#341  
Old 12-01-2023, 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by glend View Post
ARC welder aka Stick Welder. Bunnings sells them.

For your purposes this cheap one would do the job:

https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-12...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
Yes they were out of stock but I must say the hunt afterwards at another place had me forget I first went in to get one of those....
I now recall the young guy at Bunnings thought they had the cheap one out the back and come back next week...heck if that was me selling I would have taken details and did the follow up...
Anyways I have some grinding and cutting first and I will probably ask assistant to do it which would be smart as I already have more junk than is healthy.

But I like welding and no doubt if I had one I could make a few things for fun...

Alex
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  #342  
Old 12-01-2023, 05:41 PM
TrevorW
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I'm trying to avoid buying tools to build the OBs as much as possible fortunately for me my neighbour has a welder and was only to happy to assist
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  #343  
Old 12-01-2023, 07:44 PM
dikman (Richard)
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Those little inverter arc welders are pretty cheap on ebay, I bought one and it's pretty impressive, given that I can hold it in the palm of my hand!
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  #344  
Old 13-01-2023, 06:08 PM
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OK I have changed my mind again...no welder..my neighbor/assistant offered me one he did not need but when I thought it thru I realised I would need to use the 8 of a teeny which is not key start...I can't pull my socks off..so I don't wear any..so getting a welder was a silly idea..unless I get a key start 8 of a teeny which will not happen.

So today we added the additional gate track and installed the wheels but it became apparent that I need to straighten the track to gain maximum efficiency so I will do that before we add all the screws etc..it really works great but I want it as good as it can be and I am not far off now...it is so cool pushing the remote.

All the roof adjustment and track cleaning has really paid of as it now moves effortlessly..I can even move it manually..And that being the case I removed the two winch motors that openned and closed it up until now...And along with then all this ugly cabling..I had used the old welders cable which is about half inch do a...carry as much current as you lime stuff...but now all of it is gone and it looks so much better.

In addition to sorting out the additional track we cut the hole in the floor for the new pier. I will add a photo....also I wired up the threaded rod, the mount connection and struts all ready for welding..this approach will see a stronger u to but it can go in as a single piece which will save heaps of effort...

And when I walked in I received an Email that the ZWO mount is in .so.....but I am not getting another scope until I see how I go with lo g F/L...my plan is to add a Barlow to the eight inch ( 1000mm) say 2.5 and see how good the ZWO mount guides..if really good the maybe a 9.25 which I never thought I would ever consider....anyways getting stuff done.

Alex
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  #345  
Old 13-01-2023, 07:36 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Alex,
As a trial , I used a 2 x Powermate ( similar to Barlow ) in my 8” Newt down the coast back in 2020 to increase the focal length from 1000mm to 2000mm this making it an f10 focal ratio

I thought this would be a great idea and avoid the need for a bigger scope

Imaged Carina with 20 x 5 min subs on Gain 0

Unfortunately it was a total waist of time

The image had poor dynamic range, I stretched the crap out of it in Startools using both Film Dev and AutoDev and it was still quite dim and lacking fine detail

It proves that super long focal lengths need more Aperture to match to get that focal ratio down to f6 or below

My experiment with making my 8” an f10 Newt was useless for Astrophotography

Just thought I would share my experiences

Cheers
Martin
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  #346  
Old 13-01-2023, 09:48 PM
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Thanks Martin.
I did recall that you had tried something along the lines I mentioned..in fact I was going to PM you to ask so I really appreciate your comments.
Alex
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  #347  
Old 18-01-2023, 11:57 AM
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I totally gave up on the welder and had my assistant weld all that I needed...

Bought more star pickets and now assembled all the concrete on site ...trying to hammer in my structure of reo and it is not easy ...anyways here is a photo before the concrete is added.
Ordered a whole new set up bar a scope so all that is shipped today so its going great.

Alex
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  #348  
Old 18-01-2023, 04:06 PM
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strongmanmike (Michael)
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Aaaah yep!... the veritable Aussie star picket, good for many things! Excellent!

Mike
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  #349  
Old 18-01-2023, 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by strongmanmike View Post
Aaaah yep!... the veritable Aussie star picket, good for many things! Excellent!

