CROW PAGES

Welcome to CROW

This is the page where some information on the equipment used @ CROW is written for you to have an idea.

 

Imaging

ATIK 16HR

This is the main camera of CROW. A great camera with a nice CCD for the price. A Sony CCD equips the ATIK. It is an extremely sensitive and "clean" CCD and on most occasions one can afford not to calibrate images. The "odd" shape the camera has is one of it's downsides but overall it's a steady 9 out of 10. It has a standard ST-4 port for guiding (relays), a power input rated at 12V taking only 900mA and a daisy chain port for power. The USB 1.1 port makes the 16 second download for a full 1320x1040 frame drag the thing a bit but hey... working robotically you won't even notice it. Only failed once the last 2 years due to a faulty component.

 

ATIK 16IC

This guide camera is second to none on its job. Performs (almost) flawlessly. The almost bit is just because for 3 or 4 times it has aborted the plan just because the camera stopped responding. I helped the manufacturer to actually name de camera :) Also has 1.1 USB which is really of no importance even when guiding at fast rates, a power in port and a standard ST-4 port. A very good CCD (once again by SONY) which will do the job!

 

Robofocus

This is one of those products that after a quick look at the manual and a first configuration will endure all tests of time! Performs great. The price is not one of the greatest in the market but I assure you it's money well spent. Jerry W. Smith is also always willing to help in any necessary case.

 

 

FLI CFW-1-8

When FLI advertises this as THE BEST product in the market... make no mistake, it's not advertising. It's the truth!!!

Although I had a malfunction right from scratch (bought it second hand and the guy who sold it to me repaired it for me for 15€ after a burnt circuit) this was not the wheel's fault. Since that, it has proven to be rock solid and nothing less.

 

William Optics FLT 110 f/6,5 (TEC)

Optically this is a heck of a scope with a very small drawback. It has the worst focuser known to mankind and the most awkward to tune!!!! I actually bought a second focuser because I thought that the first one was messed up by the previous owner. After the second one arrived I soon got to the conclusion that the problem was not that particular focuser but the focuser's design itself. I managed to tune both focusers after an entire afternoon trying to figure out what the hell made what move. Ever since I put that part to work properly I can't say nothing but that these optics are brilliant.

 

Skywatcher 80 ED f/7,5

Best bang for the buck ever. This is not a fancy scope nor is it one who will make your eyes see something new but it will deliver better than you ever expected for a 400€ scope. It has a very nice focuser and already includes the rings and a dovetail which many scopes fail to include in the bundle in which they come. The focuser rubber grip will wear shortly but it will not influence the focuser in any way.

 

Losmandy GM-8

This is not an observatory grade mount but it will do the job. You'll have to spend some time tweaking until it reaches its best performance but it will deliver. In this photo you'll see the GM8 carrying 19,8 Kilograms which is more than the manufacturer states that it will hold even visually. The fact is that it guided pretty well even with this amount of weight. A good mount with a moody Gemini.

 

Paramount ME

Everything you read about this mount is absolutely true. This is the second to none mount you want to get and that's that! I must stress however that mine came with the DIP switches as they should be but it didn't work. Had to call software Bisque for 3 or 4 times just because of that and only after that I found that it worked with a DIP switch different than it should be... Very annoying especially for the price which is outrageous!

 

Infrastructure

The Building

 

  • This was done by a local contractor and although it may not have all the fancy features a professional observatory has it does have a nice warm room, a good cold room (with 5 mounts in it) and it is prepared to expand up to nine modules total. That will allow 40 mounts and a single Warm room where 5 people have slept (and 6 could also fit) well... tell you the truth 12 if they were couples :)

  • Anyway, the foundations are made of stone, rebar and cement so the observatory can endure throughout time in this very harsh environment in which it is located. When it rains, it pours here... There's a lot of A LOT here... when it's windy it's not just windy there A LOT of wind, when it's good...well you know what I mean.

 

The WC (Washing Closet)

You may find this amusing or not interesting at all but believe me. If you're in the middle of nowhere at 565 mts altitude, there's -5ºC outside you don't want to go out to the bush to do your business!!! Hot running water is a must when you have to really get dirty while there. Even a shower is included.

 

The Roof

This was one of the hardest parts to nail properly. Not because of the roof itself but because of making the roof roll properly. Skateboard wheels were unsuccessfully used and the V-groove wheels and casters were finally the solution to the problem. There's an iron structure underneath the cover which ahs 2 layers of metal with expanded polystyrene in between. This assures isolation from extreme temperatures which are usual both during Summer and Winter. The grey vinyl part is a "Skirt with Wall Mate" kind of thing to prevent rain and wind to get in maintaining air circulation however to maintain temperature constant.

 

The motor

Motorlift ML-700 is the unit behind the push and pull that makes the roof roll. This a chain and steel cable unit and so a cable stretcher was the solution found by my brother Jorge to make this unit perform the way it should. A true glimpse of his usual genious! This is, of course, a garage door unit and so, some minor adaptations had to be made regarding the way it is attached tot the roof. It's covered by a plastic box to keep it free from rain. This is the most dodgy aprt of keeping your observatory rolling if you get my drift... Note the two ring plastic tubes that provide isolation to the electrical connections.

 

The Pier

First off, let me tell you I did everything I read what people do to prevent pier shaking just to get to the conclusion I didn't need to for several reasons. Since there's no one there and no road nearby there's no use to the pier foundation I have there. It's a 90 cms cube buried 90 cms down into the ground. This could carry the Hubble telescope if I ever got it to put it there. There are several solutions but this one was designed with the Paramount ME in mind even when I had a GM8. Having this said, some adaptations had to be made while there was no "availability" for the Paramount. The bolts on top were made in a J shape with 12 mm bolt rods and attached by the contractor for which I had to make sure they were leveled so I came up with this idea of using nuts to tightens a couple of wood boards to make sure it all went well. It did!

Additional piers were made either with sonotube or with cement draining pipes filled with cement as well to support the additional mounts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Telecom & Stuff

Asus WL500GP (V1)

This was not a choice I made, itwas the only available choice. The only network who actually covered these grounds was ZAPP and therefore I had to get a router which worked with that. There's only one and this is it. It's not a good equipment and the firmware that ZAPP made is not that hot but does the trick. Hopefully there will be other options in the future since bandwidth is not that much with ZAPP... Since this is the main gateway for the observatory you'll have to settle for a 150€ equipment to allow you to get to all your thousands of € stuff...

Aviosys IPPower 9212 Deluxe

Only the name is Deluxe. It works alright but it's a moody equipment. The support is non-existing and so is the user manual. This is a relay control unit with a built in web server which allows me to control everything from an electrical point of view! The other part reads either voltage or resistance.

 

End of travel sensors

These are used to read the roof status through RRCI. These industrial grade sensors are out on the rain and have not had a single issue from the day I installed the so this was money well spent. There is one of these on each end and when none of them is pressed it means that the roof is in between.

 

End of travel sensors

These are used to read the roof status through RRCI. These industrial grade sensors are out on the rain and have not had a single issue from the day I installed the so this was money well spent.