SkyShed POD Arrived!

[fatwoul]

Yeah, but the shed probably cost 1/10th what you paid for the obs !

The cost of the shed was less, but the assembly was still ours to do, and moving a shed that size (8x15, so three times the size of a 7x5, and definitely not 1/10th the cost) would be more difficult than just buying a new one.

...If these dome observatories are made with such a variation in tolerances and require sealing with expanding foam etc then for the money they charge IMO they should include an erection service to ensure the item is correctly built and watertight - Just my opinion.. we're all different, me, I would of expected more for the money.

Then SkyShed shouldn't expect your custom. The hundreds of us who have bought them understand what needs to be done. As I said, the leak is probably due to the way I installed the dome gasket.

My telescope cost about the same, and wasn't collimated when it arrived. I didn't demand Skywatcher send someone from China to collimate it for me. I learned (well, still learning) to collimate it and gained a new skill, just like learning to solve the leak will gain another new skill, and will help me with maintaing the dome in the future.

[malc-c]

My telescope cost about the same, and wasn't collimated when it arrived. I didn't demand Skywatcher send someone from China to collimate it for me.

Collimation is a regular servicing issue - it's not a fault.

I was going to reply with another analogy but that really won't get us anywhere.. I'm not having a go at you personally, just that I am one of those persons who expect (for want of a better word) more having paid that sort of money.

To be honest, they wouldn't get my custom... whilst the product may well be really nice looking, it doesn't appeal to me, and IMO is well over priced.

Obviously we're never going to see eye-to-eye on this, and I hope that the supplier can send you replacement seals that fit - hopefully free of charge.

[fatwoul]

...I'm not having a go at you personally...

Oh no I realise that. If there was no difference of opinion things would be very boring.

...I hope that the supplier can send you replacement seals that fit - hopefully free of charge.

That might not even be necessary. I cut the length myself, and there is spare. I reckon I can use the spare at each end, once I am given some advice from Wayne or Alain.

[Gina]

I have to agree with that Malcolm. Something of that price I would expect to fit together properly and not leak. That the tolerances are so poor that they need foam to seal it is ridiculous IMO. If it was a cheapo hundred quid one I wouldn't be surprised but if I were paying that price I'd expect better.

[fatwoul]

I have to agree with that Malcolm. Something of that price I would expect to fit together properly and not leak. That the tolerances are so poor that they need foam to seal it is ridiculous IMO. If it was a cheapo hundred quid one I wouldn't be surprised but if I were paying that price I'd expect better.

And you are entitled to not buy one. I am happy with mine, as are all of the other people I have spoken to personally about them, and most of the people I have read reviews and comments from.

[Gina]

Fair enough then I'm glad you're happy with it - at least it's something relatively easily fixed Nothing is perfect.

[fatwoul]

Fair enough then I'm glad you're happy with it - at least it's something relatively easily fixed Nothing is perfect.

Indeed. In the meantime, It's too cloudy to use the thing anyway, which is why I'm stuck in here ont' internet.

[Gina]

Poured with rain here last night!

[fatwoul]

There was a little here the last couple of nights, but nothing to worry about.

As for the leak, I've just had a call from Nick (not spoken to him before, usually correspond with Ian) at Altair, who was very helpful and encouraging about the situation. Like myself, he is confident that we can solve it fairly straightforwardly.

[r3i]

If anyone's interested a POD has gone up for auction on ebay: Skypod Observatory | eBay UK

[Gina]

I see the snag - buyer collects! Still, I've put in a silly low bid Now if it were within 50 miles of here I'd be interested if I could get it at a low enough price (which it won't be, I'm sure).

[r3i]

I see the snag - buyer collects! Still, I've put in a silly low bid Now if it were within 50 miles of here I'd be interested if I could get it at a low enough price (which it won't be, I'm sure).

Good luck anyway Gina. I see the bidding has already reached the dizzy heights of £1.04. I might have been interested too but it's at the wrong end of the country for me. Hopefully someone on here might get themselves a bargain.

[Earl]

That listing has been up before humms.

[fatwoul]

That listing has been up before humms.

