Wow !! think to have built an observatory that's now fully automated and integrated into nina is truly outstanding. I also think to have put links to everything you need including the coding is very generous. Brilliant video Glen 👍
Great video again. My roll-off roof working perfectly with the Arduino etc. Now takes me about a minute to set up and get going. All I need now is the rain sensor/code for the Arduino 🙂
Hi Richard, thank you and that’s great you have it up and running. Really makes a big difference. I am still to add a rain sensor but never tend to image if there is any rain about
Hi Glenn great video I am doing exactly what your doing as I am retiring at the end of the year and fed up with both neighbours conservatory or security lights as were my tripod placed at the moment. now the only place I want to be I need to cut my massive tree in back garden which covers most ot my South skys.My shed will be right side to my garage which is near back of my garden which will give me loads of extra sky which I can't get at the moment come end of January my plans will start many thanks for your videos their excellent.
Hi had some fun earlier this year with my Observatory roof. I also added mount park sensors and also a tweak to allow the possibility for the Arduino to wait for the second scope to park before closing the roof.
@@Astrobloke works with both SGP and NINA. Will be switching to NINA full time once 1.11 is a stable release. Nightly builds still a bit risky when sleeping 😬
@@astrocapetown4955 both Joe and I have found that but the developers work hard on it so it will get there. Do you use the same rrci ascom driver and control interface ? I looked at SGP but was put off by the costs
This is pretty cool! I just started watching this, but thought I'd comment. I'm using an Elegoo Uno to remotely focus my nexstar 4se and to get temperature data to display on my streams. It's basically done but I've gotta work out the mechanics a bit better and change the code as currently it focuses too slow even at full speed, due to the belt/gear ratio. Anyway, I'm enjoying the part where you're loading the sketch and uploading the code. All too familiar with this process lol
Hi and thank you for the kind comments and watching my channel. I have since built a new Observatory and have updated the video ruclips.net/video/NI_ArOjR5PQ/видео.html I have not used one for focussing but currently working on a rain sensor and light panel control for flats. If I get them all working well I am bound to share via some more videos. Happy New Year
Excellent collaboration, I subscribed to you both! I’m currently in my second year of astrophotography and wanting to build a remote observatory at my parents farm. I have a long way to go but it will be worth it.
Very interesting project! Wish I could have a telescope shed but although we have 4 acres it is mostly covered with tall trees so I need to travel to setup. BTW, I received my orders from Rowan and the bearing company - both very easy to deal with and quick delivery to US. Unfortunately , since Amazon screwed up my HEQ5 order and everyone is backed up waiting for shipments I may not get one until October. Looking forward to performing your Hypertune on it. Thanks again for all you share with folks - great helpful channel. I subscribe to Joe's also and that applies to his channel. as well. Take it easy.
Hi Richard. Trees are lovely but not great for Astro. Maybe you could build a tower? (Sorry i like to think outside the box) shame they messed your order, hope it arrive soon
Fantastic work guys. Very keen to get this implemented with my ROR setup. Looking at the specs of my gate controller I think I will be following your setup Glenn as my gate motor also doesn't have the one O/S/C switch. Right, off to order the Arduino and other bits. No doubt will be picking your brains Glenn when it comes to the "wiring up" part so I don't blow up my gate motor :)
Great video Glenn and Joe, just what I was looking for to get an automated roof, although I won't be using NINA I see there's someone who posted a link to their configuration for SGPro. So between the 3 of you I should have everything I need to get this working, however I do see a big problem for me, I've not got my obsy built yet lol, moved house back in October so obsy build number 2 due soon, roll on those lighter evenings.
Thank you Tony. Yes it works in SGPro the same using the Ascom drivers. Best of luck to you with the new Observatory. Is this one going to be much different.....Bigger? or adding any extras you missed on your first build? Would love to see it when its done please
@@Astrobloke It will be smaller, my last one was used as storage for all my powertools aswell, that was 12 x 8, new one will be just an obsy at 8 x 6. Better wheel set-up on the roof this time, last one was pants ( my fault) but it worked, it was not motorised and I had to give it a shove to start off before it ran freely. Motorised and fully automated is what I wanted there but never got round to adding it, this time the automation will be in the build.
Us Astrophotographers are geeks, I mean honestly how hard is it roll the roof off by hand lol. My wife laughs at all of us, says we’re all gadget guys. Guess we are, great video,great end results, thanks for this.
Thanks Woody. My wife laughs at my geekiness all the time but she says its what she loves about me too. Boys and their toys. I really am in my element with this hobby.
Great work Glenn and Joe! I'll certainly be following in your footsteps! Did you consider adding another sensor to check scope is actually parked in the position you want it to be before closing the roof? I mention it as I've had situation where it parked but not in the correct physical position - might be a disaster if the roof started to close
Hi Les and thank you for your comment. I personally have never had my scope not park correctly and where I have it set. I may consider it but at the moment I am happy with how it is all working
Awesome job, Glenn. This is really timely for me as I am just about to install the motor for the roll off roof. I am going to use this system and shamelessly copy your hard work! It is way cheaper than the Lunatico alternative. I do plan to buy a cloud watcher sensor - do you think that can be integrated into your set up? I want it to park the scope, close the roof etc in the event that clouds roll in? Thanks again. Chris
Hi Chris, Thank you for your comments. Please copy away, its the reason I shared it to help others do the same and save a small fortune. You can buy rain sensors for the arduino which are silly cheap £2.50. I am sure you can integrate cloud sensors too. it would just tell the roof to close and as you can see from the video it would park the scope automatically first then close up.
@@Astrobloke Thanks, Glenn. I will give it a go. I wanted the cloud watcher (which is not cheap) as the main guard against rain. I may add rain sensors too at that price! Cheers. Chris
Thank you Phil. I know someone who has added a cloud watcher and that has a rain sensor input. The Arduino does have a rain sensor add on which is really surprisingly cheap just a few pounds. It would require some extra code to get that to work and something we are planning to look at and possibly add if we can get it to work.
