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Wednesday continued: 40-47F inside the dome. 40-46F outside in the shade.
I have shortened the collimation "push" screws slightly more to maximize
the depth of the D-ERF filter cell overlap on the iStar objective lens cell.
While I had the screw removed I gently brushed the objective inner surface to remove sawdust which had settled inside the OTA. I use a makeup mop for this and wipe the brush frequently on a moist lens tissue. The objective was then carefully replaced using the screws as a guide to alignment.
Once that was achieved I carefully balanced the OTA on a small diameter rod. Then marked the tube's balance point with a magic marker. I also weighed the complete OTA with a luggage scale and found it to be almost precisely 12kg.
I have shortened the collimation "push" screws slightly more to maximize
the depth of the D-ERF filter cell overlap on the iStar objective lens cell.While I had the screw removed I gently brushed the objective inner surface to remove sawdust which had settled inside the OTA. I use a makeup mop for this and wipe the brush frequently on a moist lens tissue. The objective was then carefully replaced using the screws as a guide to alignment.
Once that was achieved I carefully balanced the OTA on a small diameter rod. Then marked the tube's balance point with a magic marker. I also weighed the complete OTA with a luggage scale and found it to be almost precisely 12kg.
The Beloptik 2" UV/IR Cut filter on KG3 has arrived
in the post. It has a pinkish hue on reflection but only the slightest
hint of light reduction on transmission. It will be used to further
protect the PST etalon from heat. The image was taken with flash.The sun was out so I quickly re-checked the focus point and the etalon position at 200mm inside focus and had a quick look visually with a 32mm EP. A sharp limb but no detail visible at all. I couldn't adjust the etalon tuning without connecting the drive motor, power supply and the HitechAstro focuser drive box.
Reconnecting the electronics was rather more time consuming. Because I had mixed all the cables together with all the spares in a carrier bag ready for the the storm! I had to replace most of the supplied cables with longer versions to cope with the great length of my refractors.
I was teased with heavy showers and sunny periods all morning. I wanted the bright light from the observing slit to work by. Every time I opened the shutters it rained! No rain was forecast!
Once I had everything connected, Skycharts/ CduC couldn't find the ASCOM[AWR] driver! Skycharts has now completely lost the plot and wanted me to be west of Greenwich. This despite observatory settings clearly showing East!After manually driving the telescope to the sun it provided a nicely sharp disk with fine surface detail in a 20mm EP. Though only briefly. The image shows the telescope east of the mounting and pointing south west.
Attaching the ZWO ASI174MM camera was the perfect opportunity for the sky to become completely overcast! So no chance to properly check image quality at high magnification! It is now 16:00 and it is getting cold, breezy in the dome and increasingly dark under thick cloud. With another heavy shower as a bonus! Grr!
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