Mike
Hi Mike..try this..A decent ring of rocks with a small fire inside...make small "s" hooks from wire..an old coat hanger is great..cut up some meat into cubes ..I like 4 to 5 cm...marinate in your favorite stuff but make sure it includes one half a bottle of red wine..you drink the other while while marinating marinate over 24 hours and six bottles of red.wine..put chuncks of meat on hooks and hang well away from the fire on star pickets that have neat holes...burn off all their paint first..and not only do you get heat from the fire but the star pickets throw out heat as well. ..plenty of smoke is good..leave there all day having started early and sprinkle one eighth of a bottle of red every two hours or more if the meat looks dry otherwise drink that wine as well..and before hanging the meat...if lamb roll in rosemary if beef roll in crushed pepper...take off when the meat is black or sometime after you wake up ..not to charcoal but just from smoking all day... set aside to cool and serve with a good red wine...dont rush...if the fire dies down just add small amounts of fuel the ore s one the better.

So got the star pickets thing hammered down after a great deal of effort...now have to add four more long star pickets driven so only a foot of them is out of the ground..there will be nine feet of star pickets from top to where they end some five foot below ground level..lay a cross of two star pickets at the base raised off the ground and wired to the star pickets that hold the bolts...and drive short star pickets that join up with the cross four at angles of 45 degrees..wire them together..cover all in dry concrete then add form work on top and fill it with concrete, add cut up drum as form work above the floor level and another pipe section to make it look nice add more concrete over everything..then get a squirty bottle and wet any concrete visable so it does not let dust go around the place...hit with squirty bottle each day for a week and then a couple of buckets of water over all that..then half a bottle of red wine and drink the remaining half...I have to pour it all over the concrete unfortunate as I don't drink.

I will add some photos if I remember...

We did a lot of tidy up today adding insulation foam and enclosing a large gap between the roof and it's rail.this is somewhat a big deal as this is where work had got to when I first had to go to hospital and I could never get back to working on this aspect...but all good now..just received an Email that all the gear has been shipped so the pier will be finished just in time.. everything you need for a narrow band set up .And RBG.well all the seven usual filters and filter wheel , mono camera, OAG to trial, guide camera, Asiair, EAF,

.I will put all this on the new ZWO mount and use the eight inch scope...so that will be four independent units so when there is a good night I should get plenty of data...a d get to bed early as now that I am old I find a couple of all nighters is just too much for me...

I added a sign on the door saying "Glen and Peter Observatory" in recognition of their input..Glen put me onto the observatory ( and my red car) and the 115 mm refractor and a great little guitar ..so much I can never thank him enough...and Peter is my assistant who saved the place after me being many months in hospital and bed ridden..things had gone so far downhill that I doubt I could have recovered...and almost every week we work on the observatory ..like the gate motor project..it may be corny but I want their names on the door...

Anyways it is all mostly done ...although we are now working out how to line it with ply to make it look nice..there is so much that is ruff but it works and frankly it saved my life as thinking of how I would build it gave me a reason to keep going and trust me no one will ever know how tuff it was..And still is really...but having something to keep you interested got me thru...remember I ,most 30 % of my body weight and months went by where everyone though I was finished...not me however...the RASA near sent me bats but now I have given up mono with it life is much better...

Alex

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  #350  
Old 19-01-2023, 10:05 PM
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Here you may see that the under floor upper form work has been added and the additional star pickets are obvious...they are already well into the soil below and will be driven below floor level.

I have managed to move 14 bags of concrete " on site" which is a very big deal for me on such a hot day...five near the entry ramp to drop down the hole and fill the ply form work and drum which will make a nice pedestal.. I got up early to move all of it but had flattened my cars battery so it did not take a recharge until itvwas very hot...but I had to get it done else other things would be held up..like going to town to buy diet coke..it was hard driving home with all the concrete so I was not driving back in today with it on board.

The rest are placed such that I can drag them under with not too much drama...thank goodness I had the good sense to cover up both piles of concrete bags as it has been raining now for hours...

The rain is handy as I dug some holes alongside the supports for the track which needs straightening..I have all the pulling gear in place but water in the ground in the holes I made should allow the things to move.

I have gone off lining the observatory with ply as I know it wont turn oit as good as I expect and will only be disappointing unless I can get a really good carpenter...well no chance as my daughter has him tied up for a while...so..I am thinking of painting everything inside black...maybe leave it black or create some wall art to make you feel as if you are on a mountain top looking out over clouds and then fill the sky ( ceiling) with like a deep field type of rendition of many small galaxies...I think I can do it and make it work ..if it comes off it would be brilliant but if not mmmm well I could add a second coat of black...black would be sensible.
Alex
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  #351  
Old 24-01-2023, 11:52 AM
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OK the pier was finished Saturday except for tidy up and painting..also I have to grind off some stuff on the top to take the new ZWO mount that arrived on Friday.
The supports we put up to support the gate motor was not wide enough to get the garden trolley carrying the concrete in...at 20 klgs I can get them out of the car wnd drop them in the trolley but no way could I carry them from the door way to the pier...until I get hought to use the office chair..still hard to lift but with some grub ing I got it done....14 bags thru the door and the other 10 dragged under the floor which was actually easy cause I am going n my stomach...so no counter weight bar comes with the mount but ordered that early in his morning...I am in Lismore now and hope to find a bolt to fix the mount to the steel fitting on top of the pier.