Hi Alan. Sorry I do not. Becasue it was a pre made shed unit I kind of had the ideas in my head on the mods and only scribbled down rough ideas and measurements on scraps of paper which I then threw. Its kind of why I made the videos so others could do similar and quite a few have and sent me pictures of their finished Observatories.
Hi Frank. Yes there is but its not something I have yet done. There are very inexpensive rain sensors for the Arduino but I am not sure how good these are. I know that someone did this set up for their ror observatory and added a cloud and rain sensor but I think the unit was quite expensive (£300) but works really well
@@Astrobloke Hello Glenn, do I only need the rain sensor and can I wire it to the Arduino? I would like to do this as my telescope has had a rain shower before....
I have power to my workshop via armoured cable from my house and I just extended this to some sockets in the observatory. All the ventilation and heat details are here at 10:56 ruclips.net/video/QwhiaKHMGt8/видео.html
I've amended the Arduino code again and now have Scope park Safe sensors (the same reed switches used for the gate rails) attached to the mount RA and Dec axes so the roof will not open or close unless the mount is properly parked. I'll do an updat eon my channel sometime soon
That’s excellent Les. To date mine has been working perfectly and the scope perfectly parked everytime and roof closed when session finished. Will definitely have a look at your work though mate. Hope you have been keeping well
@@Astrobloke cheers Glenn. Yes been well and busy with the masters. I had an issue where the mount / Ascom reported it was parked in an erroneous position and the roof tried to close on the scope overnight so I decided to add in an additional level of safety. The original code in the Arduino project sketch did have some lines which used a safe sensor and RRCI has an option to use it as well...
@brandlc Hi Les. Thanks for reporting your challenge and suggestion to change the Arduino sketch. I am having the same issue. Erroneous position reported (incorrectly) and roof closes mid session. Did you change / add lines to the sketch to solve it?
Absolutely. I am currently looking at cloudwatchers and whats needed to build one with another Arduino. They basically for me will work within NINIA and tell the observatory whether its safe or not safe depending on condition’s.
@@Astrobloke sounds very good. I would be very grateful if you could make a video where you show how it is possible to integrate cloudwatcher and set it up. Thanks Glen for your very informative videos.😎
Hi Glenn, awesome video, just ordered all this to build my shed. Could you put up a wiring diagram of what goes to what terminal?. And also what does your arduino get powered by? Do you connect it to your computer through a powered usb hub? Thanks fella. Have you got any experience with planetary imaging with an explanation of the imaging train with barlow lense? I have an edge 8 hd... just wondering what would go where, if there's backfocus spaces, what adapters etc
Hi Mark. On the link where you download the RRCI ascom driver there is a wiring schematic that I basically used. I just do not include the telescope sensor or weather bits. The arduino needs no additional power and gets everything via the usb cable just plugged into the PC. I am still to venture into the planetary imaging side of things so I do not really have much knowledge about it. If you don't know Dylan O'Donnell on you tube look him up as he has quite a few videos on planetary imaging. Think he has a C11. He is also hilarious, tell him Astrobloke sent you. If he says who? tell him to look me up and subscribe lol
@@Astrobloke hi Glenn, so ive acquired all the motors, sensors, board, and also a new eq6r-pro mount. I cant get nina to control anything properly. So eqmod, ive set the home/park position to horizontal...set the unpark to upright/polaris position. Rrci ive reinstalled and set to detect park scope. Opened nina... sequencer opened and told it to 1- open dome, 2-unpark scope, 3- slew to ra+ dec position, 4 - park scope, 5- close dome. So what happens... it starts motor to roof motor which i stop with the switch on the motor and activate the open sensor with magnet. This keeps saying open shutter failed as it doesnt pick up the open sensor all the time. 2- i skip to unpark scope which it unparks but doesnt move to my eqmod unpark position, it skips straight to ra+dec slew but doesnt move the mount at all, i have to manually move to the polaris position using nina or eqmod mount direction buttons. Then it goes to park scope command- this doesnt move to the horizontal park position it just stays still in the polaris position. Then the roof closes which would take the scope out if it was all mounted. Any help to figure out how to get nina to talk to my mount and slew it to correct positions and the rrci, nina and eqmod to talk to eachother?.. Thanks
@@ASTROKING-S Hi mate. Firstly have you got the roof working correctly outside of NINA using the roll off roof controller? Also if you have a custom park position NINA will not unpark to home. When i made a small routine to check everything I put in the RA/Dec co ords for home and after unpark command it to slew there. Also can I ask which NINA build you are using?
Hi Glenn, I've been following this with much interest and you guys have done a great job that is sure to benefit a lot of people in our hobby, including me. I have just about completed the install but I'm having issues that I'm hoping you may be able to help with. It kind of works, skyroof will open the roof, but I'm not getting the open/closed signals back. Then Skyroof freezes and won't respond. I have to close it with Device Manager and re-open. My magnetic switches are the type with N/O & N/C contacts and I've tried them both ways. N/C means that the contact is made when the magnet is in position. I have them wired to terminals 11,12 & 13 on the Arduino, but I'm wondering if these connections are correct. In the code it says 13 is output to safety sensor..? Any thoughts on how to debug this would be appreciated...
Hi Andrew. I did have an issue similar to this when I first installed the sensors and it was because I had bought N/O sensor and they must be the N/C type. They are identical to look at but are listed differently on Amazon. You mention that you have used 13? 11 is open 12 is close The 3rd wire should be your ground wire and that needs to go to Grnd which is one terminal on from 13. Neither Joe or I have wired a safety sensor as the roof cannot be closed via skyroof without the mount first reporting a parked position. I think it sounds like you have ground wire in 13 so check this.
@@Astrobloke Glenn, thank you for the swift reply. My bad on using terminal 13. That would explain why the signals were not coming back. I'll correct this tonight and report back. Fingers crossed...
