DaveS

It does look very thorough. Gonna have to take a deep breath before tackling it.

Thanks, it already looks like a steep learning curve, all the tools are greyed out when I open the program. Never mind, I'll have a run through the tutorials tomorrow when I'm more with it.

OK, I've downloaded and installed FreeCAD, and uninstalled Sketchup 2017 and Pro 2018. I also registered for the online Sketchup, so I'll see how I get on. Fortunately I'm not so deep into sketchup that learning a different program would be a problem.

Thanks Ade, yes it's a bit breezy. I thought of driving down to West Bexington to have a look at the surf, but had too much to be getting on with. The Pulsar Domes have pretty strong security brackets, but if I have to go with a roll off roof then I'll need to arrange something myself.

Oh, and I've just checked the distance from the house wall to the centre of the obsy location, 19.5 m, give-or-take, which means It's within the 20 m limit for a conservation area.

Bother I've had two crashes with that version (2017) of Sketchup Make (The free version), and it's asking me to install the 2018 version, the 2018 versions on that site are the paid-for Pro . I'll have to go looking for it. Meanwhile, I've been going back to first principles and asking some pertinent questions: Q: What am I trying to achieve? A: To raise the telescope high enough to see over the hedges. roofs etc Q: How high does this have to be? A: About 2.5m. Any higher gets silly. 2.5m might be considered silly, but is about the minimum. Q: How big is the telescope? A: 615mm long x 350mm dia. so parking with the Dec axis and 'scope both horizontal I get a (Very rough) height of 2.5 + (0.350 / 2) = 2.650m. Parking with the Dec axis horizontal and the 'scope pointing up (The default position from Autoslew) is more problematic as it depends on the balance point. Now off to have an in-depth look at permitted development regs, and have a search for Sketchup Make 2018.

Many thanks for that, not sure how I missed it. Downloaded and installed. . Wish I could give you more than one "thank".

Thanks Gina I've been having a look on my disks to see if I still have the installers, but I think I was so desperate for space I deleted them too. Yes, stupid I know but I thought I wouldn't be needing sketchup again. Dur.....

[More removed words] When my C drive was getting clogged up, and I was down to a few megabytes of free space I deleted a slew of programs including sketchup make. Now I find it's online only with cloud storage. Argh! Why do they do this?

Thinks....... double pitch roof with a slot mounted on a track....

I think the regs are for temporary outbuildings such as sheds, greenhouses, garages etc, incidental to the "enjoyment" of the dwelling.

The garden is terraced down to the lawn area where the obsy will go, then roughly slopes to the end. Overall view from my bedroom And from the patio I think the 4m limit would be from the lawn.

It doesn't help that I'm in a conservation area within the Dorset AONB, but at least the house isn't listed.

The point is to *increase* the height of the 'scope above ground level so as to be able to see over the rather high boundaries.

*silly song-song voice* "it's the rules innit" https://interactive.planningportal.co.uk/mini-guide/outbuildings/7 2.5 metres to the eaves maximum, 4 metres total height if a double-pitched roof, 3 metres in all other cases. Which catches a domed obsy . Provided it's more than 2 metres from a boundary.

Oh [Many very bad removed words]. I've just come back from the planning clinic where the young lady (Emma by name) confirmed my worst fears, that the only way to get the 4m height I need without planning is to go with the double pitched roof I had thought of originally. If I have a dome it either has to be under 3m or else I have to go through the planning rigmarole, 8 weeks for approval plus a likely 2 weeks more for "validation" at a cost of £209.

Yes, looks a lot better than the Skywatcher one, and don't have to use an allen key to loosen off the azimuth adjustment. Wonder if FLO will be stocking them? That little apo is looking increasingly attractive.

Many thanks for that John, I'll have to investigate further, mainly with respect to size.

Thanks for the warning John. This is rather concerning, given the cost and advertised robustness of 365 covers. TBH I've only had condensation under the two I have, remedied by an electric pet bed and a light dusting of silicone water repellent. Do you have a link for the taped breathable membrane cover?

Things are underway (Well, sort of) I have an electrician and roofer booked in for this coming Thursday (21st) to attend to the garage roof, and put in safe electrical power to the garage, with feeds out to the small platform, which is also on the way (May take 4-5 weeks lead time), and obsy The big platform and obsy will have to wait until I've sold my bungalow (Just had a sale fall through. Blummin' chains), so the electrician will just cap off the end of the cable and coil it up. Oh, and I'm glad I got the roof done before Storm Eric came along. The Obsy isn't quite as urgent as it was, since I'm getting an ODK12 instead of a GSO RC12, which can be carried by the DDM60 until I can budget for a DDM85. The ODK12 can sit under a big Telegizmos cover, designed for 12-14" SCTs

I'm going on Saturday so will have a look.

And with a ZWO, or Atik camera on the end.

Only if "L" is for Leica. I think it will have to be going some to beat my 180 mm f/3.4 Leitz Apo-Telyt-R. Having said which, if I didn't already have that lens it would be on my hit-list.

The Anycubic printer is a bit cheaper, with better delivery options as far as I can see. How much it costs to run depends on how much, or how big you want to print. For my needs both are quite small.

As a (Retired) chemist with a background in photochemical organic synthesis, these UV SLA printers have a certain attraction. Yes, the resin monomer is a bit expensive and requires careful handling, but I'm OK with that.