Dome vs Roll off ?

[The Sailor]

Yes Olly agree but to be honest I would still like to see how much sky he can see, has anyone ever done a sky per buck ratio, he has spent a lot of money on a great building but I could never do that myself

Jim

[Astrokev]

Thanks to all who've responded to my original post. It's no surprise to me that this has been a popular thread. There's clearly no "right" option, as both have their own pro's and cons, and the choice depends hugely on both the intentions of the owner/builder, location and, of course, budget.

I'm still undecided, but starting to waver back to the ROR option. This is, in part, due to me liking the thought of designing the thing, the fact that I love working with wood, and the message it sends to the outside world. I've also been inspired hugely by the likes of Malc-c and Gina (and others). With a ROR, it's much easier to put your own design stamp on the final build, but as I say, far from making that final decision. I guess that comes when I commit to parting with some cash!

Look forward to more discussion!!

[The Sailor]

I'm still undecided

After all that!!!! lol

Jim

[ollypenrice]

I reckon you have the air of a man who may not build just one or even two observatories... You have been warned!

Olly

[pete_l]

I'm still undecided, but starting to waver back to the ROR option.

Maybe something that will help is to know that a dome can only house one telescope. A RoR can contain many - so long as you build it big enough. It can also be extended if you don't.

[The Sailor]

Maybe something that will help is to know that a dome can only house one telescope. A RoR can contain many - so long as you build it big enough. It can also be extended if you don't.

I have three on my mount

Jim

[Ericgraham]

Domes certainly can contain more than one telescope, provided they are on the same mount. I've used one like that and plan to do the same for my next project.

Eric

[ollypenrice]

Yes, but I think the point was fairly clear!! One of the best examples is at another astronomy centre near me where one shed contains five Paramounts with such sweeties as a 17 inch Plane Wave and an 8 inch TMB refractor cluttering things up! It's like the London Astrofest in there...

Olly

[nytecam]

Maybe something that will help is to know that a dome can only house one telescope.

More internet missinformation Managed to get at least 5 clustered around my 17.5" DIY Newt with my 10ft DIY dome

[The Sailor]

What I will say is that if a traget is low down then it is possible that only one OTA will be of use, this does happen to me quite a lot fo low down work but 95% of the time I have the use of all OTA's. My three is a Startravel 80, Evostar 80 with a PST piggyback so just nice and neat .

Jim

[Gina]

I think you'd need a pretty large ROR obsy to contain two or more piers Mine with an 8ft square scope room will only accomodate one. Yes, you can have several scopes on the one pier, as I do. I'm even thinking now of having 3 imaging systems and a guide scope on my mount. I you want two independent piers/scopes you would want two domes and I've seen that done a few times. I guess you could have 2 or 3 domes plus a shed for a control/warm room

[The Sailor]

Oh God, I have trouble with one let alone two piers, I think monsters are easily created when the mind goes into overdrive

Jim

[todd8137]

Shed every time ,you can always buy some heavy duty pond liner and have clips in place ,but if you have the choice ,I have a pal that as a plastic style dome you no the sort,dew is a massive problem for him at times same as a metal one I would think they suck dew in they are both good ideas but as stated a dome would and might atract the wrong type of attention but it is your choice

pat

[The Sailor]

Pat I agree with you on both counts, with the dew it does be on the inside of the dome but I have been fortunate there as it roll off and collects on the outside. On attracting the wrong sort, that is an evergrowing problem and I have done all I can to ensure the security of the observatory. I have put up a sacrificial shed with cheap garden tools in so hopefully that will help .

Jim

[ollypenrice]

I like the idea of a sacrifical shed but I might be tempted to put an Anaconda in it to give 'sacrificial' a capital 'S...'

Olly

[JamesF]

"There's been no murder if they can't find a body"

James

[The Sailor]

Oh, sorry, forgot to mention, a Claymore is positioned facing the door, bit better than a shotgun

Jim

[Zakalwe]

"There's been no murder if they can't find a body"

James

I'm not sure that that would stand up in front of the beak, if the prosecution is able to produce one very fat, sleepy, contented anaconda!

[nytecam]

these things my be true the fact that he put so much hard work into it imo shows how much he is dedicatid to astronomy....may be overkill but if you got the money and you are in no hurry...then why not.....again I am no expert to judge, I'll leave that all to you all anyway it sure inpressed me

It reminded me of a clearing in a wood with a restricted skyline. Sometime the observatory build itself is the end product. You'd think that owning an obsys meant more viewing or imaging than those without but I suspect there's little correlation

[Ouroboros]

If the wife approves of a dome ..... well .... it's often most politic to take the path of least resistance.

[laser_jock99]

I think you'd need a pretty large ROR obsy to contain two or more piers Mine with an 8ft square scope room will only accomodate one. Yes, you can have several scopes on the one pier, as I do. I'm even thinking now of having 3 imaging systems and a guide scope on my mount. I you want two independent piers/scopes you would want two domes and I've seen that done a few times. I guess you could have 2 or 3 domes plus a shed for a control/warm room

I'm currently looking at ways of loading a bunch of cameras on the counterweight shaft of my EQ-6's. I have come with a natty little clamp that replaces counter weights with cameras. So I could now run two or three imagers at once.

[JamesF]

I'm currently looking at ways of loading a bunch of cameras on the counterweight shaft of my EQ-6's. I have come with a natty little clamp that replaces counter weights with cameras. So I could now run two or three imagers at once.

That's the kind of lateral thinking I like

Alternatively you could just replace the counterweight bar with a shorter one to carry some weight and fit a saddle at the end (or even fit the saddle to the counterweight).

My reservation would be that I think I recall Olly P commenting on his dual imaging rig experiments saying that it was very difficult to get the guiding to work for both cameras at once because they were hard to get aligned. That might only be an issue if you're trying to image the same target with two cameras though. Could be worth finding out from him exactly what the nature of the problem was so you can discount it or avoid spending a lot of time learning what he has already found out the hard way.

James

[dmahon]

Starway TelePack - Counterweight Shaft Camera and Accessory Mount

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p229_Befestigung-fuer-Kameras---Zub--an-der-Gegengewichtsstange.html

[JamesF]

Having thought about it a bit I'm really not sure that's the right way to do things.

I reckon you'd be better off mounting the camera as high up the shaft as possible, with whatever additional counterweights were required below it. You've got much less chance of vibration affecting the camera if it's near the top.

I think it's something I'd only consider if I were desperate to add another camera and close to what I considered to be the weight limit for imaging for the mount, too.

James

James