*
Wednesday 6th. 07.30[CET] 39F. Lots off blue sky but a few feathery clouds spoiling the view of the sun. First surface capture shows the coarseness and unwanted sharpening. 
Already swapped over to the PST BF after trying the Lunt B1200S2. The surface features are solid in the BF5. Washed out in the B1200. Too much sky glow from the B1200 to show the proms.
07.45. Still waiting for the sun to clear the big, feathery cloud in the east before I can try for my first capture! I get used to watching the sun on the inside of the dome to see if it is worth checking SharpCap.9.32: 51/45F. So much cloud I'm wasting my time sitting here waiting for clearances. The DMI forecast was clear sun all day.
11.50. Have spent a couple of hours improving the mounting's cabling. I re-routed the Dec drive cable to bring it as central as possible to the PA axis. This involved removing the northern plate, drilling a large hole near the top edge and then sawing a slot down to the hole. Then it was filed smooth and the entire, rounded slot was polished to ensure no chafing. I also tidied up all the drive and mains cables on and inside the pier. 
12:00 The sun has come out again but with cloud and fierce thermal agitation of the sun's image. I am using the down time to check the mounting's alignment using SharpCap and the target reticule.A very simple azimuth adjuster using a long, screw eye and an angle bracket made life easier. I used to use a 4' length of scaffolding pole as a lever to turn the whole mounting. Not very accurate! If the present adjuster proves to work well I shall make a smarter version in aluminium angle.
*
No comments:
Post a Comment