Just to clarify , diagram of the floor I used

I used an existing brick outbuilding with concrete floor to convert to a ROR.

I made a wooden floor tied into the side walls but not resting directly on the concrete.

This wooden floor has a central hole cut out of it and there is a concrete block pier base placed onto the concrete underneath and then a metal Altair pier rising through the wooden floor cut out , pier fixed to the concrete block square direct onto the floor.

(Hint: cast the concrete bock pier anchor (with bolts in situ) before fitting the wooden floor.

Walking around on the "floating" floor does not seem to affect the scope in any way , any vibrations being damped out by the wooden floor and not transmitted to the slab below.

Will also be adding soft floor mats to the wooden floor (mainly for dropped eyepieces sake) , but this will also help dampen out any vibrations from moving around.

I can remove the pier and simply cover over the hole with new floorboards if I ever want to move the observatory out , leaving the anchor pier hidden below the floor , and return the space to just a shed.

Telrad is possibly a bit on the big side for an 8se

but have seen them used even on small refractors as their benefit for finding is often worth the unwieldy look

sure someone on here with an 8se can advise you if they tried one , its little brothers 6se and 4se would struggle to fit one i'm sure but you have the larger one from the series.

unclips easily from the base for packing away.

pic from web

As a stop gap till you get your replacement some longer screws with nuts on the end would get you working in these rare clear nights we're having just now. You can use some plastic sleeving as a spacer if you need to.

An untidy solution but will work.

Red dot finders are OK , was the first finder I used , but I also second a Telrad as a good upgrade to the basic RDF.

Not sure of the age of my mount as I bought it second hand.

I think I can find the motherboard version from the handset information menu.

I will make sure I have the latest firmware just to check I don't have this option available.

Yes I had thought about a red LED on a 9v battery with appropriate resistor could make a handy illuminator , just putting the LED into the polarscope exit aperture.

I could use it with my EQ5 mount as well as there is a polarscope in it and its just a manual version with no power input.

I think its down to motherboard version more than handset firmware version , I am on a recent release but still no option in the menu.

I am using the very handy Synscaninit app to set polar alignment.

Trouble is the LED illumination of the reticule is so bright I cannot see Polaris with the mount on , and cannot see the reticule with the mount powered off.

I switch between on and off to centre Polaris in the alignment circle.

I DO NOT have the polarscope led brightness option on my Neq6 mount.

How easy is it to put a resistor inline with the polarscope led to drop its brightness down , has anyone else done this modification.

(or is there an alternative way to illuminate the reticule with the mount powered down)

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

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.

20 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

I used Air-Con ducting, 250mm & 150mm diameters, cheap & freely available

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

15 hours ago, symmetal said:

Rapidobat Column Formers in the UK are similar to Sonotube. I don't know if they sell single tubes but you could email them. 

 

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

8 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Wouldn't go much bigger than 250mm as you can get problems with scope / camera hitting it when aimed straight up depending on mount design.

Dave

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

2 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

I used Air-Con ducting, 250mm & 150mm diameters, cheap & freely available

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