Pop up Observatory

[OneEyedSam]

There are several pop up tents in use, but I was wondering if anyone has seen anything that could be used as a shelter from stray light.

I was thinking something like a 6-8 foot diameter pop up cylinder (~6 feet high) with no roof, perhaps with a velcro door. Big enough for my 12" lightbridge (and me)

Does that make sense ? Anybody seen anything vaguely resembling this ?

[Mentalmackem]

ive not seen one but it sounds like a brilliant idea and il be watching this to see if anyone finds one as my neighbours security light is the bane of my life at the moment

[OneEyedSam]

race you to the patent office

[OneEyedSam]

i did spot this... http://store.smartastronomy.com/poobte.html

[carastro]

What about this one, but getting your Dob inside might be difficult if it's heavy.

Edited January 10, 2013 by carastro

[Mentalmackem]

What about this one, but getting your Dob inside might be difficult if it's heavy.

The website domain of the company that sells them is now free so im guessing the company no longer exists

[carastro]

That's a shame. Perhaps some-one might have 2nd hand one for sale.

Carole

[OneEyedSam]

yeah, saw that one, looked a little small for the dob. Roof looked to contain some of the support rods, which might be problemmatic.

[carastro]

I've got one like the link suggest above. Doesn't take too long to set up.

This is it set up in my garden when I first bought it.

[OneEyedSam]

looks good, I'll have to do some more digging around/measuring

[Martin-Devon]

Carole, your pop-up cover looks good - is it a fishing bivvy or something similar - can you give us the weblink to what you've ordered, thanks

[OneEyedSam]

spotted these http://www.tents4work.co.uk/forensic_work_tents.html their forensic screens might work....

[OneEyedSam]

thinking out of the box, look at the image before last .... http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/517767940/POP_UP_AND_PORTABLE_CAMO_HUNTING.html

[LDUNN1]

I have one like Carol has shown & I have used it with a 6" f9 refractor mounted on an nEQ6 (so pretty bit). Couple of issues with it for your intended use:-

1) the ground sheet is sewn in, so you'd have to errect the shelter first, then get all your kit in through one of the small doorways (or over the top - yikes with a 12" dob!!!). I wish this tent didn't have, or at least had a removable ground sheet, so you could set up you imaging gear & then put the tent up over it should conditions change & dictate some protection was required - be that a shower or wind, or maybe stray light that was not present (or missed) at the start of a session.

2) the next issue is that with my setup, the eyepiece / camera was right at the edge of the tent, so I had to either lean against the inside of the tent to distort & lean it over to give me room to observe, or I had to go outside the tent & observe leaning over.

3) the top of the tent is only about 5' (approx - I have not measured, this is a guess, but it is roughly chest height for me & I'm 6'3". ) - the top of my scope sticks out a long way, & a decent sized dob might be similar.

Hope that helps.

as an aside - this tent comes with a 'shower cap' that covers the central opening. I was warned that this can fill with water if there is a shower, & it can 'collapse' inwards, dumping any water inside the tent. There is a separate 'storm cover' which goes right over the whole tent right to the ground & provides much better protection if you should be caught out by a shower (or rain storm). I've thought about building a simple frame work that can quickly be put up around a rig & then the storm cover thrown over this. There is no ground sheet to worry about then & if the 'shower' turns into an 'alnighter' & you decide to pack up, you could do so under the protection of the storm cover supported by this DIY frame work.

I once got caught out by a shower - throw a tarp over my rig, but the show only got heavier & eventually we decided to pack up, but it was hard to dis-assemble everything & stow it back in cases when you only have a tarp loosely thrown over the rig & the rig is supporting the tarp - hence the thought about the storm over.

PS - the fishing / hunting pop-ups above have enclosed roofs, you are not going to be able to use them while observing, & if you cut away the roof material, it looks like the supporting struts will still be well in the way - & if you cut supports in the roof the structure might lose its integrity - just cutting the roof material might also have the same effect.

Edited January 14, 2013 by LDUNN1

[LDUNN1]

FYI - I've emailed tents4work to get more details on their screening products. Will share details if/when I receive more info. These look closest to solving the issues I have with my existing tents.

PS thx oneeyedsame for posting!!!

Edited January 14, 2013 by LDUNN1

[Astronut1982]

Has anyone ever thought about converting a pop up gazebo?

