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V3 observatory

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V3 observatory was created by Gonzothegreat

I think by now most of you know that I have a very remote observatory and it comes with all sort of challenges, I control it from the UK and the box is located in Germany (~9 hours drive with very limited remote hands if needed...).
It's not like I can pop to the garden to reset something :whistle:
V1 was fun to build, it was too big, had a big design flaw (sprung a leak...), then came V2 (still live and kicking).
V2 was a huge setup up in the construction and running.

Now it's time to take it a notch further with V3, hence I'm opening this thread where I will document everything.
There will a lot of core design changes, different material will used for the frame ie: instead of wood I will be using 2020 aluminium extrusion.
The roof opening (well, lead really...), if I can pull it off, is going to be amazing. Something that I have not seen anywhere so far.
The panels will still be Dibond (aluminium composite), they are super light and super resistant.
The electronics will be upgraded from an Odroid C1 to an Odroid C4, more memory/cpu/USB3 etc...

The HEQ5 pro mount will be replaced by my latest acquisition, a CEMT25p
The Megrez 72 will be replaced with a SharpStar 61EDPH (whenever I can get my hands on one, hopefully soon). And I will add an EAF ZWO as I hear it's supported.
There will also be a dew heater as I do not have one.
The electronic box will be located on the outside of the box and not on the inside as currently, the position of the scope within the box will be different.
In other words, the box is being polar aligned on the RA axis and the scope will be on DEC only (+fine RA adjustments)


tbc...
3 years 6 months ago #60679

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Replied by Gonzothegreat on topic V3 observatory

After careful considerations (looking at the pro and cons), I have decided to make the move from a refractor to a newtonian telescope.
My first ever telescope (over 30 years old now and still have it in mint condition) was a newtonian and I also have a recent one here (ok it's just a Sky-Watcher Heritage-130P Flextube).
New weapon of choice, the SharpStar 15028HNT light photons scooper.

I am aware of all the drawbacks of such scope and I'm not afraid of working hard to get it working as it should.

As for the box redesign, I was planning to reduce the size of it, but that's changing to the size of this scope.
The good news is that the new scope and new mount fit perfectly fine in m current box. I will still redo the entire electronic part.


@El Corazon about the 2.4um pixel size post.
Last edit: 3 years 5 months ago by Gonzothegreat.
3 years 5 months ago #61698
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Replied by Gonzothegreat on topic V3 observatory

And this is my current setup in terms of CCD vs scope
3 years 5 months ago #61699
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Replied by Wouter van Reeven on topic V3 observatory

An F/2.8 Newtonian has exceedingly strict requirements regarding collimation. How are you going to handle that at your remote location? Is the telescope known to be stable in that respect? I didn't read the whole CN thread...
3 years 5 months ago #61700

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Replied by Gonzothegreat on topic V3 observatory


To resume the CN thread: this scope requires a full rebuild (and slight mods) before you can use it, once you have it setup perfectly (yes, I did say perfectly due to being f2.8 ) it holds collimation correctly.
I have found other info about it from other blogs and forums, it's a cracking scope.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Wouter van Reeven, Paul Muller
Last edit: 3 years 5 months ago by Gonzothegreat.
3 years 5 months ago #61701

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Replied by Daniel DeSclafani on topic V3 observatory

This is great! I will be following along! SUPER interested, I will be making my own observatory once I move into my first home in the near future! Ill keep tabs on what you do. Hopefully it can help me in the future as well!
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3 years 5 months ago #61724

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Replied by Gonzothegreat on topic V3 observatory

Little preview of my new base.










Once I have the real scope on it and with the right weights, I'll able to shorten the counterweight bar.
Also now going to be testing meridian flips, scheduler etc...
3 years 5 months ago #62050
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Replied by Gilles Gagnon on topic V3 observatory

Wow! How big small is that! From what I get, I would not be surprised if the V3 observatory ends up being 1/8th the size of V1 or V2 (1/2 each dimension).

Looking forward to see the end product.
Last edit: 3 years 5 months ago by Gilles Gagnon.
3 years 5 months ago #62076

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Replied by Gonzothegreat on topic V3 observatory

Thanks
At the moment, I''m planning to re-use the V2 box, but that might change whenever I have received the new scope as I will have to take some precise measurements.
3 years 5 months ago #62081

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