I don't feel bad. That POD has too many bays, and I needed white.

By the way: No more leaks, despite thunderstorms, so it looks like those problems are behind me.

Shame the same cannot be said for EQMOD...

[chouet]

Only just picked up on this thread - that Pod looks great in white. Mine was delivered in the same batch (a few pics here: http://stargazerslounge.com/diy-observatories/132349-green-light-observatory-2.html). I was lucky enough to get the last Pod in the batch, so production began amost immediately after my enquiry.

My dome is light grey - I wonder if that, as a neutral colour, may be ok for the flats?

Just to pick up on some of the strong opinions about Pod quality, it has to be said that both SkyShed and Altair are extremely open about the whole concept. Before you commit, you can watch the build videos (in which all the possible causes of leaks are highlighted) and tap into the Pod forum. It's absolutely what I expected it to be, after researching and choosing it over a roll-off roof (too many sheds in the garden already!) or other dome types.

Yes, it's expensive compared to buying in North America but is only about the same cost as the fibreglass body panels I bought for a kit car 10 years ago, which needed a huge amount of work to get them to fit!

My Pod went together with only a few adjustments needed - so far it's exceeding expectations and is a joy to use.

[fatwoul]

Only just picked up on this thread - that Pod looks great in white. Mine was delivered in the same batch (a few pics here: http://stargazerslounge.com/diy-observatories/132349-green-light-observatory-2.html). I was lucky enough to get the last Pod in the batch, so production began amost immediately after my enquiry...

So I have you to thank. When I placed my order, I was told there was one slot left to fill, and that they would start production as soon as that happened.

...My dome is light grey - I wonder if that, as a neutral colour, may be ok for the flats?...

Worth a try. I, like Carole, have had success using my white roof, so I don't see why you can't give it a go. At least you might be able to get away with doing flats much later into the morning than I can.

...Just to pick up on some of the strong opinions about Pod quality, it has to be said that both SkyShed and Altair are extremely open about the whole concept. Before you commit, you can watch the build videos (in which all the possible causes of leaks are highlighted) and tap into the Pod forum. It's absolutely what I expected it to be, after researching and choosing it over a roll-off roof (too many sheds in the garden already!) or other dome types.

Yes, it's expensive compared to buying in North America but is only about the same cost as the fibreglass body panels I bought for a kit car 10 years ago, which needed a huge amount of work to get them to fit!

My Pod went together with only a few adjustments needed - so far it's exceeding expectations and is a joy to use.

Exactly. I'm glad to find another person who shares my feelings about them almost to the letter.

I, too, likened the build to that of a kit car, where there can be a lot of work needed on the parts to make them work together. I know this from watching, and talking to my neighbour, who has now built a Caterham and is on his way through a Cobra.

My POD hasn't leaked again since I made some little alterations to the black foam seal on the primary dome, despite a couple of heavy downpours, and even a thunderstor. The L-rubber still needs attention, but I think that is more important for guttering the rain off the dome as it opens; so long as you wipe it down with a towel beforehand, that doesn't seem to be a problem.

Basically, I fitted the aluminium curves too high to begin with, causing the last one to be too low. It's been suggested that I take off the last curve, cut it to the length I need, smooth it off, and refit it. I might still to that, but I'm a bit concerned about doing something so permanent to one of the pieces. So instead I'm going to make up a temporary shorter aluminium piece to replace it, until such time that I can get hold of a new L-rubber and try to fit it correctly.

I've managed to get hold of a bicycle inner tube, which I may use to make some flaps to protect the flange at the pivot.

But that's the only problem I've got, and it's not serious. My scopes are all set up, wired up, balanced, and I'm just starting to play with EQMOD. I've got a request from a student to provide him with a field of stars to use on a green screen for a film he's making, so now I'm just waiting for a clear night...

[fatwoul]

Speaking of the seals, this is probably a good place for me to document all my mistakes. I always thought I was pretty good at this sort of thing, but this project has really battered my confidence. At least if I list all the screw-ups, someone else planning to build an obsy won't fall foul (although most of it is common sense, of which I have little):

1) My concrete block is probably undersized - somewhere between 450 and 500 kilos. I should have dug deeper.