Near killed me..was ok Sunday but yesterday felt like I was dead so I slept all day and today feeling fair..but very happy to get it done.
I have all the stuff to set up the eight inch..main camera, OAG and mini guide camera, filters, filter wheel, Asiair plus, EAF...but I expect there may be things I have forgotten but very close to getting it all up and running.
Alex
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  #352  
Old 24-01-2023, 01:31 PM
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strongmanmike (Michael)
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What a masterpiece of engineering, ingenuity and tenacity...hats off mate

Mike
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  #353  
Old 25-01-2023, 06:01 PM
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What a masterpiece of engineering, ingenuity and tenacity...hats off mate

Mike
Thank you very much Mike I greatly appreciate your kind words.

More done since last time..ordered counter weight rod and bought the necessary threaded rod to connect the mount to that black steel thing in the photo..I was in Bunnings buying stuff but before I could buy the black paint nearly fainted so I thought just do it another day I made it back to the car and rested and got home ok....so I will paint it all black and use chalk to outline my mountain top view...that way I think I can do it rather than just try and paint what I have in mind....but it must be fantastic so it is a challenge to get it right...

Anyways I am going to take it easy... and maybe I over did things on Saturday...but today we finished adding roof strapping.. filled in gaps between roof and walls due to the rail set up ...And nearly finished additional foam work...

It still will be a week before I can set the mount in place and the eight inch with all the stuff I bought for it ( in preparation for ASKAR 130 I think.)..or maybe if the eight works well stick with it..the focuser bugged me but now with EAF it may be OK so we shall see.

And for fun I am putting in star pickets from the genny shed to the van with little cross timber bits so it will look like power lines..on will carry power to a fridge from the inverter down there and the other lead will be for the air con.. but It should look cute.
I was going to put in ten star pickets just now but after I finished cutting the timber I thought that's enough..
Maybe later.
Alex
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  #354  
Old 26-01-2023, 04:13 PM
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Malewithatail (Dick)
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Roof track

Very interesting idea to use a rack and pinion garage door opener to open the roof.
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  #355  
Old 26-01-2023, 04:28 PM
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Very interesting idea to use a rack and pinion garage door opener to open the roof.
The chap who installed it was very clever and I was very lucky to have him on my side...do you know him?

Welcome back from your long search for your "key".

Alex
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  #356  
Old 29-01-2023, 02:56 PM
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A few more photos.

The star picket maze before adding concrete.

AND

The pier more ir less complete with the "Ned Kelly" fitting in place and level ... I probably do not need to but I will add three holes to add small bolts thru to the new mount...but I need to check polar align so I will wait to make sure it is as good as it can be.

There is some work to be done on the foam insulation and then I will paint everything black ...then have a go at some sort of art work.

Alex
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  #357  
Old 29-01-2023, 05:03 PM
TrevorW
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Solid as a rock Alex
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  #358  
Old 29-01-2023, 07:29 PM
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AND...I drilled holes for the mounts screws guessing PA so here is hoping I guessed correct as there is not much tolerance....so the mount is fitted level etc...and you can see the eight inch that will go on the mount...still work to be done on it ....

Getting there but it all takes time fiddling ...

Alex
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  #359  
Old 30-01-2023, 04:06 AM
glend (Glen)
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Nice looking mount Alex!
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  #360  
Old 30-01-2023, 03:41 PM
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Nice looking mount Alex!
It is so small and the carry case is like those make up bags the girls had years ago....

I added some rubber mat to tidy up the floor area earlier today and started to put the rig together ..that means I took stuff out of boxes and put It back again...but I am getting excited now..I will wash the mirror on the 8 inch later today but unfortunately some health stuff sees everything put on hold while I renegotiate a new lease it seems...damn inconvenient I really dont have time for that sort of stuff.

The eight really needs some serious reinforcement in my book as the tube is like a tin can but with a seam that was not soldered..it needs grinding back and a alluminium strip added ( maybe just add resin and glass?) and that is such a big job I want to avoid it but I can't...And so while doing that there should be added some support for the focuser region...and it should be baffled...and needs a dew tube...so you can see why I just want to buy an Askar.

Still it keeps me from drifting back to a play boy life style.


Alex
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