Sunday: New L-shaped desk top.

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Sunday is promised sunny periods but windy. No point in trying to image when the telescopes are shaking with every gust. If it stays dry I could cut out my L-shaped desk top. I have had a partial sheet of birch ply left over since the build. Though I think the desk top should be quite dark to avoid reflected glare from the sun.

A better day, but very windy with fewer and lighter showers.  I measured twice and cut out my L-shaped desktop once. Fitting it suggested subtle trimming to ensure better isolation from the pier. I lined up the right side of the desk top, with the edge of the pier. 

By sheer chance I had some 70cm long x 45mm Ø flanged, steel tubes set aside for a rainy day. It seemed appropriate to use them given the weather. I used these tubes as legs to support the desk top. By screwing the lower flanges down to the floor. Then the top ones through the desk top. The whole became much more rigid than I might have feared. I used three legs but still have one more in reserve. I have radiused and chamfered the protruding corners to avoid collisions in the dark. Or when I'm not concentrating, as usual.

It is very difficult to capture pictures of the entire desk without using a stepladder. You'll just have to be patient. With the wind being so strong I risked pointing the slit to the north and took a picture from the veranda while standing on my Builders International Standard, beer crate. I hope you appreciate the risks I take. The laptop on the left has been closed. The sheer size of H-alpha solar images captured by the ZWO is evident from the monitor.

I haven't decided how to support the yellow, AWR handset [paddle]. Ideally it needs to be tipped up for easy reading of the screen and comfortable button pressing. The problem is that it has two cables sticking out of the bottom. The yellow connecting plugs isn't very flexible and could be vulnerable to damage. So it needs a slanting hole for these to pass down through the desk. Without their being used to prevent the paddle from sliding downwards. I had the paddle fixed to the pier before and it was very awkward to press the keys. I'd like a useful angle of support and fixing this time.

 Naturally, I'm not keen on boring large holes through my nice, new desk top. Because I am bound to change my mind when the inner genius takes over for the night shift. I just wish he would pay attention when I'm doing things for the first time. Instead of my having to follow him around to mend the usual idiot's mistakes!

I had an indication of the sheer force of the wind today. The 5kg, friction wheel, dome drive, counterweight was nodding up and down to the dome's vertical movements. Given the leverage, the actual base ring lift was very small. Those who were still paying attention during the build will remember I fitted stop disks to prevent dome lift. One disk per steering wheel bracket made eight in total. Each overlapping the base ring. I don't usually spend much time in the observatory during windy weather. It is a noisy and tiring experience as the rubber skirt slaps against the plastic upstand.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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