Ian King?

[Barry-Wilson]

gnomus

You have mail!  I love my IKI ROR obsy - it really transformed my imaging.

I have an IKI-ROR. I don't post here often sorry but feel free to PM me. It's really a HiTec product with David Jackson and David Grennan behind the hardware and software. I'm thrilled with mine. I am beta testing the ASCOM driver for the RoR and have been doing unattended all nighters on a number of occasions (or when the UK weather permits) - works a treat!
See pictures and some comments in a thread I started in early December last year.
Good luck!
Roberto

Roberto

Sounds great.  I spoke to Dave about this ome time ago and have been patiently waiting for him to finish its development.

Has anyone tried the Lunatico Astronomia controllers?

Barry

t transformed my imaging.

[rrb24]

I have heard very good things about the Lunatico products (I use GNS with MaxPilote when imaging unattended) but the fact the Dave Grennan was developing an ASCOM driver for both weather monitor and roof and David Jackson and his brother would install anything was what sold it to me.

I was going to do everything myself: local shed builders, Fosters RoR controller...but gave up when comparing costs to HiTec's offering. I did have my piers (have two in the obsy) down locally and have done all the electronics for scope/imaging automation myself but getting the observatory professionally done was too good to pass.

Roberto

[Sp@ce_d]

gnomus

You have mail! I love my IKI ROR obsy - it really transformed my imaging.

Roberto

Sounds great. I spoke to Dave about this ome time ago and have been patiently waiting for him to finish its development.

Has anyone tried the Lunatico Astronomia controllers?

Barry

t transformed my imaging.

I use their Seletek Platypus, Firefly & AAG_Cloudwatcher. It's all worked with SGP, Maxim & for the last couple of months the Obsy has been automated with ACP [emoji57]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fondofchips]

It's my turn to say thank you as Steve (gnomus) asked about blocking out security/street lights.  I have this problem to the North & have fitted removable boards to shut this light out.  You reminded me to get the wood ordered, thanks.

Pictures here: -   http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26228-street-lights/   and here   http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26229-street-light-boards/

I hope that helps with your question about blocking out close by lights Steve.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[gnomus]

It's my turn to say thank you as Steve (gnomus) asked about blocking out security/street lights.  I have this problem to the North & have fitted removable boards to shut this light out.  You reminded me to get the wood ordered, thanks.

Pictures here: -   http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26228-street-lights/   and here   http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/26229-street-light-boards/

I hope that helps with your question about blocking out close by lights Steve.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

Very good Fondof ... Are you planning on growing your own light blocking hedge in the future? 

[fondofchips]

There is a hedge behind the obsy, not as high as the obsy walls yet, a buddleia blocks out the right hand street light during the summer.  The rest of it is Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Sea Buckthorn & Old English Rose hedging, backed up with a 7ft high heavy duty agricultural wire fence.  The local yobbo's used to run through the gardens before we moved there, not any more.

We did get a slight problem at the other side & my neighbours gardens were damaged, but a strategically placed pile of manure made them turn back...... .   Never underestimate the effectiveness of spiky plants & manure as a security option.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[gnomus]

I have a follow up question about the pier mounting. I've spoken to the chap at Ian King. He is suggesting a 4" thick concrete base along with a 3' cube for the pier. However, the suggestion is that this is one continuous piece of concrete - that is the block for the pier will not be isolated from the rest of the base. A 2" x 2" subframe will then be laid across this, onto which the floor will be attached.

I had read a few threads on here previously, and I had understood that an isolated pier was a 'must'. Have I misunderstood something?

[Davey-T]

Generally the pier would go through a hole in the floor, personally unless you're going to dance about in the obsy I can't see the need for a ton of concrete to mount the pier on.

Dave

[gnomus]

Generally the pier would go through a hole in the floor, personally unless you're going to dance about in the obsy I can't see the need for a ton of concrete to mount the pier on.

Dave

Well I guess that would depend upon the quality of the image. I wouldn't want to rule out dancing altogether. I do still have some pretty sweet moves in the locker.

