Skipper Billy

But wouldn't that would expose ungalvanised steel ????

Sssshhhh Olly - I was going to use the buried sub as my warm room !!!!! Well spotted though - the metal tube and flanges were liberated from Faslane nuclear submarine naval base (legally and with permission !!) - complete with X rays that match the flange numbers to prove there are no internal cracks or fissures !!!! No wonder subs cost so much !!!

Good idea Derek. I had imagined that when its time to remove it the services of an angle grinder might be useful but you just never know !!

Todays progress .... Managed to grab 10 mins of a clear enough gap between the clouds last night to polar align the pier and mark the position for the holes in the slab for the studs. It needs polar aligning roughly as the top part of the pier (which isnt fitted in the photos) only fits on one way round. Holes drilled for the 450mm long 17mm studs Dust and debris blown out of the holes - note to self - dont lean over the holes when the compressor nozzle is discharged down a hole 8-) Holes 75% filled with construction epoxy - studs worked in - pier positioned over the studs - nuts and washers fitted to keep all the studs at the right height - excess squeezed out all cleaned off just as it sets - the difference between liquid and rock hard is less than 3 mins even at 4º !!! Cleared up - stand back to admire handywork - pour large dram ! There wont be much more progress now for a week or so - back to work tomorrow but happy with what I have got done in the last 3 days. Next step a couple more coats of paint to repair the scratches from installing it and to stop the galvanised studs, nuts and washers rusting. The pier is 17mm thick walled high pressure steam pipe and flanges - filled with sand mixed with polyurethane - weighs 85kgs.

Update - big day today - trial run ! Put the pier roughly in place along with the mount and scope etc - plugged everything into the control box - went inside - plugged network cable into the laptop - fired up the laptop - 30 metres away from the scope in my nice warm lounge - positioned my wife where I could hear her but she could see the scope - clicked on an object in Stellarium - hit CTRL 1 - and you will never guess what happened !!!!! IT WORKS !!!!! Tried many slews with Focusmax, PHD2, Astrtortilla, APT, and anything else I could thinknof all running at the same time and it never missed a beat - spot on first time. Large dram required !

Cheers Derek - no alarm cable - but I did put a mousing line in - in case I want to add anything else at a later date. You can hold a reign of terror around here with a balloon on a stick and the local bobby knows everything and everyone !! (There will also be a rain sensor and alarm which will see FAR more action !!)

A bit more progress made - trench dug, data and power cables and spare mousing line all in the conduit and buried. Just need to drill a hole through the wall and connect up.

It can't go in the middle - that's where the mast is going to go !!!

2 men - 8 hours - 12 cups of tea - 4 bacon butties - 2.8 tonnes of concrete This post is sponsored by Radox and Highland Park............ I dont care how clear and dark it is tonight - I am sitting down and relaxing - I have decided my career path does not lie within the building trade !!!!! Sorry for the lousy photo - mobile phone and virtually dark!

Concrete party on Thursday!

I love the taste of humble pie !!

Hard to describe in words but one half will have a lip that overlaps the other half and faces away from the prevailing wind - the joint will also be sealed with closed cell foam tape and should be waterproof without the lip but better with belt and braces. We are boat builders so keeping a bit of rain out shouldn't be too much of a challenge !!

Little blighter's they are - I must leave some poisoned shortbread out for them !

Happy to take one for the team !!! Prior to last night the last clear night was 24th August!!!! My roof design is loosely based on the attached photos.

LOL - I am strictly a salt water chap but the Dawncrafts reputation is legendary - for all the wrong reasons !!!

Ah - I see what you mean. My roof will be hinged in such a way that the two halves drop down the respective sides and the inside of the roof stays next to the side of the shed - hopefully it will be OK. I can see now that with the inside of the roof exposed it would attract dew. Thanks for the heads up though.

Thanks Derek

Thanks for the heads up Stub Mandrel - the met office is promising double figures by Thursday (Concrete pouring day) and for a good few days thereafter. Lets hope they are right for once.

Thanks for the help and encouragement - and the heads up about the waterproofing additive - I didn't know such a thing existed - concrete is a black art for me !! The main source of encouragement was last night - got set up - temp according to the focus system was minus 7.2 - 4 x 300 sec subs into a run of 70 thick freezing fog appeared and covered everything in a thick haw frost. Made packing up a bit of an ordeal !!

@Wuthton - why did having a roll off roof rather than a hinged roof make a difference with condensation ???

Not as cold as it looks - about -4 this morning. This is the guide to Scottish weather........ The Official Scottish Temperature Conversion Chart 10° C · The English shiver uncontrollably. · Scots plant gardens. 1.6° C · The English fit winter tyres· Scots still drive with the windows down 0° C · English water freezes · Scottish water gets a wee bit thicker. -17.9° C · English landlords finally turn on the heat. · Scots have the last BBQ of the year. -51° C · Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. · Scottish Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door. -78.5° C · Carbon dioxide freezes & makes dry ice. · Scots pull down their earflaps & zip up their parkas. -114° C · Ethyl alcohol freezes. · Scots get frustrated when they can't thaw water to put in their dram -273.15° C · Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops. · Scots start saying ‘Aye – it’s chilly oot today’ -500° F (-295° C) · Hell freezes over. · Scotland wins the 6 Nations Rugby !!!!

I have taken the plunge and started work on my remote mini obsy. I know its a weird time of year - the middle of the imaging season and only 7 hours of daylight and frozen ground but due to the seasonal nature of my business its the only time of year I can do it !! It will be a micro obsy - 1.5 metres wide and deep and 1.7 metres tall (just big enough to accommodate a pier, HEQ5 mount and an ED80) - it will be remotely controlled from a warm room (aka lounge) 17 metres away. The hole is dug and a pal and I will be pouring the concrete on Thursday. It will have a two piece hinge apart roof, rain sensors, 2 x 150 ah leisure batts (one for dirty supply and one clean for the camera), built in battery charging and thermostatically controlled frost protection.

Does this help AllanJ ?? Hitecastro_EQMOD_Win8.pdf

I am running W10 and wasn't aware that a MS W10 update in its infinite wisdom will replace the Prolific driver v10518 (which does work with W10) with something it thinks is better - except that it doesnt work ! Find your prolific driver in Device manager and protect it from auto updates.