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Obsy for a rented house - to dig or not to dig?


badgerchap

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Hi all,

 

I'm considering building a small scale observatory - remote imaging to keep the form factor small. The problem is I only rent my house, so I can't exactly go all out. My landlord is fairly forgiving though, so I can do minor damage as long as it's repairable when we eventually have to move.

 

My plan then is to repurpose a steel frame (40mm tubing) which I will clad and insulate. This will be easy enough both to build and to move/remove if necessary. However, I'm not sure what I should do about the mount.

 

My setup isn't massive - TS Optics 6" f4 reflector on an NEQ6 with a WO 66mm refractor guide scope. However, I'd like something more stable than the NEQ6's standard tripod as I'd like to not have to do PA every time I go out. I'm looking for ideas for a pier that will be sturdy enough, yet that I don't have to immerse in concrete. I've no worries about burying the base of it just in the ground, but I'm not sure if that'll be stable enough. My thoughts were to use some 160mm HDPE pipe, bury it to a depth of about a metre and fill with sand. The bottom end would be capped so the sand doesn't run out and the top end would be plugged with (something as yet undecided) to hold a pier plate.

 

How stable to people think this would be? As I'd be operating remotely, I'm not worried about disturbing it whilst imaging, but I am concerned it might shift with temperature changes etc.

 

Is this a rubbish plan? If so, any ideas about an alternative?

 

Thanks,

 

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I rent as well, but decided against any permanent installation as it would have meant sticking a hole in the patio. You might get away with it and could aways covert the pier to a bird table should you move out :D 

I've been doing my PA everytime I go out for the last 6 years and it doesnt really bother me, all it takes is a couple of min. Plus I'd be wary of leaving anything outside while not at home in case of light fingered passers by.

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Have a look in the DIY Obs'y section for Keter plastic shed obs,y.

A few in there including mine, 6 X 6 and can be flat packed and taken with you when you move.

Easily erected in a weekend by one person then modded in situ for roll off roof.

Dave

Mount overload.JPG

 

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5 minutes ago, Uranium235 said:

I've been doing my PA everytime I go out for the last 6 years and it doesnt really bother me, all it takes is a couple of min. Plus I'd be wary of leaving anything outside while not at home in case of light fingered passers by.

Are you able to image for long periods with such quick PA? I always struggle to get it good enough in less than a few hours!

 

I'm ridiculously middle of nowhere with good neighbours, so I'm not too worried about those who are light of finger. I'd still put a lock of some sort on the [removed word] though! ;)

 

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Do Skywatcher not do a 'portable' pier for the NEQ 6 mounts?? A quite tall pier with tripod feet very near the bottom?. You could then keep it outside under cover.

That may be a solution for you.

Don't have Skywatcher mount so, tend not to pay to much attention to those.

 

Theres a topic, Leaving Telescope and Kit Outside (No Dome/shed), that may supply some ideas?

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10 minutes ago, badgerchap said:

Are you able to image for long periods with such quick PA? I always struggle to get it good enough in less than a few hours!

 

I'm ridiculously middle of nowhere with good neighbours, so I'm not too worried about those who are light of finger. I'd still put a lock of some sort on the [removed word] though! ;)

 

My gear goes all night without problems, even when using the 200pds @ 1000mm (though I to take a few more moments to check it before starting the run).

For PA I use this:

http://myastroimages.com/Polar_FinderScope_by_Jason_Dale/

Quick, easy and gives you reasonable enough PA. It always helps to have a little drift anyway, it gives the guiding something to chew on. All you need to do is set your RA axis so the polarscope crosshair looks like a "+" (like in the PA software), then adjust the alt/az bolts so it puts polaris where it says it should be. After that, I rotate the RA axis a bit each way to make sure it stays on the line of the outer circle in your polar scope- and if it does, all is good and you can proceed as normal.

polar_finderscope.jpg

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53 minutes ago, Uranium235 said:

Oh, another thing I did was to drill three holes in the patio for the tripod leg tips so its always repeatable, that way when plonk it all down I only have a few adjustments to make.

Ahhhhh, must speed things up a bit! So you're just able to tweak each time rather than start completely from scratch :)

 

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55 minutes ago, Uranium235 said:

Oh, another thing I did was to drill three holes in the patio for the tripod leg tips so its always repeatable, that way when plonk it all down I only have a few adjustments to make.

I've done a paint line running east - west.

Set the rear two legs on the line, job done. Takes a short time to do PA with Polemaster after that.

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1 hour ago, badgerchap said:

Ahhhhh, must speed things up a bit! So you're just able to tweak each time rather than start completely from scratch :)

 

Yeah just afew twiddles is all it takes, its depends on how much I slacked off the az bolts when taking it apart in the previous session.

