Observatory out of planning stage, now in build stage!

[baggywrinkle]

On ‎03‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 22:34, Neil27 said:

Thanks Gina, already on it and thanks for the advice.

Ordered mine of Amazon, make a huge difference when I drop and ep!

[baggywrinkle]

Very nice. I wished I had ordered mine with the offset rails towards the south, but that would have also allowed a street lamp (even though shielded) to intrude

 

 

[The Head Gardener]

Fabulous build . Only just found your thread and have thoroughly enjoyed lookingh through all of it.. Not sure if I dare show it to OH . . . 

Clear skies and many happy nights observing in your new "man cave"

Jayne

[Neil27]

5 hours ago, baggywrinkle said:

Ordered mine of Amazon, make a huge difference when I drop and ep!

Mine off eBay and yes good idea to save anything expensive thats drops on the floor 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311665600685?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=610584543003&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[Neil27]

5 hours ago, baggywrinkle said:

Very nice. I wished I had ordered mine with the offset rails towards the south, but that would have also allowed a street lamp (even though shielded) to intrude

 

 

It was an easy decision for me, I live in a bungalow so the skies south are a great view with no street lights overlooking me so quite lucky.

Hopefully clear skies await currently in Scotland due to work.

Out of curiosity, what size is your RO, mine is 8 feet by 8 feet.

[Neil27]

1 hour ago, The Head Gardener said:

Fabulous build . Only just found your thread and have thoroughly enjoyed lookingh through all of it.. Not sure if I dare show it to OH . . . 

Clear skies and many happy nights observing in your new "man cave"

Jayne

Thanks Jayne,

I appreciate the kind words.

Its all about negotiation and the power of persuasion lol, believe me when it turned up and was erected I got the usual 'gosh I didn't realise it was so big' ..... lol ..... I may have been slightly economical with the tape measure when marking out the edge of the roll off 

As the saying goes Jayne, you only live once, if you can go for it!

Clear skies.

[baggywrinkle]

Mine is a 9x9.

Housing this...I also have an AA 152 ED to go on it. Finishing off the tiling.

I also went out and bought one of those kettle drum BBQ covers from B&Q as a dust cover. £5 works well! I also upgraded the mount to an EQ6 from and AVX. The AVX is a great mount but payload limited.

[Neil27]

Looks great Baggy, good idea about the cheap dust cover, thanks.

clear skies for tonight and tomorrow for the perseid 

[baggywrinkle]

Fingers & toes crossed for a clear night.

[Adaaam75]

Guys, something has occurred to me, I plan to get a couple of years of visual observations under my belt (with the exception of Mount tracking DSLR) before I venture in the persuasions and negotiations of  tracking scope CCD setup so how did you guys and lasses determine the length/height of the pier on the concrete footing when getting the right height for visual observing? Obviously the floor of the observatory is higher than the bottom of the pier in the concrete footing, then you need to account for the roof clearing the scope and also the scopes viewable horizon over the walls of the obs too!!!

[Davey-T]

18 hours ago, Adaaam75 said:

Guys, something has occurred to me, I plan to get a couple of years of visual observations under my belt (with the exception of Mount tracking DSLR) before I venture in the persuasions and negotiations of  tracking scope CCD setup so how did you guys and lasses determine the length/height of the pier on the concrete footing when getting the right height for visual observing? Obviously the floor of the observatory is higher than the bottom of the pier in the concrete footing, then you need to account for the roof clearing the scope and also the scopes viewable horizon over the walls of the obs too!!!

Best to make it as high as possible when scope is parked level, one I've just made is a bit over a meter high but only because that's how long the metal was.

Dave

[Neil27]

On 14 August 2016 at 21:03, Adaaam75 said:

Guys, something has occurred to me, I plan to get a couple of years of visual observations under my belt (with the exception of Mount tracking DSLR) before I venture in the persuasions and negotiations of  tracking scope CCD setup so how did you guys and lasses determine the length/height of the pier on the concrete footing when getting the right height for visual observing? Obviously the floor of the observatory is higher than the bottom of the pier in the concrete footing, then you need to account for the roof clearing the scope and also the scopes viewable horizon over the walls of the obs too!!!

Hi Adam,

you could argue that the imaging boys aren't too fussed about the height of their pier as they really won't be looking through the eyepiece, as the camera will probably be permanently screwed in place.

For me, I measured the height of my pier, 1.1 metres, height of mount/saddle and found I had plenty of room under the roof for it too slide off. Remember the roll off height of sheds are generally 6 feet, or 1.80 metres, so you have plenty of space to play with.

Also I've engineered my pier to be able to extend by 350mm, handy for when I buy my TEC ...... ? .... Maybe something to consider Adam. Also regarding clearance, I've set my park position so the scope is horizontal, another tip picked up from here, the thought of the roof hitting expensive glass just doesn't bear thinking about ...... ?