[fondofchips]

Fondofchips, did Dapasheds build it completely for you to your design?  You mind PM'ing me how much it cost please?  I have the skills to build one myself, I have little doubt, but time is a precious commodity in Steve-world with me being a single parent. I'd rather slab out an area, dig a few holes and pay for one.  

Yes they did build it to my design, sorry for the slow reply but I've only just spotted your question.  Mine was the first one that DAPA sheds built, the only other one was a 10ft octagonal dome type obsy.  Must be a bit of a monster as DAPA sheds had 2 circular running rails made.  Judging by the size of this 10ft angle iron ring it must have been a pretty solid job.  Peter at DAPA sheds doesn't do ordinary sheds, likes a challenge & will build it as you want it.  My obsy price was roughly the Ian King price but I got the warm room as well.  I've talked to Peter recently and he still thinks he can do the obsy cheaper.  Though I've noticed that Ian King does a automatic roof option, which Peter at DAPA sheds probably would not.  If you are like me & don't mind pushing your own roof open then DAPA sheds should be cheaper.  My build swopped & changed, evolving as the build went on.  I asked Peter after he had built mine would you do another one & he said yes.  Only very minor changes have been made & it has all worked OK since first light a year ago.  Most of the strength in my obsy is due to the outer cladding being made of thicker wood, the skin holds it all together, this is similar to aircraft construction where it is called "stressed skin".

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

You are on target to pass my total number of viewings Steve, you are already past 1,000!  It's all in a good cause as obsy's can soon get more expensive than they need to be and good information is the key to getting it right first time & keeping down the cost.

[gnomus]

Thanks again Fondof. I have tried ringing Peter for a quote, but he never seems to be in. I e-mailed him today, and am hoping to hear back from him soon.

PS: Did you go for a one piece concrete floor, or an isolated block for the pier?

[fondofchips]

Thanks again Fondof. I have tried ringing Peter for a quote, but he never seems to be in. I e-mailed him today, and am hoping to hear back from him soon.

PS: Did you go for a one piece concrete floor, or an isolated block for the pier?

My picture of the ground clearance & concreting in the anchoring studs is shown in my Gallery.  Effectively the whole of the base is one piece as there is concrete under all the slabs.  I made my base 1ft larger in both directions so for a 12 x 8ft shed the base was 13 x 9ft.

Pictures here : -  http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/18174-pier-mount-2/

After 2 pours of concrete the studs were still wobbly, as you can see in the picture I dug down below the existing concrete increased the size & added additional steel bars as well clamped to the studding to make it all fit together & increase the strength.

If you want to do Astrophotography then insolating the concrete block around the pier base from the rest of the shed base is needed, best explanation of this is in Steve Richards book "Every Photon Counts" I have read the book twice even though I'm only an observer, his sections on mounts are also well worth a read.

Peter is on "small jobs" at the moment, so he will be out of the workshop.  When the weather is good he's out putting up & repairing sheds, leave him a message he will get back to you.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.  

[ollypenrice]

I'm notoriously concrete-sceptical in that I think these vast excavations filled with a small inland sea of concrete are really just a bit of internet mania. When we were imaging with the 14 inch ODK at 2.4 metres it was riding on a free standing Mesu pier just plonked on the ground. In this case the ground was just a bog standard 5 inch floor slab. I subsequently did make small timber batons to stop it being nudged but that's all it's ever had. (However, for humanitarian reasons I neither sing nor dance in public... )

Should sand in piers be kiln dried? I mixed mine with old engine oil, an idea from the net as I remember. It seemed a reasonable thing to do.

Olly

[gnomus]

I'm notoriously concrete-sceptical in that I think these vast excavations filled with a small inland sea of concrete are really just a bit of internet mania. When we were imaging with the 14 inch ODK at 2.4 metres it was riding on a free standing Mesu pier just plonked on the ground. In this case the ground was just a bog standard 5 inch floor slab. I subsequently did make small timber batons to stop it being nudged but that's all it's ever had. (However, for humanitarian reasons I neither sing nor dance in public... )

Should sand in piers be kiln dried? I mixed mine with old engine oil, an idea from the net as I remember. It seemed a reasonable thing to do.

