mhard26339

Greetings

Bits n Bobs is a close friend of mine ! he's got expensive tastes, every little thing he needs he seems to want yesterday and he's moved into my obsy too even though it's not even finished. I feel that he is like the tooth fairy's alter ego... because every night my head rests on the pillow more bits n bobs come to mind and instead of finding a shiny coin under my pillow in the morning I discover a leak in my wallet!

Andy ( currently lodging "Bit's n Bob's" in the shed )

Totally agree Andy, greedy little beggar

Regards

Mike

managed to find your build thread at last Mike, love the pier, looks great and well finished, i bought the heq5 pier adapter from altair and although expensive it work great, then i bought a neq6 and had to buy another altair adapter to fit that, cheesed me off but i do like them and the fit lovely.

dome looks great also, l toyed with the idea of a dome but as i`m a tight so and so with three teenagers bleeding me dry i went down the roll off roof method, but i must say that i like the warm room, makes stargazing so much more enjoyable,

keep up the good work,

all the best,

Rob

Hi Rob, 

Done the teenage bit, got the tee-shirt and thanks for your comments. Yes, I had a roll off roof obsy with warm room all planned down to the cutting list etc a la Malc-c, I had even started collecting "bits and bobs", if anybody wants 12 screwfix 50mm rubber wheels I have some spare, but looking at the periods that I am likely to feel well enough to do work on it in the next 9 to 12 months, in reality it would not have been operational for many months with much frustration impatient little devil that I am. As soon as I made the decision to go for the dome within 8 weeks, including 2 bouts of chemo, it is just about there, no warm room unfortunately but a scope permanently mounted and working soon to be operated remotely from my study. Today I will be doing the electrics and small jobs inside (sitting down); when to body says enough I stop, its so debilitating but still moving forward!!

Regards

Mike

You are right Saac, I guess it comes down to use and enjoyment; as soon as it had gone though I wanted to take it out after some birdie pictures, have to make do with sitting in the Obsy and looking out of the vent waitng for clear skies. One word of advice, everything costs more than you think and you need more bits and bobs, £10 here, £20 there, it all adds up. Over the past couple of weeks I have spent over £100 at Screwfix mainly on electrical fittings, wire etc to finsih it off!!!!

Regards

Mike

Oh dear, I have just had?? to sell my Nikon 600mm F4 lens to help fund the project, sad day but it didn't get used enough!!

Regards

Mike

Hi Saac,

The pier build was much easier than I expected; obviously care must be taken in the drilling and the extravagance of the adaptor pad to mount the NEQ6, I believe worked very weel, practically and visually. When drilling the holes a good drill is necessary, burnt out of drill on the pilot holes (10mm then 12mm) but the 3x18mm holes for the adjusters was just too much. My thanks to Ray (tinker 1947 ) who lives just up the road for use of his workshop!!

I would recommend anyone to go this route, for just a little bit of research and investigation and planning you can save a lot of money for a solid pier, as I said the only extravagance was the Pier Adaptor from Altair Alto which at £80 is still excessive BUT well made although attachment to the NEQ was very vague and you are left largely to your own devices, in my case ebay for specific size washers.

regards Mike

Hi,

Thanks for your comment and good wishes, must have a project to keep PMA.

The intention for the automation is effectively all the way, The dome is being built with the full package from Pulsar Observatories, the rotating drive system, shutter drive system and the Shelyak controller. Initially we will set up from within the dome to check out the syatems, then move to full control from the study and then sort out cloud sensing for control from further afield via the Internet.

Before my illness we spent periods of time in Spain, when I am well the intention is to partly go back to that lifestyle although for hospital monitoring the trips to UK will be much more frequent at least for the first 2 years, so more time in UK. I used to transport the scope with me twice a year but it will now be permanently in UK. My son is also very keen and living in London so we will, hopefully both be able to access the scope from wherever we are. That is the plan!!!!!

Regards

Mike

Hi Paul,

I went to Brake Disc World on E-bay and to get the right disc for what you want you have to investigate the data sheets to check the sizes available. You may have to adjust the design to suit but having just set mine up it is really woth the effort. With a permanent pier initial set-up is so much easier that tripod and spirit level (and then you knock it in the datk!!) as I said check by build thread in DIY Observatories - New obsy in Norfolk UK.

