Scorpius

Hi Derek – never heard of this before but thanks for the tip. These are the nails I used and yes they’re galvanized. Wonder why they would make these for installing house wrap & roof felt if this is a common issue? http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=109265-54622-RPCHDRS1-300&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=50329391&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1 What exactly is the problem? Do they just get a little rusty over time or cause something more serious like structural damage. I do know using galvanized fasteners in treated wood (like decks) can rust them out but just nailing felt to untreated studs wouldn’t seem like a big deal. However, maybe I’m just being stubborn & wanting to avoid going back & coating 100’s of nail heads with some sort of waterproofing compound?

Thanks guys - still just plugging along... Got all the vapor barrier installed today. It’s 30 lb. roofing felt (the heavy stuff) & although house wrap is often used, this is an old school method of isolating the interior from any moisture that might wick through the siding (plus it’s a lot less expensive). It took two 75 ft rolls & the silver stuff is window flashing tape. One roll of tape didn’t go very far & now I’m wondering if it’s really necessary in the first place. Started with the bottom row & overlapped the horizontal joints about 3”. The corners are overlapped as well & just let it run long at the top for now. Putting this up makes it feel more like a building inside & I’m anxious to get started on the siding. However, that may not happen until next weekend since rain is forecast for Tues & Wed. Feel like I’m finally getting somewhere but obviously - still need a roof before the mount & scope can be left on the pier. But at least I’ve got a pod with a roof to keep the dew off should I decide to set up the gear before the main roof is complete.

Thanks Jim, I really enjoy posting updates because it helps keep me motivated knowing folks are interested in Windy Knoll’s progress. Things are moving along nicely. In the evenings last week - the two pod side walls were framed & yesterday - the side overhangs were finished, the roof sheathing was laid, & roof felt + drip edge was installed. Then the shingles were finished up by the light of a headlamp & I’m pretty darn excited the pod now has a roof! I’ll come back later & install the lower soffit boards which will finish closing up the pod roof to keep the critters out. They’re calling for a chance of rain today but looks like it might go around us so the plan is to get some tar paper (moisture barrier) on the walls so the siding can start going up. I wanted to keep the pod opening as high as possible but if you notice in the pics, the pod roof comes almost all the way to the top of the 4x4 where the roller tracks will mount. I’m a little concerned about clearance from the rolling roof to the pod roof but if I build the rolling roof on 4x4’s I think I’ll be ok. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions in that regard?

Not sure why I decided to post that nuts & bolts account of how the building is put together unless I was thinking it might help someone else along the way. Probably sounded like I was bragging but didn't mean to come across that way. At any rate, one thing I forgot to mentiion is the pod roof is built with 2x4 rafters - spaced 12" on center - supported with skewable metal joist hangers on the upper side and tied to the top plate of the short wall with metal rafter tie downs. It will have a 6" overhang along the 3 open sides before installing 1/2" roof sheathing that gets drip edge around the perimeter before applying a layer of 30 lb. roofing felt. Then the pod roof will be covered with standard asphalt shingles (probably green to match the gazebo) Also wanted to mention the plywood flooring was screwed down - not nailed as previously stated. Weather has been the biggest factor with over a week of heavy rain a month or so back but it's been absolutely gorgeous this week but of course I work 8-5, Mon-Fri. But now it's calling for a 50% chance of rain on Sun. and the days are getting much shorter so can only manage to get in a couple hours after work before it's too dark to see what I'm doing. Then the time changes on Nov. 1 which means it will already be dark by the time I get home eliminating the chance to do anything at all during the week. So as I've mentioned before, I'm under a real time crunch to get it under roof and weather will have a big impact on how productive the weekends will be from here on out. Got a birthday coming up in mid-Nov so will probably ask for the day off so I can work on the obsy. Don't want to end up with an observatory with a floor & 4 walls - but no roof - so keeping my fingers crossed bad weather will hold off at least until after Thanksgiving. Hoping to be able to use it some this winter leaving the gear set-up even though it will be far from complete...