Olly

Did you use a 'commercial' pier? Am I correct in thinking that these are a fixed height?

[wuthton]

I'm notoriously concrete-sceptical in that I think these vast excavations filled with a small inland sea of concrete are really just a bit of internet mania.

Olly

But... But... But what if your rig was in a missile strike, you might drop a sub!!

[Zakalwe]

I have an IKI RoRo obsy..it was one of the early ones. I think that the design has changed a fair bit since I had mine, so take this feedback for what it's worth. I think, for example, that they have now moved to tanalised log lap, which is a big step up from the T+G on mine.

The design is good...mine has withstood 18 months of lovely Lancashire coastal weather without a drop of rain getting in. The roller system is great- steel wheels on steel tracks is the way to go.

There were a few bits and pieces that I had to "fettle", but nothing major. Mine is 7' x 7' which is cosy. I'd like it to be bigger, but I don't really have the room. It'd be too small for visual, but I am 100% imaging.

I dug out about 150mm of soil, laid some landscape fabric (to stop the MOT migrating into the ground). Over this I laid about 100mm of MOT which was compacted with a whacker plate. 50mm of sharp sand went on top, again compacted with a whacker. I then laid some concrete paving slabs, and then erected the obsy on that. It's been solid.

I did dig out about a 3' x 3' x 3' hole for the pier. The size of the hole will depend a lot on the local ground conditions. If you are on rock, then good luck with digging out a big hole. You also want to be below the frost heave line to prevent the pier lifting in cold weather. My ground is very poor....my house is built on what was effectively a swamp. I had a a house extension built some years back and we used used mini-piles to hold the foundation ring-beam. The piles went down 9 metres before hitting solid ground!

I built a rebar cage in the hole (nothing too fancy) and then used a mini-mix company to chuck in a tonne or ready mix. Much easier (and cheaper) than hiring a mixer and mixing the concrete! The pier base was poured in 20 minutes. The pier base is semi-isolated from the obsy pad. The pier base pokes up through the obsy floor (see below in an old incarnation) as I was trying a few different things at the time. There's no movement when DSO imaging, unless I purposefully jump on the pier pad. Normally when DSO imaging I control it remotely, so isolating the pier pad isn't important to me. I am in the obsy when doing Lunar/planetary, but that's a different kettle of fish.

Piers? I think my views are well known on piers. I chose a steel pier because I see no advantage to using concrete. Plus, it's easier to get and modify. I see no need to fill it with sand. Yes, my pier will ring it if is hit with a hammer. My advice would be that if you don't what your pier to ring, then don't go round whacking it with a hammer. Most of what I have seen about levelling plate, studding "vibrating" and flexing is BS, IMHO. Use 16mm studding and it is not going to flex or vibrate. There's no mandatory need to level the pier top (but a pier that wasn't vertical would drive me mad!). It does make it easier to adjust the height if you ever change the mount or scopes!. Plus, with a steel pier, you can easily add a piece on. I increased the height of my pier when I changed to the EQ8 by getting a CHS section and two plates. I took off the top plate, bolted the new section in, and popped back on the top plate. That'd be much more tricky if I had a concrete pier.

Overall, having an obsy made a massive difference to me. It's my man-cave (we all need one of those, don't we?!). Please ask away if you want any more info.

[gnomus]

Thanks Zakalwe for your detailed post (though that avatar is deeply disturbing). Obviously the IKI guys were able to build the floor frame around your isolated pier plinth - I'll probably do that. The idea of slabs over sand is a good one which I might think about. Excuse my ignorance, but what is MOT?