I was thinking that if you removed the roof section, it would make a decent mobile observatory which would be quick to put up or take down & also give ample room inside. It is also height adjustable so you can adjust it to whichever is best for you.

If I can find a cheap one then I think it's worth having a go to see if I can convert it, if it doesn't work then there is no great loss.

Does anyone have any idea as to whether that would work or not?

Jeff

[OneEyedSam]

not a bad idea, do you mean to remove the metal parts of the roof, or just cut a hole in the cloth covering. I've got one in my shed, i'll try to take a look to see how vital the metal roof parts are (structural integrity isnt that much of a priority here .

Mine doesnt have sides, but I assume they can be purchased with sides.

[OneEyedSam]

http://www.garden-camping.com/product/2.0mtr%20x%202.0mtr%20Waterproof%20Pop%20Up%20Gazebos/2.0mtr%20x%202.0mtr%20FULLY%20WATERPROOF%20Black%20Pop%20Up%20Gazebo%20with%20Four%20Side%20Panels%20and%20Bag/196

55 quid

[the bishop]

hi

i have looked at some of the links above and a couple look real possibilities but at a price!!

it has just crossed my mind that i have a couple of pop up shooting hide/blinds... (woodland camo doghouse type)

i will have to get them out and have a look as both have various windows and just might do

if i remember they cost beteween £75 -120 (different sizes) from an on line hunting/gun shop

but there have been several on ebay for shooting or photography

in many different shapes/prices/sizes. some with seats!

[Astronut1982]

Yeah I was thinking remove the metal parts of the roof so it opens up then just put the sides up to keep stray light out. I wouldn't remove all the material from the top however, if you leave a few inches all the way round the top, you'll be able to keep the corner coverings to ensure all stray light is blocked out & will also still be able to use the guy ropes to help strengthen it.

I doubt it would affect the gazebo too much structurally for our uses as if it's particularly windy, I wouldn't be using it in that case but you can buy weighted feet for the legs as well which would help.

You can purchase them with sides or there are companies who sell the sides seperately if thats all you need.

The gazebo you've linked to Sam looks a good size at a decent price, just cover up the windows with the material you remove from the top & it would be just the ticket if you ask me!

Jeff

[the bishop]

re my above post on hunting hides

the ones i have dont have a floor in them so they could be picked up and

just placed over the scope after set up

they have cord oooo!!...cant think of the word!!!

to secure them to the floor on four corners

old age dont come ummmmmm :grin: re my above post on......

[Pig]

Hiya I actually have one its called a doghouse - its for pigeon shooting, Im not sure if it will be big enough for your scope.

If you type in google "popup hide doghouse" you will get lots of hits - ther are some bigger versions too

[cotterless45]

My toilet tent has been up 3 years. It blocks a streetlight, the 6ft fence panel and shed make a good hide away.

Bought a gazebo, but one night the wind took hold and mangled it. Going to covert an old Argos 4 man tent to observe out of the middle bit.

Seems that for what they are commercial pop up units are a bit pricey,

Nick.

[Astronut1982]

IMHO I don't think any of the hides will be big enough in height or width for a 12" dob let alone a 12" dob & a person.

I'm in the same boat as Sam, I'll be using a 12" dob in mine or if I'm imaging, an 8" astrograph on an NEQ6 so if the pop up gazebo works which I think it will with a little bit of sewing & DIY It would be the best & cheapest option.

It has no ground sheet so you can set up your kit & then move the gazebo once this is done. You can adjust the height so it can be set lower for a Dob or higher if imaging on an EQ mount. They're available in various sizes so you can buy a smaller one to fit you & your dob [in Sams' case] or a bigger one so it can also house any other equipment you need like a laptop & other equipment for imaging [in my case] or, if you have have other people with you.

Add to that the fact that pop up gazebos are relatively cheap compared to the cost of a hide or dedicated mobile observatory which is a factor [certainly in my case it is lol!]. It's because of these reasons that I think I'll give the pop up gazebo a try to see if it is fit for purpose.

Jeff

[Astronut1982]

The wind knocking down the gazebo wouldn't be a problem for me as it'll be taken down after I'm finished, it only takes a few mins to setup/take down so I don't mind doing that.

The gazebos Sam has linked to are around £50 which I'd be happy to pay to find out if it works. If not I'll try something else but for the time being, I think the pop up gazebo is the way to go for what I need all things being considered.

Jeff