OK, so I swapped the grd wire from 13 to the next terminal and the basic open/close with Skyroof now seems to work fine. However it looks like they have since changed this software to remove the option to use ASCOM to park the scope. My version doesn't have this, it only has Use park safety switch to detect parked scope. So with the mount unparked when I click close the roof starts to close. The mount moves at the same time but NOT even to the park position. It goes completely the wrong way. If you still have the original zip file for your version of Skyroof is there a way of sending it over..?
@@Astrobloke So I sorted the limit switch issue (my bad). And I managed to download another version of Skyroof that includes the use ASCOM to park scope. It's the version update 239. This works, although it still sends my mount the wrong way but it does wait, beep then close the roof. Once I've debugged the mount issue I'll put the solution here for those that may follow.
@@andrewkirton7279 Hi. It does take a little tweaking but I think you are getting there. I can send the skyroof version that I have that does use the Ascom to detect scope parked before closing roof. Only thing you have to be aware of is that if using NINA it will overide this and try and park the scope and close roof together. I get around this by using a sequential set of instructions to 1st close roof and then park scope, the default end sequence is parallel (no good). If you email me Astrobloke@outlook.com I will mail back to you the files I have. Also if you are using NINA and EQMOD. once you set the scope park position in EQMOD make sure you go to the mount tab in NINA and also while the scope is parked click set park position. I forgot this once and they conflicted and my scope was going the wrong way too. Maybe thats what you have.
Thanks for your video, I have followed all of the intructions, but the sky roof control panel, once the roof is opened , when I want to push to close button it does not open de relay and it crashes. I am using a garage door motor instead. Any suggestion? thank you!
I had this issue and another person also contacted me with this. Myself and that person had bought the wrong sensors for the roof open and close positions. We had got the normally open type where they must be the normally closed ones. They look exactly the same so I would firstly say double check that you definitely have the right ones. Also double check your wiring on the relay shield as it is so easy to misplace the Grnd wire especially and I know another person did this and it would work but keep crashing. Hope this helps.
@@Astrobloke Thank you for your time. I have checked the sensor and wiring and it is the same than yours, I think it is a skecth issue. I see the sketch has defined the relays as follows, which enable to use all of the relays: #define stop 4 #define sensor 5 #define close 6 #define open 7 but you are only using the relay 3, how did you handle this? I am using a garage motor with one single button.
@@Astrobloke Thank you, I have also detected the follwing situation: Skyroof control panel crashes when closing. using ascom app RRCI Open push. the relays turns on and off in less than 1 second, not enough to send signal to motor. close push- the relays bearly turns on, the light in relay is almost unpercetible. In both cases, open and close, if I make a fast double click the relays remains open a little bit more, but goes off anyway. Sky roof and NINA is not allowed the double click. I think some code in sketch is causing this. I downloaded the sketch from your video and the ascom I am using the named RRCI_ASCOM_setup.exe; both downloaded on Friday 13th. The wierd thing is I also have and older ascom driver I downloaded about 10 months ago which have a telescope link section, this one , the open button enable the relay to be turned on until the magnet reachs the close sensor, but the close button makes the same than the newer ascom version, the relays bearly turns on, the light in relay is almost unpercetible.
amazing work, ive recently followed the instructions however when opening and closing the software detects the magnet but no signal is sent to the motor to stop :( any idea how that can be sorted out?
Thank you for the kind comment. The Arduino only sends a signal to tell the roof to move. The limits and stop signal comes with the motor with either manual ramps or magnets that signal the motors operating range. Hope this helps
@@Astrobloke i connected 2 sensor magnets, the SkyRoof app recognizes them showing the roof is now open or closed but the motor doesn’t stop when the magnets reach each other, from what i understood in the video is when the magnets are in contact a signal will be. Sent to the motor to stop (similar to the signal that tells the motor to either open or close)
@@lmu6airy The magnets should definitely stop the motor from running and I can only assume you have these set incorrectly or something similar. The Arduino only sends a signal to open the relay to start the motor not to stop it as it would never know where to hence you use the magnets that come with the motor for that. Can I ask did you use a gate motor like mine or similar that came with its own sensors for its running distance
I'm stuck, got everything downloaded and installed but, although I bought the same roof motor I seem to have a different board there are only 2 connections and not 4 as in yours so connected com from relay 3 to com connector on motor and the no from relay 3 to the osc connector on the motor. When I open the skyroof software and connect through the settings tab it shows that my roof is open although it is closed. Thinking that I may have connected the sensors wrong I swapped over the 2 wires into 11 and 12 which made no difference. Ground is connected to grd in screwshield also. Have checked that all the pins from the relay and screwshield are in the correct holes. I am completely stumped now as to what to try, wander too if anyone else has had any probs but a Google search throws up nothing, for me at least. Any suggestions? Have also emailed with a photo of the motor board.
Hi Tony. If you contact me via Astrobloke@outlook.com I will see what I can do. Some motors have less connections as the open close stop is all on one terminal which is fine its just wired differently. Joe’s motor had this configuration (have you seen his video as it shows the wiring for that. Also check the sensor wiring and confirm they are normally closed type and not normally open. I got the wrong ones first off.
