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Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | (show all) Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory       #2010120 - 11/26/07 12:21 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Recently my wife and I modified an 8'x8' Ez-Up to control neighbors lights and minimize wind. During the creation my wife said it looked like a LEM from the Apollo era. The name stuck. Here are some pictures. The painted ring is where I will be placing a pier this spring. And so ends my lurking in the forums. I have an ETX-125EC I run with a laptop. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010125 - 11/26/07 12:23 PM Attachment (158 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Posting pictures is the challenge now. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010128 - 11/26/07 12:24 PM Attachment (138 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   It can be set up in minutes by one person at home or at a dark spot. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010131 - 11/26/07 12:26 PM Attachment (126 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The full 8x8. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010132 - 11/26/07 12:28 PM Attachment (130 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The dome pops up using integrated fiberglass poles. The legs telescope. The bottom of the canopy is at 6'. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010135 - 11/26/07 12:30 PM Attachment (129 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I ordered a super long zipper online and my wife sewed it in place. The aperture is 18"x40" and works smoothly. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       kent scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 02/16/06 Posts: 854 Loc: P.E.I. Canada Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010138 - 11/26/07 12:32 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Great idea Doc, looks great and would definitely help with dew prevention! Great idea also with the zipper!!! Oh and welcome to CN always glad to have the lurkers come forward. -------------------- Kent SkyWatcher 70mm Orion 100mm ED Skywatcher 8" Newt Skywatcher 10" Newt Orion 20X80 Giant Veiw bino's and a few other goodies LX200R GPS 14" behemoth Edited by kent (11/26/07 12:33 PM) Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010139 - 11/26/07 12:32 PM Attachment (114 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Walls were made from heavy duty tarps. Black on the inside to eliminate stray light. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010148 - 11/26/07 12:37 PM Attachment (97 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   TY Kent. My wife sewed the panels to fit perfectly. As you can see in the backgrounds we have neighbor light pollution. The mature trees and house cut my horizions so having a taller aperture is not a problem. This L.E.M. is just the trick. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010153 - 11/26/07 12:39 PM Attachment (96 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The panels are held in place with velcro. Again my wonderful, dear, sweet, and handy wife sewed them in place. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010156 - 11/26/07 12:40 PM Attachment (86 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   One side has tabs, the other receives them. They all tighten up on each other as you add panels. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010158 - 11/26/07 12:41 PM Attachment (102 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Almost complete. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010162 - 11/26/07 12:43 PM Attachment (96 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The door is a stick on zipper for tarps we found at Home Depot. Again, my wife reenforced it with a seam or two. An it is up and complete. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010166 - 11/26/07 12:45 PM Attachment (103 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The aperture works wonderfully and is perfectly sized for my ETX-125. No chimney effects have been noted all the way down to 13 degrees farenheight. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010180 - 11/26/07 12:49 PM Attachment (104 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   From the inside you can see mature trees limiting my viewing. We don't mind. The taller trees are in the northern sky where there is more light pollution from Littleton 20 miles our north. We aren't missing much. Plenty of clear, still, seeing nights. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       Lucky13 sage Reged: 10/21/07 Posts: 293 Loc: Ashtabula, Ohio Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010185 - 11/26/07 12:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Wow, that is a creative way to make an observatory on the cheap! I might have to try something like that! -------------------- Sean A Z10 and some other stuff Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010186 - 11/26/07 12:51 PM Attachment (103 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Another aperture view. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       kent scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 02/16/06 Posts: 854 Loc: P.E.I. Canada Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010195 - 11/26/07 12:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Whoa!! Sweet, Doc is that ever a fine looking job! Looks like you have lots of room also? You and your misses did a great job. Wish my wife could sew like that. -------------------- Kent SkyWatcher 70mm Orion 100mm ED Skywatcher 8" Newt Skywatcher 10" Newt Orion 20X80 Giant Veiw bino's and a few other goodies LX200R GPS 14" behemoth Post Extras:       Project Galileo professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Posts: 691 Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010196 - 11/26/07 12:54 PM Attachment (83 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Finally, I added two battery operated mini LED strings. I found them at Walmart in the Christmas ligthts. They are zip tied to the tent supports and stay permanently. Just a switch and no more kicking tripod legs. -------------------- Meade 16" Lightbridge M42 with Paracorr Meade AR-6 w/10:1 Dual Speed Crayford Focuser Orion ST80 w/single speed Crayford Focuser Minolta 10x50 Binoculars CGEM Hypertuned by Deep Space Products Post Extras:       kent scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 02/16/06 Posts: 854 Loc: P.E.I. Canada Re: L.E.M. (Light Eliminating Module) Observatory [Re: Project Galileo]       #2010201 - 11/26/07 12:56 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Can you leave it set up for very long? In other words how is your wind situation? -------------------- Kent SkyWatcher 70mm Orion 100mm ED Skywatcher 8" Newt Skywatcher 10" Newt Orion 20X80 Giant Veiw bino's and a few other goodies LX200R GPS 14" behemoth Edited by kent (11/26/07 12:57 PM) Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | (show all)

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