1286 replies to this topic

[jtsenghas]

What type of material/paper/instructions do I give at Staples/Office Depot/etc. when having setting circles printed? What is the best material to print on?

I chose to have my circle laminated at Staples after I printed it at work. This made it fairly stiff and the surface waterproof, although the subsequently trimmed edges weren't sealed. They could have done the oversized printing themselves for less than an additional $2 USD, but were limited to a maximum of 24" width on the laminating. You can see my work a few posts back.

[Megiddo]

 

What type of material/paper/instructions do I give at Staples/Office Depot/etc. when having setting circles printed? What is the best material to print on?

I chose to have my circle laminated at Staples after I printed it at work. This made it fairly stiff and the surface waterproof, although the subsequently trimmed edges weren't sealed. They could have done the oversized printing themselves for less than an additional $2 USD, but were limited to a maximum of 24" width on the laminating. You can see my work a few posts back.

 

I mixed a solution of silicone and paint thinner (a fairly thin mixture).    I then 'painted' the exposed edge.    It seems to do the trick.

Edited by Megiddo, 07 November 2017 - 08:37 AM.

[jtsenghas]

 

I mixed a solution of silicone and paint thinner (a fairly thin mixture).    I then 'painted' the exposed edge.    It seems to do the trick.

 

No issues with soak-in expanding the paper or darkening the color of it?  What silicone product did you use?

[Megiddo]

 

 

I mixed a solution of silicone and paint thinner (a fairly thin mixture).    I then 'painted' the exposed edge.    It seems to do the trick.

 

No issues with soak-in expanding the paper or darkening the color of it?  What silicone product did you use?

 

I used GE 100% Clear Silicone with new paint thinner (sometimes old thinner gets paint brush color from cleaning brushes).    Nope no color change.    But you might want to try a small spot and see.    Mine had no change.

Edited by Megiddo, 08 November 2017 - 10:27 AM.

[darinbrown]

new to the hobby and have gotten through the first 20 pages or so to date. Will be adding the setting circles to my first scope (AWB OneSky) which I plan on mounting to this DIY tripod made for tabletop scopes like the OneSky

 

http://www.eyesonthe...eTripod2x4.aspx

 

I haven't unboxed the OneSky yet (kids Christmas present) but it looks like I'll need to remove it from its provided ground base and attach its alt/az base to the top round base of the tripod? I know most of the builds here are for dob ground scopes.. haven't come across one yet that was done for a small tabletob dob. anyone got any experience/thoughts on what challenges that might entail? 

 

though if I'd like the dob to be able to be stored/separated from the tripod in a perfect world that would entail cutting 3 mounting holes in the tripod top so I could use the existing OneSky base/feet and just drop it in/out of the tripod top when not in use but I'd have to see how that might work with the setting circles. I suppose if the tripod top was large enough diameter-wise that would allow for the feet/mount to drop inside the setting circles and still have a long enough pointer to reach out to the setting circles on the edge that might work. 

 

looking forward to getting through the rest of the thread and getting these installed on the scope since I've got no star hopping experience and have to deal with lots of LP here in the DFW area of Texas.

Edited by darinbrown, 15 December 2017 - 09:14 AM.

[jtsenghas]

 haven't unboxed the OneSky yet (kids Christmas present) but it looks like I'll need to remove it from its provided ground base and attach its alt/az base to the top round base of the tripod? 

 

Welcome to Cloudy Nights! I strongly recommend against your disassembling your scope as you describe since that will make it require the tripod at all times and reduce its grab-and-go capability, including using it from inside the house on terrestrial objects to introduce the kids to it.

 

If you make a sturdy tripod like the one shown, which is essentially a three-legged stool, you can do other things to ensure the scope remains securely on it. One possibility is to drill three holes in the surface for the three feet of the base to drop into.

 

As for this lengthy thread, if you skip to just the last four or five pages, you'll get what you need from it in my opinion. There are some nicely scalable drawings available and advice on the newer version of the Wixey level (with tiltable display and no green light) if you want to go with that for altitude. Note that this device has two scales, one of which can be zeroed and remains in memory. If it times out and goes off while you are observing, a touch of a button brings it on again. (But if you press that button BEFORE it times out, you will accidentally zero it). 