Thanks Tim, it’s turned out to be quite an undertaking due in part to my tendency to over-engineer things and my aversion to taking short cuts. This observatory is being built as a permanent structure with methods similar to those used in home building. For example, it’s tied to the ground with treated 4x6 posts supported by pre-cast concrete pier footings set below frost line as opposed to blocks laid on top of the ground. The floor joists are 2x8’s – 16” on center - with double band boards around the entire perimeter and the ends of all joists are secured with metal joist hangers. There are metal tie-down straps that secure the floor system to the posts and the inside corners are reinforced with metal corner brackets. The flooring is 3/4 inch plywood with construction adhesive applied on top of each joist prior to nailing . The floor has two coats of exterior grade primer and a topcoat of slip resistant exterior porch floor paint (a second coat will be added once construction is complete). The walls are 2x4’s – 16” on center - with single bottom plates (fastened with construction adhesive and 16d nails) & double top plates - except the two walls that will carry the roof have single top plates with 4x4’s placed on top with construction adhesive and screws. The ends of the 4x4’s are notched to accept the top plate of the adjoining wall and the joint is fastened with construction adhesive and 16d nails. This locks the corners together eliminating the possibility they might come apart in the future. All the vertical corners are made with field constructed corner posts which consist of 2 full studs with 2x4 blocks sandwiched between so the end stud of the perpendicular wall can be securely fastened. This makes the corners stronger and provides a nailing surface in both directions for ease of installing wall covering should I ever decide to cover the interior walls. The door and pod openings have double studs on both sides and the single top plate + 4x4 arrangement forms the header. The outside will be covered with exterior grade, 5/8” sheathing (we call it T-111 in the US) and 30 lb. roofing felt (tar paper) will form the vapor barrier between siding and studs since I refuse to pay $150 for a roll of Tyvek house wrap. The siding will be coated with an exterior stain/waterproofing product like that used on decks. Basically, it’s built like a fortress which is my preferred method for any structure I decide to tackle. However, I have no experience building a rolling roof so this is something new that will require some additional planning and unconventional construction techniques. Think I can handle it but at this point that remains to be seen... Thanks for the words of encouragement and I must admit - Not only does my brain hurt but so do my back and shoulders! But I think it'll be worth it in the end...

Yeah, There's a lot of concrete in that pier base (about 1.5 cu yd) – which is likely more than necessary - but my thought is too much is better than not enough. I’ve got pretty good horizons in all directions so wall height ends up being my limiting factor. Did some testing the other night with 8” SCT in place & estimate my lowest altitude will be about 20 degrees which should be sufficient for imaging due to the limiting effects of atmosphere. Hope to someday upgrade to a better mount & larger scope so the plan is to add a pier extension should wall height become an issue. Thanks John. Still a ways to go but slowly getting there. How bout you - is your obsy up & running? Any first light photos to share?

After a long weekend of hard work, all the walls are framed except two side walls for the pod. Also have two more roof rafters to install before the plywood, tar paper & shingles can be put down. Hope to finish these odds & ends after work this week & be ready to start installing wall sheathing this coming weekend. Then once that’s complete, it will be time to set a few more posts & start on the rolling roof. Keeping my fingers crossed the weather stays decent for at least another month so I can get this observatory structure under roof before the first snow!

Thanks Tim - hope to have some new progress pics to post after the weekend so stay tuned...

Hey Derek - check this out: http://greatstuff.dow.com/pestblock/ Looks like just what the doctor ordered - think it would work?

