Category Archives: Projects

The Beginning of a New Dobsonian

Posted on April 12, 2012 by james

I recently had the chance to acquire some bits left over from a damaged Skywatcher 250mm Flextube dobsonian telescope for not very many pennies. As a result I’m now the proud owner of a the mirror and cell, spider (with … Continue reading →

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Solar PV Generation Update, Mar 2012

Posted on March 1, 2012 by james

I was bracing myself for low numbers this month as December, January and February are apparently only expected to account for about 7.5% of our total yearly output, but was pleasantly surprised when I read the generation meter to discover … Continue reading →

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EQ3-2 Polar Scope Illuminator

Posted on February 23, 2012 by james

I’ve read a few posting by people who have made polar scope illuminators for their EQ5 mounts and as I find aligning my EQ3-2 very awkward thanks to the lack of illumination of the reticle I decided to attempt to … Continue reading →

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Mains Power for Skywatcher Motor Focuser

Posted on February 8, 2012 by james

Now I have the motor focuser on the 127 Mak I decided it might be useful to be able to power it from the mains when the opportunity arose. I had a rummage around for a suitable power connector socket, … Continue reading →

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EQ3-2 Mount Tune-Up (Part Three)

Posted on February 6, 2012 by james

My EQ3-2 mount came with a pair of motors installed for the RA and DEC axes. I’ve had no major issue with the RA motor, but backlash in the DEC axis was very bad. Up to now my experience of … Continue reading →

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Skywatcher 127 Mak Focuser Motor Drive Conversion

Posted on February 5, 2012 by james

It seems to be fairly widely accepted that the 127 Mak suffers badly from vibration when the focuser is adjusted by hand on the mounts it’s shipped with as standard. That’s certainly the case with mine. For me, it would … Continue reading →

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Solar PV Generation Update, Feb 2012

Posted on February 3, 2012 by james

It’s the start of another month and time to review our solar PV installation once more… Generation for January was 120kWh, almost double the estimated production for this area during January. In fact, every month so far we’ve exceeded not … Continue reading →

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The New Home Apiary

Posted on January 10, 2012 by james

Plans the for current apiary space mean that this year my hives must move. Next to the hives I took over this year (on a bit of land belonging to a neighbouring farmer) we have a scabby patch of ground … Continue reading →

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Home-built Honey-warming Cabinet

Posted on January 10, 2012 by james

I have about 90kg of oilseed rape honey that has solidified and obviously before I can turn it into soft-set honey I need to melt it again. Warming cabinets are far from cheap to buy and it’s not exactly hard … Continue reading →

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A home-made Ashforth-style feeder

Posted on January 10, 2012 by james

I need around twenty feeders for my beehives this year. I’ve messed about with trays full of syrup on top of the crown board up until now, but I really need something a bit better. A few people recommended the … Continue reading →

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