As the pandemic slogs on with a second flavor of Omicron and war rages (ha ha, I meant of course a "special military operation" per war criminal Putin) there's a little bit of good news.
The FSQ arrived in early January. I'll spare you the unboxing video I didn't make, but I have to say the way Takahashi packages their scopes is nothing short of amazing. Three boxes in one, fitted together with almost surgical precision. Because it's been winter outside I've yet to take the scope out for any sort of star testing. What I am doing is getting it all accessorized. (Pictures to follow eventually.)
First, a Pegasus FocusCube. This went on easily and works just fine. Next, a Pegasus Powerbox Advance riding a dovetail bar fit into a new finder shoe. Finally, the guide scope on a bar that slips into the handlebar spanning the Primalucelab tube rings.
The next step was putting it on a Losmandy D plate, adding the ASI 2600 + filter wheel combo and getting it to balance on the G-11. This took a little finagling (largely the creation of 1/8th inch risers to provide a touch more clearance between the scope and dovetail).
Once it was balanced it was cable time, so I connected everything through the PowerBox and did a little testing. ASI imaging camera + filter wheel, QHY guide camera, PoleMaster, FocusCube, G-11, PHD2, APT: Everything worked in harmony. The only thing I didn't test were the dew straps, but I'll do another dry run in March and verify their operation.
Lastly, I did some box-crazy myself. I got a Seagull hard shipping cases for the FSQ and the ASI. The old AT65 went into an old tool box, and with the SBIG ST-8300 sold I used its case as home for my modded Canon DSLR.
So basically, everything is boxed and ready for the highway. All I need is warmer weather.
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One problem with winter is that I tend to shut down my astronomy hobby in the cold. When I was younger and doing strictly visual astronomy I didn't mind going out when temperatures were in the teens or single digits F.
When I started imaging that changed. Cables get very stiff in the cold, and the required fiddling with fingers leaves them stiff, too. I had thought that I might do mirror making during winter, but my work area (at a perpetual 65F during winter) produces hard pitch and figuring is difficult. So this year I decided to make a bold leap and find a non-astronomy winter hobby!
When my mother died in February of 2021, I inherited a couple of family heirlooms. The one I value most is a pocket watch owned by my great great grandfather. Amazingly it still runs, but I knew that it had probably sat in safe deposit boxes for over 50 years and was badly in need of service. I found a watch repair shop ( a real one, not just a place that changes batteries in quartz watches) and set them to work in April 2021. Ten months later the watch has been cleaned and oiled, but the watchmaker has been working on repairing a broken piece that is used for setting the time. Because this watch is very old and of unknown manufacture replacement pieces are impossible to find; instead, pieces must be fabricated.
During the long wait I wondered what was involved in servicing mechanical watches and found some videos on YouTube showing the process. They were fascinating. Many videos later I decided I'd like to try this and started gathering the needed baseline set of tools. I've already dismantled several old pocket watches (none of which were running) for practice, and actually coaxed two of them back to almost running. I know, "almost running" is the same as "not running," but it was fun and I learned some things. Next, I'm going to work on disassembling/reassembling running inexpensive Chinese and Indian movements.
You may think amateur watch servicing is nothing like astrophotography, but you would be wrong. Both:
- Require expensive, specialized, and breakable hardware -- you would not believe how expensive watchmaking tools are
- Considerable experience
- Are largely fading hobbies
- Are mainly practiced by older men
There are a lot of differences, of course, but fun is fun. And so is staying inside during winter.
