Tuesday - February 5, 2007

Website has been moved to a new ISP, no more self hosting, although now I have a new set of challenges, as in the Live views still must originate from the observatory. The solution in to get VLC installed, there are 3 composite video sources, and 1 usbsource. The *trick* is getting VLC installed, it requires perhaps 50 libraries, not exaggarating, however there is one that I cannot get installed. Might be headed for Real Player "Helix" or ... The dome drive wheel problem has been corrected found a guy in Bowie, he did a great job. I'll add a link for him later. Adding a computer bay, and removing the inside computer desk, need a bit more floor space. There many more things to do, more later.

Monday - March 27, 2006

Live view is online, the 12 inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain is on display. For you technical types, I am using a Logitech 4000 Pro webcam, pwc 10.11 driver, and webcam v1.5 utility to generate a continous feed for the Internet.

Sunday - March 05, 2006

Took another stab at the dome drive wheel, and I can report that there is now positive dome rotation. Now to control it from the computer.

Friday - March 03, 2006

Still have not complete the dome drive wheel replacement, need an extra set of hands. Note: I did get a fine set of planetary filters for Christmas. Comcast is out, in with FIOS "HooRah".

Saturday - February 17, 2006

Finally got the telescopes electronics package back from repair. The reinstall was relatively straight forward. The telescope has been remounted and I did a "rough" star alignment. I promise to do a precise alignment as soon as the dome drive is back online.

Friday - January 13, 2006

The scope is still down, taking this occasion to make a needed update to the dome drive wheel. It is off center.

Monday - November 28, 2005

Tragedy has struck, the telescope has stop responding to electronic commands. The electronic package and motors have to be removed and sent out for repair.

Monday - October 05, 2005

We're back, made the switch to Comcast high speed, it was far more excruciating than necessary. But I won't dwell there. Things in the works include: Live night feed when observatory is in active viewing mode. Video capture of previous imagery. Hopefully starting a news letter. Before I forget, Mars was well above the horizon, and very bright. Now I need planetary filters.

Friday - June 10, 2005

Good News, the Contacts page has been corrected. You can get on the mailing list of the 23rdOblique Observatory. This will allow you to keep up with events and schedules of the Observatory.

Sunday - May 29, 2005

KSTARS is installed on the Linux server. KSTARS is an astronomy package the interfaces with the AutoStar controller on the telescope.

Saturday - May 28, 2005

Long day, started Friday evening, got in three hours of sleep. Since my goal is astrophotograpy I built a wedge. I found this link, http://www.geocities.com/lynol1000/ ;New design plans for a wedge available (with pictures of it built). The LX200 is up and running and the electronic work great. I want next to install KStar on the Linux server and control the telescope remotely. I painted the wedge navy blue, matches the telescope.

And yes I did image Jupiter, awesome!!!

Tuesday 23, 2005

The 23rdOblique has recieved the Meade LX200 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.The are two very large boxes in my garage, I hope I dont' have to remove the door in order to get them into the observatory.

Monday - May 16, 2005

Great news, a major upgrade is in the offing. The 23rdOblique is getting a Meade LX200 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Of course this just makes the wish list longer.

Will need a Meade Equatorial super wedge, filters, courseware and anything else I have not though of.

Saturday - April 9, 2005

It has been quite awhile since my last post. My day job is a software engineer, and have been doing lots of OT since last November. Got a visit from my nieghborhood HOA a couple of weeks ago. They are telling themselves that they did not know that the Observatory was here. "Note: the date of my first post, August 2002". And that it does not meet community guidelines because it is not directly behind the house. The rule is to prevent sheds and their ilk from being seen from the street in front of the house.

Three points in my favor:

1) My house is at the top of a hill, on a cul-de-sac, which means circle, which also means arc. My property lines do not run striaght back, but instead angle away from the front. Translation: My backyard is three times as wide as the front yard.

2) On the property line to the left of my front yard is a line of 11 Leyland cypress trees, 1 Pin Oak, and in the center of the already obscured field of view, an outstanding Weeping willow. You cannot stand in front of my home and see my backyard.

3) I did say that I had three points. I live at the top of a hill, my backyard is 9 feet lower than my front yard. The Observatory is 9' 10" tall, and from the front, should you look closely, you can just see 10 inches of the top of the the Observatory dome.

So while the rule is sheds, etc., must be behind the house is too prevent them from being seen from the front of the property, a rule should never be applied without understanding why the rule exists in the first place. Which in my case, I have not violated the spirit of the rule.

Before I forget, you can see everyone's shed if you stand in back of the property.

Wednesday - October 6, 2004

All imaging devices are finally online. The Finder scope CCTV is routed through a VCR and it's image can be recorded. Presently the Fish Eye view available on the Live Feed link. I will use the webcam's to provide external views "security". Will have to install an application called motion, should be interesting. Also emailed the developer of Heyu application, there is no compatiblity (serial vs USB), and I wasn't clear if he was going to incorporate the features into Heyu2.