@@Astrobloke hello. I have the same problem except that the software only detects the closed roof position. I can open without problem, and then the software displays unknown position. So to close, Nina for example during a programmed sequence triggers an error and impossible to close the roof. I tried to reverse the sensors and it is always the same. I specify that it is NC limit switch contacts (no magnetic contacts). do you believe that it is absolutely necessary to have contacts magnetic?.thank you!
hello.i would like to make the same system as you.could you tell me where i have to connect to my motor connections,please?i think it's the step by step contact but i'm not sure. would you be kind enough to send me a diagram so that I can understand?. thank you in advance. attached are the connections available on the motor. thank you very much !!Alberto
Hi Alberto. I will see what I can do but unfortunately am in the middle of moving so everything is packed away and time is short. It may take me a while but the video should show all you need. If you connect wrongly it just won’t work, not do any damage. Good luck
I have a problem with the script working. when I press e.g. open in RRCI (skyroof too) the relay turns on and the drive starts, but after reaching the closed sensor there is no reaction of the relay (the relay does not turn on). The same situation is in the reverse direction (close-opened). I suspect that RRCI gives a return signal that the arduino script does not read. Maybe it's related to the RRCI version, mine is v1.2.3 Can you help me? Sorry for my english but google translate is not perfect ;-)
First thing to double check is the wiring. It is so easy to get the wrong slot with them being so small and close together and the screwshield if you ised one does sit offset slightly. When I had problems with the roof not reading when it was open or closed when at the sensors was because I initially bought the wrong type. They must be of the Normally Closed type. I mistakenly tried to use Normally Open one (they look identical) If you are sure its not either of these let me know and we can look at your code and hopefully help fix it
@@Astrobloke Sensors are normally closed (RRCI shows closed, open). I used the arduino code from the link below the video. Everything is definitely connected well (checked many times) but it still doesn't work. I press "open" in RRCI, it turns on the relay, RRCI shows "roof status - opened" (when I bring the magnet closer to the sensor) and the relay does not turn on. The same thing happens the other way around. I don't know what the problem is, I'm out of ideas.
@@mareksawicki9446 are you controlling the roof just with the skyroof controls or via NINA or SGP? I use it through NINA but close Skyroof as otherwise you get clashes with the software.
@@mareksawicki9446 thats good , just make sure skyroof is no open when NINA running. Sorry for all the questions but it is a case of elimination to find the reason for it not working. The code has not changed so its not that. Can I ask what NINA you are using? Is it regular release or nightly?
Hi Monty and thank you for watching and commenting. My apologies for that but unfortunately the links were taken down by the person who put them up and so the video is now kind of obsolete in parts. I am currently building a new observatory and once do e there will be a full update available with new links etc
Hello i found your project very helpfull and i want to try it but i cannot download any skyroof sowftare file is requesting a password,can you please advise me how i can download?Can i purchase it?Thank you in advance
Hi and thank you for commenting. There seems to have been changes made to the website and the fact it is now password protected they are seeking registration or possibly payment. I am not part of Skyroof but when I was using the software it was available freely for use. I am thinking they now want you to pay for it?
Hello thank you for replying,I tried to find if there is a way to purchase the software but there is no option for it.If you have have it and can share it with me i will appreciate it.The fuction of automatic park is very useful.Again thank you for help me to accomplish a task like that and make my roll of observatory automated.
I already send email and I will send another one with details how I setup it up now with a motor that I have,the software I use and wiring to prevent door open or close when scope is not parked.All of above is not my personal effort but I can explain how I connect and maybe you can share it to assist other people seeking for a solution for their Roll off. Again thank you for replying.
Hi Glenn (and Joe), you were really helpful to me in initial troubleshooting and I figured out I needed to change some of the Arduino sketch code to make it work with the original Arduino relay shield rather than the relay shield you and Joe use. I also worked out how to configure for Sequence Generator Pro. I've documented in this video - hope you're ok with me sharing it ruclips.net/video/McxtrHlIcU8/видео.html
@@AmyAstro one day (if i move I will build a more substantial Obsy. My converted keter shed was really quite easy to do and not expensive at all. I think in the states they are the same as Rubbermaid? I have seen some conversions of them too. Work really well and being plastic hardly any maintenance. If I can help with any questions please let me know, happy to help
@@Astrobloke I followed all of your amazon links. They are for the UK. You may want to add the US amazon link versions. Earn everything you can :). I need to do the same. I could not find the motor kit here. Of course I do not have an obsy yet so saving the links for later.
Mate this is brilliant. So many youtubers but none are as generous or as helpful as I find your channel. please keep up the great work
Thank you
Wow !! think to have built an observatory that's now fully automated and integrated into nina is truly outstanding. I also think to have put links to everything you need including the coding is very generous. Brilliant video Glen 👍
Thank you Paul. I am more than happy to share and help the Astro community when and where I can.
Thanks for all the hard work doing this with me Glenn! Great video, it really came out nice!
Thank you too Joe. Very cool to have it all working
Great video again. My roll-off roof working perfectly with the Arduino etc. Now takes me about a minute to set up and get going. All I need now is the rain sensor/code for the Arduino 🙂
Hi Richard, thank you and that’s great you have it up and running. Really makes a big difference. I am still to add a rain sensor but never tend to image if there is any rain about
You and Joe are going next level.. great setup on the Obs!!
Thanks Jason
Hi Glenn great video I am doing exactly what your doing as I am retiring at the end of the year and fed up with both neighbours conservatory or security lights as were my tripod placed at the moment. now the only place I want to be I need to cut my massive tree in back garden which covers most ot my South skys.My shed will be right side to my garage which is near back of my garden which will give me loads of extra sky which I can't get at the moment come end of January my plans will start many thanks for your videos their excellent.
That sounds great and it will bring you so much to your hobby. Good luck with it all and I am really glad my videos help
Fabulous Glen and Joe. Really helpful. This video is just at the right time for me!
Hi Francis and thank you. Hope it helps
Hi had some fun earlier this year with my Observatory roof. I also added mount park sensors and also a tweak to allow the possibility for the Arduino to wait for the second scope to park before closing the roof.
Nice. Do you run yours through SGP?
@@Astrobloke works with both SGP and NINA. Will be switching to NINA full time once 1.11 is a stable release. Nightly builds still a bit risky when sleeping 😬
Now I need to add a weather station. That’s next on my list.
@@astrocapetown4955 both Joe and I have found that but the developers work hard on it so it will get there. Do you use the same rrci ascom driver and control interface ? I looked at SGP but was put off by the costs
@@Astrobloke yes, but rewrote the driver. I’m still on SGP 3, old licence, so will move to NINA soon.
