Upgrade by fitting an 8v power output to my DIY power mount hub
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| Hole drilled for connector |
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| Empty battery case with cable |
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| Cable to connect to 8v output |
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| Regulator soldered to connector |
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Labelled
(Click any image to enlarge) |
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These are details and pictures of the 8v power output fitted to my DIY power mount hub, it uses a 12v to 8v 7808 voltage regulator for stepping down the power, along with two capacitors to stop any spikes in the voltage. i have fused it with an internal fuse holder as i had no external ones free.
The internals of the battery were removed and a new wire just soldered to the + and - contacts, the wire then comes from the battery and has a two terminal clip connector so it can be disconnected from the rest of the cable, this cable then ends with an RCA connector to connect to the power hub.
Homebuilt weight balance system
Weights bought from Scopes & Skies, the rest is home built using materials readily available. The picture shows my accessories fitted except the dew shield and DSLR (was using to take the pic) but weights are fitted as if was on back of scope to show what it would look like when imaging.
And close up, the heads of the bolts fit perfectly into the rail flat of bolt heads against side of rail, and can be moved by turning lock nut and sliding back or fourth, weights can also be moved nearer or further from OTA, the locking nut above the weights has a nylon insert so it stays put when weights are removed. The rail is fitted using existing OTA bolts as you would fit a retail rail system. It could all be sprayed black to make it visually look better, and match the weights. I chose to have the weights split into 2 lots, but they could all be on the centre bolt and moved forward for balance, its just personal preference. The front weight balances the DSLR on the back and all the weights balance all the accessories on top of the tube, the centre bolt is directly between the forks so doesn't affect horizontal balance at all.
Homebuilt Pier and fully adjustable hardwood wedge, with new deck area
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Pier awaiting wedge with 240v power, scope control and USB cables run underground to Black box on base. Made from 6.5 inch black plastic pipe, filled with concrete and buried two feet down in two cubic feet of concrete |
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Fully adjustable wedge, sits on four threaded bars, with nuts and washers underneath and above, which can be adjusted by moving up or down to give correct angle, (only need to move front or north facing nut up or down once back two are perfectly level, to give required declination the holes in wood are half moon shape to give left and right movement (cant see due to large washers) |
Home built All Sky Camera
Pictures show a few of the stages during construction of my all sky camera.
Camera used was the very popular ZWOPTICAL ASI120mc.
installed fan for cooling of the camera, and a dew heater in the dome around the camera to keep dew off on colder nights, this dew controller is controlled by a PWM controller with adjustable dial on the side of the box (not shown on pics).
the box is rated as waterproof, and the acrylic dome is 4mm thick and of optical quality, sealed with a rubber door sealant
There is a tripod mount fitted and a red LED to show power on status..
Homebuilt 12v Telescope and mount Power Hub
This is my latest DIY project, a 12v powered telescope and accessory hub.
it stops all the annoying wires that you get with all the items needed for a successful imaging session.
It consists of 7 12v power sockets, 3 cigar sockets and 4 RCA connector plugs, 2 dew controllers, each having 2 outputs controlled by PWM controllers, a 7 port USB hub, with 2 internal and 5 external ports, cooling fan (not really needed but had one spare), USB output port, all fused with externally mounted fuse holders. This allows me to connect all my accessories, and only have one cable to connect to my 12v power supply.
This is probably the best project i have done, it makes a huge difference in set up time, and the cost was very reasonable, compared to commercially available ones.