 

With that wide field you won't need precision pointing anyway to find objects within the light grasp of that scope. You might want to make a fixed azimuth scale that is bigger than your scope's base and covers the entire tripod surface, perhaps even a ring version like I show recently on this thread. A pointer that attaches to the scope (perhaps with magnets) could extend outward and downward to that scale. 

[darinbrown]

 

 haven't unboxed the OneSky yet (kids Christmas present) but it looks like I'll need to remove it from its provided ground base and attach its alt/az base to the top round base of the tripod? 

 

Welcome to Cloudy Nights! I strongly recommend against your disassembling your scope as you describe since that will make it require the tripod at all times and reduce its grab-and-go capability, including using it from inside the house on terrestrial objects to introduce the kids to it.

 

If you make a sturdy tripod like the one shown, which is essentially a three-legged stool, you can do other things to ensure the scope remains securely on it. One possibility is to drill three holes in the surface for the three feet of the base to drop into.

 

As for this lengthy thread, if you skip to just the last four or five pages, you'll get what you need from it in my opinion. There are some nicely scalable drawings available and advice on the newer version of the Wixey level (with tiltable display and no green light) if you want to go with that for altitude. Note that this device has two scales, one of which can be zeroed and remains in memory. If it times out and goes off while you are observing, a touch of a button brings it on again. (But if you press that button BEFORE it times out, you will accidentally zero it). 

 

With that wide field you won't need precision pointing anyway to find objects within the light grasp of that scope. You might want to make a fixed azimuth scale that is bigger than your scope's base and covers the entire tripod surface, perhaps even a ring version like I show recently on this thread. A pointer that attaches to the scope (perhaps with magnets) could extend outward and downward to that scale. 

 

 

excellent point re: not disassembling. noted on drilling holes in the surface for the 3 feet to just drop into. that seems like my best solution.

 

have enjoyed going through to see all the improvements/tweaks from the beginning but figured some of the tech was dated. I'll give a look at your recent ring solution and fashion up a pointer that can attach with magnets, etc.. to the scope and extend out/down far enough to reach the outer ring scale. seems like my best bet for this little scope.. I'll revisit once AP fever catches on and I grab a Z12 down the road

[darinbrown]

another thought I had. I'll be putting the circles on my fixed base of the tripod for my OneSky tabletop dob and primary use is for my young kids and I'm sure they'll be quite likely to nudge/move the scope when observing so I was thinking of a way to lock it down for a few minutes at a time... was thinking of drilling a hole in the rotating base and threading an adjustable foot in there with a star knob at the top that would allow me to loosen/tighten to lock the AZ once I have the object in the FOV.. would of course be a constant process of loosen/shift/tighten as the object drifts out of the FOV but would keep the kids from bumping it out of the FOV once centered.. since the OneSky will have some clearance under it and the base of the tripod I'm thinking that should work?

 

appears to be called a threaded stem furniture glide.. I'd drill the hole, drop in the proper threaded insert and then stick a star knob on the top for easier adjustments.

Edited by darinbrown, 18 December 2017 - 09:38 PM.

[jtsenghas]

I think you'll be surprised at how quickly even the young viewers learn not to bump the scope in azimuth. They are more likely to push it in altitude, but that direction can be set for a bit more friction on most of these scopes. Because these small dobs have such a short tube they really aren't overly sensitive to being bumped.

[SDTopensied]

Has anyone tried this on an Explore Scientific Twilight I mount?  Looking for ideas on the azimuth degree circle.

 

-Steve

[kyleinpdx]

Hello CN, 

 

I'm hoping someone can clarify something for me quickly, and my apologies if its been discussed I couldn't find it in the thread. 

 

If I go and add the degree circles (clockwise) to my ground board AND I notch my upper rockerbox board directly below my eyepiece like many folks have done, when I go to align the scope, the degree circle will be 90* (or there abouts) off from where the scope is pointing as the notch to see the degree circle is perpendicular to the telescope optics. This wouldn't be an issue if the notch was directly below the center line of the optics. (I hope that makes sense.)

