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Observatory Build Underway

malc-c

By malc-c
in DIY Observatories

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malc-c
malc-c

I started this post five years ago (almost to the day) and pleased to say that my annual maintenance this year, like the last, consisted of a coat of preserve and the addition of a couple of galvanise

malc-c
malc-c

Well I thought that I would conclude this thread with a couple more images... Sadly, due to a change in my personal life, and our fixed rate mortgage deal coming to an end in July I am having to sell

malc-c
malc-c

Many thanks for the kind words.  There's a lot going on in my life at the moment, and I'm trying not to make decisions that I will regret later on, so for now the scope will be coming with me. Ye

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Astrokev

Astrokev

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Gina, I'm just wondering what your thread post count will be when you finally cut the ribbon on your observatory's official opening day ;)

2000, 3000, 4000........? In fact, you may need your very own server. :)

Edited by Astrokev
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malc-c

malc-c

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OK getting this thread back on track, here is an update.

I've finally managed to assemble all the conti-board I had cut a couple of weeks ago before I came down with that bug. I now have some storage cupboards, and a place for the kettle and microwave :D

I've still got some of the niggles to sort out, such as some red lights in the observatory section, a decent red LED clock, and those airbricks, but other than that "Coleview Observatory" as named by my wife is complete.

Costings, well I went a little over budget, mainly due to the quality shiplap, and the fact that I didn't shop around for some of the smaller items like joist hangers, nails, screws etc... buying these from B&Q or Wickes probably added £100 - £150 more to the build than pricing up from the internet. - Still, as I've said it came in cheaper than anything commercially of the same specification. - Total price for materials £1850, Grand total (including tool hire charges, slave labor, telescope pier with adapter, and fitting out the warm room) £2219. - so £150 over on materials and £70 over on the fittings...

I've yet to sort out the scope alignment, and I may end up spending a further £50 on some of that foam flooring to protect anything that gets dropped and also to deaden the sound of footsteps when walking round the scope when the night is still ! But that will be on-going upgrades and wasn't part of the original build.

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malc-c

malc-c

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Thanks Tony, Hopefully my build has inspired others such as yourself who will / are going through the process of an Observatory project, as much as other builds such as Wayne's build inspired me.

I'll post a further update when everything I mentioned has been completed, and then hopefully by then the nights will be drawing in and I'll be able to make use of all my hard work :D

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yesyes

yesyes

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I've still got some of the niggles to sort out, such as some red lights in the observatory section, a decent red LED clock ...

It is starting to look like a place you could spend a lot of time at... Well done....

Here's a few pictures of my work-in-progress LED observatory clock :)

https://picasaweb.google.com/chris.yesyes/ObservatoryClock

It's based on a Arduino and has a GPS receiver connected for exact time and coordinate display...

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yesyes

yesyes

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WOW!

Impressive work. You need a big observatory for that clock:D

hehehe, yes, it turned out a bit bigger than imagined. It's about 63cm wide. A friend asked me if I want to sell it to the train station .. :)

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pritc

pritc

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Impressive warm room Malcolm :):icon_salut:

Is the futon bed just out of camera shot??:(

That's a lot of storage space!!

It looks better than a few studio flat's I have seen...:):evil6:

You wait till the winter...

Nothing better than observing when it is -14C outside and a 'SCORCHIO' 10C in the warm room with a hot cup of tea ;)

Wayne

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malc-c

malc-c

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One small mile stone achieved today (in between horrendous down pours of rain), is that the observatory computer is now on the network with full internet access. So when it's all up and running, the software is driving the scope taking all the subs automatically, I can sit back with a cuppa and keep up with things on SGL :)

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Gina

Gina

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One small mile stone achieved today (in between horrendous down pours of rain), is that the observatory computer is now on the network with full internet access. So when it's all up and running, the software is driving the scope taking all the subs automatically, I can sit back with a cuppa and keep up with things on SGL :)
Great :( That's where I'll be .... one day! :)
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spaceboy

spaceboy

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and if you ever stopped being interested in astronomy, you could rent it out to someone as a studio flat with sun roof .. :)

Or some where for Malcolm live if his wife ever kicks him out for spending too much on astro gear :)

Edited by spaceboy
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