Thanks Steve - I really appreciate that. We should be fine here as we’re 200 miles from the ocean & west of the Blue Ridge so it’s the safety of folks along the coast that’s the major concern. For us, it’s usually flash flooding that’s the problem. Hurricane Fran in ’96 caused a lot of damage but by far the worst hurricane in history for this area was Camille back in ’69. I was 10 yrs. old & still remember listening to the reports come in over an old transistor radio. The highest death toll from Camille - which made landfall in Mississippi - was in Nelson County, VA, just one county east of Augusta where I live (we’re fully west of the Blue Ridge but Nelson straddles the mountain). Most of the fatalities were on the eastern slopes & resulted from blunt trauma injuries associated with mud slides – not drowning. Entire mountain sides were washed away & evidence of the devastation can still be seen in places where the sides of mountains are nothing but bed rock. To give you an idea just how bad Camille was, here’s a copy/paste from Wikipedia describing the devastation. “but the worst was in Nelson County where 27 inches (690 mm) fell. There, rainfall was so heavy that reports were received of birds drowning in trees, cows floating down the Hatt Creek and of survivors having to cup hands around their mouth and nose in order to breathe through the deluge. Though the official rainfall was recorded as 27 inches, unofficial estimates are much greater. Some estimate that more than 40 inches of rain fell at Davis Creek. Most gauges were washed away; however, it was reported that an empty 55 gallon drum that was not even in the center of the heaviest rainfall had 31 inches of water in it after Camille passed. So much rain fell in such a short time in Nelson County that, according to the National Weather Service at the time, it was the probable maximum rainfall which meteorologists compute to be theoretically possible.” Although it looks like the rain from Joaquin will be certainly be heavy here, thankfully nothing like that is forecast for us with this storm so it’s the areas along the coast that appear to be more in jeopardy. All we can do is hope it’s not going to be as bad as it could be and pray for better weather once it’s all over. Here’s wishing you clear skies my friend & quick progress with your ongoing observatory build… Scorpius https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/08/19/unprecedented-rain-hurricane-camilles-deadly-dlood-in-the-blue-ridge-mountains/

Ever try to build an observatory in the midst of a hurricane? http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/01/us/hurricane-joaquin/index.html Me neither & don't think I'll try. Forgot to grab a pic but went over to the obsy site last evening to check on things and the huge tarp I used to cover the entire thing had come loose on one corner and the floor had gotten slightly wet in that area from the torrential rain that soaked the area on Tues. Wasn't too bad though so think I caught it in time. Went ahead and tied it down more sercurely so all I can do now is keep my fingers crossed the tarp stays in place over the next few days. It's not like I'm worried the floor system it's going to blow away or anything but I am concerned the un-sealed plywood flooring could delaminate if exposed to an extended period of heavy rain. Oh well, guess all that remains is to hope the storm moves through quickly and the winds don't get too high this far west however, it sounds like we're definitely going to experience more heavy rainfall no matter how the storm tracks so construction remains at a standstill for at least several more days - but hopefully no longer than the weekend following the one coming up... Let's all pray this thing moves out to sea and the residents up & down the east coast are spared another superstorm like Sandy which devestated areas not far north of here in 2012...

We've had just a wee bit of rain the past several days which has really put a damper on observatory construction. There's several videos of flooding in the area but of course there's a short ad in between each one... http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/Heavy-Rain-Cancels-Events-in-Augusta-County-329980441.html

I am now shamelessly making a completely unnecessary post just so I can transition to the classification of Protostar. Please don’t tell the Mod’s what I have done...

I’ve heard EQMOD is great but unfortunately I don’t believe it works with Celestron mounts. Anyway, I’ve cancelled the wireless one ordered yesterday in time & found one like this new, still in the original packaging on Ebay. http://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/rumblepad-2 The Logitech website indicates this one will work with Windows 8 (forgot to mention that’s an issue since my laptop is OS 8.1) so I’ve ordered the one off ebay and the seller has confirmed the order & will ship it out tomorrow. Too bad this one isn’t in the list of Nexremote supported comtrollers but they say most gamepads can be configured to work. Here’s the instructions they provide: ** Warning ** If you choose to edit your Joysticks.ini file, make sure you make a backup: If you re-install or upgrade to a new version of NexRemote, the Joysticks.ini file will be overwritten. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Joysticks.ini file contains all of the Joysticks currently supported by NexRemote, as well as their button and joystick definitions Each Unique Joystick must have a [JOYSTICK] section and must have Name= parameter. The name must be exactly as what is shown in the joystick menu of NexRemote. Each line contains either a Button = Function statement or an Axis = Function Statement Buttons or Axis without a function means they will be inactive Comments can be added at the end by using a ; followed by text The list of Button functions is identical to the functions listed within Keyboards.txt One of the Buttons can also have a function of SHIFT meaning that it will be reserved as a Shift key, possibly doubling the functionality of the other buttons. For shifted functionality, use sButton# = For the Joystick(s), you may define them by using Axis1 through Axis8 Note that the Buttons and the Axis are predefined by the Gamepad manufacturer and may differ between them. The following functions may be defined to an Axis ScopeX - Means move the scope Left or Right ScopeY - Means move the scope Up or Down At run time, NexRemote will use whatever joystick has been selected in the menu and load the corresponding [JOYSTICK] entry from the Joysticks.ini file (based on the Name) Seems as though nothing can ever be simple huh? At any rate, thanks to you & Derek for letting me know a wireless controller could be problematic so now the plan is to route the controller cable down through the pier and connect it to the USB extender in the compartment. That should still leave enough cable to maneuver with it around the pier - then I’ll fabricate some type of holder to hang it on the pier when not in use...