This is pretty cool! I just started watching this, but thought I'd comment.
I'm using an Elegoo Uno to remotely focus my nexstar 4se and to get temperature data to display on my streams. It's basically done but I've gotta work out the mechanics a bit better and change the code as currently it focuses too slow even at full speed, due to the belt/gear ratio.
Anyway, I'm enjoying the part where you're loading the sketch and uploading the code. All too familiar with this process lol
Hi and thank you for the kind comments and watching my channel. I have since built a new Observatory and have updated the video ruclips.net/video/NI_ArOjR5PQ/видео.html
I have not used one for focussing but currently working on a rain sensor and light panel control for flats. If I get them all working well I am bound to share via some more videos.
Happy New Year
Oh If only I had an observatory! That’s great work Glenn & Joe👍
I bet you could build a beauty simon
@@Astrobloke I could Glenn! It would be a three story one😀 Haven’t really got the ideal place for it though ☹️
Excellent collaboration, I subscribed to you both! I’m currently in my second year of astrophotography and wanting to build a remote observatory at my parents farm. I have a long way to go but it will be worth it.
Thank you for your support and if I can help with any advice let me know. You’ll love having an Observatory
Another superb video and solution. Great work Glenn
Thanks Derek
I definitely want to get a shed set up like this for next year, being able to leave the telescope set up is a dream.
It makes a massive difference
Very interesting project! Wish I could have a telescope shed but although we have 4 acres it is mostly covered with tall trees so I need to travel to setup. BTW, I received my orders from Rowan and the bearing company - both very easy to deal with and quick delivery to US. Unfortunately , since Amazon screwed up my HEQ5 order and everyone is backed up waiting for shipments I may not get one until October. Looking forward to performing your Hypertune on it. Thanks again for all you share with folks - great helpful channel. I subscribe to Joe's also and that applies to his channel. as well. Take it easy.
Hi Richard. Trees are lovely but not great for Astro. Maybe you could build a tower? (Sorry i like to think outside the box) shame they messed your order, hope it arrive soon
@@Astrobloke LOL. I do have tower for ham radio but I would not want to be up there with a telescope!
@@richardmarquardt6246 maybe not lol
Nice job Glenn! Congrats to you and joe for making it work. - Cheers Kurt
Thank you Kurt. I have your videos lined up to watch on the ASIAIR. I am considering this for my HEQ5
@@Astrobloke Yeah, so far I love it. I am actually thinking getting another one for a portable rig (ioptron Skyguider) I have. - Cheers
Thanks so much to both of you for sharing this work. This is exactly what I have planned for my ROR setup.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for commenting and good luck
Fantastic work guys. Very keen to get this implemented with my ROR setup. Looking at the specs of my gate controller I think I will be following your setup Glenn as my gate motor also doesn't have the one O/S/C switch. Right, off to order the Arduino and other bits. No doubt will be picking your brains Glenn when it comes to the "wiring up" part so I don't blow up my gate motor :)
Hi Logan. Very little chance of blowing it up as such low voltage used to switch (5v) any problems give me a shout
Great video Glenn and Joe, just what I was looking for to get an automated roof, although I won't be using NINA I see there's someone who posted a link to their configuration for SGPro. So between the 3 of you I should have everything I need to get this working, however I do see a big problem for me, I've not got my obsy built yet lol, moved house back in October so obsy build number 2 due soon, roll on those lighter evenings.
Thank you Tony. Yes it works in SGPro the same using the Ascom drivers. Best of luck to you with the new Observatory. Is this one going to be much different.....Bigger? or adding any extras you missed on your first build?
Would love to see it when its done please
@@Astrobloke It will be smaller, my last one was used as storage for all my powertools aswell, that was 12 x 8, new one will be just an obsy at 8 x 6. Better wheel set-up on the roof this time, last one was pants ( my fault) but it worked, it was not motorised and I had to give it a shove to start off before it ran freely. Motorised and fully automated is what I wanted there but never got round to adding it, this time the automation will be in the build.
Awesome setup! Seriously jealous of you are Joe. Hopefully I can get one of these setup. PS.. nice monitor you got back there! :)
Thanks James. You should look into it. I use to have 2 monitors, this was much better
Us Astrophotographers are geeks, I mean honestly how hard is it roll the roof off by hand lol. My wife laughs at all of us, says we’re all gadget guys. Guess we are, great video,great end results, thanks for this.
Thanks Woody. My wife laughs at my geekiness all the time but she says its what she loves about me too. Boys and their toys. I really am in my element with this hobby.
Great work Glenn and Joe! I'll certainly be following in your footsteps! Did you consider adding another sensor to check scope is actually parked in the position you want it to be before closing the roof? I mention it as I've had situation where it parked but not in the correct physical position - might be a disaster if the roof started to close
Hi Les and thank you for your comment. I personally have never had my scope not park correctly and where I have it set. I may consider it but at the moment I am happy with how it is all working
Les I saw a message from you but for some reason cannot locate it anywhere. Can you email me at astrobloke@outlook.com
Awesome job, Glenn. This is really timely for me as I am just about to install the motor for the roll off roof. I am going to use this system and shamelessly copy your hard work! It is way cheaper than the Lunatico alternative. I do plan to buy a cloud watcher sensor - do you think that can be integrated into your set up? I want it to park the scope, close the roof etc in the event that clouds roll in? Thanks again. Chris
Hi Chris, Thank you for your comments. Please copy away, its the reason I shared it to help others do the same and save a small fortune.
You can buy rain sensors for the arduino which are silly cheap £2.50. I am sure you can integrate cloud sensors too. it would just tell the roof to close and as you can see from the video it would park the scope automatically first then close up.
