Barto
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Everything posted by Barto
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Hi Chris, sorry such a late reply. I made mine at work. I'll post photos on here if it will help. You can buy trolleys but they are quite expensive.
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Hi Gordon, I have since purchased an Altair GP224c cam, which is connected to my laptop via a usb cable. power for the RA mount comes from a 12v battery which has a 6v voltage regulator. The 72 red LEDS are bright and give good light in the shed to see. Barto
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I came across a few problems which I had to overcome, but a few simple ideas soon sorted them. If I can be of any help, give me a shout. Barto
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I am almost complete on my observing area/shed. I posted a few pics in an earlier post of mine which was about a trolley I'd made, hoping eventually to construct a viewing platform and shed. I've photographed the build as it progressed. Progress was fairly slow but hard graft has brought good results. I decided against a roll-off roof, as I didn't have a budget the size of the American defense system. By the way the foreman in one of the pics is our family dog, who seem to enjoy digging up my foundations. I've installed a solar system for the lighting etc. I'll happily give any details, if I can encourage others to do something similar
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Thought I'd update this thread. It's taken me a little longer than expected but I'm progressing well with the Astroshed. Solar power seems to be working well. Should get the viewing platform finished this weekend, weather permitting. Pavers sat on top of the brickwork level with the shed floor should make it easy to roll out the telescope. I'll make the door threshold removable too, with a removable alloy plat to transition across to the pavers. The trolley seems to work really well, extremely stable. To aid alignment, I've made three small stainless steel posts which the trolley will locate against, placing it in exactly the same position each time.its used. Hope this post gives you some ideas. Any suggestions will be welcome. Barto
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Thanks Gina
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Hi Laowhoo, Thanks for your post. Great to hear what others are doing with regards to setting up and storing their scopes. I think the shed and paved area will be great, and as you say, the shed will act as a shelter. I'll keep you posted when everything's set up. Barto
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Thanks for your great reply. In my town the council have almost removed all the old sodium street lighting and fitted LED. When you used to approach the town there was a yellow haze in the sky, now we are definitely noticing a difference. We are getting dark skies back. The shed should help to shade the telescope from stray light in the back garden. Looking forward to posting pics in the summer. Barto
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Hi Ganemedes, I'm a home astronomer, so won't be out in fields. I intend to have a patio area in front of my shed to wheel out onto and then back into. You're right, it wouldn't be any good on rough ground. I hope to have this set up this year a will post pics. Thanks for your reply, good luck if you build a trolley.
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Hi Kyriakos, Thanks for your reply. I too, was stuck for ideas and this trolley seems to be the best solution for me. I've not tried it out yet but first impressions are very promising. When the brakes are applied the telescope is rock steady. I am going to fit leveling feet which will "lock" everything in place but to be honest I think that it'll be perfectly usable without. The casters I've bought are very good quality and are quite substantial. They were bought from a local supplier and were quite reasonable. The steel was scrap from work, cut by me and welded up by a colleague. I'm looking forward to setting up this year and I'll take some snaps and post them on here. Andy (Barto)
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Hi, I've been pondering for a while now about how to set up a garden observatory. Originally I planned to convert a shed to a roll off roof design but decided that this would be too complicated and costly. After many hours of looking through the web and deliberation, I decided that a normal shed with double doors and a roll out trolley would suit me best. I plan to errect the base and shed this year but and have made the trolley in preparation. Ive included a pic. The castors are 5 inch diameter. I plan to fit leveling screws. I didn't fancy spending £250 on a manufatured model.
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Just got the same scope Steve. Sounds like you did the same as me. Good choice!