 

So do folks first ID a known object, get that in the field of view, THEN rotation the degree circles to have 0 point elsewhere other than north? Seems like a pain to line up something in the eye piece then rotate the ground board and keep everything lined up. However on the flip side, having to walk around the scope to see the degree circle also seems like a pain.

 

Thanks!

[Richie2shoes]

Hello CN, 

 

I'm hoping someone can clarify something for me quickly, and my apologies if its been discussed I couldn't find it in the thread. 

 

If I go and add the degree circles (clockwise) to my ground board AND I notch my upper rockerbox board directly below my eyepiece like many folks have done, when I go to align the scope, the degree circle will be 90* (or there abouts) off from where the scope is pointing as the notch to see the degree circle is perpendicular to the telescope optics. This wouldn't be an issue if the notch was directly below the center line of the optics. (I hope that makes sense.)

 

So do folks first ID a known object, get that in the field of view, THEN rotation the degree circles to have 0 point elsewhere other than north? Seems like a pain to line up something in the eye piece then rotate the ground board and keep everything lined up. However on the flip side, having to walk around the scope to see the degree circle also seems like a pain.

 

Thanks!

When I initially set up my scope, I align my scope to north, with the pointer set to 0.  Then I ID a known object, like Venus, get it in the eyepiece and check the azimuth readings and adjust the pointer.  So far, I've only used the circles on my Onesky tabletop mount and it hasn't been an issue.  I've watched AnalogKid set his up on his 12" Dob and he's ready to go faster than I am with my 8" intelliscope.

[AnalogKid]

Hello CN, 

 

I'm hoping someone can clarify something for me quickly, and my apologies if its been discussed I couldn't find it in the thread. 

 

(1)  If I go and add the degree circles (clockwise) to my ground board AND<Snip>

 

(2) So do folks first ID a known object, <snip>

Thanks!

(1) You can put the notch anywhere you like.  Most of us find it convenient under the eyepiece.   On my Skywatcher it is on the left side, and on my Coulter it is on the right.  Makes no difference.  With the notch under the centerline of the optices I can see this being a problem of sorts when trying to set the scope.  May make it harder to see the settings,  Other than that, it would technically work there just fine. 

 

(2) Some folks are lucky enough to have their circles rotate so they can plop the base down anyway that is convenient, and they are ready to calibrate.   Most of us have fixed circles with a movable pointer.    Here is what I do.   

Set the base so that my pointer is on 0 in the center of my range of adjustment.  I have about 30 degrees of range of adjustment.  I then point the base to where I know North to be.   At the club fields it is easy as I know form experience where North is.  At outreaches I use the compass on my phone to get close.  Set it so that the front of the base, and this the optical path, is pointing North or close.  I have +-15 degrees to play with here as I have a 30 degree range of adjustment.  Your pointer, pointing to 0 will be in effect 90 degrees from North, but really it is showing that the OTA is pointing North, which is 0 degrees.

Now go to your favorite app, and find the first bright object you see.  I typically use Venus for now.   Bring up it's alt/Azth readings.   Now center it in your eyepiece.  Reference back to the Azth readings and with Venus still centered in the eyepiece put your pointer on what the app says the Azth reading is.  So say they app says 212 degrees, put your pointer on 212.  I typically wait for it to be a whole number or a half number (i.e. 212.0 or 212.5, 213.0, etc)  to get better accuracy, but not totally necessary.   You are now calibrated.  No need to calibrate for Alt as a level level is well level. 

 

Speaking of level, I do find it important to have the base level.  I have a small bulls eye level I use that I hot glued to the base.  So far when the bubble is in the bulls eye it is good enough.

 

Some folks say not to use the plants for this as their trajectory isn't as well calculated as the stars. So far I have not found this to be a problem in practice.  When I do use the moon (careful of the sun it is still up) I do re calibrate once A bright star is up, but in all honesty this gets me close too as I can find Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and now Mars before they are naked eye when using the moon to calibrate. 

 

After your done calibrating, just look up the object and dial it in.  

 

Here is my cut out showing about 30 degrees of adjustment.

