Telescopes shouldn't get rained on

Looksguywalker

squeaky wrote: »

The parts arrived a little after nine this morning and I swapped out the small IR sensor circuit board for the AZ encoder and a simulated alignment test worked.


So now I need a clear sky to test it for real and assess accuracy and so on.



OVL kindly sent me a complete set of parts (and they sent them direct rather than to my retailer - which is VERY GOOD of them since they don't normally deal with the public) so if I have any residual problems I should be able to deal with them.


Cost apart from postage, if this is the cure, should be under £40 (ish) so that won't be too bad at all.


We have a forecast here for a clear night so I have my fingers crossed...

Are you going to try it under some sort of cover?

Looksguywalker

squeaky wrote: »

Not really. I'd need something on the order of a 3mtr x 3mtr tent, which not only allowed me just to poke the front of the scope out of it, but also turns at 15 deg per hour, or 180 deg in about five seconds when I change from looking at one target to another.

A tent on a turntable

A proper observatory where I could hit an emergency close roof button would be great - but it's pointless building one here. I only view and image from my home base while practising. To get anything like a good result I have to travel miles to get a decent horizon and no light pollution. My kit as it stands already fills my car completely and a throw over cover, such as I have, is my only option here.

A lightweight pop-up or gazebo you...yes you! can easily move every 15 mins or so?

s_b

im pretty sure jodrell bank have a cover on their periscopes
op says they are an electrical engineer but still let electrical devices and motors to the rain for 25 seconds while they move their laptop
any one with any reaso9ning would deduce that a home periscope and lenses and motors wouldnt be used in conditions that would include rain sleet snow and wind

but then again some of us were born with common sense something sadly lacking in todays world
i hope you get zilch op
sorry
or rather im not

OlliesDad

s_b wrote: »

i hope you get zilch op
sorry
or rather im not

Wow... nice!

As an aside Squeaky, if you hadn't got a good result you may have found that your home insurance may have covered you for accidental damage (however something of that value may have to be declared to the insurance company seperately).

I once claimed for a camera that was accidentally left outside and although it didn't rain, it still wouldn't work.

ThumbRemote

s_b wrote: »

but then again some of us were born with common sense

I think your post proves exactly the opposite.

somethingcorporate

Aren't periscopes something submarines have? No idea why anyone would want one of these at home!

I think S B has been at the booze!

squeaky

OlliesDad wrote: »

As an aside Squeaky, if you hadn't got a good result you may have found that your home insurance may have covered you for accidental damage (however something of that value may have to be declared to the insurance company seperately).

Yes. it had to be declared separately, though I have an excess clause applicable, but it's looking as though the cost will be below that so I'll be better off in the long run not claiming.

Although the forecast is for not much cloud tonight, every time so far this month a "clear" night has had a high haze. Even so, as long as I can pick out a few bright stars I can check things out. Just won't be able to pick out much in the way of faint fuzzy objects through the haze which will be all lit up by my nearby town.

ljonski

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01m2r8z/The_Sky_at_Night_HomeGrown_Observatories/

Interesting episode on home observatories. Maybe squeaky will one day aspire to these set ups

squeaky

squeaky wrote: »

More than 240 degrees of my home horizon is at 40 degrees elevation or more - so my home viewing sky is very limited. And again - the light pollution is dire. There's no way I'm spending money on an observatory here because it would be a complete waste.

Nope! Not here.

barbiedoll

I find that the Met Office's idea of "clear skies" is completely different to what an astronomer would expect. The summer is a horrible time to observe anyway, it never gets completely dark and the haze seems to be present until well after midnight, if it clears at all.

Still, you may get lucky, let us know how you get on! (At least there's no rain forecast for tonight )