E-160ED motorized flat panel? - Forums

Topic starter

Jul 25, 2024

I am going to move my E160ED to a remote site. It's either that or leave the hobby after 6 years under Bortle 7 at home.

I need to get automated now since I won't be physically present. So, does anyone use a motorized flat panel that works well? There's no way around buying one, the local tech is not going to put my flat panel over my scope at the end of sessions.
If you use one on the 160ED or know someone who does, please advise me!
Also, at home I use a few individual transformers to power the camera/focuser/EFW/mount. That probably won't work remotely either. Is a Pegasus Power box sufficient to run all this?? It seems a lot.
Any remote advise here is appreciated, as I have never tried to go this route previously.
I have had the E160 for over a year now with nice results. But I am thinking it probably should have the collimation checked before driving it to the site. I know, there are discussions of this here on astrobin, but I am not looking forward to trying it, and I have visions of getting it out of whack more effectively than improving it. My stars look ok, I guess I should do a Hocus Focus routine on NINA. I did this when the scope first arrived and NINA found no tilt.

Respectful Engaging

Willem Jan Drijfhout

Jul 25, 2024

Congratulations with going remote. I did so several months ago and it has been a blast!

Not owning an E160 myself, but a motorised panel would seem to be reasonably large, and not sure how that will affect the stability of your setup. Many people that go remote take sky flats. But if you prefer a flat panel, one way that works well is to park your scope horizontally and place a flat panel in front of it. Either on a stand, or on a wall with a hinged mounting. It does not have to sit flush against the scope, so you want to leave a bit of space between scope and panel.

The panel I am using is the FT1 from DeepSkyDad. I have a 60x60cm, but 30x30cm would be big enough for your setup. The panels from DSD are a delight to control, with very fine and predictable brightness, depending on the settings.

There's a lot of things to consider when going remote. If you're interested, you can checkout a series of blogs I wrote about my adventure with all the details on equipment, software, control considerations, etc. There are four parts, perhaps best to start with Part 4.

Good luck with it!

Willem Jan.

Well Written Helpful Insightful Respectful Engaging Supportive

Paul Wilson

Topic starter

Jul 25, 2024

Willem Jan Drijfhout:
Congratulations with going remote. I did so several months ago and it has been a blast!

Not owning an E160 myself, but a motorised panel would seem to be reasonably large, and not sure how that will affect the stability of your setup. Many people that go remote take sky flats. But if you prefer a flat panel, one way that works well is to park your scope horizontally and place a flat panel in front of it. Either on a stand, or on a wall with a hinged mounting. It does not have to sit flush against the scope, so you want to leave a bit of space between scope and panel.

The panel I am using is the FT1 from DeepSkyDad. I have a 60x60cm, but 30x30cm would be big enough for your setup. The panels from DSD are a delight to control, with very fine and predictable brightness, depending on the settings.

There's a lot of things to consider when going remote. If you're interested, you can checkout a series of blogs I wrote about my adventure with all the details on equipment, software, control considerations, etc. There are four parts, perhaps best to start with Part 4.

Good luck with it!

Willem Jan.

*** Thanks for reply. I don't think I can do sky flats. I do currently take flats at the end of a session using a Pegasus flat panel. I can't use that at a remote hosting site. And inside of a big space with rows of other scopes, I wouldn't be able to place a panel on the wall. ***

Willem Jan Drijfhout

Jul 25, 2024

Sorry to hear Paul. Perhaps you can check how the others are doing it.

Paul Wilson

Topic starter

Jul 25, 2024

Willem Jan Drijfhout:
Congratulations with going remote. I did so several months ago and it has been a blast!

Not owning an E160 myself, but a motorised panel would seem to be reasonably large, and not sure how that will affect the stability of your setup. Many people that go remote take sky flats. But if you prefer a flat panel, one way that works well is to park your scope horizontally and place a flat panel in front of it. Either on a stand, or on a wall with a hinged mounting. It does not have to sit flush against the scope, so you want to leave a bit of space between scope and panel.

