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  #101  
Old 06-02-2011, 02:35 PM
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mswhin63 (Malcolm)
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Use a wireless keyboard and mouse, great flexibility and no wires.

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Originally Posted by Tandum View Post
Got the PC, Monitor and Power Supplies installed. Turned the monitor wall mount sideways to get it to point up. There is no keyboard/mouse attached, I run it all from outside the dome but will use the monitor to focus the newt, (I have a robofocus for the tak) then turn the monitor off. I might need a mouse in there to do sub frames for NB focusing. I'll use that Pine board for a power supply shelf but I'll wait for the new USB hubs and cables to arrive so I can make it all neat.
D
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  #102  
Old 10-02-2011, 02:26 AM
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Tandum (Robin)
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I dunno where you get the time to do all this Robin! Hats off to you though. The sanctuary is really coming together for you....
Rob, work has completely collapsed now. I've gone from 6 jobs a day a year ago to 6 jobs a week now. I've lost 3 primary clients to the GFC, they've either closed or sold up and 2 PC shops I was subbing too have closed doors. Time for a forced change I guess before the cash runs out

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Originally Posted by mswhin63 View Post
Use a wireless keyboard and mouse, great flexibility and no wires.
Malcolm, Logitech are making a neat cheap wireless set, I've bought a few of them for others, might get one for me



Found water on the floor of the obs on Monday after that heavy rain, under the slot. Everything was dry everywhere on the dome, just water on the floor. Tonight I opened the lower window to align the mount and there is water under that window. There it is It's getting in under the flip out window, easy fix.

Last edited by Tandum; 10-02-2011 at 02:38 AM.
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  #103  
Old 06-03-2011, 03:59 PM
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Tandum (Robin)
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Finally got the bits and the time to install a track on the dome. I had a piece of 65mm X 3mm mild steel flat bar bent to fit inside the dome ring. I got some bearinged U-Groove wheels and hacked up a bracket and have bolted it all in.

I have 3 wheels installed so far and we'll see how that goes but I do need to join the ends of the flatbar somehow. I don't have a welder, so is there any other way to join them so they don't flex apart? I can't put a bolt through as I'm yet to install guide wheels which will run on the back of the track.

Previously it was a pain to rotate the dome, now it's a one finger job. It works !!!!
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  #104  
Old 06-03-2011, 06:40 PM
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Sounds like it just gets better and better Robin. Great work.
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  #105  
Old 06-03-2011, 06:45 PM
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Tandum (Robin)
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My kingdom for a welder at the moment Rob. I have to tack the ends of the track together.

I did get the guide wheels in between rain showers and tinnies
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  #106  
Old 09-03-2011, 11:11 PM
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If you post it over to Perth I will weld it for you Robin, you even have the choice of mig, tig or arc but will have to supply the box to send it back . Looking the goods though, well done.


Mark
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  #107  
Old 10-03-2011, 01:56 PM
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Tandum (Robin)
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Cheers Mark, I decided to avoid getting personal with the fire department so I glued it together. So far so good
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Last edited by Tandum; 12-03-2011 at 12:39 AM.
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  #108  
Old 11-03-2011, 11:27 PM
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Tandum (Robin)
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We're in the final stages now.
Motor driven Cog drive, Toothed Belt to suit, PC-USB interface board and DC relay board.
If I can get all this stuff to fit and to go it will be a xmas miracle
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Last edited by Tandum; 12-03-2011 at 12:40 AM.
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  #109  
Old 17-03-2011, 06:52 PM
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I had a bash at getting the dome motor mounted this week. I got some metal plate and cut some holes and slots in it to suit. Got the motor to fit it reasonably well so added a spring for tension. Then I cut a chunk out of the lower ring to recess the motor assembly and bolted the plate to the bottom ring.

Looks almost like a bought one If I can get the toothed belt stuck to the track, we'll have a motor driven dome

[edit]
Raining today but not in the dome so I got the belt stuck to the track. The dome is now non slip and motor driven
Encoders and electronics are next to get it under software control.
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Last edited by Tandum; 20-03-2011 at 07:17 AM. Reason: Added pic of the belt.
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  #110  
Old 22-03-2011, 07:25 PM
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Tandum (Robin)
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It's ALIVE

I stuck a couple of tiny magnets under the cog so they pass over a reed switch to form a simple encoder. I got the electronics into a box, put a switch on the front for manual control and ran some wires to the home sensor, encoder, PC, power and the motor.

The dome slot follows the scope during a slew so it's definately a goer

Now, some stars would be nice so I can tune up the numbers in the lesve dome driver software to get it as accurate as I can.

It's an easter miracle
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  #111  
Old 23-03-2011, 11:07 PM
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RobF (Rob)
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Much noise to worry about in the middle of the night Robin?
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  #112  
Old 24-03-2011, 09:38 AM
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Tandum (Robin)
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Nope, can hardly hear the motor running from the outside at all and the steel track is close to silent. It does give a noticable click as the cog passes over the join in the belt. Also the motor sometimes bucks when it starts up and that gives a click, although adjusting the bolts on the motor plate fixes that one a lot. I could do with some spacers in there so I can screw the bolts down hard.

Got the flashing attached and added an external antenna for the wireless, just needs a lick more paint I think.

Does anyone know if the Dome home sensor azimuth should be set in software as magnetic or true ?
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Last edited by Tandum; 24-03-2011 at 07:05 PM.
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  #113  
Old 25-03-2011, 03:52 PM
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steve000 (Steve)
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Hey mate,
Where did you get the motor drive and belt from?

steve
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  #114  
Old 25-03-2011, 07:55 PM
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Tandum (Robin)
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Bert the Automation nut got them for me
I guess better gate and door centers could also supply them.
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  #115  
Old 13-08-2011, 11:19 PM
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Tandum (Robin)
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Just an update. I've found that everything is settling and the internal dome metal drive ring started rubbing against the lower wooden ring and worse still, against the plate the motor is mounted on.

To fix this I simply put some washers under the L brackets mounting the support wheels. This in turn lifted the drive track in relation to the drive cog and in places stressed the glue enough to force it to come loose.

I simply went around the track and epoxied the track back down where it had come loose. I originally used contact adhesive to secure the track

Right now it is running better than ever, pointing out of the dome is quite accurate across the whole sky, so long as I don't use a SBS setup.

Time to consider a motorized shutter
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