fifeskies

Just saw this thread and was pleased to see that someone else went for the curved ROR design I decided to go for a thin aluminium sheet skin on mine (it had been designed to match the sheet size) Lightweight and zero maintenance has survived the 2 big storms we have just had without any issues Still working on finishing the inside of mine but almost there now photo shows slight distortion as its a panorama shot to get the whole roof in from the ladder viewpoint the curve is actually uniform without the kink

Help , I have a seal on my roof 20200201_162524.mp4

Given that you would need to run a mains cable anyway have you considered keeping the supply indoors and running just the 12v line. This does need to be a thick cable due to the current involved but I have done this using 2 core 1.5mm rubber cable , though it is a good idea to raise the voltage to 13.8v , this allows for some voltage drop and the EQ6 is usually happier on the slightly raised voltage. a distribution box at the mount end can give multiple outputs and some of these can be regulated 12v ones (I use cheap Chinese prebuilt 12 regulator boards to drop the 13.8 down to a limited 12v output , available from a common auction site) There are plenty good quality "ham" radio 13.8v supplies ideal for this. I have 2 units both bought 2nd hand photos attached the Maplin one is still often available 2nd hand (on here or elsewhere) , the other is a premium 25amp supply but I got it as a good deal used. Both are linear supplies (not switchmode) , for long cable runs linear is preferred. (switchmode can generate rfi on long cables)

fitted but its too wet to open roof and do video just now

the OO dob bases have Teflon bearings on alt and az so easy to move with a hand on end of the tube. can even hand nudge from eyepiece stalk as they are so low friction. When I had my long 10 on the base it was certainly a tad unwieldy due to the OTA size ( OO CT10L ) , but with the smaller Newt 200p it is a doddle. It is the regular 1000mm tube not the Dob 1200 version. The bases are surprisingly light , far lighter than the heavy chipboard skywatcher bases , and of course waterproof , chipboard and damp don't go together well even if you do seal all cut edges , hours out in the damp often cause wet creep into the wood.

Just checking the fit. I have an angled roof over the warm room that the ROR roof rolls over , you can see the roof track in the photo , the excellent Brundle gear. Of course when I fit it the strip will go right up to the edge (ie closer to the camera) , just held it along a bit to give a good view of how it will work. Those are PVC "fake" slates on the warm room roof , lightweight and so easy to use , cut to shape with a craft knife.

Yes they are expensive items , but very high quality. I got mine second hand with my 10in scope , but moved my 10 onto an NEQ6pro that's my fixed observatory mount on an altair pier , not quite installed yet , am using it on the tripod until ROR observatory is finished , at painting the inside stage so almost here now. The OO dob bases do pop up now and then second hand.

Skywatcher 200p on a converted OO 10ins Dob base Its my "portable" scope , sets up in seconds as just lifts out of the cradle. Fits easily on car back seat. The aluminium base is perfect for those damp nights and wet grass it doesn't get bothered by wetness

I am almost finished my ROR shed and was looking for a good way to seal where the roof closes against the main structure. Brush door strips and the usual door seals were not up to the job, mainly because they were not that deep to make sure wind didn't blow rain back up under the edge. I did however find the perfect solution , it is garage door seals. Very soft 75mm deep rubber held in aluminium holder that screws to the trailing edge. Not fitted yet and I will add a video once it is but it neatly closes over the join. The rubber is continuous and the aluminium holder in 1 metre lengths that just match up together for whatever width you require. I got it from a well known auction site , search for IMPERIAL ALUMINIUM & RUBBER SEAL DRAUGHT EXCLUDER

The box by Michael with its fused outputs is exactly the way to go. Indicators to monitor each output is a very useful addition as he has done. (I assume LED) I am making a box to use with my pier mount and will use LED to monitor each output , however LED at the usual current are very bright (nominal 20mA) It is worth using a far higher in line resistor to lower the LED current , trial and error will let you find what suits you , but I find even a few mA current is enough to make the LED show when looked at directly allowing you to confirm the fuse has not blown but will not cast a bright coloured glow around where you don't want it.

Found you can get spiral ducting in diameters up to 500mm from a well known auction site , delivered.

These look to be ideal , and with diameters ranging up to a full metre are exactly what I need. (Not that I need a metre diameter) I am probably going to use a stepped column starting at 450 at base then narrower as it rises

I am moulding a smaller diameter part at the top to avoid scope collisions , its a high pier

Yes I had considered ducting , might be looking for a wider diameter though, but that is available too as ducting I think , just need to look around a bit more for the larger diameter.

yes I had thought a trip to the local carpet saleroom might be a good idea might not be as good quality as a sonotube , or be waterproof , but a coat of varnish on the inside could cure that.