[rrb24]

Agree with the comments from Olly. Thank you Stephen for your IKI RoR's post.   Mine was completed in early December last year and is as water tight as I could have wished for. Before David Jackson and his brother came to install it, I had a concrete base (11x6.5') poured to a depth of around 3".  The (two) pier foundations were 70cm deep for a 65cm square. No mesh, no steel, no big rocks, just concrete.  The piers are 10" and 9" in diameter; made of oil pipe steel tubes 1" thick.  By the time HiTec arrived to install the RoR the pier "cubes" had not set completely but I have had absolutely no problems.  I am very well polar aligned (used PEMPro's routine) and image for up to 40 min single frames in narrowband; not field rotation and as good stars as the UK seeing allows.  The only frames I need to drop in those are because of passing satellites/planes and clouds...

I did ask the guys who did the concrete base for me to leave a small (1" thick) bit of wood between the concrete floor and the pier foundations; but it was only 10" deep or so. HiTec built the floorboards around both piers in no time so they are isolated at that level.  

One of my scopes is for imaging only.  The other one is for visual/planetary imaging.  I have been in the observatory collimating the visual scope (a large F20 Mak) and/or taking shots of Jupiter and moving about and have had no issues with what the other scope is imaging.  I don't go jumping up or down but besides avoiding hitting the imaging scope, I have managed to carry out my visual routine without affecting my guiding/images.

Roberto

[Zakalwe]

Thanks Zakalwe for your detailed post (though that avatar is deeply disturbing).

You should see me in real life if you think the avatar is disturbing....

 Obviously the IKI guys were able to build the floor frame around your isolated pier plinth - I'll probably do that. The idea of slabs over sand is a good one which I might think about. Excuse my ignorance, but what is MOT?

No, I built the obsy. I just chopped the floor with a circular saw and then re-braced it.

MOT is hardcore...a mix of gravel, small stones, crushed rock and sand. It binds together when a whacker plate is run over it and it makes an ideal sub-base.

Type 1 is what you want.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Granular-Sub-Base-MOT-1-Jumbo-Bag/p/224665

[Zakalwe]

Another tip, especially if your obsy is in an exposed position. In a normal garden shed, the inevitable pile of lawnmowers, junk, tools and so on adds a LOT of mass and keeps what is basically a wooden box anchored. An obsy is mostly empty space, and a pitched roof can generate a lot of lift in a high wind.

Get a couple of these tie-down rings (any ironmonger will do them). When you are bolting in the ground anchors, leave a bit of rod sticking up. Bolt the pier down, then pop the tie-down on top of the nut and tighten with a second nut.

A couple of ratchet straps over the purlins and pulled down onto the tie downs will stop the roof from moving AND hold the obsy down when the wind gets up.

In normal breezes I just use an 8mm turnbuckle in each corner

[ollypenrice]

Did you use a 'commercial' pier? Am I correct in thinking that these are a fixed height?

Yes, we used (and still use) the standard Mesu pier. Here it is with Yves, its original owner. I tailored the observatory around this rig.

It is now carrying the dual Tak and could do to be a bit higher because the westerly scope starts to image the wall rather too soon! I should really just stand it on three concrete-filled breeze blocks set onto the floor with building epoxy. However, I do like to maintain a long 'to do' list so no holding of breath... 

Despite the lack of a concrete elephant beneath it I can tell you exactly how many subs this mount has dropped to guiding error since it arrived over three years ago. None.

Olly

[fondofchips]

MOT is good stuff, it's under my concrete driveway.  Was there all winter when it got too cold to lay the concrete & didn't shift at all.  Best bought in bulk, or if they are ripping up tarmac in your area have quiet word with lads doing it, the ripped up tarmac is very similar to MOT.

In any case readymix concrete is the way to go, I have a concrete mixer but the sheer amount of concrete still makes it hard work.  Around 1.6 tonnes around the pier base on it's own.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[Gina]

I don't find that avatar at all disturbing - I think it's hillarious    I love it

[Davey-T]

Here's mine just bolted through six inches of concrete topped with paving slabs, isolated from floor, 4x 3" angle iron legs buried in 18" deep x 24" square of concrete.

If I image planets and jump up and down it makes them wobble a bit. Olly probably has the advantage of living on a rock 

Dave

[Zakalwe]

I don't find that avatar at all disturbing - I think it's hillarious    I love it

Aww.....shucks. :wub:

<<Hugs>> to you too Gina.