RD-1 Remote Observatory

The prime focus at the observatory has been the installation of a permanent robotic observatory at the site. Part of our continuing outreach programs, the purpose of this project is to allow remote access from the internet, to individuals, teachers, and students for educational and research purposes.

The project launched in 1999 has encompassed extensive tree removal, equipment purchases, and research into robotic techniques. During the past few years, we have been gradually obtaining equipment, and clearing the site in preparation of the project. The robotic observatory will initially consist of a Technical Innovation's "robo-dome", a 10" Meade LX200 telescope, and an  Adirondack Video Astronomy's StellaCam EX video camera. The LX200 was purchased in the fall of 1999, the Robo-dome was obtained in the spring of 2000and the Stellacam EX in May of 2002. The Stellacam EX was not our original choice, but despite a few drawback such as lack of remote control operation, we believe it is a better choice for our project. 

Originally, it was planned to mount the dome on top of the observatory, but later testing with video cameras and scopes cast doubt on it's stability. The most likely location for the dome is the top of the ridge behind the left side of the building. This location provides an excellent view, and is above the parking lot lights. The drawback to this location is that this area is currently heavily wooded with scrub trees and the clearing of these trees with current budgets is expected to take two to three more years.

The decision has been made to assemble the dome and temporarily mount it in front of the observatory for testing and debugging. The final home for the robotic dome is still expected to be the ridge behind the building. While that location is prepared for the dome, we will begin debugging the dome's hardware and software. The close proximity of the dome to the building will make it easier to work on hardware, debug software, and/or networking glitches. Solar power is still our goal for the dome, however power consumption calculations to date indicate that option may be beyond our current budget. Further testing once the dome is fully functional will yield better power consumption data. A final decision on how the dome will be powered will be made when the dome is ready for it's final home.

Project Updates
10/15/99		Site preparation has begun in anticipation of the installation of the robotic observatory. In this picture, approximately 100 feet of the canal has been cleared of scrub trees that had begun destroying the stone walls of the old canal. These trees were the result of years of neglect, and needed to be removed whether or not the observatory was ever built. The increased view of the sky as a result was a bonus, and made the project more viable.
4/18/00		In what turned out to be a very unusual trip, we picked up our robo-dome at the North East Astronomy Forum in Suffern, NY. We drove down in a "rent a wreck" van which broke down in the parking lot outside the forum. Unfortunately, no one had a camera to photograph our "rent a wreck" van being towed back to our hotel with the robo-dome inside.
1/12/02		Ground preparation slowly progresses at the site, what we had hoped would be a 6-8 month project has progressed for almost two years. In this photo we see several large piles of brush ready for burning. The three piles pictured here are 4-5 ft high and 15 ft in diameter. Any piece of brush large enough to be used for kindling or fire wood has been carefully cut and stacked. Once seasoned, this fire wood will be burned in our stove to reduce heating costs.
4/21/02		Here is the section of hill where we plan to mount the robo-dome. we have cleared most of the brush from this section of hill, but there are still a couple of trees that need to be removed before the dome can be installed. The dome will be installed near the top of the ridge, just to the right of the large rocks in the picture. We will start forming a path to the top of the hill during the summer months, and kill off the poison ivy growing in that section. We will probably install a pier on the ridge as well, for visual observing further to the right of where the robo-dome will reside. We are planning on solar power to keep the dome's batteries charged, and wireless lan connections from the dome's computer to the control room.
5/19/02		During our annual trip to the Northeast Astronomy Forum in Suffern, New York. We ordered a Stellacam EX video camera from Adirondack Video Astronomy. After a long conversation with their technical staff during the show, we were convinced that this video astronomy camera would meet or exceed our  initial needs despite the lack of remote pc control. It was recommended that in our planned configuration, that we should use a f/3.3 focal reducer if possible, to obtain the highest resolution of deep sky object. However, because of the lack of remote pc control, we will have to plan viewing sessions based on either deep sky, or planetary, but not both.