2) The concrete block is slightly out of alignment with the orientation of the deck. That is to say, the sides of the block do not quite lie parallel to the deck beams and boards. That doesn't matter, because the decking sits above the block, but it bugs me every time I see it, because it reminds me how I didn't notice it until I started building the deck.

3) I built the whole thing at the wrong time of year. The concreting happened in the winter, so I had to keep waiting for warmer days and hoping they lasted. The deck was built during the wettest time of the year so far, so I spent a couple of weeks out in the rain digging through mud. Not fun. At least I didn't waste clear nights during the building, I guess.

4) I didn't properly account for cables during the building of the deck. I can get cables to and from everywhere I need them to go, but I've had to create a liftable panel in the deck boards, just in case a cable gets stuck somewhere when it is pulled through. Again, no big deal, and its hidden under the Clarke flooring. Oh, that reminds me...

5) The edge of the Clarke flooring doesn't meet the inside edge of the dome. At the time I thought this was a good idea, in case the flooring spread a little once it was installed, but nobody else seems to have done this, so mine just looks untidy.

6) The l-rubber seal thing is mentioned above, so I won't go into it again.

I think the underlying problem is that I didn't think things through enough. Dad and I have a habit of ad-libbing building projects as we go, and usually that works fine, but usually there aren't other examples of the same build to compare directly.

The other problem is that I didn't read the other threads here about PODs, decks and piers closely enough. I also had a problem joining the Yahoo groups for the PODs. As a result, I entered into the project with far less information, through nobody's fault but my own.

I'm really happy with my POD, and I wouldn't have chosen that any differently, but as you can see, there are plenty of hindsight changes I'd make to the project, given the chance.

[Gina]

If you couldn't find any faults with either your plans or construction you'd be perfect and nobody is perfect.. I know I'm not perfect after many decades finding out

[chouet]

Hi fatwoul

I have Dave Smith to thank for a reasonably painless build - he kindly gave me a tour of his Pod beforehand and told me what to look out for. The L-strip was the hardest part and I ended up with the last metal strip overhanging in order to make the uppermost one cross the gap between the dome quadrants. I had to drill an extra hole in the strip to make sure the seal would be good.

My wife and I did the groundworks during the wet Feb half-term and spent the first few days skating on wet clay! In hindsight, I really wish I'd hired a concrete mixer (have to be careful what I say, because Libby did most of the mixing!) - I would then have probably put a bigger block in for the pier too.

Nick

[Macavity]

Not adding intellectually, but this always amuses me!

[Earl]

Not adding intellectually, but this always amuses me!

Yee haa Ma !

[Gina]

I was waiting to see it slide off the back of the trailer... Disappointed of Devon

[Richard Lees]

:hello2:Hi, I've just assembled a POD, and with the seal fixing plates in the correct position the final one overhung the edge of the dome - I had to cut about an inch or so off it and drill a new fixing hole - 2 minute job and it fits perfectly!

Despite horrendous storms over the last 2 days it's still dry as a bone inside.

So I have you to thank. When I placed my order, I was told there was one slot left to fill, and that they would start production as soon as that happened.

Worth a try. I, like Carole, have had success using my white roof, so I don't see why you can't give it a go. At least you might be able to get away with doing flats much later into the morning than I can.

Exactly. I'm glad to find another person who shares my feelings about them almost to the letter.

I, too, likened the build to that of a kit car, where there can be a lot of work needed on the parts to make them work together. I know this from watching, and talking to my neighbour, who has now built a Caterham and is on his way through a Cobra.

My POD hasn't leaked again since I made some little alterations to the black foam seal on the primary dome, despite a couple of heavy downpours, and even a thunderstor. The L-rubber still needs attention, but I think that is more important for guttering the rain off the dome as it opens; so long as you wipe it down with a towel beforehand, that doesn't seem to be a problem.

Basically, I fitted the aluminium curves too high to begin with, causing the last one to be too low. It's been suggested that I take off the last curve, cut it to the length I need, smooth it off, and refit it. I might still to that, but I'm a bit concerned about doing something so permanent to one of the pieces. So instead I'm going to make up a temporary shorter aluminium piece to replace it, until such time that I can get hold of a new L-rubber and try to fit it correctly.

