New Observatory in Etobicoke, Canada

[nucdoc]

Finally finished my slide off roof observatory, of course we now have 10 days of clouds, but I guess that is to be expected.

This was designed using the plans sold by Wayne Parker of Sky Shed/Sky pod in Ontario, Canada.  Some modifications were added to suit my back yard, and most importantly my wife !

The pier height was designed to give my Meade 12 inch ACF 6 inches clearance, I wanted to be able to support the possibility of a larger SCT or a longer refractor.  Despite all my planning I did not realize the significant slope of my back yard, this resulted in an 8 inch elevation of the floor at the right hand end of the shed, at the level of the pier this raised the floor by 4 inches, as  result the clearance from the top of the SCT to the roof line is now 10 inches.   Thankfully given the fixed obstructions at my site  really did not loose much usable sky

Below are some pics

The sonotube goes down 4 feet below ground level and the top terminates in this encased 2 foot square box

Finished shed with summer deck

The roof slides easily on the industrial rollers, in fact given the winds here I had to install heavy duty latches to prevent accidental opening

Now if only the clouds would clear I will get a chance for some decent imaging

Mark

[Demon Barber]

Hi Mark,nice workmanship,and a summer deck to boot can`t be bad if your wife is on board,i am sure the clouds will soon move on to some other astronomer with new gear!

Enjoy your obsy,

Regard

Mike

[MarsG76]

Nice obsy... I'm starting to feel jelousy....

[laudropb]

Very nice Obsy. Thanks for the lovely photos. You have inspired me to get on planning mine.

[laser_jock99]

Nice build - good job those trees are to the North!

[michael8554]

Very nice Mark, I too like the decking and armchairs.

Just one worry.

You're planning to mount a 12" LX200 (or even larger?) on that pier?

The top plate looks rather thin, there are only three? slim studs holding it, and there's a long length of stud  in use - all sources of flex with that weight on them.

Hope I'm wrong

Michael

[Gina]

Nice neat job

[nucdoc]

Thanks guys for the kind words, finally after 10 days I was able to get some imaging done, had a session last nite, and again tonite.  Looks like it will be cloudy again for another week after tonite

Nice build - good job those trees are to the North!

Yes, I have a very good exposure from east to west .  Polaris is about 5 degrees above the tops of the trees to the north, sure makes polar alignment easy when you do not have to look thru branches.  To the south I have about 5 degrees below M42.

Very nice Mark, I too like the decking and armchairs.

Just one worry.

You're planning to mount a 12" LX200 (or even larger?) on that pier?

The top plate looks rather thin, there are only three? slim studs holding it, and there's a long length of stud  in use - all sources of flex with that weight on them.

Hope I'm wrong

Michael

That pier is designed for replaceable upper plates, this one is 1/4 inch thick.  The studs are each 1/2 inch.  There is lots of room if I need to drill new holes 1 inch in diameter, I can also replace the plate with a thicker one if needed.  Your point is well taken however that I should lower it, no need for it to sit up so high.  Thanks for pointing it out, I was so happy to finally get it installed I forgot to lower it before leveling the mount.

[michael8554]

Hi Mark

1/2" (12mm) studs doesn't sound too bad actually.

Here's a link to a LX200 setup:

http://www.wilmslowastro.com/tips/lx200pier.htm

25mm (1") alloy plate and 3/4" studding.

And Software Bisque Paramount piers have 1/2" steel plates.

But who's to say what's thick enough?

Michael