Astrokev's ROR - The Build

[Yawning Angel]

I’ve used slate chips, so there’ll never be slipping in winter.

I think I  just need some light enough to see the key holes to open up, and that should spill enough to see the path and steps

[Astrokev]

13 minutes ago, Gina said:

I see.  Mine isn't - unless next door have their quadrillion candlepower floodlight on.  They don't usually have it on for very long and I can always ask them to turn it off.

I guess the difference is, I don't live in the middle of Devon!

My neighbour has a similar security light, that I'm sure could be seen from low earth orbit. He has it angled such that it fully illuminates a pine tree to the south-west that's taller than my house, and the tops of my house's gable ends. The problem is, whilst being a nice chap, he's outside in his drive until midnight every night, working on his endless outdoor projects, which sets off the light. I think he's allergic to being indoors. Ridiculous

I politely spoke to him about it a few days ago and he said he would look at lowering the angle, but hasn't done so yet. ?

[Astrokev]

Been suffering blocked sinuses over the last several days so haven’t felt like doing much at all. Bit of a waste of the fantastic weather over Easter, but when you feel like your head’s about to explode, all you really want to do is curl up in a ball. Starting to feel more human again now so hopefully will be able to at least start the path etc!

[Yawning Angel]

Glad you’re feeling better Kev!

[JamesF]

2 minutes ago, Yawning Angel said:

Glad you’re feeling better Kev!

Quite so.  Although if you were to manage being laid up for a few more days so the decent weather can come back, I've got a few things I still want to get finished

James

[Yawning Angel]

Ooh, I just remembered a thought I had - have you considered not making an obvious path, but instead use the hex grid ground reinforcing stuff in the grass? 

[JamesF]

We have some of that and it's quite effective unless you're walking on the area a lot.

James

[fwm891]

9 minutes ago, Yawning Angel said:

Ooh, I just remembered a thought I had - have you considered not making an obvious path, but instead use the hex grid ground reinforcing stuff in the grass? 

Awkward with the high heels though!

[JamesF]

6 minutes ago, fwm891 said:

Awkward with the high heels though!

Make your pier a bit lower and you won't need them :D

James

[Astrokev]

52 minutes ago, Yawning Angel said:

Ooh, I just remembered a thought I had - have you considered not making an obvious path, but instead use the hex grid ground reinforcing stuff in the grass? 

 

Good idea, but I'd need to plant some grass seed first! ?

[Dr_Ju_ju]

and then more work, regularly mowing it....

[Astrokev]

Just noticed that my build thread has hit 40,000 views. That’s pretty crazy 😳. I hope some have found it an interesting build to follow so far. But I’m not quite finished yet. There’s a current lull in activity at the moment while I focus on other needy things, but hoping to give it the final push in the near future. I’ve got the materials to start doing some exterior tidying up and path laying, and hope soon to be installing the electrics. 

So, if you can stand the suspense - please keep watching this space, and thanks for your interest so far 🙂. 

[wimvb]

7 hours ago, Astrokev said:

Just noticed that my build thread has hit 40,000 views. That’s pretty crazy 

No surprise really. This thread is interesting and at times very entertaining. (Much better than telly 😉)

I'm enjoying it a lot, and I appreciate that you take the time to write it. It certainly has given me inspiration to start on my own build. So, thank you.

[Yawning Angel]

46 minutes ago, wimvb said:

It certainly has given me inspiration to start on my own build

I can only echo these words. Without this thread, and @JamesF 's I wouldn't be building mine!

[Gina]

Yep - great thread

[JamesF]

Reading about multiple builds going on at once has been helpful in keeping my motivation going, too.  When things get a bit slowed down it's always a boost to the enthusiasm to see other people getting on with theirs.

James

[upahill]

Just caught up with your build last night and it is very inspirational, looking forward to getting the chance to do something similar myself so the wealth of information that yourself and others put here is invaluable. Thank you for documenting it

 

 

[Astrokev]

A while since I posted on my thread, so this is to let you know I'm still here 😉.

Eventually started work on the step and path. Not much to show yet, but think I've figured out what I want it to look like and have most of the materials. Just starting to prep some sort of foundation cement layer. Much easier laying bricks when what you're laying them on is level!

 

[Astrokev]

So, after a whopping 8 months without an observatory post (or many other posts on SGL for that matter) I'm trying to get back into it …..

First of all, I need to bring my obsy thread up to date, not that there's been much change in the intervening months, but enough to warrant a post or two. I'll do this over the next few days, but to wet the appetite, I've finally got my electrics installed, which is making life a lot easier, but more changes are in the planning. I'll post a few pics to show my layout.

Pleasingly, the obsy is in regular use - or at least as regular as our crazy weather has allowed over the last few months - but it's far from perfect, so I probably need to do more work. My imaging "skills" are moving forwards at a snails pace, but it's all good fun. I ought to start posting some images in the relevant sections to hopefully accelerate my learning!

Stay tuned....

[Alan White]

Nice to see a post from you Kev, look forward to the update.

[Gina]

Yes indeed.

[Astrokev]

So, this is where I'm currently up to with the internal electrics.

I had electrics installed into the warm room a few months back by a local sparky friend. This comprises 4 circuits - 1 x lighting, and 7 x double 13A sockets spread over 3 circuits with breakers. I have not installed any mains power in the scope room.

4 double sockets are above the desk on a single circuit, for desktop stuff - red desk-lamp, laptop, chargers for camera batteries, phone, wireless gamepad, and anything else that crops up (monitors, kettle?), plus some spares as everyone says you should install more than you think you'll need!

Below the desk are 3 double sockets. One, on it's own circuit, is to provide power to the mount and scopes. Currently this only has a single power supply for the mount, via a cheap adapter, which routes through the underfloor conduit and up the conduit inside the pier. My imaging currently uses a DSLR with internal batteries, though at some point this year I'll probably get a dedicated camera which will need to use obsy power. When I reach this point I'll probably upgrade to a better quality PSU to supply the mount/scopes.

The remaining 2 double sockets under the bench are on a separate circuit and power a fan heater, hair-drier (to get rid of dew on the optics until I invest in proper dew-bands) and any other stuff, possibly to include a dehumidifier at some point.

I still need to install LED lighting in the scope room, which will run off a desktop circuit.

I haven't installed any ethernet supplies into the obsy. I'll probably use a power circuit to link to my home ethernet at some point as I believe you can do this. Time will tell if this is a wise move!

The next project is to move my laptop into the warm room, as I currently have this mounted by the pier to link to the mount/scopes. Bit more thinking and research needed to decide what will work best for me to achieve this, but I'm currently thinking along the lines of a simple pier mounted USB hub to connect to mount, guide-camera and (when I get one) a dedicated imaging cam.

Pics below (EDIT - apologies for the huge images. I forgot that I usually resize them before posting but, now that there up, I can't be bothered to edit them! This reminds me how long it is since I posted images!)

Edited January 30, 2020 by Astrokev

[JamesF]

You've even managed not to clutter up your shelves with stuff

Mine are covered with all sorts of bits and pieces already.

James

[poogle]

Looking great!

I tried ethernet over power cable for my obs, but had lots of trouble with network stability due to the fact that my router was not on the same circuit. I eventually had to drill a hole in a wall near the router and connect the obs with a good old network cable. My wife hasn't noticed the hole yet, and 3 weeks has passed, keeping my fingers crossed 😅

/Patrik

[JamesF]

27 minutes ago, poogle said:

I eventually had to drill a hole in a wall near the router and connect the obs with a good old network cable. My wife hasn't noticed the hole yet

Oh yes she has.  She's just saving it for when she needs the ammunition :)

James