The panel I am using is the FT1 from DeepSkyDad. I have a 60x60cm, but 30x30cm would be big enough for your setup. The panels from DSD are a delight to control, with very fine and predictable brightness, depending on the settings.

There's a lot of things to consider when going remote. If you're interested, you can checkout a series of blogs I wrote about my adventure with all the details on equipment, software, control considerations, etc. There are four parts, perhaps best to start with Part 4.

Good luck with it!

Willem Jan.

Paul Wilson

Topic starter

Jul 25, 2024

Paul Wilson:
Willem Jan Drijfhout:
Congratulations with going remote. I did so several months ago and it has been a blast!

Not owning an E160 myself, but a motorised panel would seem to be reasonably large, and not sure how that will affect the stability of your setup. Many people that go remote take sky flats. But if you prefer a flat panel, one way that works well is to park your scope horizontally and place a flat panel in front of it. Either on a stand, or on a wall with a hinged mounting. It does not have to sit flush against the scope, so you want to leave a bit of space between scope and panel.

The panel I am using is the FT1 from DeepSkyDad. I have a 60x60cm, but 30x30cm would be big enough for your setup. The panels from DSD are a delight to control, with very fine and predictable brightness, depending on the settings.

There's a lot of things to consider when going remote. If you're interested, you can checkout a series of blogs I wrote about my adventure with all the details on equipment, software, control considerations, etc. There are four parts, perhaps best to start with Part 4.

Good luck with it!

Willem Jan.

*** Thanks for reply. I don't think I can do sky flats. I do currently take flats at the end of a session using a Pegasus flat panel. I can't use that at a remote hosting site. And inside of a big space with rows of other scopes, I wouldn't be able to place a panel on the wall. ***

*** Thanks, yes, I "know" there are others with ED160s in remote hosting sites. Hopefully one of them will see this and advise me what they are using there on their Tak Epsilons that is working well. I never to this point had the need to go to motorized flats. Very satisfied with my (expensive) Pegasus Flat Panel. ***

Josh Jones

Jul 25, 2024

I have this one being setup using a primaluc giotto and alto system that is going to Chile. I have not had any use on it, but just showing that it's setup and fit pretty well.

Paul Wilson

Topic starter

Jul 25, 2024

That’s very interesting, haven’t seen one like that.
I currently have mine set up so that I can perch my mini guidescope and mini PC on top of the scope. That puts all the other accessories hanging underneath.
it’s certainly possible that I might need to completely rework my setup to make it work remotely!

John Stone

Jul 25, 2024

https://www.overcastobservatory.com/product/motorized-dew-shield-and-dust-cover-for-epsilon/

You're welcome! :-)

Dunk

Jul 25, 2024 · Edited: Jul 25, 2024

There's a massive thread (hundreds of comments) on setting up the Epsilon with the Optic Leo. In recent comments someone posted images of a Wanderer Astro flat panel they installed on the 160 - that would work for you.

Have a search - you'll find it easily.

[Edit]: https://www.astrobin.com/forum/post/163412/

I think its this one: https://www.wandererastro.com/en/col.jsp?id=150

Helpful

Rowan Prangley

Jul 26, 2024

Hi Paul,

I currently use the PrimaLuceLab Giotto-Alto combination and can only report great news about the system's operation and function. As an alternative brand, I highly recommend Optec Alnitak Astrosystems' Flip-Flat.

The Flip-Flat is known to be very robust and reliable with solid software and driver integration.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Rowan

Well Written Concise

Dunk

Jul 26, 2024

I'm using an Giotto also on my E130 - but no Alto (the "automated" bit).

I can attest to how well the Giotto works with Nina etc. - no issues at all.

Chris White- Overcast Observatory

Jul 26, 2024

The flip flat is a nice device but the panel is too small for the e160. The illuminated portion is only 160mm in dianeter so I'd worry about even illumination. It would be tough if not impossible to center perfectly.

Many of us take sky flats. What's the reason you can't do that?

Helpful Concise

Ashraf AbuSara

Jul 26, 2024 · Edited: Jul 26, 2024

Wanderer Astro flat 4ec panel works great. I am using it with a Carbon fiber dew shield. Very light and Ascom compatible.