 

And here is what I use for levelers.  They are glued where the feet used to be on the base.   About 2" range of adjustment.  Works for just about all but the larger slopes.  I do carry builders shims and 1"x3"s but have only had to use those once to get the base level  

[SeaBee1]

Well, I was gonna give my spiel on how I do it, but AnalogKid said everything I had typed in my reply, so I deleted it... just do what the Kid sez... it works!

 

CB

[kyleinpdx]

When I initially set up my scope, I align my scope to north, with the pointer set to 0.  Then I ID a known object, like Venus, get it in the eyepiece and check the azimuth readings and adjust the pointer.  So far, I've only used the circles on my Onesky tabletop mount and it hasn't been an issue.  I've watched AnalogKid set his up on his 12" Dob and he's ready to go faster than I am with my 8" intelliscope.

 

 

(1) You can put the notch anywhere you like.  Most of us find it convenient under the eyepiece.   On my Skywatcher it is on the left side, and on my Coulter it is on the right.  Makes no difference.  With the notch under the centerline of the optices I can see this being a problem of sorts when trying to set the scope.  May make it harder to see the settings,  Other than that, it would technically work there just fine. 

 

(2) Some folks are lucky enough to have their circles rotate so they can plop the base down anyway that is convenient, and they are ready to calibrate.   Most of us have fixed circles with a movable pointer.    Here is what I do.   

Set the base so that my pointer is on 0 in the center of my range of adjustment.  I have about 30 degrees of range of adjustment.  I then point the base to where I know North to be.   At the club fields it is easy as I know form experience where North is.  At outreaches I use the compass on my phone to get close.  Set it so that the front of the base, and this the optical path, is pointing North or close.  I have +-15 degrees to play with here as I have a 30 degree range of adjustment.  Your pointer, pointing to 0 will be in effect 90 degrees from North, but really it is showing that the OTA is pointing North, which is 0 degrees.

Now go to your favorite app, and find the first bright object you see.  I typically use Venus for now.   Bring up it's alt/Azth readings.   Now center it in your eyepiece.  Reference back to the Azth readings and with Venus still centered in the eyepiece put your pointer on what the app says the Azth reading is.  So say they app says 212 degrees, put your pointer on 212.  I typically wait for it to be a whole number or a half number (i.e. 212.0 or 212.5, 213.0, etc)  to get better accuracy, but not totally necessary.   You are now calibrated.  No need to calibrate for Alt as a level level is well level. 

 

Speaking of level, I do find it important to have the base level.  I have a small bulls eye level I use that I hot glued to the base.  So far when the bubble is in the bulls eye it is good enough.

 

Some folks say not to use the plants for this as their trajectory isn't as well calculated as the stars. So far I have not found this to be a problem in practice.  When I do use the moon (careful of the sun it is still up) I do re calibrate once A bright star is up, but in all honesty this gets me close too as I can find Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and now Mars before they are naked eye when using the moon to calibrate. 

 

After your done calibrating, just look up the object and dial it in.  

 

Here is my cut out showing about 30 degrees of adjustment.

 

 

And here is what I use for levelers.  They are glued where the feet used to be on the base.   About 2" range of adjustment.  Works for just about all but the larger slopes.  I do carry builders shims and 1"x3"s but have only had to use those once to get the base level  

 

Thanks both of you for the prompt responses! 

 

I have an Orion XT8 that I've flocked and created a new circular ground board for, I've cannibalized my original Orion ground board feet to make some leveling feet. I've also added a bulls eye level and hopefully this weekend I'm going to wire up a red LED to shine through my base cutout so the numbers are a bit easier to read. I test fit everything last night and that's when I realized that if I notch on the eye piece side of the base I'll either need to constantly make the adjustments mentally if I keep the degree circle 0 pointing north which seems like a huge waste of brain power or I'll be placing the 0 offset from the compass zero so its relative to the optics. 

 

 

 

Edited by kyleinpdx, 31 August 2018 - 11:00 AM.

[AnalogKid]

Well, I was gonna give my spiel on how I do it, but AnalogKid said everything I had typed in my reply, so I deleted it... just do what the Kid sez... it works!

 

CB

That's funny.  Richie2.. and I cross posted too.   