This is not good news as I just ordered a used one off Amazon yesterday but maybe it's not too late to cancel. Do you think a wired one will work with Nexremote? The only option is to activate a controller or not so maybe a wired one would be recognized just as well by the software?

Derek - thanks for the tip on location of gamepad receiver and it did occur to me that big chunk of steel might cause problems with the wireless signal. The receiver could just be suspended out of the owl’s nest putting it within a few feet of the controller (which is only for use at the pier) however, if that doesn’t work maybe the receiver could be connected to a spare port on the laptop? The gamepad’s range is supposed to be 30 ft. and the distance from back wall of pod to pier is only about 10 ft. That’s just “line of sight” distance though since the total run down through conduit - into compartment - up through pier - & out to cameras is more like 25 ft. (after adding some slack for slewing). But if it turns out the wireless gamepad won’t work either way, it’s not really a deal breaker and maybe a wired gamepad could function with Nexremote but would need to do more research if it comes down to that. Yes, I do plan to install a curtain across the pod opening adjacent to the observatory. When I said enclosed on 3 sides, I meant separated from the outside but I definitely recognize the advantages of a heavy, light-blocking curtain which could slide out of the way when access to the scope is needed then be closed back once ready to start an imaging run or complete some other task remotely from the pod. Also need to find some sort of small heater to keep me and the lappy warm when the temps start to drop. I feel much better finally having a plan for controlling the scope remotely from the pod but still want the ability to slew from the pier so hoping that wireless gamepad can somehow be made to work. Thanks again for the advice and encouragement. Seems like it’s taking forever but I know it’ll be worth it in the end... Regards, Paul

