Astrokev

Good to see this project resurrected Gina ?

41 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Apologies, Kev.

I got all wound up at the mere idea of a south facing window.
I've been tilting [at] them for decades at home and work!
Rocinante is sick of them too! 

A louver of horizontal slats would still let you see the scope.
No need for the usual sloping slats because the obs. walls will give shade with a low sun.

No worries ?

The window is mainly so I can keep an eye on the scope at night. During the day, if I use the warm room it'll be just to let a bit of natural light in and, as said, I can always close the roof if it gets too bright.

i doubt I'll use the warm room as a workshop per se, but who knows  

11 hours ago, Rusted said:

A south facing window is a heat magnet in sunshine and completely intolerable to sit there. 

 

So I gather you're not a fan of windows then ?.

The window is on the internal dividing wall, not an exterior wall, so security is not an issue. I can partially close the ROR which can provide shade if needed, or alternatively close it completely if I'm not imaging. Alternatively, I could easily install an exterior blind of some sort.

15 minutes ago, Swoop1 said:

I know it is adding jobs and expense to the list but, how a bout a little retractable awning above the window?

Thanks. I've been building this thing for nearly 2 years, so what's another few days ?. My budget was blown months ago so a little more expense now is not really a problem!

7 hours ago, wimvb said:

Looks good. But, is that moisture I see in the corner between the conduit and the counterweights? Or maybe just miscoloured wood?

Thanks. 

Fortunately it's the latter! I painted the timbers around the base framework with creocote before I put the vapour barrier and cladding on. This does look like wet wood and has caught me out more than once!

8 hours ago, Gina said:

I have my (fitted) bench under the window where it will get best light in daytime.

Yes that's a thought, although because the window faces due south, I'd be staring straight into the sun during the middle part of the day. 

Quick update on today's progress.

Finished the panelling on the warm room ceiling and installed the first wall panel under the window. After putting the insulation into the wall gap, and taking the picture, I secured it in place with a strip of the sticky-backed foil tape to ensure it doesn't slip down over time. I don't think this would have been a problem as it's a pretty snug fit, and the roughish surface of the ply grips the rockwool fibres quite well, but I had the tape lying around so it's really just belt and braces.

Now that the warm room is starting to look like a room, I've started considering where to put the small "desk / bench" to sit at. I was originally going to put it under the window, and so had put the cable conduits under where this will be. Now I look at it, I'm wondering whether putting the desk across the far end may be better use of the space, which means the bigger conduit pipe is a bit in the way. Will need to give this some thought ?

Yup, eyes, glasses, been there, done that....

Didn't get as much done today as I hoped. For some reason, the observatory gods conspired against me. First of all I broke the last of the drill bits I use to make pilot holes. I didn't have anything else of a suitable size, so ended up with a trip to Wickes to replenish stocks. Then I had to go to Tesco's to get some food in for the evening meal. Then my sister in law popped over to say hi, which delayed me by half an hour. Once back outside, I was then rushing to catch up lost time and ended up making stupid errors. Some days things just don't go your way!

Finished lining another wall in the scope room, which didn't take long. Then I started on the warm room ceiling. After cutting the first piece square and checking for fit, it was apparent that the room was slightly out of square as I had a 1cm gap between the ply and the end wall at the corner nearest the scope room. Not sure which bit isn't right but the bottom line was I had to trim the ply sheet opposite the door at an angle. In my haste, stupid me then goes and trims it the wrong way round, so I then had a 2cm gap at the scope room corner! Grrr. Long story short I eventually got it to fit OK although the light had pretty much gone by then.

The one good thing I found, though, is that although the warm room ceiling is a bit lower than I'd like (my head clears it just, but my son has to stoop!) I can hold the ply in place with the top of my head whilst I mark out and drill the pilot holes  

For my conduits I'm going to drill a small hole in the side of the tube at each end and simply tie the string off. At the moment I've got temporary strings tied to blocks of wood that are too big to fit in the tube

4 hours ago, RayD said:

? I know that feeling, Kev!

So the theory goes, yes, but with a decent quality linear supply there really shouldn't be any issues anyway.  I only split them as I already had the small one, so it does mean belt and braces, but it would all happily run off the larger one through the Pegasus hub (and has).

Great, thanks Ray

1 hour ago, RayD said:

Yes that's it essentially, Kev.  I have a different hub now and a slightly different arrangement, but the supply is the same.  I use the small one to power my mount only, and then the other one for the rest.

