A couple of weeks ago I had an incident at one of my observatories. I have a Version 1 dome from Scope Dome. It is completely different from newer models and anyone who owns a new model has nothing to worry about.
The dome was setup for imaging and ready to launch when the dome controller/software decided to have an auto slew.
My dome at the time had an umbilical cord from the main control box on the pier to the shutter controller on the dome. There was an issue in one of the version of the software a few years back that had auto slews regularly occurring. That version was quickly changed and replaced by a newer version. Subsequent editions of the observatory have removed the umbilical cord altogether as cable wrapping could be a problem.
During the auto slew the cord wrapped around the pier several times until it could not wrap any further and then the torque applied by the rotation motor ripped everything apart including the shutter control unit and damaged the declination motor on my MX mount. I am currently undergoing test and help from Software Bisque to remedy the problem with the mount. Today I took delivery of a new set of boards to control the dome thanks to Scope Dome Australia. They redesigned the system to remove the umbilical cord which will require the dome to slew to home before the shutter can close. This is a regular way of doing this for many systems now and there is a proven track record of reliability. It was not cheap to do this but it will fix my dome and will get rid of auto slewing from happening again.
I must say after driving down to the observatories late at night and seeing the damage was traumatic. I did not know where to start and after a few minutes just decided to disengage the shutter drive, lower the shutter, then lock the drive back in place and drive home. I was too traumatized to take a photo of the scope all wrapped up, but have included a shot of the carnage on the floor. The PCB has a crack in it after being flung across the dome and hitting something. It was attached on the side wall where the VSD is located, so too was the bracket.
Now to put it all back together. I'll report once I have done the installation.
Re-configuring went well, I ordered the latest version of the USB card controllers, a contact kit and a new homing sensor (the Hall effect sensor did not work with the new controllers).
I had to weld up a bracket to hold the contact kit, do some soldering to make leads etc. The main problem to overcome was to ensure the bracket is level and the connection prongs were the same. Some software adjustments were needed to make sure the dome returns to the contact kit with precision but it all seems to work well now.
While I was at it I sorted out the cable management on the scope. I was lucky enough to loan a mount from a friend. My mount is still undergoing assessment via tests I am performing. Software Bisque have been very helpful is sorting out issues with the mount.
Bottom line is the rig is back in action. Recent photo of the rig is included.
Yikes - how did you realise there was a problem? Do you image autonomously, or only when you’re online supervising?
My biggest fear with the autonomous school observatory is the roof failing to close and it not being reported. I’m just about to install an arduino based roof position monitor that runs completely separate to the roof control software. Another layer of redundancy...
Yikes - how did you realise there was a problem? Do you image autonomously, or only when you’re online supervising?
My biggest fear with the autonomous school observatory is the roof failing to close and it not being reported. I’m just about to install an arduino based roof position monitor that runs completely separate to the roof control software. Another layer of redundancy...
Email - setup as a VIP on my iphone with an obnoxiously loud notification sound. The remote site has two internet links to the outside world (4G and Satellite).
Sounds like you are on top of it. As far as the mount is concerned I would imagine its pretty bullet proof. If the motors hit too much resistance they simply stall and the mount stops and shuts off the tracking. Same with an AP mount.
Yikes - how did you realise there was a problem? Do you image autonomously, or only when you’re online supervising?
My biggest fear with the autonomous school observatory is the roof failing to close and it not being reported. I’m just about to install an arduino based roof position monitor that runs completely separate to the roof control software. Another layer of redundancy...
DT
Hi David,
I could not open up Radmin or Teamviewer installed on the observatory computer. I tried several times and then knew a drive was in order. I did not have a IR camera in that observatory as it had failed a few years back. Yes multiple layers of redundancy is needed in remote imaging.
Yikes - how did you realise there was a problem? Do you image autonomously, or only when you’re online supervising?
My biggest fear with the autonomous school observatory is the roof failing to close and it not being reported. I’m just about to install an arduino based roof position monitor that runs completely separate to the roof control software. Another layer of redundancy...
DT
Hi David,
I could not open up Radmin or Teamviewer installed on the observatory computer. I tried several times and then knew a drive was in order. I did not have a IR camera in that observatory as it had failed a few years back. Indeed multiple layers of redundancy is needed in remote imaging.
Sounds like you are on top of it. As far as the mount is concerned I would imagine its pretty bullet proof. If the motors hit too much resistance they simply stall and the mount stops and shuts off the tracking. Same with an AP mount.
Greg.
You would think so Greg, and normally this is exactly what goes on. However, the dec motor appears to have an intermittent fault. Not sure what is going on there. So a replacement motor is needed.
You would think so Greg, and normally this is exactly what goes on. However, the dec motor appears to have an intermittent fault. Not sure what is going on there. So a replacement motor is needed.