IMG_0341.jpeg
IMG_0341.jpeg
IMG_0359.jpeg
IMG_0359.jpeg
IMG_0362.jpeg
IMG_0362.jpeg
IMG_9794.jpeg
IMG_9794.jpeg
IMG_9793.jpeg
IMG_9793.jpeg
3D Printed Baffle extension and reducer
3D Printed Baffle extension and reducer
Voyager 2 node array local field focusing
Voyager 2 node array local field focusing
Grease on my ASI2600, this was easily cleaned!
Grease on my ASI2600, this was easily cleaned!
Enclosed electronics
Enclosed electronics
Roof AC control panel
Roof AC control panel
Roof AC infrastructure
Roof AC infrastructure
IMG_4518.HEIC
IMG_4518.HEIC
Roof AC real lights rough-in!
Roof AC real lights rough-in!
Flat panel prototype
Flat panel prototype
Looks nice and neat, not typical
Looks nice and neat, not typical
You can see the roof of the Annex covered in the snow a couple of weeks ago. Just swallowing up the screw drive opener for JRO.  This is not good and is the driver for the automated roof snow/ice melt system.
You can see the roof of the Annex covered in the snow a couple of weeks ago. Just swallowing up the screw drive opener for JRO. This is not good and is the driver for the automated roof snow/ice melt system.
TACS 7.1 in action on New Year's Eve 2020 across my 4 monitors imaging the Rosette nebula in narrowband on both my FSQ85 and RC simultaneously.
TACS 7.1 in action on New Year's Eve 2020 across my 4 monitors imaging the Rosette nebula in narrowband on both my FSQ85 and RC simultaneously.
This is a screenshot of me imaging the Rosette nebula on the left with the RC and on the right with the Takahashi
This is a screenshot of me imaging the Rosette nebula on the left with the RC and on the right with the Takahashi
Atik 16200 w/ Atik EF3 sporting Chroma 3nm filters and an Atik OAG leveraging a Lodestar carried by a Moonlite WR25 rotator and focuser on my 14" GSO RC telescope
Atik 16200 w/ Atik EF3 sporting Chroma 3nm filters and an Atik OAG leveraging a Lodestar carried by a Moonlite WR25 rotator and focuser on my 14" GSO RC telescope
Atik 16200 w/ Atik EF3 sporting Chroma 3nm filters and an Atik OAG leveraging a Lodestar carried by a Moonlite WR25 rotator and focuser on my 14" GSO RC telescope
Atik 16200 w/ Atik EF3 sporting Chroma 3nm filters and an Atik OAG leveraging a Lodestar carried by a Moonlite WR25 rotator and focuser on my 14" GSO RC telescope
Snow doesn't stop me!
Snow doesn't stop me!
Snow doesn't stop me!
Snow doesn't stop me!
Snow doesn't stop me!  The roof was real heavy with it being 1/2 covered in snow.  I had to help it open and close.  If the snow melt system works well on the Annex, I may do the same for JRO's roof.
Snow doesn't stop me! The roof was real heavy with it being 1/2 covered in snow. I had to help it open and close. If the snow melt system works well on the Annex, I may do the same for JRO's roof.

Latest News



3-Mar-2024 Life is too short.  I have not given up many things in my life, but i'm finally getting rid of this RC telescope. Almost 4 years of struggling, I feel relieved now!  I have moved my Epsilon to my center mount, and my RASA with FSQ85 on top to my secondary mount. For the new POD-S, I plan to run dual SBS Redcat 61's, one mono and one OSC.    SVO (Sun Valley Observatory) will be created by moving my POD (JRO2) to a new location on a stone pad about 60' away where it will be dedicated to solar photography.  This is underway now!  


29-Dec-2023  I've spent the better part of the past 2 months learning SkyWave and using it to measure aberrations in my RC in an all-out effort to get this scope to make good stars.  I have had moderate success with SKW and with other tools believe that I have this scope collimated to where it needs to be.  I will be starting objects I've imaged with it over the past 3-1/2 years to really see how much better things are now.  It's very exciting, almost like getting a new scope or camera!

23-Oct-2023  My widefield setup with my RASA is off mount now, replaced by my new Takahashi Epsilon 160.  In playing with that I have started learning to use Skywave to help me collimate both the Epsilon and the RC.  When I had a couple of free nights I had the RASA inside and used my ACT to optically align the RASA.  I made some adjustments that I feel good about but have to wait now as the Epsilon took its spot.  Some day I will get my POD-S so that my second observatory can be fully automated with my third mount.

1-Mar-2023  All the work I put into the Ultrasonic Park detection solution I created is now shelved.  I mean, I wrote a python code, shell scripts, made a bullet proof reliable solution that would always run as long as the raspberry pi was up, but frost started to make the RC Ultrasonic sensor have unreliable readings for windows of time.  This happened more than once late in the night when it is trying to close up.  So, I have moved to "Plan B" which was a much simpler Active - Active IR sensors, hoping that being active they might not be affected by dew and frost like a larger reflector is.  These are hard to aim, you can't see the IR with your eyes, but I found that my ASI224's inside my observatory an see them clearly so I aimed them a little better. The first night park detection failed for the RC.  When I went out there to see in the morning, I only rubbed my finger on the front of the emitter, and it cleared enough frost off that the beam got to the detector and the relay fired.  I designed and printed matching dew shields and had success last night as it closed up for clouds and everything worked correctly.  Of course it did, I was awake watching from the couch.

3-Nov-2022  My first PLA correction baffle has deteriorated so I printed a new one-piece baffle.  This new baffle only

               needs about 1/2 a loop of electrical tape to give it a nice snug fit on the RC.  You can download my 14"

               Carbon fiber RC corrector baffle .stl here, pictures are below. New screw drive opener installed.  Frost

               has become a big problem with IR park detection sensors so I am trying to move to Ultrasonic sensors

               which seem to be working.  I have also moved to one SkyRoof for the observatory that is not connected

               to either mount.  Still working out all the kinks.

11-Sep 2022:  I have both mounts working together autonomously!  All the heavy lifting in AOPs is done, AOPs

                 has evolved to version 8.1.39.  Only making minor tweaks these days.  AOPs gives me the ability to

                       do many things regarding controlling operations.  It allows me to pick which mount or mounts are in

                       play.  It allows me to set a No second chance flag so that if it closes for weather and conditions

                       improve later it will not start again.  I can set a Force Flag to force it to not start tonight or to start

                       tonight disregarding the weather forecast.  Under normal circumstances, the forecast is the final

                       criteria used to determine if it should start.

18-July 2022:  I've moved to Voyager Advanced for image acquisition!

                        Autonomous Operations v3 (AOPS) is currently in development.

                        Coming Soon: Control over forecasting and automation while facilitating autonomous operations!

                        I have not been very productive for the last 6 months.  Mostly due to frustrations with the RC.