Under the desk I have my UPS, wireless access point and an IP connected switch which I connect to via 'tinternet and turn everything on and off (PC boots on power up).

All magic to me ? .

im guessing having a separate supply to the mount gives a more consistent supply without risking fluctuations caused by other kit? (As you can see, I'm slowly trying to assimilate knowledge for when I plan my electrics set up!)

1 minute ago, RayD said:

Yes, James is spot on.  They are 2 12v supplies, one small 8A one and one 30A one.  PC is under them.

My turn to be dim - so do these supply the hub I can see on top of your scopes, with the mount and everything else being supplied from the hub?

2 minutes ago, JamesF said:

12V supply I think, Kev.

James

Thanks. As I've said many times, I'm a bit of a numpty when it comes to electrics ?

If I can be nosey, In your warm room pic, what's the function of the electrics on the left?

3 minutes ago, RayD said:

Love it

Great to see your pics there Ray. Giving me some ideas. 

Yes, just to be clear, I won't be putting lighting in the roof. I can put it on the walls since they are quite high. It was@JamesF who is considering this. His obsy has knee-high walls ? so roof lighting may be a better solution. 

31 minutes ago, Rusted said:

 

Suits you, Sir!  

Too posh for me! It's @JamesFwho is considering this ?

I'll just nail the cables to the wall!

2 hours ago, Rusted said:

With so many colour options I could spend years just trying to make a decision. It beats cloud watching. 

Cables, or flex, and lots of movement are not a marriage made in heaven.

I have mains LED bulbs overhead in my dome and have to stop and unplug them all the time.

I've tried long and short runs and neither works without a hollow PA shaft.

The very long linear movement of an ROR might be much simpler running on battery LEDs.

With the battery in the moving roof along with the lights they power.

Rechargeable batteries could be "topped" up when the roof [or dome] is not in use?

Different coloured LED's to suit your mood!

Yes that's another good option for roof lighting.

While I agree that flex of cables is best to avoid if possible, drag chains are specifically designed to deal with linear moving parts. In the robots in my last work place, drag chain cable failure was measured in months/years and that was with them operating with a < 1 minute cycle time, 24/7. A ROR roof will only cycle a few hundred times a year at most (probably much less with British weather ?) and I wouldn't have thought would be a problem. 

13 minutes ago, Bizibilder said:

I use 12v LED strips on dimmer switches in the warm room - works very well.  I also have a red bulkhead light.  In the scope room i have a white bulkhead with the switch in the warm room.

Dimmers are these: Dimmer switch  (of which I bought four I think - useful to have a few spares! ),  LED's come in just about every shape and size imaginable!

Dimmer switches sound a great idea. Thanks for the link 

1 hour ago, RayD said:

Yes there is, Kev, but if you want super bright or very white then RGBW is better than just RGB as they have a separate white Led, but I've not had an issue. 

@Yawning Angel @RayD

RGBW - great thanks. Looking forward to getting some lights in. Installing some electric first would probably be useful then ?

1 hour ago, JamesF said:

I have recently been toying with the idea of putting some normal LED spotlights in the roll-off roof, so that if I want lighting in the scope room to work by then it can be from above rather than the side (because my walls are only 1500mm high).  I just need to work out how to allow for the movement of the roof.

James

James - thinking about your idea, you could use an energy chain cable carrier, sometimes called a drag chain? We used to use these in some machines in a previous place I worked and would work ok

21 minutes ago, RayD said:

I've used LED strip lights in my warm room and they work great.  Use the waterproof ones like these and they will be fine in the scope room too.

Thanks Ray. They look good. I assume there is a white option too?

3 minutes ago, JamesF said:

I have recently been toying with the idea of putting some normal LED spotlights in the roll-off roof, so that if I want lighting in the scope room to work by then it can be from above rather than the side (because my walls are only 1500mm high).  I just need to work out how to allow for the movement of the roof.

James

Yes, I briefly thought of doing something similar but decided against because my walls are pretty high. Thinking of how to wire it up will be really interesting

Great update James. Looking really good. 

42 minutes ago, Gina said:

I didn't bother lining the scope room in my observatory - only the warm room.

Yeah, I was undecided. In the end I opted to line it, really just to neaten it up and make it a little easier to clean. The nooks and crannies in exposed studding makes a lovely home for the creepy crawlies ?