Remote observations

Lads - I know there's a ton of info on the Net an' all but I was just wondering if anyone here has ever tried remote operation of their scope - either a few yards away or more.

You may have tinkered with cables or wireless. You may even have gone the whole hog and set up a remote controlled housing for the scope which opens up on demand!

I'd be interested to hear any stories out there since I'm considering setting up such a beast. I may possibly have access to a dark site in Galway. Wouldn't it be nifty if I could sit here in Kildare and at the press of few buttons have the system operating as if I was just standing right next to it?

Pipe-dream? Replies please...

Dave

you are buying a 6"AP on a 1200go-to mount and you want to leave it out in the middle of connemara?

Gotta get the most out of it! And no, I won't be giving out the location on this board...!

Seriously though, its a good point - security is obviously important - even if I decided to set the scope up here in Kildare in the back garden it would be an issue. Actually, even if it was in the house security would be in issue - I'd certainly have to bump up the house insurance value!

The remote observatory is just something I'm considering - if I consider that its too costly, risky, etc then it won't be going ahead or I'll come up with something else that increases my quality observing time - the AP setup being the first step!

Cheers

Dave

If you're looking into a remote scope, why not go down the route of the likes of rent-a-scope.com et al?
It'd save you a packet, you'd have very good equipment to hand and many many more clear nights.
Just a thought.

Good point Michael - and something I've been looking into. Certainly the quality of service seems good - if you believe the web sites. But I guess there's no challenge in going down that road, at least not for me.

I guess ultimately, if you take robotic observation to the limit, no amateur astronomer would need to buy anything other than a subscription to a big 10 meter mirror on a Hawaiian island... Or even a subscription to the James Webb telescope when its launched! But there's no fun in that IMHO...

So, if I get this project off the ground, would you be prepared to rent some time on the setup? :!:

Cheers again
Dave

Dave,
I'm often turning the thought of astrophotography in my head over and over. There's two choices:
1) Spend as much as you can afford an photographic and telescopic equipment and take the best you can.
or
2) Save yourself a load of money and take some images robotically, which would also be alot easier. Ultimately it's up to you to decide the targets & exposures and process the images.
There's pros and cons for each. On one side, there's something very personal about taking images with ones equipment. At least your out in the cold doing your best to take the best images you can with your own equipment - at the coal face, so to speak
However, the best images are usually taken by people with the deepest pockets. Renting time on an internet-based observatory would level the playing field. That way you can take images of what you like, when you like. This then would allow you to focus on the visual end of things.
Personally, I'm still trying to striaghten this out in my head. Part of me wants to take my own images whilst the other wants to take images with the best of gear.
As we both know, the cost of goto scopes is several times that of similar-sized dobsonains/newtonians. I've often though about selling my scope, buying as big a dob as I can without needing a ladder to reach the eyepiece and just taking all my astroimages via on-line observatories. However, it's something I need to think about more.
Personally, considering the weather and the remoteness of a site in Galway, I'd be very slow to recommend going down the route of constructing a remote observatory there.
Just my 2cent.