Hope that helps,

[Adaaam75]

Excellent advice guys. I think I'll set my scope up on a tripod and take measurements from there once I'm happy with the height. That way I can measure the overall height at the right level and make calculations from there.

[Adaaam75]

On 08/05/2016 at 20:18, Neil27 said:

Hi Martin, already purchased this > fancied something dark, but not too dark > http://www.diy.com/departments/dulux-weathershield-exterior-oxford-blue-satin-paint-750ml/127643_BQ.prd?icamp=recs

Then I hope to spray gold and silver stars on the surface - I know very childish but it will amuse me and make me smile each time I step into the observatory  

Neil how did the painting go? I usually check reviews before buying and in all honesty I'd look elsewhere having read the reviews on your link! Have you used it yet and if so is it any good?

[Neil27]

It went well Adam, I chose it mainly for the colour and I've used weather shield before and it has always worked for me.

Easy to apply and give the deep blue I was looking for - I think sometime we can overthink things, after all its just paint, it didn't run, didn't blister and has a degree of exterior protection. So for me worked fine.

Hope that helps,

 

[Adaaam75]

On 08/20/2016 at 10:31, Neil27 said:

It went well Adam, I chose it mainly for the colour and I've used weather shield before and it has always worked for me.

Easy to apply and give the deep blue I was looking for - I think sometime we can overthink things, after all its just paint, it didn't run, didn't blister and has a degree of exterior protection. So for me worked fine.

Hope that helps,

 

That does Neil thanks. I agree things can be over thought sometimes but I just wanted to make sure it has gone on well and looks good, i suspect the reviewers on B&Q are looking for a perfect finish. I simply like the colour!

 

[-Dougal-]

Is your bulkhead light still white and if so does it not effect your night vision? Or have you converted it to red light with a film or something inside the lens and if so would that make it too dim to be of any use?

[The storm fisherman]

Hi Neil like the build 

reading through your thread i have manged to answer 2 off my own questions, A is to leave the pier white and  B how to reduce the distance between the top and bottom mount plate on top of the pier.

Edited October 2, 2016 by The storm fisherman

[Neil27]

On 10/2/2016 at 02:09, -Dougal- said:

Is your bulkhead light still white and if so does it not effect your night vision? Or have you converted it to red light with a film or something inside the lens and if so would that make it too dim to be of any use?

Hi Dougal, yes still white one of the jobs on my to do list!

However I wear a head torch that is red so it kinda negates the necessity of it to be honest, buts its there if ever I need it.

[Neil27]

On 10/2/2016 at 20:36, The storm fisherman said:

Hi Neil like the build 

reading through your thread i have manged to answer 2 off my own questions, A is to leave the pier white and  B how to reduce the distance between the top and bottom mount plate on top of the pier.

Glad to be of help SF, yes definitely white all the way, that way you can see it in the dark and the mounting plate works really well I've found.

[hiroshiman]

Hi Neil, great build! Makes me want to do the same kind of stuff in the garden, if only I had a garden...

Got a stupid question for you guys: Do you leave the mount loaded for weeks in your obs ? Telescope, counter weight and everything? I always worry that it might be bad for the mount.

[Neil27]

On 10/16/2016 at 09:05, hiroshiman said:

Hi Neil, great build! Makes me want to do the same kind of stuff in the garden, if only I had a garden...

Got a stupid question for you guys: Do you leave the mount loaded for weeks in your obs ? Telescope, counter weight and everything? I always worry that it might be bad for the mount.

Hi Hiro,

Yes loaded and ready to roll at a moments notice ..... 

Although the weight of a ES102 and 1 CW isn't going to trouble my mount too much!

Now if it was an EDGE 14 then I may remove and store for a while, hopefully the clouds will clear soon and I can get out and start enjoying it!

Clear skies,

Edited October 18, 2016 by Neil27

[Neil27]

Just a quick update guys, just bought a S/H laptop for the Roll off and hoping to get it set up in the next few days.

Also built a laptop shelf and hoping to reroute some of my cables, over this weekend - pictures to follow.

Sky looking clear tonight so may even get my first image ....... probably!

Thanks and clear skies,

[Neil27]

Finished with the laptop shelf.

Bought a cheap laptop off of eBay - Lenovo Thinkpad.

Bought a little 'workshop' seat from amazon.

Cable 'EQDIRECT' set up.

EQMOD and CdC now talking to each other ... check.

Awaiting clear skies ..... 

Edited November 15, 2016 by Neil27
Removed 1 picture

[chrisshillito]

If you haven't already faked them you might want to consider bluring out your site locaton from those pictures.

Chris.