I've managed to get hold of a bicycle inner tube, which I may use to make some flaps to protect the flange at the pivot.

But that's the only problem I've got, and it's not serious. My scopes are all set up, wired up, balanced, and I'm just starting to play with EQMOD. I've got a request from a student to provide him with a field of stars to use on a green screen for a film he's making, so now I'm just waiting for a clear night...

[iamzoso60]

My POD arrived with the others over the Easter break. Went together very easily and yes, I did have a leak at the pivot points when it rained. On inspection I found that I hadn't located the seal correctly, so after an alteration and a test with the hosepipe, leak sealed.

I'm pleased so far with the POD and it certainly makes life a lot easier. I've still got to get power connected to the cables that I put in, but that will be done soon.

I would like to purchase a Dome cover, but at around £300 I wont be getting one from Canada. I've found a company close to me that make outdoor furniture covers and they have said that they will have a go and make me one. If its successful, I'll post some pics and details.

[fatwoul]

If you couldn't find any faults with either your plans or construction you'd be perfect and nobody is perfect.. I know I'm not perfect after many decades finding out

Thanks for your encouragement, Gina.

I have Dave Smith to thank for a reasonably painless build...

He really is a lovely chap, isn't he? I'd like to have met him, but distance prevented it. Nevertheless, he has always been really helpful and happy to answer my POD questions.

...The L-strip was the hardest part and I ended up with the last metal strip overhanging in order to make the uppermost one cross the gap between the dome quadrants. I had to drill an extra hole in the strip to make sure the seal would be good...

So your last aluminium curve has been cut shorter? That was Nick's advice to me, and I think he's right that it will fix the problem. I'm still stuck with a short gasket, though, so eventually I'll need to get a new piece of L-rubber.

...My wife and I did the groundworks during the wet Feb half-term and spent the first few days skating on wet clay! In hindsight, I really wish I'd hired a concrete mixer (have to be careful what I say, because Libby did most of the mixing!) - I would then have probably put a bigger block in for the pier too...

There's a guy on the Yahoo group called Ian (not Altair's Ian) who has done one of the neatest POD installs I have ever seen. He's got an extensive gallery including some nice pictures of the gaskets and how he did it.

Out of interest, how level are the tops of your wall sections? Do they meet up exactly? A couple of mine have steps in between of maybe 1/4 inch. Doesn't bother me, and the dome runs smooth enough, but it means that the end screws of the steal roller plates have worked out of their holes very slightly, I guess because of the occasional jolts they get. Next time the dome is off, we're going to take out the end screws, coat them with some Araldite, and put them back in, to see if that helps them hold tight. But that's hardly a big deal.

Not adding intellectually, but this always amuses me!

I know! That video reminds me of these crazy people who fit obsys into campers and trailers. Great idea in principle, but what's the point in a dome if you have to keep re-doing all the basic stuff like levelling your scope and alignment (and probably collimating with every speed bump they go over)??

I was waiting to see it slide off the back of the trailer... Disappointed of Devon

The instruction DVD has out-takes on it. Maybe that video also has an out-take worth seeing.

:hello2:Hi, I've just assembled a POD, and with the seal fixing plates in the correct position the final one overhung the edge of the dome - I had to cut about an inch or so off it and drill a new fixing hole - 2 minute job and it fits perfectly!

Despite horrendous storms over the last 2 days it's still dry as a bone inside.

Thanks Richard. This does seem to be the common solution to a common problem. If I had one criticism, it is that Alain and Wayne should have maybe included more on this on the DVD. I guess if it was suggested on the Group it might happen for V4 of the instructions.

I'm feeling a little better/more confident this week about things. I've had moderate success with EQMOD. I've managed to get an XBox controller to work with it, and I've even got my Nikon GP-1 GPS unit to talk to EQMOD so I can make sure the location is a bit more accurate. Not really any point leaving that plugged in, though. Unless we have a massive earthquake or something, I doubt my obsy is going to move much! *crosses fingers*