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If your'e worried about stability and you want a quick set up what about using all the following:

  • Use a heavier duty tripod 
  • Use Uranium235's idea of the marks on the patio 
  • Use either a QHY Polemaster camera or the polar alignment tool in SharpCap software. Either should give you a quick, accurate enough polar alignment.
  • Rig up a permanent wiring loom for all your cables so that connecting everything up is quick and easy.
  • Store your scopes, camera's etc either permanently connected together or semi-assembled to make setting up much simpler and quicker

I hope this helps

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It seems to me that a lot of people go to (or suggest on the forum that others should) extremes with regard to foundations, concrete and digging holes to depths that would be considered "fracking" in some countries. :happy8:

For a light weight rig, stability is close to a non-issue, since you are going to be controlling it remotely.  People's garden furniture doesn't sink into the ground: you don't see bird tables trying to imitate the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or trampolines tilted to one side. Even houses in the UK can be built on foundations of only 0.75m, if the soil is right.

The most you should need inside your frame is a few paving slabs, leveled  and place the mount on that. In terms of pressure (weight of rig and the area of ground that supports the weight) that would be much less than from an adult standing still and I doubt that many people have sunk into your lawn! The Cotswolds doesn't suffer from frost-heave, earthquakes or glaciers. The worst that will happen is that if there is a nearby tree, the soil might dry out a little and might just require the occasional readjustment of your P.E. - but most people do that anyway once or twice a year.

 

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13 hours ago, Uranium235 said:

Yeah just afew twiddles is all it takes, its depends on how much I slacked off the az bolts when taking it apart in the previous session.

I tried a locking nut on one azimuth bolt so then when I dismount the mount, I've only adjusted on of the bolts.

In principle seemed a good idea, but until I'd drawn my line in the ground I was never getting the tripod in exactly the same orientation as the previous night so had to undo it every time.

TBH not tried it again since a drew the line in the ground

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How about a sub ground level concreted pier base? By that I mean dug low enough to be re-covered completely with soil if and when you move on.

My steel piers have flanges designed to be unbolted from the concrete block if required. The 'big' pier in the observatory is held down with 6 x 1m M18 studding and could be removed easily if needed (not sure about the concrete block though!! Something for the archeaologists of the future to puzzle over......)

Img_7329.jpg 

 

Regarding the observatory itself- do you actually need one? My 'outside pier' is exactly that. When not in use the mount lives under a bag. The BBQ covers that protect the mount can be seen in the background of this picture.

_dsf1418_1024_zpskfomysjp.jpg

 

I actually find the outside pier less hassle to use than the main obsy sometimes- it's a lot quicker to set up.

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5 hours ago, laser_jock99 said:

How about a sub ground level concreted pier base? By that I mean dug low enough to be re-covered completely with soil if and when you move on.

 

I was thinking about this - they'd never know, but I'm fairly likely even to get permission.

 

5 hours ago, laser_jock99 said:

 

Regarding the observatory itself- do you actually need one? My 'outside pier' is exactly that. When not in use the mount lives under a bag. The BBQ covers that protect the mount can be seen in the background of this picture.

 

Yeah, because I'm intending to use a load of home grown electronics that won't necessarily be particularly easy to take on/off at any given time. I'd eventually like to have the entire system operated remotely and never have to go outside! I may also swap my 300P for a 200P at some point if I can, so I'd like that to be mountable in the same setup.

 

EDIT: Plus any way which gets my scope stuff out of the house is sure to delight SWMBO, so I might be more likely to get away with some otherwise unsanctioned scope purchases ;)

 

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5 hours ago, laser_jock99 said:

How about a sub ground level concreted pier base? By that I mean dug low enough to be re-covered completely with soil if and when you move on.

My steel piers have flanges designed to be unbolted from the concrete block if required. The 'big' pier in the observatory is held down with 6 x 1m M18 studding and could be removed easily if needed (not sure about the concrete block though!! Something for the archeaologists of the future to puzzle over......)

 

 

Regarding the observatory itself- do you actually need one? My 'outside pier' is exactly that. When not in use the mount lives under a bag. The BBQ covers that protect the mount can be seen in the background of this picture.

 

 

I actually find the outside pier less hassle to use than the main obsy sometimes- it's a lot quicker to set up.

Scribe details or construction and function and put it in a 'time capsule'

If it worked for Blue Peter ?

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I have four 600x600x50mm paving stones resting on gravel infused soil. Together they are very heavy and will support a pier/mount/scope easily. The whole thing is rock solid.

They have the advantage of being able to be broken up and removed leaving no trace.

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  • 1 year later...

I rent also,

and I got lucky,

I have managed to find one wobbly paving in the ideal spot, will remove it and place the pier there. 
Once I will move out to another house, - will place the paving back.

I am a bit concerned leaving NEQ6 mount outside under the plastic bin... 

Such a weather.... Won't it get corroded?

 

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Use a Telegizmos 365 cover (Pricy but worth it) and an occasional spray of silicone water repellent. If you can, rig up a 12V electric pet bed on low, just to keep any residual condensation away.

I have kit worth a small car in my back garden in just such conditions.

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