 

<snip> that's when I realized that if I notch on the eye piece side of the base I'll either need to constantly make the adjustments mentally if I keep the degree circle 0 pointing north which seems like a huge waste of brain power or I'll be placing the 0 offset from the compass zero so its relative to the optics. 

 

I think your over thinking this one.   When I place the base, I make sure the pointer is on 0, and in the middle of the range of adjustment.   I then place the base down so the OTA is pointing North.  I think once you do this once the light bulb will click.... 

 

NIce circles and levelers. Will make leveling really easy  I thought about doing something like that, but my base is already 25" and didn't want to make it even bigger.  

[Old Rookie]

(1) You can put the notch anywhere you like.  Most of us find it convenient under the eyepiece.   On my Skywatcher it is on the left side, and on my Coulter it is on the right.  Makes no difference.  With the notch under the centerline of the optices I can see this being a problem of sorts when trying to set the scope.  May make it harder to see the settings,  Other than that, it would technically work there just fine. 

 

(2) Some folks are lucky enough to have their circles rotate so they can plop the base down anyway that is convenient, and they are ready to calibrate.   Most of us have fixed circles with a movable pointer.    Here is what I do.   

Set the base so that my pointer is on 0 in the center of my range of adjustment.  I have about 30 degrees of range of adjustment.  I then point the base to where I know North to be.   At the club fields it is easy as I know form experience where North is.  At outreaches I use the compass on my phone to get close.  Set it so that the front of the base, and this the optical path, is pointing North or close.  I have +-15 degrees to play with here as I have a 30 degree range of adjustment.  Your pointer, pointing to 0 will be in effect 90 degrees from North, but really it is showing that the OTA is pointing North, which is 0 degrees.

Now go to your favorite app, and find the first bright object you see.  I typically use Venus for now.   Bring up it's alt/Azth readings.   Now center it in your eyepiece.  Reference back to the Azth readings and with Venus still centered in the eyepiece put your pointer on what the app says the Azth reading is.  So say they app says 212 degrees, put your pointer on 212.  I typically wait for it to be a whole number or a half number (i.e. 212.0 or 212.5, 213.0, etc)  to get better accuracy, but not totally necessary.   You are now calibrated.  No need to calibrate for Alt as a level level is well level. 

 

Speaking of level, I do find it important to have the base level.  I have a small bulls eye level I use that I hot glued to the base.  So far when the bubble is in the bulls eye it is good enough.

 

Some folks say not to use the plants for this as their trajectory isn't as well calculated as the stars. So far I have not found this to be a problem in practice.  When I do use the moon (careful of the sun it is still up) I do re calibrate once A bright star is up, but in all honesty this gets me close too as I can find Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and now Mars before they are naked eye when using the moon to calibrate. 

 

After your done calibrating, just look up the object and dial it in.  

 

Here is my cut out showing about 30 degrees of adjustment.

12InchCircleWithPointer.jpg

 

And here is what I use for levelers.  They are glued where the feet used to be on the base.   About 2" range of adjustment.  Works for just about all but the larger slopes.  I do carry builders shims and 1"x3"s but have only had to use those once to get the base level  

Levelers.jpg

I've done degree circles on a couple of telescopes and really liked it although my current dob has DSC's.  

A couple of things that I've found are that:

1.  Getting level is important.  Using adjustable feet on the base or even using shims.  

2.  Doesn't matter what app you use for coordinates or what object.  Just do a careful alignment.

3.  Now once you have this down, you can do an alignment at any time during the night.  Remember that the closer to the alignment star you are, the more accurate the alignment.  For example, if you're hunting for galaxies in Pegasus, choose your alignment star from somewhere in Pegasus.

4.  I used a 7mm Nagler for alignments.  After that just about any object I looked at was in the fov.  And besides, if I wanted to realign all I had to do was pick a star and go and then either adjust the pointer or not.  

5.  If you really decide to test your system, you'll need a good atlas to help find those objects that border on averted vision.

 

Have fun and enjoy the system.

[kyleinpdx]

That's funny.  Richie2.. and I cross posted too.   

 

I think your over thinking this one.   When I place the base, I make sure the pointer is on 0, and in the middle of the range of adjustment.   I then place the base down so the OTA is pointing North.  I think once you do this once the light bulb will click.... 