Monday - October 4, 2004

Between cloudly skies and other things, I have not been out here much. However this past weekend finally got the CCTV cameras online. Used the webcam application instead of bttvgrab to pull it off. One camera is on the finder scope, the other has a fish eye lens mounted for wide shots inside the dome. Left to do is to install another USB channel. This will allow both webcams to be online at the same time. No particular reason to do so, just happen to have another USB card. Also have the latest X10 controller, it apparently interfaces via USB port, hope that eliminates the 9v battery problem. Have not checked whether it works with Heyu application. I'll let you know.

Friday - June 25, 2004

Fixed a water leak on the dome hatch doors. I will give that material a few days to set before opening the dome. Am upgrading the xawtv suite from 3.8 to 3.91.i Still working on Network Audio (NAS). Time to paint the dome itself, bright white reflective paint. Should give the airforce guys an interesting view.

Monday - May 31, 2004

A mention of a couple things that I really need, 1) A NSF/NASA grant see link Mission Statement, 2) A heavy GEM mount, with GOTO capability and computer interface.

Saturday - May 14, 2004

Imaged Jupiter, and the North Star. Jupiter was most interesting, and on the computer moniter really big.

Saturday - May 8, 2004

Have you noticed that the majority of updates take place on the weekends? There is a new front-end on the lighting control software. A shell script, allows access to current lighting settings. Lights can be controlled via web, telnet shell script, and X10 remote.

Saturday - April 3, 2004

Installed B/W CCD cameras on the main objective and also as spotter/finder scope. The original finder scope is still in place. The cameras are actually low light surveillance type comeras. Currently in experimental stage. Discovered that xawtv will support multiple occurances, would like to get a large LCD monitor.

Saturday - March 13, 2004

Got the proper thickness fiberboard ¾ for the desk, very sturdy now. Got the webcam to image through the telescope (daytime) it works well. However night presented a different picture (none). The webcam available is a SB webcam II, pretty old, no low light capability. Have started a search for something better.

Thursday - March 11, 2004

Constructed a makeshift desk, it is large enough, but not too large. Probably will be replacing the desk tops, due to lack of thickness in stock used. ¾ with melanie covering will work better.

Sunday - March 7, 2004

Made considerable progress interfacing X10 technology into the observatory. Installed "HEYU", BLUELAVA, and X10TEND. Added a CGI page to access the lights from the web. Yard lights, front and back yard, back door, living room facing dome, and upstairs bath are under computer control. It's all pretty cool.

Monday - February 29, 2004

Just finished installing Armstrong floor tile, really made the observatory come to life, Although I selected a dark speckled pattern, the visual perception is that it is much larger.

Monday - February 16, 2004

Finally covered the walls. Used ¼ birch panels, actually left overs from failed attempt to make the dome from it. Works well as wall cover.

Monday - February 2, 2004

Working on interfacing web cams into the observatory. xawtv, bttvgrab, and helix are being experimented with. Using a combination of xawtv, and bttvgrab for now.

Friday - January 2, 2004

Ever heard of server-push? Well our friends in Redmond have. Not their idea, so IE won't support it. The long and short of it, using bttvgrab to send a stream to a file, then on a webpage pick up the image using a perl cgi script. The live feed link, "html page" has embedded javascript to determine which browser accessed it. Using IE, you see a flashing updated image (annoying), using NS you see a fairly steady streaming image (really cool).

Tuesday - December 20, 2003

Been experimenting with xawtv, webcam, bttvgrab, and realplayer helix. Trying to put together a live feed sytem that works with either a webcam, or video camera. I have discovered all of the above kinda sorta works. Next to get it on to the web.

Sunday - November 23, 2003

Installed the dome motor power supply and control unit. Ran into a snag while building the computer interface for the Dome motor. Basic design works, however the design requires a modification to get the relays to disengage. I have it worked out, just need to procure the components.

Wednesday - November 19, 2003

The 23rdOblique Observatory is gradually coming together. Currently working on the motorized rotation of the dome. I had to change the position of the motor, due to variance in the height of the dome ring, as it rotates.

Monday - November 10, 2003

Waterproofing the dome this week. Using cool patch rubberized patch paint. My son Eric helped me with that. Could not wait for it to rain. Happy to report, got a real drencher out there, bone dry on the inside.

Friday - November 7, 2003

Got a minor disappointment today. The HOA finally decided to do something about the teenagers in the common areas (playground) at night. I was hoping for a dusk to dawn curfew. I got instead a very bright light in the middle of my primary area. Disgusting...

Monday - July 14, 2003

Returned from Hawaii today. While there I made the pilgrimage to the summit of Mauna Kea, (Location: 19.8N, 155.5W Elevation: 13,792 feet (4,205 m)) on the big island. The summit features the clearest skies on earth for observing the night sky. It was literally and figuratively breathe taking. When I first arrived I wasn't sure whether I excited or just out of breath. After reviewing the tape, it was both. The air is quite thin up there.

Friday - October 10, 2003

Installed a Kenmore (Mfr. model #72124) 12,000 BTU Cooling and 11,200 Heating Room Air Conditioner. It is a through the wall model. Yep, had to cut open the exterior wall and add support bracing to hold the unit and prevent theft. It was gotten quite chilly recently, the unit holds it's own while running on low heat.

Mid August 2002

Ground breaking, My oldest son Darren began the task of digging the hole for the main peir. It going to be 4'x4' and later filled with rebar and cement. In addtion, he is also going to dig four footers to support the structure. Are'nt sons Grand!?.