Hi, I'm planning the construction of a concrete pier in my garden here in the UK using a filled tube , cardboard or plastic drain pipe I've read various accounts of others who have done similar using cardboard but the majority of these have been US-based, where the Sonotube features quite a lot . Is there an equivalent product available in the UK? I can only find small diameter (postal type) tubes Been searching around (google etc) but there doesn't seem to be a UK equivalent Thanks.

A quick look on the spec sheet for these gives some more information about them 1 amp type take 8 seconds to trip at 5 x overload , so much slower response than using classic fuses They also don't break the supply as mentioned above , only limit the overload amount. Could be useful for motor protection as they will limit any stall current they are also very temperature sensitive , maybe not so good for out in the cold (where their trip time gets delayed as they don't heat up so fast and trip to limit the current) the full spec sheets shows their response to ambient temperature

wired inside the box is a tad inconvenient compared to a panel fuseholder on the outside where a few seconds lets you change a fuse obviously don't change the fuse till you know why it blew in the first place you can select the fuse delay response characteristics to suit your needs for most fuse types from slow blow where motor starts take a big surge current to delicate electronics that want fast response to protect delicate semiconductor components the kind you would use for a mount motor drive is not the same as one you would use for an astrocamera fuse selection can get complicated but ANY fuse is going to be better than no protection , just try to match the type to what it is protecting.

The steampunk panel will get a lot more comments then a mere functional solution

It is worth remembering that a fuse is rated at a current it will blow only very slowly over a period of time as the fuse element heats up. So a 3 amp mains fuse will happily pass 3 amp for some time before giving up the ghost If you know the fusing factor of the fuse this tells you the current needed to instantly blow the fuse , typically 1.5 or 2 times the rated current can be passed for a few seconds , for a 3 amp fuse than can mean 6 amps or almost 1.5kw into a fault for a few seconds 😱 It typically takes more than 2x the rated current to give a fast break response. You really need to fuse on the low voltage side to protect your equipment. There are fast acting fuses in 20mm and 1 1/4 inch size that are a far better way to protect equipment than the slow responding mains fuses. A small distribution box with some of these fuses on the low voltage outputs will not be that difficult to make and could save a lot of damage Fast acting antisurge fuses may cost a little more but its a wise investment. This kind of panel holder work well , just mount into an abs project box https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap-Electrical-Panel-Mounted-Holder/dp/B007Q82F98 or you could always go a bit more creative with your fuse box

This needs to be compulsary reading for everyone contemplating a build. So many of the items on that list are likely to occur no matter how well you plan 😂

The quality of the roof runner system will be a major factor in the success of your ROR. I can 100% recommend the products from FH Brundle. I used the 300kg wheels and my ROR glides easily with a finger push. https://www.fhbrundle.co.uk/groups/13SWR300__300_kgs_Weight

I have found this image quite useful

l have an area of raised deck in my garden that has good sky views. I plan to install an Altair Astro metal pier on the deck for convenient use. (the pier will be permanent and have a cover over it, perhaps even evolving to a full mini observatory with a roll off enclosure) I will not be mounting direct to the deck as there will be vibrations as I (and others) move around. As I can get under the deck I will cut a hole in the deck for the pier and create an mounting pillar under the deck so the pier is isolated from vibrations. The ground below is solid (bedrock) so I am wondering how wide the pillar should be. The pier is 300 wide so I need at least that diameter for the fixing bolts. The pillar will be around 2.1 metres high and probably a concrete mix into a mould ,I will drill long rawlbolt anchors into the bedrock to secure the column at the base and will use rebar in the actual column to reinforce it. I don't want to build anything too huge as I expect a solid column will be largely vibration free , but it is a high column so it needs to be wide enough not to suffer vibrations. I was thinking I could use some kind of large diameter drain pipe (agricultural type) as a mould. Has anyone done anything similar , or has ideas as to how big the pillar needs to be. I have a photo from elsewhere showing the pier used by another astronomer on a deck. I hope to do as tidy a job , but need a high column under the deck to the ground far below. I am thinking of some of the kind of pipe shown below for a mould , If I can source an offcut from local agricultural suppliers. It is available in many sizes up to 600mm diameter, though I was thinking something around 300 or 400mm may do. Either that or make a plywood mould for the pour and have it flared wider at the base. The column wont be on view , hidden below the deck , so it doesn't need to be terribly aesthetic , merely functional

was more just thinking of the "bubble layer" being an insulating layer rather than using the reflectance properties perhaps some foam layer type insulation is a better option rather than paying for the sophisticated multilayer reflectance function then not actually using it