Regards

Mike

Finally, last thing before I go off for another bout of Chemo is the pier head set up and leveled (this was done using an app on my Iphone - adjustment is so easy compared with a tripod/spitit level and spot on for level in all planes)

Thats all for the time-being, next time it will be sorting out the electrics and setting up the austomation of the dome tracking although if a clear night comes along guess we may be tempted to polar align, stat align and get some shots. I have managed to take some good shots of the stars but not necessarily the ones that I intended, with this set-up I hope things will change 

regards

Mike

After 3 days to allow the slab to cure the dome construction has begun with the first shot showing the side walls assempled and sitting on the plinth, the next shot shows the actual dome being assembled on the lawn with the opening mechanism clearly visible; its easier to set up at low level. The next shot shows the dome in all of its glory after about 4 hours work by my son and I (taking it carefully). For the eagle eyed, the door is not set squarely on the plinth to allow space to get behind one of the accesory bays fitted at the rear.

Got the hang of adding picis now, not in the middle of text!!!

Mike

Hi,
 
Well work has finally begun in earnest with the arrival of 2 large bags of ballast and 12 bags of cement for the pier and base for the dome. I managed to pick up a Bell 150 cement mixer on E-Bay for £85 (a bit beaten up but works!!) so all ahead full. Shown is the pier box, I ended up with 75Cm square by 65CM deep, it should have gone 10cm deeper but when the builder built the house he obviously dumped all of his excess cement just where I wanted my pier. Instead of hiring a jack hammer to break it up we cut 10cm off the box and poured on top of his concrete. The bottom pier head plate was attached to make sure that we set it in to as close to North as possible. The box was allowed to cure for 3 days and then coated with 25mm foam and the rest of the pad poured.

Regards

Mike

Hi agin, by the way,  as can be seen from my thread I use an NEQ6 mount on mine discs interfacing with a commercial adaptor from Altair Astro, my only extravagance for the pier.

Regards

Mike

I am using brake disks for my pier head, see the thread New observatory in Norfolk UK. They are the largest I could find that are not vented and come from the rear of a Mazda 5; I got them from e-bay £14.99 each. Another favourite is the Skoda Favorit (no pun intended) at £9.99 each. They may be cast iron (some are Stainless steel) but there is no way that they will crack under the uses that we will subject them to. The days of large carbon inclusions that weakened the cast "pig iron" ingots have long gone. My advice is do not worry about "cracking", if its good enough for your car brakes its good enough for your mount .

Regards

Mike

Hi, I am just about to start this process, dome bought, not bought automation yet, trying to justify, but interested in your thread. However, you state that there is a thread showing your base build but I can't find it. I would be very interested in viewing it as I haven't made up my mind circular or square. Could you possibly send me the thread? Thanks

Regards

mike

Hi All, Well I am in the second cycle of my Chemo and apart from loosing my hair all is going well with no side effects; the cycle is one week tired, one week not to bad and one week normal so the build is going ahead in the good weeks. However, big changes, I have decided not to build a roll-off a-la malc-c, sorry malc but compromises on size had to made with her who must be obeyed. Because i will need long term monitoring after the chemo 4 to 6 month spells in Spain are out with more time in UK so the vegetable plot (my obsey site) is to resurrected, or at least half of it. Coupled with a Pulsar 2.2M popping up on E-Bay last week a deal was struck, dome auction won and pickup next week.

I think that for me this will be a good option, up and running quicker, albeit more money,  dare I say  less work, but also capability to fully automate so that I can also access from Spain. The groundwork has already started and picis will follow when a bit more progress. Perhaps not as interesting but more practical for me in my circumstances.

regards

Mike

Great Job!!

I opted for the 9.25, mainly because it gets transported to and from Spain twice a year  (and one popped up on ebay fro the right price) but I have not regretted it at all. I upgraded from a Nexstar 6 and it was a significant upgrade, particularly in portability; as already mentioned the NEQ6 set-up has octopus legs when trying to move it and is not a lightweight. I find that the only successful way is to completely strip down. 

Having said that this set-up does all that I want it to do and offers superb operation with only minimal concession to bulk and weight. I think that my advice would be if it is going to be mobile in any form you will not be disappointed with the 9.25, if it is to be Obsy mounted the 11 is possibly a better option; as always, your money, your back, your decision.

Regards

Mike

Looks good, the Altair Astro adaptors are a bit on the expensive side, I have the EQ5 version & there is too much metal missing in the middle. 