@@Astrobloke Thanks, Glenn. I will give it a go. I wanted the cloud watcher (which is not cheap) as the main guard against rain. I may add rain sensors too at that price! Cheers. Chris
One of the best I heard. Can I use any 4 channel relay shield compatible with Arduino because I cannot get the one you used
I cannot say for certain but cannot see why not as the relay shield is just a switch. Thank you for the comment
Really enjoyed the videos. Would it be possible to integrate a rain sensor to automatically park the scope and close the roof?
Thank you Phil. I know someone who has added a cloud watcher and that has a rain sensor input. The Arduino does have a rain sensor add on which is really surprisingly cheap just a few pounds. It would require some extra code to get that to work and something we are planning to look at and possibly add if we can get it to work.
do you have a set off drawings off your observatory thanks great ideas love to see some more videos
Hi Alan. Sorry I do not. Becasue it was a pre made shed unit I kind of had the ideas in my head on the mods and only scribbled down rough ideas and measurements on scraps of paper which I then threw. Its kind of why I made the videos so others could do similar and quite a few have and sent me pictures of their finished Observatories.
very good explanations and options! Is it possible to connect a rain sensor that closes the telescope in the parking position and the roof?
Hi Frank. Yes there is but its not something I have yet done. There are very inexpensive rain sensors for the Arduino but I am not sure how good these are. I know that someone did this set up for their ror observatory and added a cloud and rain sensor but I think the unit was quite expensive (£300) but works really well
@@Astrobloke Hello Glenn, do I only need the rain sensor and can I wire it to the Arduino? I would like to do this as my telescope has had a rain shower before....
Thanks were does thr the electric go into and how do you keep it warm in the winter and how do you cool it down in the summer thanks
I have power to my workshop via armoured cable from my house and I just extended this to some sockets in the observatory. All the ventilation and heat details are here at 10:56 ruclips.net/video/QwhiaKHMGt8/видео.html
I've amended the Arduino code again and now have Scope park Safe sensors (the same reed switches used for the gate rails) attached to the mount RA and Dec axes so the roof will not open or close unless the mount is properly parked. I'll do an updat eon my channel sometime soon
That’s excellent Les. To date mine has been working perfectly and the scope perfectly parked everytime and roof closed when session finished. Will definitely have a look at your work though mate. Hope you have been keeping well
@@Astrobloke cheers Glenn. Yes been well and busy with the masters. I had an issue where the mount / Ascom reported it was parked in an erroneous position and the roof tried to close on the scope overnight so I decided to add in an additional level of safety. The original code in the Arduino project sketch did have some lines which used a safe sensor and RRCI has an option to use it as well...
@brandlc Hi Les. Thanks for reporting your challenge and suggestion to change the Arduino sketch. I am having the same issue. Erroneous position reported (incorrectly) and roof closes mid session. Did you change / add lines to the sketch to solve it?
Fantastic work. Thanks
Thank you
Great work,
Is it possible to integrate AAG Cloudwatcher to automatically control the observatory?
Absolutely. I am currently looking at cloudwatchers and whats needed to build one with another Arduino. They basically for me will work within NINIA and tell the observatory whether its safe or not safe depending on condition’s.
@@Astrobloke sounds very good. I would be very grateful if you could make a video where you show how it is possible to integrate cloudwatcher and set it up. Thanks Glen for your very informative videos.😎
Hi Glenn, awesome video, just ordered all this to build my shed. Could you put up a wiring diagram of what goes to what terminal?. And also what does your arduino get powered by? Do you connect it to your computer through a powered usb hub? Thanks fella.
Have you got any experience with planetary imaging with an explanation of the imaging train with barlow lense? I have an edge 8 hd... just wondering what would go where, if there's backfocus spaces, what adapters etc
Hi Mark. On the link where you download the RRCI ascom driver there is a wiring schematic that I basically used. I just do not include the telescope sensor or weather bits. The arduino needs no additional power and gets everything via the usb cable just plugged into the PC. I am still to venture into the planetary imaging side of things so I do not really have much knowledge about it. If you don't know Dylan O'Donnell on you tube look him up as he has quite a few videos on planetary imaging. Think he has a C11. He is also hilarious, tell him Astrobloke sent you. If he says who? tell him to look me up and subscribe lol
@@Astrobloke hi Glenn, so ive acquired all the motors, sensors, board, and also a new eq6r-pro mount. I cant get nina to control anything properly. So eqmod, ive set the home/park position to horizontal...set the unpark to upright/polaris position. Rrci ive reinstalled and set to detect park scope. Opened nina... sequencer opened and told it to 1- open dome, 2-unpark scope, 3- slew to ra+ dec position, 4 - park scope, 5- close dome. So what happens... it starts motor to roof motor which i stop with the switch on the motor and activate the open sensor with magnet. This keeps saying open shutter failed as it doesnt pick up the open sensor all the time. 2- i skip to unpark scope which it unparks but doesnt move to my eqmod unpark position, it skips straight to ra+dec slew but doesnt move the mount at all, i have to manually move to the polaris position using nina or eqmod mount direction buttons. Then it goes to park scope command- this doesnt move to the horizontal park position it just stays still in the polaris position. Then the roof closes which would take the scope out if it was all mounted. Any help to figure out how to get nina to talk to my mount and slew it to correct positions and the rrci, nina and eqmod to talk to eachother?..
Thanks
@@ASTROKING-S Hi mate. Firstly have you got the roof working correctly outside of NINA using the roll off roof controller? Also if you have a custom park position NINA will not unpark to home. When i made a small routine to check everything I put in the RA/Dec co ords for home and after unpark command it to slew there. Also can I ask which NINA build you are using?
Hi Glenn, I've been following this with much interest and you guys have done a great job that is sure to benefit a lot of people in our hobby, including me. I have just about completed the install but I'm having issues that I'm hoping you may be able to help with. It kind of works, skyroof will open the roof, but I'm not getting the open/closed signals back. Then Skyroof freezes and won't respond. I have to close it with Device Manager and re-open. My magnetic switches are the type with N/O & N/C contacts and I've tried them both ways. N/C means that the contact is made when the magnet is in position. I have them wired to terminals 11,12 & 13 on the Arduino, but I'm wondering if these connections are correct. In the code it says 13 is output to safety sensor..? Any thoughts on how to debug this would be appreciated...
