The actual material is 'phosphor bronze' which is a copper alloy that is much more resistant to corrosion and oxidization than pure copper and a bit more...
1746
Willow Rise
willowriseob...
Apr 15, 2013 10:48 am
Thanks guys for the info. I'll give T.I. a call. -Bob...
1747
rimcrazyph
May 2, 2013 1:06 am
I put some pic's of my dome in the Photos area (Sanity Ranch Observatory). Most of the construction went ok. I was not happy at all with the quality of the...
1748
dpforward
May 2, 2013 3:51 am
When trying to connect to DDW via the computer I get the error: Run-time error '8020': Error reading comm device. I have tried reloading the software, turning...
1749
Kent DeGroff
kentdegroff
May 2, 2013 5:30 am
Hi Phil, I had the same problem. The rectangular skirt was 1" shorter on a side than they indicated in their docs. Since I had built the building to 10' 7.5" I...
1750
kentdegroff
May 2, 2013 5:52 am
Hi Paul, I've never seen that error but one thing that I've done to clean up my XP system is to look at the hidden devices in Device Manager and uninstall com...
1751
rimcrazyph
May 2, 2013 12:04 pm
Hi Kent, So I'm not crazy.... Yea I was more than just a little pissed about the skirt. Like I said, I sent more than one email to Jerry and Jeremy with no...
1752
Kent DeGroff
kentdegroff
May 2, 2013 3:32 pm
Hi Phil, I covered the gaps at the front and back by just cutting some thin aluminum sheeting to fit and using Polyseamseal to stick it down. They wedged in...
1753
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 2, 2013 3:39 pm
Very nice home for the scope Phil. And a very unique pier. From personal experience, I can tell you that TI knew about the incorrect external dimensions as far...
1754
rimcrazyph
May 2, 2013 7:50 pm
Really, 2004? That really sucks. Oh well. It's up and I believe I can make everything work. The pier design came from a progression of the observatory's...
1755
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 3, 2013 1:43 am
Yep, 2004. That's when I installed my dome and ran into that problem. Thanks for the additional explanation of the pier. That's really neat. Michael ... ...
1756
dpforward
May 5, 2013 11:37 pm
Hi Kent, Thank you for the response. I have tried your suggestion. No hidden devices found. A friend of mine who works on servers helped me try to get around...
1757
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 6, 2013 1:22 am
Years ago I had COM port issues and it ended up that the RS-232 chip on the DDW motherboard was defective/fried. Jerry sent me a new chip and it was easily...
1758
Kent DeGroff
kentdegroff
May 6, 2013 4:34 am
Hi Paul, Michael might have the answer. Another thing to consider is that your USB to COM port device driver might need updating. It is also possible that the...
1759
dpforward
May 7, 2013 1:13 am
Hi Michael and Kent, I have found a work around for this problem. As a Hail Mary, I tried a newer version of The Sky X Dome add-on program and it works! The...
1760
Kent DeGroff
kentdegroff
May 7, 2013 4:40 am
Glad you got it working! Kent ... Hi Michael and Kent, I have found a work around for this problem. As a Hail Mary, I tried a newer version of The Sky X Dome...
1761
Lars-Gunnar
lgw09
May 9, 2013 8:56 am
Hi all, I have put Pictures of my new obs in folder "Abbelås Observatory" in the photo section. It's the first season I've used it and one thing comes clear,...
1762
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 9, 2013 1:15 pm
Hi Lars, Do you have DDW? It has slaving built-in. http://www.homedome.com/store/product_automation.htm Michael ... Hi Lars, Do you have DDW? It has slaving...
1763
Lars-Gunnar
lgw09
May 9, 2013 7:59 pm
Hi, Thanks for your reply, No I have only motor drive for the dome with a Control box where I can manually rotate the dome. I saw in the accessory list that...
1764
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 10, 2013 12:59 pm
Hi Lars, I only have experience with DDW. After a few easy modifications to the shutter cabling, I've found the mechanism to be quite reliable. You basically...
1765
kentdegroff
May 10, 2013 7:57 pm
Hi Michael, Why did you have to make the shutter cabling mods? For me, the TI kit that uses pulleys and the springs at the front left and right rear (facing...
1766
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 11, 2013 1:44 am
Hi Kent, TI did not include the springs when I purchased my dome, and I was not aware that the springs are now included. This is obviously an "add-on" that was...
1767
bw_msgboard
waddington50
May 11, 2013 2:15 am
FWIW, Michael, I think your capstan solution is better. Your approach is applying tension precisely at the point it’s needed, not at the end of a 20 or 25...
1768
kentdegroff
May 11, 2013 4:02 am
Hi Michael, Wak! What an oversight, not to include springs. I also see you don't seem to have pulleys, but tubes instead. I'm guessing that was an older...
1769
bw_msgboard
waddington50
May 11, 2013 4:18 am
I have the original guide tubes for the shutter cables but added the 2nd spring at the left-front (close cable) side. It mostly works ok although I’m very...
1770
kentdegroff
May 11, 2013 5:19 am
Hi Bruce, Sounds like you guys have it worked out for your configuration. The pulleys have very little friction which probably makes it so that the springs at...
1771
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 11, 2013 9:10 pm
Oops. That was an old photo. FYI, I do have the pulleys now. Michael ... Oops. That was an old photo. FYI, I do have the pulleys now. Michael From: kentdegroff...
1772
Lars-Gunnar
lgw09
May 12, 2013 9:11 am
Hi all Thanks for your replies, it seems that the shutter mechanism works, how about noice is it loud when it works? I have neighbors below the obs and I think...
1773
Michael Cook
ecusersysop
May 12, 2013 6:29 pm
Hi Lars, The new(er) shutter and dome rotation motors are much more quiet. In fact the sound of the dome moving along the wheels is louder than the motors. ...
1774
waddington50
May 12, 2013 7:51 pm
I agree, Lars, the motors are pretty quiet. However, the control system emits various fairly loud "chirping"; sounds before rotating the dome or moving the...