Well Fellow Stargazers, started a thread recently regarding USB over Cat 5/6 extenders & the opinions were somewhat mixed. http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/253260-whats-the-real-story-behind-usb-over-cat-56-extenders/ So guess I’ll be the guinea pig this time around because I went ahead & took the plunge & ordered one of these: USB-Ranger-2204-datasheet.pdf I should’ve given more thought to how my observatory would be setup to power & control everything (assuming I get it under roof before the snow flies) but think I’ve come up with a viable game plan so here it is & as always comments and suggestions are welcomed. The laptop (& me) will be in what I’ve dubbed “the control pod” which will be a 5 ½ x 4 ½ ft. space enclosed on 3 sides having a fixed shed-type roof. The pod will be open on one side to the observatory which is roughly 11 x 11 ft. inside. There are two conduits installed below the floor which extend from the pod to an underfloor compartment at the base of the pier & there’s a 4” hole in the pier at the same level through which cables can be routed up through the pier exiting through the owl’s nest before attaching to whatever needs to be connected. So the USB transmitter will be located in the pod next to the laptop & an unshielded Cat 6 cable will be pulled through the larger conduit to connect the transmitter to the receiver that will be in the underfloor compartment. The receiver requires power which will be provided by a 120V receptacle located within the compartment & that receptacle will also supply power to the mount via Celestron’s AC adapter since I quit running the mount off batteries long ago. Even though the Cat 6 cable will be unshielded, my understanding is Cat 6 is far less susceptible to interference from nearby mains which was a concern someone had raised earlier. So with the mains wire in one conduit & the Cat 6 in the other - with the conduits separated by about 6” - I’m hoping EMI won’t be an issue. One thing that appealed to me about the USB extender is it can run more than just four USB devices. The manufacturer says you can connect standard USB multi-hubs to the extender’s ports increasing the total number of USB devices communicating with the PC through the Cat 6 cable up to eleven. That doesn’t necessarily mean you can connect eleven high data rate devices & expect them all to work simultaneously but some of the devices I’ll be employing aren’t high data rate but are still essential to my scheme . As far as USB 3.0, those data rates aren’t supported by this extender but I don’t own any USB 3.0 devices anyway & probably won’t for some time - but if I ever do, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. The plan is to use Stellarium & Celestron’s virtual HC called Nexremote. http://uncle-rods.blogspot.com/2013/12/nexremote-again.html Found this YouTube video which confirms that combination will work with my mount https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8jwJzQu8qA & I’m also going to use a wireless gamepad controller to operate the mount from the pier when needed. http://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/cordless-rumblepad-2 I’ve yet to find any definitive documentation indicating the wireless gamepad will work in conjunction with Nexremote plus Stellarium but don’t see why it shouldn’t if the controller is just a wireless extension of the virtual HC residing on the laptop - & it’s the virtual HC that’s actually “talking” to Stellarium. I know a lot of folks opt to control everything remotely from the PC but I don’t ever want to be in a position I can’t operate the mount (slewing, etc.) while standing at the scope and you can’t use the physical HC & virtual HC together. I’d be very interested to know if anyone has tried this approach with a Celestron mount, Stellarium, Nexremote, wireless gamepad and USB over Cat5 extender & if so, what were your results? So in order to set this all up one of the first things you need is a quality USB serial port adapter & I just ordered the Keyspan model http://www.tripplite.com/keyspan-high-speed-usb-to-serial-adapter~USA19HS/ since the one I’ve been using is a no name brand which I suspect has been causing some of my connectivity issues. So with the extender’s receiver in place beneath the floor, the wireless gamepad transmitter won’t need to be plugged into the laptop but will instead be plugged into the extender (directly or through a hub) in the compartment. Another advantage is the only HC cables will be the short, coiled factory one plugged directly into the mount & the short (about 3 ft.) one that plugs into the base of the HC. That cable will simply drop down through the pier & connect to the keyspan adapter connected to the USB extender. The USB’s for the imaging cam & guide cam will communicate with the PC through standard 10 ft. USB cables (to provide plenty of slack for slewing) which will be routed down through the pier & connected to the extender as well. If I’ve lost you – don’t worry cause I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it too – but does this at least sound like a reasonable approach? My goal all along was to have “zero cables on the floor”. I hate tripping over all those cables in the dark & I’m pretty sure I haven’t forgotten any that would still need to be concealed. Sure, they’ll be a lot of cables extending through the owl’s nest but they’ll only be looping down enough to provide slack for slewing as opposed to rising up off the floor in a tangled mess! Thanks for reading and for any feedback you might offer...

Damn this weather !!! No progress to be made this weekend & it's now almost October! Sure hope we don't get an early winter because that will spell big trouble for Windy Knoll...

Hi Zakalwe, not sure pea gravel will work in my situation since it would just fall through the gap and land on the concrete where there’s nothing to hold it in place. I think the elevated design is what’s complicating things since a slab on grade - with no underfloor compartment - wouldn’t have this issue. However in the end, I believe it’ll be worth it since everything will be routed to the compartment through below floor conduits - then up through the bottom hole & inside the pier exiting through the “owl’s nest” keeping all cables & wires off the floor. I actually got this idea from another build but until it’s been tested in my situation – I won’t know for sure. BTW, how’s it going with your new Mesu mount? I saw in another thread where you had commissioned one which caused me to become quite envious when compared to my lowly AVX. Derek – All good suggestions & thanks for the advice. Although it may not be the most humane solution, I like the idea of coating the concrete and lower pier with that special sticky stuff since as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Since the potential for critters taking up residence in the compartment must be addressed, once the first few “explorers” get stuck in the goo, it might discourage any future invaders. As far as the gap itself, I’m thinking your suggestion of flexible, non-expanding foam will form an adequate seal while maintaining pier isolation provided access from below is denied. Regards, Paul

