The main imaging scope of InFINNity Deck is a SkyWatcher Esprit 150ED apochromat of 150mm aperture and 1050mm focal length (f/7). I acquired this scope from a previous owner even before the construction of the observatory had started. The previous owner used it on a portable set-up at his balcony, but was looking for something lighter, not wanting to carry around with this 15kg scope (without camera that is). For my fixed set-up the weight is no issue and I am still very pleased that I managed to get this scope.

In combination with the ZWO ASI1600 camera, the SkyWatcher Esprit 150ED delivers an image of 57' x 43', not exactly wide-field, but very nice to image smaller objects like the headphones nebula.

The Esprit came with its original 3" focuser. Although this is a nice and sturdy focuser, I was not too pleased with the original 1:10 planetary drive. For imaging I focus using Starizona's MicroTouch focuser-motor, which drives the focuser on the 1:10 input shaft. Failing to produce enough friction, the focuser could not be operated reliably.

I replaced the original friction type planetary drive with a geared one. For this I bought a robot motor with a 1:16 gearbox. The gearbox was fastened with two screws to the motor, so was quickly taken apart. Then I needed the shaft of the motor as that had the first gear that I needed to connect it to the MicroTouch motor.

On my lathe I created a new hub to give the gearbox the correct outer diameter to fits the focuser and the MicroTouch motor. Once assembled the whole contraption is only 7mm longer than the original drive. It now easily holds the weight of the camera and never slips a single focuser count.

After having the new drive assembled I made a special tool to dismantle the original friction type planetary gear. After cleaning and reassembling it functions much better than before, now easily holding the heavy TeleVue Ethos eyepieces. Still I prefer the geared drive-train for imaging. Exchanging the two only takes a few minutes.

In figure 3 the fully disassembled original SkyWatcher ball-type planetary gear is shown. The three balls at the left clamp the axis that is shown in the front. The brass part at the upper left holds the three balls together and is locked into place by the brass ring at the right (the one with the two notches).

The construction sits in the biggest metal part at the top, which is conical at the inside. The more the brass ring is tightened the more the three balls are pressed together and thus the more pressure is applied to the axis, resulting in more friction. Care should be taken not to overtighten the brass ring as that may cause the balls to create indentations in the axis, rendering it useless.

Also special attention should be given to the workspace when disassembling the gear as it contains a bearing with 18 tiny balls. When the gear is opened these ball roll freely! Assembling is made easy when the balls are glued in place with a thick layer of grease.

In order to disassemble the planetary gear I made a special tool (see figure 8). A piece of 25mm diameter steel rod was used for it. First I made a small depression in it to accept the protruding brass part of the planetary gear. Then I created the rim at the same inner and outer diameter of the brass ring. Finally I mounted the tool under a milling machine and machines the two notches by taking away the surrounding material. In order to be able to apply enough force a hole was drilled through the side to allow to use a screwdriver or a pick as a handle (See figure 8).

The final test is holding the gear and tool together, which should form a perfect match (see figure 9). Before tightening the brass ring, it should first be loosened as it is fixated using a retaining compound liquid.

The SkyWatcher Esprit 150ED is the main deep-sky imaging scope at InFINNity Deck. Imaging is done using a ZWO imaging-train as can be seen in figure 5. After the focuser I have added a home made white extension tube that holds the original SkyWatcher drawtube adapter. To that is screwed the field flattener, followed by the original DSLRI M62 to M48 extension tube. To that is screwed a 16.5mm M48 to T2 adapter, followed by a 20mm thick ZWO EFW with seven 36mm unmounted filters (L, R, G, B, H-alpha, O-iii and S-ii). Then two 5mm T2 extension rings are used to mount the ZWO ASI1600MM Pro Cool monochrome camera.

In this way the camera chip is exactly at 96mm from the flattener. Theoretically another 1.3 mm extension (filler ring) should be added to correct for the filters thickness, but as the images look fine all the way into the corners, I found no need to correct for that.