Automation Station – Pick of the Automation Products for The Windy Obsy
by Tim Cowell
With the main parts of the observatory in place and good internet communications established, it
was time to attend to the needs of the telescope. All of the major requirements to take a nice picture
were there. To take things a stage further and save a great deal of trotting back and forth in the dark,
it was time for more gadgets - here are the bits fitted or selected for the automation phase.
Auto Focus
Auto Focus is a fantastic way to further automate your imaging rig. You'll see the benefits
immediately. The vibrations caused by touching a telescope, especially at high magnifications are
horrible and make focus harder to achieve. The SESTO SENSO 2 provides smooth and precise
focus by way of its powerful, high resolution motor. A simple mounting and coupling system
ensures a fuss-free fitment and it can be operated without a data cable because it has its own WiFi
inside and a special App to configure and control it using your phone or PDA, a laptop or your PC.
The SESTO SENSO 2 integrates into your imaging software as easily as it is fitted to your imaging
train. It is straightforward to configure for automatic focus routines and for time or temperature
changes. It can be used in remote control mode from a phone and with the power off using the
coarse knob on the telescope.
Filter Wheel
The filter wheel is a 'must have' for dedicated mono camera users. I often swap a colour camera
with a mono, so in my 5 position wheel I have the usual 3 narrowband filters alongside matching
Optolong UV/IR Cut and L/Enhance. You can choose many interesting combinations with endless
opportunity to experiment. ZWO have paid attention to the design with their product, making this
very simple to attach to and integrate with most setups.
The ZWO 5 Position 2” filter wheel comes with all the bits you probably need in the box (there are
plenty of other choices like their Mini 5 or larger filter wheels), they seem to work easily with most
imaging software and have caused me no problems.
Camera Rotator
The ARCO 2” system is an affordable, ASCOM compatible, robotic rotator. Supremely accurate,
remote control framing is yours. It is only 20mm thick, so can be incorporated into the back-focus
of most installations. Frame de-rotation for Alt-Az is supported too, which I thought was incredibly
interesting and opened up a whole new set of possibilities.
I'm looking forward to being able to get the most of out my framing (something I've not tried very
hard about before) and to be able to match a previous session properly using plate-solving will be
great. The ARCO 2” looks like it will be one of Primaluce Lab's most popular items for automation
aficionados.
Flat Cap
By combining the GIOTTO Smart Flat Field Generator with the ALTO Telescope Cover Motor you
have a superb way of keeping your optical equipment automatically available and snapping your
flats in the most convenient way imaginable. LED lights have been selected for a special even tone
to recreate the colour temperature of sunlight. A diffuser evenly spreads the light for a perfect flat,
every time. Adjustable intensity in 100 steps (0-100%) to satisfy the most exact of filtering
conditions. This solution for flat capture has its own software and is also fully ASCOM compatible.
Without doubt my 'must have' of the year. I'm done with balancing acts and fancy parking. I tripped
over the light fantastic too many times. Not only does this cap fit, it hangs itself up out of the way.
What sold me? Software controllable brightness. That wraps up the automation needs for this part
of the build. I'll be back with updates as they happen.
