+Graham Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 (edited) Spent the day getting ready for a first light with the large GEM. Dodging the torrential rain and hail showers was all part of the fun. First thing to do today was adapt and fit my old mount hub. This gives me all the power and USB sockets I will ever need for the scope. The wiring for the hub runs inside the mount along with the motor and encoder cables. Then it was on to wiring in the new power switches and fitting a console I have built for them to sit in. From left to right on the switches. The Green Switch is a two way unit that will eventually allow me to open and close the Obs roof. Next to it is the power switch for the ServoCAT and Argo Navis. Next is the power switch for the Hub. The last switch is a spare that can be used in the future if a need arises. All the switches are individually fused from a fuse box mounted inside the console Then it was time to fit the focus motor and the new ( to me ) Canon 1100 which I got from Allan the Plumber. ( Thanks Allan it is brilliant. ) Once they were all cabled up I did a test run using BYE. After a couple of teething troubles with the software everything fell into place and all is now working as it should be. Tonight was to be the first light for this project so of coarse it is now raining. ? I live in hope that it will clear and I get the chance to at least get the scope collimated. We will see. More to follow as it happens. Edited May 4, 2019 by Graham BAZ, +Streetbob and Smithysteve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Derbyshire Dave Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 Good luck Graham. Clearing here, still patchy though. Gonna set up anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 4, 2019 Author Share Posted May 4, 2019 Well the sky sort of cleared enough to give me a couple of hours fun. Managed a rough collimation due to the fact I do not have enough inward travel to get to focus. I have already devised a plan to hopefully cure that. Tomorrow I will machine up a 2 inch adapter for the canon, this will remove the 2 inch to 1.25 inch reducer and will gain me another 20 to 30mm of travel which hopefully will give me the extra I require. On the positive side the tracking is absolutely amazing. The star I was using only moved the width of the cross hair line on the live view in BYE in the 2 hours I was playing. I would call that a successful first test. I will go to bed tonight one very happy bunny. +Streetbob, BAZ, Smithysteve and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 Fantastic stuff, I reckon we are all as excited as you to see the results from a good night. Well done Graham. +Graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottletopburly Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 Love it when a plan comes together, well done graham Brilliant job ? progressing nicely +Graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 Adapter all made and fitted. Looks like according to the forecast I will have to wait a couple of weeks to try it out again.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 3 hours ago, Graham said: Looks like according to the forecast I will have to wait a couple of weeks to try it out again.? just around full moon again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 Yup that would be about right. Still some decent Luna shots would be perfectly acceptable ? +Ibbo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 Not quiet the first image I had planned for the new set up but beggars can't be chooser as they say. Did a daylight test. My biggest problem was finding something far enough away. Had to add an extension tube to the focuser to get enough travel. Here it is the moment we have all been waiting for. --------- A bit of a tree from down the road ? +Streetbob, +Ibbo and philjay 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post +Graham Posted May 5, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 5, 2019 (edited) This is the moment I have been working up to for nearly a year. The mount and scope on a full test. I still have the slew speed set to 50% and you will see why. As the DEC Pinion wheel is so thin it tends to sing a bit in places. Will have to add a spot of lubrication until it all beds back in again. Edited May 5, 2019 by Graham +Streetbob, +Ibbo, Bottletopburly and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottletopburly Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 24 minutes ago, Graham said: This is the moment I have been working up to for nearly a year. The mount and scope on a full test. I still have the slew speed set to 50% and you will see why. As the DEC Pinion wheel is so thin it tends to sing a bit in places. Will have to add a spot of lubrication until it all beds back in again. WOW what a beast graham well done ? fantastic piece of work. +Graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 Thanks David. Just the new truss OTA to build and this will be complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 Looking good Graham, not sure about the squeaky noise at 1 am though!! ☺️? +Graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 Not a problem Ron. Won't bother me I will be up ? A touch of petroleum jelly will soon have that sorted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Derbyshire Dave Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Wow, extraordinary Graham, in the Astro world, you are a true Star! +Graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Strings Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Amazing stuff Graham, what do those weight weigh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 Thanks folks. John I would guess that they weigh close to 90 Kilos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Awesome build! You made it all happen Graham, you should be making these commercially! ?? +Graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Streetbob Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 That's incredible. +Graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now