8/4/02		For the initial testing of the robo-dome, we will run the LX200 in alt-az mode. The picture to the left shows the scope sitting on a 6" mount built out of 3/4" plywood. For stability, the base of the mount is approximately 17" square and the top is 12". The mount is screwed to the floor of the dome with 12 screws. The mount is located in the center of the dome radius to provide even spacing for the telescope to rotate. The 10" scope is a snug fit in the dome, but it does clear the hardware and cabling. After constructing and testing the mount, we found that it should ideally be 2" higher but will suffice for now in this configuration.
8/12/02		This photo was taken during a day long test of remote control operation across a lan, and power consumption on batteries. Power for the test was provided by a 17ah battery pack visible in the picture. Attached to the battery pack was a 140 watt power inverter supplying 120 volts for the laptop. The dome itself runs on 12 volt DC. All initial testing is being done with the laptop shown in the picture, although it works fine for testing purposes, it is not ideally suited for the final installation. The final computer in the dome will require 3 serial ports, a pc card slot and must have the ability in bios to wake on ac in the event the batteries become depleted, and the computer shuts down. Once closed, the dome cannot be easily opened without remote control and power. The laptop currently in use for testing does not have the wake on ac ability. We are currently looking at a low power consumption fanless pc that uses an external 12volt power supply. This will allow direct connection to the batteries by the pc.
8/12/02		This photo of the inside or the dome gives you a better idea of the snug fit of the scope. The "heart" of the robo-dome can be seen in the lower right of the picture. The blue metal box contains the microprocessor that controls the dome's operation. The unit was designed by Technical Innovations and is called "Digital Dome Works" The upper right corner of the picture shows the back end of an electrical key switch that can be used from the outside of the dome to send control signals to the microprocessor to stop rotation, or open the shutter. In the left edge of the photo you can see a 4 outlet box. This outlet strip connects to the "robo-focus" electric focuser and each one of the 4 outlets can be remotely controller to turn them on or off.
8/13/02		Here is a picture of the robo-dome sitting on a table in the workshop. The shutter is in the full open position and if you look carefully, you can see the scope inside. If the dome was mounted outside, the scope would be facing east. This picture was taken during one of  the remote lan tests. To the computer inside the dome, it believes the scope is pointing at RA 90 Dec 50. This is a default location in a "parking" script included with "Astronomers Control Panel"  an excellent software package for controlling the LX200. Having the ability to accurately park the scope in a remote dome is critical to the success of the project. The ACP software should provide us with the reliability we need. Despite a few glitches and quirks, the wireless network access and remote control testing of the dome has been completely successful. The next step will be to connect the video camera to the scope and complete the internal wiring, and securing of cables within the dome.
8/17/02		Construction of the dome platform is about mid point in this photo. The legs are made from pressure treated 4 x 4, and the remaining framework and cross braces are made from pressure treated 5/4 decking planks. Table dimensions are 40" x 48" x 30" the top is made out of  T-111 exterior plywood. The braces for the lower shelf are visible in the photo and the shelf itself will be made out of 1/2" plywood. The entire platform will be covered with T-111 and pine 1" x 4" will be used for corner trim boards. The table is anchored to the ground using 4 post stakes 30" long. Once the dome is mounted to the platform and leveled, the anchors will be covered with a skirt made out of pressure treated lumber.
8/17/02		Here is the platform at the end of the day. The T-111 has been attached to the sides and the corner trim boards have been applied. All 4 corners and the inside shelf has been sealed with silicone sealant to keep out insects and the weather. Not easily seen in the photo is the front access panel which is temporarily attached in this photo for painting purposes. The next step will be to apply a coat of paint to the sides of the platform. To conserve on costs, we will use some left over paint from a previous project. The platform will be painted an ivory with brown trim. Once the paint is applied, flashing will be glued to the top of the platform to protect it from the weather.
