They look handy.
Greg.
Yes, they're definitely the way to go - I liked the fact that they're stainless. Needed to buy some stainless bolts (SHCS) to screw them to the DVAs though.
Well, after a few days of 37C+ temperatures (and a couple of degrees warmer inside the Obs) it was much cooler today so I managed to do the system testing I needed to do. Everything worked fine from within the TheSkyX.
The next stop will be FIRST LIGHT! As luck would have it, and you'll find this very strange as I did, cloud and showers are now forecast until the 30th!
anyway glad it's you and not me, I recon I would just plug er in and hope for the best 
...ok well maybe not but if I ever go down this route I may need to have you down for a weekend (or week) of food and drink 
(I named it that too by the way 
)
) we might be neighbours!!!
. I was planning to go with Option 2 if I had to shift it back a few cm. All will be revealed on Sunday!!
But, there's light at the end of the tunnel - literally! 
. Next step is a system test with everything on and connected to the Obs lappy. 
, Marcus
