Well, I raided the tip for some computer fans and coolers....I have been a busy boy tonight.

I was a bit nervous about pulling the scope to bits to do this, but it is well and truly out of warranty now and I am fairly confident I know what I am doing....

I will be writing a FULL tutorial and have LOTS of photos, so stay tuned folks!

Baz.

Baz,

Have you ever run across parts-express.com? They cater to high end audio parts. I just noticed they are listing 2 small Peltier modules, #320-252 & 253. They look like nifty devices, I just haven't thought of a good application for my stuff yet. LOL 

Hi John,

No I haven't mate. I am a scavenger by nature mate. Most of this stuff is so commonplace as junk these days, you can get everything you need for free or very little if you are resourceful and willing to hunt.  

It took me two days to find everything I need. The biggest outlay was the Digital thermometer and the heate paste.

I'm with you on the scavenging. No piece of junk gets past my eye with thinking about what it might have inside for useful projects.

What scope are you modifying? That looks interesting to say the least :) 

Hi Bert,

It's a 6 year old Celestron Nexstar 11 GPS. I am at the limits of what I can do with this as a standard telescope with the time and experience of techniques I have developed since I have owned it.

It is time to take matters into my own hands and start mods to get more out of it as I think it is capable of so much more.....every little thing one can do as a user adds to the end result. Put a new camera in the hands of a novice and you will get ordinary photos, put an old camera in the hands of a veteran and see the difference......

....not that I am claiming to be a veteran, but I have been around this for a while now.

Baz.

Baz.

All done!!!

With inspiration and guidance from Paul and Anthony (They developed this method) from Southern Celestial Pole, I have completed an active cooling modification and tutorial on my C11 SCT, using Peltier coolers.

http://www.asignobservatory.com/CoolingModification.aspx

My thanks to both of them for their encouragement and backing to share this around.

Cheers,

Baz.

Makes me feel ashamed for using a garden hose all these years.

Well done.