8/24/02		This is the heart of the new computer for the RD-1. It is a Via Technology ITX format system board with a VIA  533 processor. As you can see from the picture the board is just over 6 inches square. It is designed to be both quiet, and energy efficient. The total computer when assembled, draws approximately 20 watts of power. The combination of low current draw and small footprint made it an excellent choice for the new computer system. The board is mounted inside a small ITX format chassis powered by an external 12 volt power supply. The only drawback is that the system has only 1 PCI slot. The board does support 4 USB connections, one serial port, and one parallel port.
8/27/02		The robo-dome is finally seeing the light of day. The base which looked so massive when we constructed it, now seems so small by comparison to the dome on top of it. Two 17ah battery packs are currently being used to supply power to the digital dome works microprocessor. One battery pack with a built in ac inverter is inside the dome itself, while a second battery pack is inside the base. All exposed holes in the dome were sealed with silicon sealant and stainless steel bolts. The dome while not perfectly aligned, is facing north. The dome is anchored to the base with 3/8" carriage bolts.
8/30/02		A decision was made to eliminate the use of an ac inverter in the dome to reduce power consumption across the board. This required modifications to the ac control circuitry in the dome. Picture to the left is the modified remote power module manufactured by Technical Innovations for use with the robofocuser. Through software control, the original module would allow independent control of 4 ac devices. After examination it was determined that the basic circuitry could be modified to switch on and off 12 volt devices without any major changes. The original circuitry was removed from it's housing and mounted in the case pictured to the left. 4 neon lamps were replaced with 12 volt LEDs and the ac sockets were replaced with 4 "cigarette lighter" sockets on pigtails to keep a lower profile and give flexibility for connections. Additionally, a second single module was constructed for the Digital Dome Works processor to switch on and off the robofocuser.
9/4/02		Here is a picture of the focuser and camera cabling configuration on the scope. The cables are bound together with cable ties, and bands of velcro are mounted at both ends of the telescope, and along the fork on the right side of the scope. Strips of velcro are used to hold the cable in position on the scope and fork. This allows for flexibility, and quick changes should it be required. Not visible in this picture is the Kendrick Dew Heater controller box mounted on the left fork of the scope. In this configuration, only three cables come off of the scope.
9/7/02		Here is a picture of the inside of the dome with all the components installed and the cabling run. There will probably be changes made to the cabling paths coming from the scope, but this configuration appears to work for initial testing. On the center left, you can see the edge of the Digital Dome Works Controller and just above it, the edge of a black box which is the single channel I/O module to switch the robofocuser. Just left of bottom center is the robofocuser control box which is connected to the 4 way I/O module visible on the lower right. The battery pack is visible right center and the main computer is just visible in the upper right corner under the scope tube.
9/7/02		Late in the day, we began calibration and testing of the robofocuser. During this calibration, it was determined that we could not obtain focus using the f/3.3 focal reducer in the current configuration of the scope. A decision was made to substitute the focal reducer with a f/6.3 reducer instead. We were able to obtain focus with this configuration, although this will reduce the sensitivity of the camera. Further testing will be done in the future for possible workarounds. Because of the delay encountered, we ran into twilight  and although not planned, we powered up the observatory across the network, and gave the dome it's first full test and first light. Although several issues were encountered, and alignment was questionable, we successfully imaged for several hours as we ran the dome through it's paces. The image at the left is a pair of double stars in the andromeda constellation.
9/14/02		Through a generous donation from a member of the Skylight Astronomical Society, Inc. We have obtained a 20 watt solar panel for the RD-1 Observatory. Although this single panel will not supply enough power to run the observatory by itself, the additional 20watts of power during the day is a helpful addition to peak the domes batteries which are currently being recharged by a temporary 12 volt line run from the main observatory. Current power usage indicates that we will require two additional 64 watt solar panels to supply the total power requirements of the RD-1 observatory.