Hi Andrew. I did have an issue similar to this when I first installed the sensors and it was because I had bought N/O sensor and they must be the N/C type. They are identical to look at but are listed differently on Amazon.
You mention that you have used 13?
11 is open
12 is close
The 3rd wire should be your ground wire and that needs to go to Grnd which is one terminal on from 13. Neither Joe or I have wired a safety sensor as the roof cannot be closed via skyroof without the mount first reporting a parked position.
I think it sounds like you have ground wire in 13 so check this.
@@Astrobloke Glenn, thank you for the swift reply. My bad on using terminal 13. That would explain why the signals were not coming back. I'll correct this tonight and report back. Fingers crossed...
OK, so I swapped the grd wire from 13 to the next terminal and the basic open/close with Skyroof now seems to work fine. However it looks like they have since changed this software to remove the option to use ASCOM to park the scope. My version doesn't have this, it only has Use park safety switch to detect parked scope. So with the mount unparked when I click close the roof starts to close. The mount moves at the same time but NOT even to the park position. It goes completely the wrong way. If you still have the original zip file for your version of Skyroof is there a way of sending it over..?
@@Astrobloke So I sorted the limit switch issue (my bad). And I managed to download another version of Skyroof that includes the use ASCOM to park scope. It's the version update 239. This works, although it still sends my mount the wrong way but it does wait, beep then close the roof. Once I've debugged the mount issue I'll put the solution here for those that may follow.
@@andrewkirton7279 Hi. It does take a little tweaking but I think you are getting there. I can send the skyroof version that I have that does use the Ascom to detect scope parked before closing roof. Only thing you have to be aware of is that if using NINA it will overide this and try and park the scope and close roof together. I get around this by using a sequential set of instructions to 1st close roof and then park scope, the default end sequence is parallel (no good). If you email me Astrobloke@outlook.com I will mail back to you the files I have. Also if you are using NINA and EQMOD. once you set the scope park position in EQMOD make sure you go to the mount tab in NINA and also while the scope is parked click set park position. I forgot this once and they conflicted and my scope was going the wrong way too. Maybe thats what you have.
Hi, thanks for sharing. I need to ask you some questions on the roof operation......can i email you somewhere?
Hi Martin. I have just received your email and will respond shortly
Thanks for your video, I have followed all of the intructions, but the sky roof control panel, once the roof is opened , when I want to push to close button it does not open de relay and it crashes. I am using a garage door motor instead. Any suggestion? thank you!
I had this issue and another person also contacted me with this. Myself and that person had bought the wrong sensors for the roof open and close positions. We had got the normally open type where they must be the normally closed ones. They look exactly the same so I would firstly say double check that you definitely have the right ones. Also double check your wiring on the relay shield as it is so easy to misplace the Grnd wire especially and I know another person did this and it would work but keep crashing. Hope this helps.
@@Astrobloke Thank you for your time. I have checked the sensor and wiring and it is the same than yours, I think it is a skecth issue. I see the sketch has defined the relays as follows, which enable to use all of the relays:
#define stop 4
#define sensor 5
#define close 6
#define open 7
but you are only using the relay 3, how did you handle this?
I am using a garage motor with one single button.
@@mvargas333 let me check all the details for you and I’ll see if I can help you sort it
@@Astrobloke Thank you, I have also detected the follwing situation:
Skyroof control panel crashes when closing.
using ascom app RRCI
Open push. the relays turns on and off in less than 1 second, not enough to send signal to motor.
close push- the relays bearly turns on, the light in relay is almost unpercetible.
In both cases, open and close, if I make a fast double click the relays remains open a little bit more, but goes off anyway.
Sky roof and NINA is not allowed the double click.
I think some code in sketch is causing this.
I downloaded the sketch from your video and the ascom I am using the named RRCI_ASCOM_setup.exe; both downloaded on Friday 13th.
The wierd thing is I also have and older ascom driver I downloaded about 10 months ago which have a telescope link section, this one , the open button enable the relay to be turned on until the magnet reachs the close sensor, but the close button makes the same than the newer ascom version, the relays bearly turns on, the light in relay is almost unpercetible.
amazing work, ive recently followed the instructions however when opening and closing the software detects the magnet but no signal is sent to the motor to stop :(
any idea how that can be sorted out?
Thank you for the kind comment. The Arduino only sends a signal to tell the roof to move. The limits and stop signal comes with the motor with either manual ramps or magnets that signal the motors operating range. Hope this helps
@@Astrobloke i connected 2 sensor magnets, the SkyRoof app recognizes them showing the roof is now open or closed but the motor doesn’t stop when the magnets reach each other, from what i understood in the video is when the magnets are in contact a signal will be. Sent to the motor to stop (similar to the signal that tells the motor to either open or close)
@@lmu6airy The magnets should definitely stop the motor from running and I can only assume you have these set incorrectly or something similar. The Arduino only sends a signal to open the relay to start the motor not to stop it as it would never know where to hence you use the magnets that come with the motor for that. Can I ask did you use a gate motor like mine or similar that came with its own sensors for its running distance
@@Astrobloke man i must appreciate your prompt response first
Great work
Thank you
I'm stuck, got everything downloaded and installed but, although I bought the same roof motor I seem to have a different board there are only 2 connections and not 4 as in yours so connected com from relay 3 to com connector on motor and the no from relay 3 to the osc connector on the motor. When I open the skyroof software and connect through the settings tab it shows that my roof is open although it is closed. Thinking that I may have connected the sensors wrong I swapped over the 2 wires into 11 and 12 which made no difference. Ground is connected to grd in screwshield also. Have checked that all the pins from the relay and screwshield are in the correct holes.