Guess I thought having them in separate conduits would prevent interference but maybe not. Hi Physopto - Thanks for the tips! I can spiral wind a wire around the big conduit from underneath if interference turns out to be a problem. Will look into the soft foam sealant you describe as that’s likely going to be the best solution. Main concern is keeping mice, spiders, insects & bees out of the compartment all of which are common pests at this site. The foam should prevent infiltration of the last 3 but mice might still be able to chew through . However, they’d have to climb a 20 inch vertical wall of concrete or scurry up the post adjacent to the conduit - then “tiptoe” along making several tricky maneuvers at the cross-blocking to even get in a position to chew through the foam. I don’t put anything past those little rascals though so need to take every precaution to prevent my cabling from being destroyed and the compartment from being converted into a rodent condominium! I was thinking Cat6 over USB since the total distance from pod to cameras will be roughly 10 ft. more than the standard USB limit. This 4-port 2.0 USB over Cat6 extender from Tripp Lite looks like it should do the job but any advice along these lines would be greatly appreciated. Not sure what the negative amazon review is trying to say about connectivity of keyboards and mice so maybe some additional research on my part would be prudent before purchasing? http://www.tripplite.com/usb-2.0-over-cat5-cat6-extender-hub-transmitter-receiver-hub-high-speed-usb-330-ft-100m-4-port~B203104/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ABKYO8/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=4968308114&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7tyezpr52y_e

All the posts are treated & setting on precast concrete pier plugs like the ones in this pic. Never actually measured but would guess they’re about 12” diameter & 6” thick. The plugs are 2 ft. below ground to the bottom since the frost line here is 24”. Then dirt was tamped tightly around each post until the holes were completely filled. Was planning to post an update once the floor was complete but ran out of time on Sunday evening. Now it’s been raining off & on the past couple days so the whole thing is covered with a huge tarp to keep the unpainted plywood from getting wet. The only section left to finish the floor is the pod so I’ll post some pics once that’s been done. Would’ve already been done - but there were several odds & ends that needed to be taken care of before the floor could go down. Had to put a bottom in the underfloor compartment - which consists of ¾” aluminum angle screwed to the joists forming a ledge around the inside perimeter for the plywood to rest on. Then silicon caulk was applied to the angle’s top surface with L brackets on top of the plywood to lock it in. This way I didn’t have to drill through plywood & into the angle which simplified things quite a bit and saved some time. I’m not all that pleased with the gap where plywood meets pier but knew it shouldn’t be in direct contact. Anyone have any suggestions for what’s best to use to seal that space? Next - two conduits were installed from the pod to the compartment . The ¾” one is for a 120V circuit (mains) that will power a 2-gang receptacle. And the 2” one is for everything else so the mains don’t interfere with the USB’s. Lastly, the grass underneath was sprayed, then 4 mil black plastic was laid out with pea gravel on top to hold it down. This should prevent any vegetation from coming back so I won’t end up with a jungle of weeds underneath. I really needed more gravel but will add some more along the way. Oh Yeah, almost forgot - some stairs were built from the ground to the floor which is a rise of about 30”. Didn't get a picture of the stairs yet - but I will. Hope to start building some walls this weekend if it doesn’t rain...

Hi Steve, Thanks for the words of encouragement. There's been a lot going on at work this week so no progress has been made since last update - but hope to hit it hard this weekend and get the flooring put down...

Didn’t get as much done this weekend as planned - since it rained on Sat. - but did finish framing the pod floor. It turned out to be 6 ft. wide (outside to outside) with a total depth of 57" - which will give me an inside depth of about 4 ft. 6 in. Couldn't extend it out any further since I need to get a decent slope on the roof and allow as much head room as possible inside. Also added some blocking between joists to define both ends of the underfloor compartment. Still need to put a bottom in it & then install a conduit from the pod to the underfloor compartment – then I can cover the joists with ¾” plywood and start thinking about building some walls... Got this shot as I was gathering up tools - clouds had some nice color just after sunset (taken with my smartphone)