9/21/02		The inside of the access panel door has become the charging panel for the RD-1. Pictured are 2-4.5 watt solar panel chargers wired in parallel, which regulates the incoming voltage from the solar panel and the temporary power line. The chargers have a built in 25% load buffer and are sealed to protect them from the weather. These chargers are low cost and very efficient, additional chargers can be wired in parallel as the two in the picture to handle higher loads. Each charger is capable of handling up to an 80 watt solar panel.
10/3/02		This is the main processor board of the Digital Dome Works Control System manufactured by Technical Innovations. The Robo-Dome originally came with Version 3 of the Digital Dome Works System called DDW. Technical Innovation has since developed a new Version 4 of DDW. This version has increased functionality over the version 3 unit that is currently installed in the RD-1. We sent back the processor board to Technical Innovations and they upgraded the board to Version 4. The picture on the left is the processor board after the DDW4 upgrade. Key improvements include three beeps before every dome rotation or shutter activity, and the ability to auto reboot the dome pc in the event of lockup.
10/29/02		Here is our second generation modification to the Technical Innovation's 4 way remote power module. In our original modification, we used 4 "cigarette lighter" sockets for our connections to the remote devices. In this newest modification, we are using 4 sets of 2 post color coded connectors that can accept terminal lugs and/or banana type plugs for greater versatility and flexibility. The LED indicators have been moved from the top cover to the sides of the case centered above each set of connectors for a cleaner assembly. This remote module will connect to the upgraded DDW4 controller, giving us support for three additional remotely controlled devices within the dome.
10/30/02		Here is a picture of the RD-1 computer after the addition of a new 2 port USB to serial port adaptor. This gives the computer the 3 serial ports required to operate the robo-dome, RoboFocuser, and LX200 scope. The wireless LAN card can be seen protruding from the back of the computer. The one PCI slot in the computer was used for the addition of a PC card adaptor to support the wireless LAN card. The 2 port serial adaptor is attached to the bottom of the computer with velcro, and all three serial to cable converters are attached to the ports as can be seen in the photo. The computer is mounted on edge in the dome to conserve space. Not shown in the photo is a Snappy parallel port capture card.
11/14/02		Here is a view from the inside of the RD-1 Observatory. This image was taken with an infrared camera recently donated to the Observatory. The camera has 10 built in infrared emitters allowing imaging in total darkness. This picture was take just before sundown as indicated by the bright light behind and above the scope. This camera will allow monitoring or the internal components of the observatory should any problems arise such as tangled cables or a runaway scope. The camera is a generic import and is no larger than a 1.25" eyepiece. It is totally waterproof and has a low power consumption..
12/3/02		Cold weather has lowered the capacity of the two battery packs being used in the observatory. This has resulted in erratic behavior in several devices inside the observatory after a couple hours of run time. To offset the effect of the colder weather we are adding higher capacity gel cells. Pictured to the left, is the first of two 110ah high performance gel cells that will replace the two existing 35ah battery packs. Two of these gel cells should provide a full nights operation during the winter months without any adverse effects on the obervatory equipment.
1/2/03		Here is a screen shot of a remote session obtained from a 480 x 1024 laptop screen. Visible in the screen shot are the major software components of the observatory. Left top is the Robofocus control panel, the orange buttons signify that power is on for the labeled devices. ACP2 is center right displaying scope coordinates. Left center is a live image from the internal IR camera displayed by Kabcam webcam software. Lower left is the preview window from the snappy capture card, and lower right the Digital Dome Works Control panel is barely visible. The dome's equipment was being tested during a snowy day, so the shutter was closed and the preview window was only showing noise from the camera.
1/25/03		The Stellacam EX control box with the new PC control upgrade was re-installed into the RD-1 today. Visible in the picture is the upgraded control box and the software diskette with serial connector and cabling. The serial cable plugs into the the socket on the control box that is visible in the picture. A USB hub and serial adaptor will have to be added to the observatory computer to accommodate the additional serial port required to control the Stellacam EX. We are now able to control the camera settings remotely on the fly for better imaging control.
