I have posted before that I'm reducing my equipment due to the crappy skies where I live in Geelong. For a time, my partner and I, considered buying a place in the country with some dark skies, but after some soul searching I have decided that due to health (heart attack, bypass surgery etc) that it is better to be close to services etc - never underestimate how good it is to have a MICA paramedic get to you in 5 minutes flat!!! I have now dismantled my observatory, sold my mono QHY9, and will almost certainly sell my pride and joy Mesu 200, as I have nowhere to put it, and will be unlikely ever to have a place for it in the future. I'll also probably sell my 12" f5 newt. I've converted my 8" newt to a dob for visual with Argo, and I will keep my Esprit 100 for the occasional dabble with my HEQ5 - these last 2 are about as big as I can now handle in my weakened state.
My question is, for the occasional dabble in AP what would be recommended for some 1 meter or above focal length imaging (bright planetaries that can defy light pollution) and which could be handled by my HEQ5 (Rowan modded, PE +/- 6 arc secs total) - 8" cf RC? VC200L? any others? Stuff that is not too heavy.
Surprisingly difficult choice isn't it. been struggling with what to do about my gear i can't use. When I downsized I bought a cheap tripod dolly from ebay and thats held up ok for a lighter rig (6" sct + battery packs and laptop) so I can have a fully set up rig I can roll out of the garage. No lifting or balance (mine) problems. Consider that for your circumstances. a dolly is cheap and sort of flimsy but a board on its cross beams adds strength and stiffness and great to put battery. May not be viable for all people but worth considering where you have somewhere safe to roll inside and out and for some could let them keep the gear they have.
I've managed to figure out a small space in my workshop where I can cut a hole a metre by 1.2 metres and fit a sliding roof. This will be just big enough to fit my HEQ5/Esprit, or perhaps the HEQ5/8" Rc combo.....Enough to keep my interest going...
1x1.2 m is a bit small... but possibly adequate for shorter instrument...
(BTW, your post prompted me to rethink my own concept with 2x2 m.. maybe I can go a bit smaller, say 0.5m max but not more because then it becomes hard to keep the rain out if the upper side of the roof is not covered with lid).
Gary,
You're welcome to visit down here at St Leonards.
I can show you how I removed the roof from a section of an existing workshop to make an observatory for the C11 and spectrograph.
Ken
Gary, it would break my heart,(sorry no pun intended), to sell my Mesu 200.
If some one can put it on a pier for you in your new observatory so you don't have to handle it would that be a solution? The space required is very little more than that required for a HEQ5-Pro. In fact when I replaced my EQ5 Pro with the Mesu the only
noticeable spatial difference was the increased height and longer counterweight shaft
For your light scopes you could shorten the shaft.
Chris,
I know what you mean about the Mesu.....I keep vacillating, constantly changing my mind about selling it. I will check out the cost of getting a short shaft made (have 2 engineer friends, both in to astronomy). How many mounts can plate solve and get you to the SAME pixel a lot of the time, or 2 pixels at most at any time? However then I think that if I'm only being very casual, should I have that much cash tied up in something used half a dozen times a year, no matter how good it is?
Hi Gary,
I'm curious to see what you figure out. I have a similar sized skylight in an attic room with a low, sloped ceiling and have toyed with the idea of replacing it with a window I can open and do visual or maybe planetary imaging through. I don't think I could manage serious AP due to vibrations in house. I found a good looking sliding window made by Baier in Germany...
Quote:
Originally Posted by garymck
I've managed to figure out a small space in my workshop where I can cut a hole a metre by 1.2 metres and fit a sliding roof. This will be just big enough to fit my HEQ5/Esprit, or perhaps the HEQ5/8" Rc combo.....Enough to keep my interest going...
Ideally you could fit your mesu on a Pier-Tech lift and raise it up through your roof hole when in use, but they are painfully expensive. Somewhere around $5-6k USD once you add adapters & controller! http://piertechinc.com/product-category/pier-tech-3/
I've had my eye on some cheap Chinese projector lifts as a possible alternative. No idea how they perform or how stable/vibration-free they are, but it would be great to test one out somehow...the one in this video looks feasible: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1984815155.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by garymck
I've managed to figure out a small space in my workshop where I can cut a hole a metre by 1.2 metres and fit a sliding roof. This will be just big enough to fit my HEQ5/Esprit, or perhaps the HEQ5/8" Rc combo.....Enough to keep my interest going...