DIY Portable Temporary Observatory

[bullettooth]

i think its amazing. you've done a really good job there. Might consider one for myself

[midge91]

What an ingenious idea it looks amazing. Might try and build one for the patio. What were the final costs on it?

[datman]

Can't remember exactly but frame about £160. wheels £20, stainless steel £7 (bolts cost about £13), tarps £20, bungee loops £10, bungee cord £18 so about £250!!! just as well I did it in stages. I tried it last night though and it works well.

[datman]

I now have a purpose built permanaent observatory. So if anyone is interested this one is available.

The covers don't look as shiney as they did, but a new set only cost about £20-30.

The 2 octagonal sections are now glued together so it would need a van or roof rack to transport it.

If you are intersted PM me.

[zillah]

Looks like a nice problem solving project, plus it looks scalable so I might make myself a pool enclosure for the summer.....

[datman]

The design is very geometric, it's based around octogons so very scalable.

For a bigger structure that doesn't need access to the sky a bit of extra support across the roof would be needed to stop "rain pools" which are remarkably heavy.

Don't forget the tubes themselves will also need to be scaled.