 

NIce circles and levelers. Will make leveling really easy  I thought about doing something like that, but my base is already 25" and didn't want to make it even bigger.  

Yeah there was definitely some over complication on my part but I place some blame on the orion stand as well. Because of where the corners meet the only spots to place my cut out were a little more forward or backwards than I wanted based on how I normally sit at it. I ended up cutting two and testing each before going with the more forward option. I wasn't happy with how hard it was to see especially in the dark so I decided to illuminate and magnify the numbers. I took a red LED I knew was fairly dim and stole the stepup circuit out of a cheap solar outdoor walkway light so I could power it with a single AA rather than needing two and rigged that to shine onto the circle. I then took a piece of "magnifying sheet" and mounted it (rather crudely at the moment) to the stand and viola. I think this will be much more user friendly. Going to try it out tonight and probably iterate on it throughout the weekend. 

 

This is the view from the eye piece. The camera makes the LED seem brighter then it appears in person, it all looks much better in the dark.

 

Edited by kyleinpdx, 01 September 2018 - 09:52 PM.

[AnalogKid]

<snip>. Going to try it out tonight and probably iterate on it throughout the weekend. <snip>

 

 

Did you have a chance to try it out?

 

I've been meaning to add a LED to the pointer... I like the idea cheap solar walkway light, and the magnifying sheet.  May have to "borrow" that 

[kyleinpdx]

Did you have a chance to try it out?

 

I've been meaning to add a LED to the pointer... I like the idea cheap solar walkway light, and the magnifying sheet.  May have to "borrow" that 

Worked perfectly! I have the magnifying sheet a good 4 inches above the setting circle, the text now appears 3-4x larger than it truly is. Made determining the az. much easier in the dark especially way up at the eye piece. I'll try and get some good pictures of it in "action" but if you've got a spare $2 and some time to kill it's a great mod. 

[Nick Salt]

After reading through this great thread, I decided I would like to try to implement the degree circles on my Skywatcher 8" dob.

 

My goal was to have an effective option without making any serious permanent changes to the scope. I wanted the option to undo the changes if necessary in the future.

 

I started by getting a degree circle I found here in the forum printed, laminated, and cut at a local printing shop for < 20CAD. I decided to attach it to the top of the base, rather than the bottom so that I could avoid cutting the base. I attached the laminated circle using strong glue. 

 

 

I do not have a permanent location where I observe, so I wanted the marker to be able to be placed anywhere on the scope's base. I bought a velcro roll on Amazon for under < 5CAD and attached to the bottom of the base using hot glue. For my marker, I bent a 2" nail, glued it to a small magnet, and attached velcro on the other side of the magnet. This setup allows me to use any object I can find to align the degree circles with the use of SkySafari for azimuth coordinates. I also attached a bullseye level I found on Amazon for < 3CAD to ensure the base is level. 

 

 

To finish it off, I found a digital inclinometer with a magnetic base and option to turn off the backlighting on sale for < 20CAD. After a quick observing session last night in my fairly light polluted backyard I was able to easily find many of the Messier objects, as well as Uranus. Few of the objects were exactly in my FOV, but all were within 1-1.5 degrees. For under $50, I am very satisfied with my push to set up. Thank you all for the inspiration!

 

[AnalogKid]

GREAT Job!!      In hindsight I wish I would have done something like that.  Mine works very well, but I only have about a +- 15 degree range of adjustment, not the 360 like you have.   At unfamiliar sites I've had to add 10 or 20 to the readings as my eyeballing north with the compass on my phone was not all that accurate.   Then again I always know where my pointer is  

[paul m schofield]

What color film works best to darken the display on a Craftsman digital level? The display is a bright green. I'm sorry, but I have not gone back through all the pages of this topic. :-)

[AnalogKid]

What color film works best to darken the display on a Craftsman digital level? The display is a bright green. I'm sorry, but I have not gone back through all the pages of this topic. :-)

Can't say this is the best, but it does work well on my Wixe... I'm guessing the displays  are very similar.

[paul m schofield]

Thanks, AnalogKid. What is it exactly? It looks like a vinyl portfolio or some sort of wrapping.