new telescope "shelter" :)

[Jannis]

Well, this thing is so ugly i can't even belive it myself, but it's working at least, and it's going to save me lots of time with setting up and packing down.

Need to strengten it a little as it's a bit wobbelish.

Other then that, i'll water-proof it by covering it with plastic on the inside, then paint it on the outside. i will leave it open under so it will have some fresh air comming in.

Hopefully i won't have much moisture building up and ruining the mount.

A bit faster to "set up" and "pack down" now.

Comparing to the time it took me to set up last winter..

[Jannis]

Have there been some changes making it not possible to embed anymore? >_< oh well, URLs are there anyway.

[breezy]

Nice one

[m37]

that's absolutely brilliant mate.

[Bart]

Excellent. Is that road beside your observing point? I'm remote but when the neighbours arrive/leave I have to dash behind the house/garage or close my eyes completely. Whatever about house lights, high beams are a killer! They probably think I'm a nut. Wait, what am I saying 'think'?

Barry

[Jannis]

Yes its a road, and ive had so many exposures ruined by cars... but i dont have any better spot so ill just have to live with it for now.

[Zakalwe]

Is the box tied down? I'd be afraid of a gust of wind catching it and it dragging the mount and scope off the decking...

[Jannis]

Not tied down at the moment, but ot will be whwn its done. To protect from thefts as well. :-)

[Jannis]

It's been a coupple of rather heavy rain and good amount of wind, and still all dry inside there. Only thing i ahvent measured is humidity. But I think it's quite safe to put my telescope in there.

Just a month or so untill the season starts, can't wait to try it out and see hwo it works. ^^

[cgarry]

Embedding videos still works if you change https to http:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2IF9w3tQlI[/media]

Cheers,

Chris

[Jannis]

I see. Thanks for that!

It have been changed since last time i used it then. Before it was [ youtube ] youtube-ID [ /youtube ]. Where it was a bug, that when you pushed "preview", or "edit" afterwards, it changed to [ media ], and the code wouldn't work anymore.

Edit: typo ^^

[Spikey]

I see. Thanks for that!

It have been changed since last time i used it then. Before it was [ youtube ] youtube-ID [ /youtube ]. Where it was a but, that when you pushed "preview", or "edit" afterwards, it changed to [ media ], and the cose wouldn't work anymore.

That doesn't work on your post either for some reason. I'll have a play with it and try and sort it out for you

[Spikey]

Bit of an odd one, no real reason why your links shouldn't have worked; there was no hidden code around them or anomalies.

Anyway I've edited the post and re-created all the links & BB code manually with a http:// header and they seem to be OK now.

[Jannis]

Thanks.

[Pyrodave]

Nice one ! was looking at doing something similar

[breezy]

Pretty nifty

[faulksy]

very good fella, lovely vid of the night sky, and a lovely set up

[planet15]

Very good idea. I have been thinking of something like this for my scopes.

[PlanetGazer]

This is no ugly at all! Functional and looks fantastic! May build one my self. Did you record the construction of it?

[Jannis]

Thanks for the replies

I haven't recorded the construction of it.

It wasn't really anything planned, as i only used whatever i had left laying around - wich i first had planned to just cut up for wood. It's basically just something i put together during one afternoon where i didn't have anything better to do..

The only thing i had to buy was the 4 wheels, and some very thick bolts for the wheels.

This shows a bit better how it looks before the "doors" were put on.

https://www.dropbox....0724_103405.jpg

[Meissa]

Nice one! I'm looking as well on making something like that. As for moisture, I was thinking to place few salt packs. Would that work?

[Jannis]

Indoors i guess it could help to some level, but i dubt it would work outdoors at all, as there's basicallt "unlimited" amount of moisture to suck up.

Then again, it's also so that water goes downwards. meaning, even if it's very moist, if you have anything over it it shuoldn't get wet/dew up - so i'm crossing my fingers it won't be a problem.

[Jannis]

Yesterday i finally got to cover the whole inside of the shelter with a strong plastic foil. So now it "Should be waterproof", i thought. And wanted to" give it a try tomorrow" (today) to make sure everything was good before i left my scope out there.

Well, this night i found out... As i cas giving M3 a go, i suddenly heard some thunder. I looked up, and it was a perfectly clear sky. I looked a bit futher away - MASSIVE thunder storm rushing in...

I didn't really have much time at all, so i just rushed to unplugg everything, put away teh DSLR and other electrical stuff, roll over the shelter, and just pray it actually got waterproof.

After a long rainly night, i woke up today, and went out to look. Perfectly dry! Seems like it's ready enough to be used permanently.

Now i just need to find out how i can have the scope parked in that position, so i won't have to realign every time i use it. If it's even possible?

[madsarmy]

Jannis have you got any ventilation holes? I was wondering if the polythene will cause condensation through temperature changes. I ask because I'm in the planning stage of building something similar for my dob & thought about lining it with builders polythene but was concerned about it sweating.

[Jannis]

No, I don't have any ventilation holes on it.

It have been raining and blowing like mad all day. i checked it a coupple of hours ago when the rain finally stopped, and while it was slight condensation between the plastic foil and the wood at some spots, it was completly bone-dry on the inside.

There is a 3-4cm gap below the whole shelter, as well as the floor isn't sealed, so it got plently of ait from below.

I'll give an update should i notice any problems.

But after a day of heavy rain, no issues. Also didn't have any issues with temperature changes during day/night so far, but will keep an eye on it and report back.