Hi there,

as it is now official I wanted to inform you that shortly (well, by the end of december 2020) we will add a new system, which will be located in Spain.

Specifications:

  • Planewave CDK500, comprised of a Planewave 20" Astrograph (3450mm focal length) on their L-500 direct drive mount
  • Mount will be in equatorial position using a wedge
  • FLI Proline 16803 CCD camera with Lodestar guider (supposedly we won't need it up to 600 secs of exposure...)
  • Two FLI filter wheels, boasting a total of 12 filters: LRGB, Ha O3 S2, "empty" (no filter slot), NIR (Near IR), EXO (both from Astrodon), R, B, V for photometry (photometric filters: FLI Research grade)
  • The whole thing is mounted in a private Dome, minimum altitude above horizon: 10°
  • A very powerful computer to speed up the data processing

Most components are ready to ship, but we have to wait for a few "minor" things like the pier adapter to be ready. If all goes well, by Christmas it could be mounted and - given some time to test it - it could go online by end of december/beginning of january.

We shuffled back and forth on where to put it and what system to use. Luckily we were able to grab one of the last 16803 CCD cameras, so we ended up with a system which is nearly identical performance-wise to the 20" iDK in Namibia. Putting it in Spain will give us a backup if weather shall be bad at one site, plus we can now cover well the northern hemisphere. Parallel observations from both sites will also become possible 😀

I am happy and a little proud that we were able to make this step, but it wouldn't be possible without the support of all our users. a big THANK YOU to all of you, and I hope this new system will make sure that we can improve availability and versatility of our services 😄

    lukas_demetz Lukas,
    this are impressive specifications!. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to enjoy such amazing equipment. It will be an exciting new year present.
    Eduardo

      23 days later

      Hi there,
      just got an email from our sales advisor: They are still waiting for one critical piece of equipment (pier adapter/leveler), which is required to set up the system. So regrettably, the planned installation date moved to around mid january 2021 - the estimated delivery date for that piece is now "not earlier than january week 1"...

      2 months later

      Hi there,
      just got an updated delivery information from the producer: The new system is supposed to be shipped towards nerpio in about 6 weeks from now (!), so we're talking about mid-march for now ☚ī¸

      a month later

      Okay, just got an update: We expect to ship the system by 20th march to Nerpio. So by the end of march we shall be able to begin the setup. Depending on the weather it will take a few nights to checkout everything, afterwards we will be ready to begin with some live testing 😀

      a month later

      Obviously we are still waiting for the system to be shipped. One component - the pier mating adapter, which goes between the concrete and the pier (duh! 😅 ) - was lost at the end of march by the parcel service. The producer, luckily, had another one ready to be shipped. Now, Easter came in between and we are expecting to get the adapter in Germany this week. Add another week until it is shipped to Spain... Hopefully this will be the last delay 😅

      Yes, all available fingers 😀
      Btw, did any of you (JP?) ever used a camera based on the Gsense 4040 CMOS chip?
      As the CCD era seems to be gone, and our 16803 in Namibia is also aging, I am in search of a viable substitute 😀

      3 months later

      Fingers crossed.

      Is it going to use a 16803 chip or a 4040 chip?

      Fernando

      Fernando,

      for now, it's going to be a 16803. The future might hold either an IMX455 or a Gsense4040 camera. We are on the waiting list for both cameras from Moravian. All things considered, I think the IMX455 would be a better choice, even considering the smaller pixels (would need to go bin 2x2 all the time) and the smaller imaging area (2/3 of the height of the 4040).

      I am open for suggestions though.

      a month later

      So, miracles do happen:

      The packages arrived at Nerpio yesterday. Now, on to mounting the whole beast 😀

      Alright, the plan is moreless as follows:

      • first setup steps (pier/mount) on 5th august 2021
      • Optics and camera setup around 13th august 2021

      The dome and computers are already setup, so once the optics are in-place the collimation will be done and afterwards alignment and a pointing file. I expect the system to be ready to use around middle of august. We will start a sunrise phase with lower rates just to test it and iron out any issues that might arise 😀

      7 days later
      20 days later

      So an update about the CDK500 system in Spain:

      The system has been set up and polar aligned correctly. Mount is working flawlessy (and wow is it fast!). A first "light" image has also been taken:

      There are, however, a few issues that need to be addressed before putting it live for booking:

      • We are missing one (!) screw to connect the second filter wheel. Screw is on the way.
      • The focuser has some issues (might be software or hardware) when going outwards, seems like a mechanical stop or slippage. Will be addressed in the coming days.
      • The dome controller has a connectivity issue with the rotating part, the result is a erroneous shutter state. WIll be checked in the coming days
      • We still have to create a complete pointing model for good tracking over the sky.
      • A little collimation is still needed (currently we did not touch it at all)

      So far the system looks very promising. The slew speed and tracking accuracy is astonishing - honestly, you don't want to be anywhere near the scope when it works, as it slews so silently that it might hit you with alot of force 😅 and no noises.
      The mayor showstopper right now is the dome issue, which is mainly related to the electronics (wild guess) or maybe software side. Let's see 🙂