My solution was to get another adaptor made with a 10mm hole in the middle.  Just a big washer really.

Good luck with your build and I hope you are soon in good health.

Hi,

The diameter of the cutaway on the underside is 60mm and with the general bulk of the rest of the adaptor I do not consider that too much material has been removed. As I said my main complaint was the lack of information (and capability) about securely attaching the mount to the adaptor, at £80 for small block of aluminium I must admit that I expected more!! given that I had to buy washers etc to fit it to my satisfaction the better option would have been to design my own and have it made up, probably would have been cheaper.

Regards

Mike

Hammerite paint is ideal for painting steel IMO.  I used smooth white for my first pier head to match the NEQ6 mount then with the EQ8 I used smooth black Hammerite to match.  Previous experience is that it lasts donkey's years even in a salty or sea water environment.  If the steel is rusty just brush it off to remove any loose rust then brush Hammerite straight on - it loves a rusty surface   One coat is usually sufficient.

Hi Gina,

Yes the preferred choice is black? Hammerite Smooth, the only question is whether it should be sprayed on or brushed. I guess that when it is dark no-one will see the difference.

really must make sure that I check for typo's before I post

Regards

Mike

Sorry to hear of the diagnosis, like other SGL members I hope the treatment goes well and you make a speedy recovery.

Fantastic ingenuity.  I have a small concern using the disks which no doubt are steel, in that they can rust if left exposed.  I'm sure some etching primer and a good coat of paint will sort that out, or possible have the disk zinc coated or something similar.

I do wonder how fabricators and to an extent commercial pier manufactures can charge £400 or more for a tube with a couple of end plates - well done on getting a pier for under £50

Hi Malc-c,

Glad to see your comment, as I said earlier I hope to base my build on yours. In answer to your question yes the discs will be etch primed and painted; at the moment they retain the protective coat and must be degreased thoroughly before proceeding.

Regarding the costs for a metal pier, Before I retired I was MD of an engineering firm, steel is getting expensive as are all the materials for fabrication, hourly rates have got to be in the order of £30/hour but I must admit that £390 + VAT did shake me a bit but I couldn't find any steel pipe at reasonable rates or lengths 3M being the norm, I just could not justify the cost particularly after viewing solutions on SGL.

Regards 

Mike

Just been looking at the brake disc prices.  Should a smaller disc be suitable for anyone else considering this, the Fiesta 240mm diameter disc looks like it might fit the bill at only £7: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FIESTA-1-1-1-8-D-1-4-1-8-TD-1-3-1-0-89-97-Eicher-Front-Brake-Disc-/290993994457

James

James, The link you flagged are the same people that I used, no problems and speedy delivery. It doen't really matter what car it comes from just the dimensions and price!!

Regards

Mike

I wish you all the best too - good luck

Thanks Gina

Hi Mike, sorry to hear about your diagnosis, all the best with your treatment, and good luck with the hospital car park   Us Lynnets have got to keep an eye out for one another.

Cracking pier by the way. I'd like to pick your brains one day when I'm ready to start my obsy....

Keep us posted on how you're doing.

Hi Crebles, Of course you can pick my brains, I have had plenty of help in formulating ideas from this forum.

By the way my treatment is at UCJH in London so no problems with parking ay Lynn!

Regards

Mike

Just been looking at the brake disc prices.  Should a smaller disc be suitable for anyone else considering this, the Fiesta 240mm diameter disc looks like it might fit the bill at only £7: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FIESTA-1-1-1-8-D-1-4-1-8-TD-1-3-1-0-89-97-Eicher-Front-Brake-Disc-/290993994457

James

Hi James, Initially I was looking for 200mm dia pipe, that is why I went for the larger disc but I had already sources the discs before I came accross the smaller dia pipe but with walls 122 thick and the price I could not refuse. The idea initially came from someone who used a Skoda Fabia disc at approx £9 I think so any will do if the dimensions work for your project. It was the cost of 12mm mild steel plate and the cutting that sent me own this path and when painted I think that it will be stable and look OK.

Regards

Mike

Thanks James, I am sure I will be posting on progress soon PMA, PMA, PMA.

Regards

Mike

Thanks Tinker, yes the news was not good so have a bit of a battle on my hands but the odds are 80% and will keep in touch, if I can progress during the process I will and come round and thanks for your help to date.

Regards

Mike