Chris White- Overcast Observatory

Jul 26, 2024

Ashraf AbuSara:
Wanderer Astro flat 4ec panel works great. I am using it with a Carbon fiber dew shield. Very light and Ascom compatible.

That looks great! Did the dew shield come from wanderer as well?

Well Written Respectful

Ashraf AbuSara

Jul 26, 2024

Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
Ashraf AbuSara:
Wanderer Astro flat 4ec panel works great. I am using it with a Carbon fiber dew shield. Very light and Ascom compatible.

That looks great! Did the dew shield come from wanderer as well?

Thanks! No the dew shield was from AliExpress. Looks like they may be OOS currently.

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/3256805513493687.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt

Paul Wilson

Topic starter

Jul 26, 2024

Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
The flip flat is a nice device but the panel is too small for the e160. The illuminated portion is only 160mm in dianeter so I'd worry about even illumination. It would be tough if not impossible to center perfectly.

Many of us take sky flats. What's the reason you can't do that?

*** Yeah, just yesterday, it occurred to me that I probably can do that. I won't have to be physically present to point the scope up at the first sign of dawn. I can just program the session into NINA. I visited a remote hosting building a couple of years ago, and every scope in there used a flip panel, so I had been thinking this is what is done.
The only question I might have is "who" would nicely come by and replace my dust cover on the scope? Also, I have the light, flexible dew shield that I typically stick on the scope before a session and remove afterwards. It is not firmly attached so I don't know whether to send it to the remote site or not.
I did see that the "Wanderer" panels do not include one that is for 160MM. I would have had to go up to the 190 size, which might cause problems.
Mostly, I had become very accustomed after 6 years to taking flats with a panel, and the Pegasus Flat Panel, expensive, has worked very well, despite my not even calculating my precise ADU. ***

Ashraf AbuSara

Jul 26, 2024

Paul Wilson:
Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
The flip flat is a nice device but the panel is too small for the e160. The illuminated portion is only 160mm in dianeter so I'd worry about even illumination. It would be tough if not impossible to center perfectly.

Many of us take sky flats. What's the reason you can't do that?

*** Yeah, just yesterday, it occurred to me that I probably can do that. I won't have to be physically present to point the scope up at the first sign of dawn. I can just program the session into NINA. I visited a remote hosting building a couple of years ago, and every scope in there used a flip panel, so I had been thinking this is what is done.
The only question I might have is "who" would nicely come by and replace my dust cover on the scope? Also, I have the light, flexible dew shield that I typically stick on the scope before a session and remove afterwards. It is not firmly attached so I don't know whether to send it to the remote site or not.
I did see that the "Wanderer" panels do not include one that is for 160MM. I would have had to go up to the 190 size, which might cause problems.
Mostly, I had become very accustomed after 6 years to taking flats with a panel, and the Pegasus Flat Panel, expensive, has worked very well, despite my not even calculating my precise ADU. ***

You need to have the illuminated surface be larger than the outer diameter of the OTA to have full coverage. If you go for larger than the size next up that is bigger than your outer diameter it should be fine.

I did not consider a flat panel for the native OTA, but I had to get the 240mm version for the custom 160ed CF dew shield it fit perfectly.

Paul Wilson

Topic starter

Jul 26, 2024 · Edited: Jul 26, 2024

Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
The flip flat is a nice device but the panel is too small for the e160. The illuminated portion is only 160mm in dianeter so I'd worry about even illumination. It would be tough if not impossible to center perfectly.

Many of us take sky flats. What's the reason you can't do that?

*** My Epsilon will be in the typical, roll back roof room with probably many other scopes. If I am to take sky flats there, that would seem to leave me without the option of putting the dust cover over the end of the tube when a session ends, as well as removing it prior to starting. Without a corrector plate or something that closes up the tube, I would think dust would be a problem? In a remote environment, no one is going to remove/replace my dust cover. This was another reason that I was considering a motorized flat panel. But I still would be uncertain about which one offers a size that works.***