I am completely stumped now as to what to try, wander too if anyone else has had any probs but a Google search throws up nothing, for me at least. Any suggestions? Have also emailed with a photo of the motor board.
Hi Tony. If you contact me via Astrobloke@outlook.com I will see what I can do. Some motors have less connections as the open close stop is all on one terminal which is fine its just wired differently. Joe’s motor had this configuration (have you seen his video as it shows the wiring for that. Also check the sensor wiring and confirm they are normally closed type and not normally open. I got the wrong ones first off.
@@Astrobloke Yes, they are the normally closed type. Saw Joes video too, and I have tried a few different combinations with no success.
@@Astrobloke hello. I have the same problem except that the software only detects the closed roof position. I can open without problem, and then the software displays unknown position. So to close, Nina for example during a programmed sequence triggers an error and impossible to close the roof. I tried to reverse the sensors and it is always the same. I specify that it is NC limit switch contacts (no magnetic contacts). do you believe that it is absolutely necessary to have contacts magnetic?.thank you!
hello.i would like to make the same system as you.could you tell me where i have to connect to my motor connections,please?i think it's the step by step contact but i'm not sure. would you be kind enough to send me a diagram so that I can understand?. thank you in advance. attached are the connections available on the motor. thank you very much !!Alberto
Hi Alberto. I will see what I can do but unfortunately am in the middle of moving so everything is packed away and time is short. It may take me a while but the video should show all you need. If you connect wrongly it just won’t work, not do any damage. Good luck
@@Astrobloke thank you anyway!.i understand.suddenly i found.good heavens.cordially.Alberto
I have a problem with the script working. when I press e.g. open in RRCI (skyroof too) the relay turns on and the drive starts, but after reaching the closed sensor there is no reaction of the relay (the relay does not turn on). The same situation is in the reverse direction (close-opened). I suspect that RRCI gives a return signal that the arduino script does not read. Maybe it's related to the RRCI version, mine is v1.2.3 Can you help me?
Sorry for my english but google translate is not perfect ;-)
First thing to double check is the wiring. It is so easy to get the wrong slot with them being so small and close together and the screwshield if you ised one does sit offset slightly. When I had problems with the roof not reading when it was open or closed when at the sensors was because I initially bought the wrong type. They must be of the Normally Closed type. I mistakenly tried to use Normally Open one (they look identical)
If you are sure its not either of these let me know and we can look at your code and hopefully help fix it
@@Astrobloke Sensors are normally closed (RRCI shows closed, open). I used the arduino code from the link below the video. Everything is definitely connected well (checked many times) but it still doesn't work.
I press "open" in RRCI, it turns on the relay, RRCI shows "roof status - opened" (when I bring the magnet closer to the sensor) and the relay does not turn on. The same thing happens the other way around. I don't know what the problem is, I'm out of ideas.
@@mareksawicki9446 are you controlling the roof just with the skyroof controls or via NINA or SGP? I use it through NINA but close Skyroof as otherwise you get clashes with the software.
@@Astrobloke I'm using Nina (no skyroof). The same situation is how I use NINA ( with RRCI) and how I use Skyroof with RRCI
@@mareksawicki9446 thats good , just make sure skyroof is no open when NINA running. Sorry for all the questions but it is a case of elimination to find the reason for it not working. The code has not changed so its not that. Can I ask what NINA you are using? Is it regular release or nightly?
8:36 to 12:20 is not visible !!!
Other than that - great video.
Monty
Hi Monty and thank you for watching and commenting. My apologies for that but unfortunately the links were taken down by the person who put them up and so the video is now kind of obsolete in parts. I am currently building a new observatory and once do e there will be a full update available with new links etc
Hello i found your project very helpfull and i want to try it but i cannot download any skyroof sowftare file is requesting a password,can you please advise me how i can download?Can i purchase it?Thank you in advance
Hi and thank you for commenting. There seems to have been changes made to the website and the fact it is now password protected they are seeking registration or possibly payment. I am not part of Skyroof but when I was using the software it was available freely for use. I am thinking they now want you to pay for it?
Hello thank you for replying,I tried to find if there is a way to purchase the software but there is no option for it.If you have have it and can share it with me i will appreciate it.The fuction of automatic park is very useful.Again thank you for help me to accomplish a task like that and make my roll of observatory automated.
@@AndreasNinas andreas can you email me Astrobloke@outlook.com
I already send email and I will send another one with details how I setup it up now with a motor that I have,the software I use and wiring to prevent door open or close when scope is not parked.All of above is not my personal effort but I can explain how I connect and maybe you can share it to assist other people seeking for a solution for their Roll off.
Again thank you for replying.
Hi Glenn (and Joe), you were really helpful to me in initial troubleshooting and I figured out I needed to change some of the Arduino sketch code to make it work with the original Arduino relay shield rather than the relay shield you and Joe use. I also worked out how to configure for Sequence Generator Pro. I've documented in this video - hope you're ok with me sharing it ruclips.net/video/McxtrHlIcU8/видео.html
Perfect Les. Well done on working out the pin allocation on the different relay shield. Its so convenient having the roof as part of a sequence.
Fantastic Video! Thank you So much.
Thank you Amy. Are you building yourself and Observatory? Will look forward to seeing that.
@@Astrobloke it is in my future. Just not sure about my building capabilities. I may need to hire someone for the main build.
@@AmyAstro one day (if i move I will build a more substantial Obsy. My converted keter shed was really quite easy to do and not expensive at all. I think in the states they are the same as Rubbermaid? I have seen some conversions of them too. Work really well and being plastic hardly any maintenance. If I can help with any questions please let me know, happy to help
@@Astrobloke I followed all of your amazon links. They are for the UK. You may want to add the US amazon link versions. Earn everything you can :). I need to do the same. I could not find the motor kit here. Of course I do not have an obsy yet so saving the links for later.
I wonder if the Arduino set up will work with a heavier roof and motor…. My wheels are turning.