4/10/03		A wireless weather monitoring module was added to the RD-1 observatory today. This module, manufactured by Technical Innovations, monitors temperature, wind peed, direction, humidity, wetness, and snow. Used in conjunction with Digital Dome works 4 microprocessor, this allows the observatory to monitor weather conditions and will automatically shutdown the observatory in case of high winds, rain, or snow. It will also prevent the observatory from opening during bad weather. The weather limits are user configurable. The weather module mounts to the dome itself and has a wireless transmitter to send data to the DDW4 processor.
5/30/03		The RD-1 main computer was modified to take advantage of a second USB chip on the motherboard. Because of a non-standard pin out on the system board a custom cable had to be manufactured. The case, because of it's compact design had to be modified to accept the second set of USB ports. The picture to the left shows the 2 new USB ports mounted in the vent section of the chassis near the bottom, to the left of the new Imperx video capture card. A vent fan had to be removed to accommodate the USB plug, but because of the low power consumption of the computer, the fan was not needed anyway. Also pictured on the top, is the USB wireless lan adaptor.
4/21/04		While the telescope in the RD-1 was removed for maintenance, a polar wedge was constructed, and the scope was remounted in equatorial mode. This will allow for better tracking and alignments. The weather was not satisfactory to allow any alignments of the wedge at this time, but over the coming weeks the alignment process will take place. The image shows the ever growing tangle of wires and cables within the dome.
4/22/04		A metal brace has been added to the imaging camera to improve stability and to relieve stress against the diagonal. The spotting scope bracket was used to anchor the brace.
5/05/07		The robotic observatory project has been on hold for quite a while. The conversion to polar mode brought to light several limitations in the dome design. After a lot of review, considerations and budget restraints, the project is back on track. Our first action was to re-caulk the base of the the robodome as the old caulking had degraded and it began leaking. The re-caulking was successful and the leaking sealed. The observatory computer has failed, we though it was just a failed drive but the IDE controller had failed. Because of design changes in the newer energy efficient ITX boards, we cannot find a new system board to fit the existing case, so a new computer is going to be rebuilt.
5/12/07		The parts have arrived and we assembled the new computer. The heart of the computer is a Jetway model J7F2WE1G5D ITX motherboard. It has 1gig ram, a 1.5ghz processor, two serial, one parallel  port, 4 USB 2.0 ports and a daughter card that gives us 4 additional serial ports. Because of case size limitations (this case is higher but narrower) we lost our pcmcia connector, so we can no longer use the Imperix capture card, but as we are upgrading the camera to a SBIG ST-7E parallel camera, we do not need it. We were only able to utilize 5 serial ports due to case limitations and the need for the parallel port connector, but this is more than adequate for our needs. The wireless was upgraded from 802.11B to 802.11G and 128 bit encryption. The computer draws a bit more power than the old computer, but has lots more processing power and speed.
5/21/07		The scope suffered a RA runaway, we had to remove the scope and re-calibrate the encoder assembly. While the scope was out of the dome, we cleaned the objective which had 5 years of dust accumulation.
6/23/07		Because of the size of the scope and the layout of the polar wedge, it is almost impossible to adjust the dome, after much reservation, we decided to add an access panel in the side of the dome's base, this now allows us much more access to the wedge adjustments and interior dome components.
7/4/07		Today we began the first phase of replacing the "cigarette" plug type connectors we have been using in the dome for the 12 volt connections, in long term use, they tend to vibrate loose, or loose connection. We are replacing them with 15a twist lock connectors which should prove much more reliable. We installed the first strip of connectors, over the next couple months, we will replace additional connectors.
7/08/07		The scope wedge had a 5/16" bolt for adjusting the dec angle on the wedge which was undersize for the weight 10" scope. We removed the old adjustment rod and replaced it with a larger 12" fine thread rod with a T handle and a nut welded on the end. This makes adjusting the wedge a lot easier that with the old rod that only had a three wing plastic knob on the end of the bolt.