Category Archives: mini-WASP Array

The creation and use of the New Forest Observatory mini-WASP array

Tom How’s Patented dome rotation system :)

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Greg Parker

Today Tom How fitted and ran a fully automated dome rotation system to the Pulsar Observatories mini-WASP dome.  You can see a video of the system in operation HERE. You will see the telescope array deliberately slewed using the joystick … Continue reading →

Posted in mini-WASP Array, Observatory, Projects | 7 Comments

Blistering hot day here at the NFOs

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Greg Parker

This is the view from my study on this blistering hot Wednesday – it’s now coming up to 5:00 p.m. and it’s still too hot to do anything sensible indoors or outdoors.  Managed to fit a solid-state magnetic compass in … Continue reading →

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Cable mis-management

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Greg Parker

Here is a view inside the dome on this sunny Sunday 🙂  The cables are all attached (both ends) and virtually every socket of the two Belkin extension leads is taken up.  Now need a clear night for Polar Alignment … Continue reading →

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Thank you Tom How :)

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Greg Parker

Tom spent another full action-packed day at the New Forest Observatory helping out with the monumental IT problems and getting all the bits together for a computer-controlled stepper-motor-powered dome rotator.  All very impressive stuff and mostly well beyond me – … Continue reading →

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View from the top – mini-WASP statrep 22/07/2011

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Greg Parker

Put a Gigabit LAN card in the old white computer (the one on the right in the bay) and fitted an Aluminium bracket loaded with cable ties to take (most of) the cables from the Paramount to the computers, off … Continue reading →

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Statrep – mini-WASP array build

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Greg Parker

Here is the current state of play with the mini-WASP array project.  Kieron of SCS Astro came to my rescue yet again with a third Paramount counterweight that I desperately needed before firing up the Paramount with the Sky 6.  … Continue reading →

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The mini-WASP array – over 4 years now and still counting

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Greg Parker

Tom How just pointed something out to me that came as a bit of a shock.  The mini-WASP project has been over 4 years in the making – to be precise, my first NFO post on the mini-WASP array was … Continue reading →

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Twin Kecks at the New Forest Observatory

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Greg Parker

On this grey, murky, rainy day I thought I’d take a picture of something bright in the garden – a pair of Keck domes now reside at the New Forest Observatory 🙂

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The mini-WASP array is now domed :)

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Greg Parker

Mini-WASP array now fitted in the dome, side panels on the frame, everything bolted down.  Will just dry run the Paramount using the Sky 6 software and call it a day.  Next step is to manually polar align and visually … Continue reading →

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Further progress today

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Greg Parker

Power now connected to the dome and the dehumidifier is running 🙂

Posted in mini-WASP Array, Projects | 2 Comments