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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:17:02 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:03 AM I have been researching a ZKP 1 projector that was found in Mainz, Germany. It was owned by a group of hobby astronomers there who had plans in 1992 to start a planetarium next to their observatory. The machine was bought from the Magdeburg planetarium, and it ran for a couple of weeks under a cloth dome that was manufactured for a while by Zeiss. Then plans for a dome fell through, and the machine has sat for all these years.... I located the machine in May and was able to obtain it. Tuesday and wednesday my colleague and I went up to Mainz 450 kms from here in a rented van and took the machine down and had to lug it down from the fifth floor of the building it was in....on the hottest day of the year. Damn, these machines are HEAVY around the base. The machine is in excellent shape and has been adequately covered to protect it from dust. I started by taking all the eyelids off the 31 projectors on the starball. This procedure was recommended to us by an expert from Jena I had talked to before.
The eyelids screw in like a photo filter, and are removed very easily.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:19:10 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:05 AM 31 eyes taken out of the machine. They were wrapped in paper separately, since the mechanism is very fragile. In the following days I will have to do some maintenance on some of them since the ball bearings run a bit roughly on a couple.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:20:05 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:07 AM The eyelid in closeup, it fits easily in the palm of a hand, about the size of a human eye. The counterweight is just that, no mercury here thank God.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:24:14 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:11 AM We had brought a lot of cases, some of them of a very good quality. The dismantling of the machine went quickly, since all the connections that have to come off are either plugs or other easily separable systems. Since the switchboard is in the machine we did not have to sever any electrical cables at all. The base with the heavily wrapped central transformer is the heaviest part. I had worried a little about the weight of the starball with all these projectors in it but it is light as a feather once the eyes and lamp are out.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:25:54 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:14 AM After A LOT OF SWEATING and swearing we had all the stuff in the truck.
We could have taken two machines! The grey base ring is also a heavy part and we were sorely tempted to just let it roll down the stairs....
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:28:18 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:17 AM We spent the night in Mainz and drove back the next day. Now it was UP to the first floor and we were just the two of us. We managed just without getting hernias or other problems but it was close... here the machine is set up in my living room....contrary to the original plan we went right to putting it back up because we wanted to know if everything had survived the transport well.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:29:50 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:19 AM Here we have put the star ball back on. Getting the eyelids back in took considerably longer than getting them off....
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:31:35 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:22 AM THE BIG MOMENT! As soon as it was dark outside, we turned on the lamps and lo and behold! the room just disappeared and the stars came out. I must admit I had tears in my eyes, having dreamt about this moment for so long. The density of the sky is readily apparent in this picture despite the fact that the image compression here has taken a toll on the smaller stars. Although its completely distorted the illusion is there because of the contrast. In a totally dark room the effect is absolutely mesmerizing.The stars appear tack sharp from 6 ft to the normal distance of 9 ft and beyond that.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:32:57 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:27 AM Today I have added the "dome light" to see if the big VariAc is working. The switchboard is very simple but extremely well built. The dome lights have blue glass covers, and I don't know yet if that will not get too hot.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:35:18 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:29 AM The neat insides of the switchboard. No rats nest type wiring here. Every wire is numbered to correspond to the wiring plan. It is not as simple as it looks though- the potentiometer to run the motor back-and forwards is a very elaborate affair.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:36:07 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:32 AM It uses carbon sliders to transfer current from the inside of the pot to the outside. The top half of the wiring runs the motor forward, the lower half backwards. The pot gets VERY hot during operation of the motor at slow speeds. I don't know if that is normal or if it indicates a problem further down the line, like the motor taking too much current. If this pot dies on me, I will have to replace the motor with it, no spare parts! Nothing else heats up though.The motor does not sound laboured at all. Perhaps it's just to warm the hands of the operator... unsure.gif
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:37:14 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:35 AM The front of the switchboard is less glamorous than the inside. Design like a Russian tank but with neatly backlit labelling.
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:38:49 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:37 AM I have put the ecliptic and milky way projectors on the starball for another test tonight! The machine will stay here for some days and then be moved on to Bad Toelz south of Munich where we will try our best to get an adequate dome for it. Still a long way to go but the first step is done! I would like to thank all of you in this group. Without this forum I do not think I would have had the courage to even try this!!!
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:40:05 GMT -7
Posted by: albert Jul 23 2009, 09:44 AM The planet projectors come in a beautifully finished wooden box, no gears to worry about here. I think for me as a beginner it is just right not to have to worry too much about all the mechanisms. So we have aplanet box instead of a planet cage here. tongue.gif
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Post by Ron Walker on Apr 29, 2022 19:40:28 GMT -7
Posted by: Owen Phairis Jul 23 2009, 10:03 AM Albert,
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I know we talked about you getting this machine, and I am so very glad you were able to get it!
All my Best,
Owen -
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