Trapdoor and new imaging monitor.

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Wednesday: Finished off the trapdoor counterbalancing weights and ropes. In the end I used two, 8-day long case, antique, clock weights, of about 10lbs each, hanging below the floor. These provided almost effortless lifting and lowering of the trapdoor. I shall only trim the ropes when I am satisfied after a couple of days of hands-on experience.

Very happy with the set-up so far. It is very easy to push the trapdoor open ahead of me as I climb the stepladder. This was always very difficult before the weights, pulleys and rope took over lifting duties. The pulleys turn so freely, the weight of 6' of bare 5mm rope was enough to run down through the newly made holes in the floor by gravity alone.

My new 27" AOC monitor arrived and is absolutely stunning via HDMI from the laptop. A very matt screen surface kills reflections. With a native resolution of 2560x1440 the new screen is rather wasted on the 1080P home PC. So the AOC will become the new observatory imaging monitor. Though AOC kindly provided a DisplayPort cable amongst several others my laptop only has a mini DP socket. So I had to order the correct cable online. The screen works fine with HDMI but there are supposed to be advantages to DP.

I have also received nicely secure, almost flat, dovetail, wall mounting plates. Which will avoid using up vital desk space without the new screen projecting very far. Not that the smart, stand base is as large as some. I can first confirm the best position for the monitor using the supplied rise-and-fall/tilting stand. Then fix the screen securely to the pier with the wall mounting plates in the correct position. Once locked into position it would be a real struggle to remove the screen. Not without knowing its hidden security measures.

I have strained my hip while trimming tall hedges from high ladders. So a rest day is indicated. I can hardly move at the moment! I still had to go up to the observatory to tidy up for the night. The dome shutters had leaked in the several, torrential cloudbursts we had this afternoon. There was only a little water on the base ring and the floor immediately under it. The problem is that I couldn't match the shape of the shutters to the angled dome segments.

It would be difficult to fit completely new shutter ribs so foam draught-proofing strip might be worth a try. If the inner sides of the outer shutter ribs were rather more accessible I could add thin, flat segments of ply. Just to close off the shutter gaps where they near the dome. Stripping off the plywood shutter covers might be worth it to gain much better access. Thiough they would need to be replaced again without causing further damage. Not likely given the adhesives used to join the two halves of each shutter.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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