New Obsy in the making

[rodrigol]

Moved house and after a long pause, I started a new build as the one I had in the old place (https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/285320-first-obsy-build/) would never stand the conditions of where we moved. It's quite windy.

So, here is the status of the new one. I've had lots of help and hopefully on the 17th October, everything will start to come in place.

First the base. I got permission to sacrifice a plant box on a corner of the garden that faces south-west. There are no neighbors and so I have a light-less and unrestricted view from South to South-West and about 60 degrees to the north. The base was laid a couple of weeks ago with a long run of armoured cable going from the house to the end of the garden (about 30 meters).

 

 

The obsy is being built and tested in a warehouse. It's a proper ROR this time and emphasis has been placed on making things water tights and solid because of the wind. 

The next few picture show the state of affairs at the beginning of Sept. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the inside. More rollers are coming and hopefully moving the roof is going to be like spreading butter...

 

Work in progress...

 

 

Edited October 7, 2018 by rodrigol

[RolandKol]

Very nice!

I sleep and dream of something similar!

P.S.

You forgot the pilar...

Will you bolt it in?

[rodrigol]

Hi,

I'm not sure about the pilar as the ground was not cooperating for this. So, I decided for a double floor. The wooden floor with holes for the tripod legs, which will rest on the concrete pad. Walking on the wooden floor should not transmit any vibrations to the tripod. 

Indeed, the shed will be bolted into the concrete base.

Thanks for watching ?

 

 

[GraemeC]

Nice work! What keeps the rollers in line?

Graeme

[rodrigol]

The rollers and kept in-line by the roof itself running in parallel on the track bar you can see in in the second picture. We thought of using V-shaped rollers but these could not be procured. More rollers are being installed to make the effort required to move the roof as small as possible. 

R:)

 

[rodrigol]

So, today, finally, the obsy arrived and we've assembled it.  Panels and bits coming off the lorry...

 

The roof is coming...Quite a complex task due to the hedges around our house.

Roof in place. Some heavy duty adjustments required to get everything to line-up nicely....

 

 

Getting close to the end of the working day. Just need to make sure that everything is as it should and enough support is in place. 

 

And there is lots more to show/discuss (not everything is perfect but as an amateur astronomer, I know that many things are a good compromise as long as they work.

Now I've got to do as promised to my other half...some real work!

 

 

[AKB]

Love the way the raised bed is incorporated!  Enjoy!

[rodrigol]

Lots of work has been done. SW ED80MM is in. Electrics are sorted out. Roof is heavy but rolls free. I have sorted out a way to move it for £6. 

[sloz1664]

Like it, anything to ease the work load is good in my book. I'd certainly look at incorporating a garage door motor to open and close the roof, in the future. But, first I would want to be in there observing and imaging. Have you had any time using the Obsy for imaging?

Steve

Edited December 11, 2018 by sloz1664

[Gina]

My observatory roof which runs on 4 large (120mm OD) wheels and round section track I can push ope closed with one finger.  And I reckon it's a lot heavier.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Gina

[JamesF]

I've missed this thread up until now.  Looks like a very nice little build.

James

[Kev M]

Another very professional job, well done.

[michaelmorris]

On 05/10/2018 at 16:52, rodrigol said:

Hi,

I'm not sure about the pillar as the ground was not cooperating for this. So, I decided for a double floor. The wooden floor with holes for the tripod legs, which will rest on the concrete pad. Walking on the wooden floor should not transmit any vibrations to the tripod. 

I have found that one of the great joys of having an observatory is that polar alignment is pretty much a one off affair.  Not having a pier will remove this advantage as the tripod is bound to occasionally get knocked. 

[rodrigol]

Merry Christmas to all and thanks for the the views and feedback. I've managed to get the SWED80 going it's true i do have to be careful walking around the tripod legs. Do far I've been lucky and will post a lunar stack on the imaging forums and an unguided M42 that marks first light for the obsy on the 24 December! The biggest challenge has been processing the data from an ASI 1600 MC. Getting the right debayer pattern has taken up a lot of time. 

[Rusted]

Nice job but I agree with others here. Lose the tripod and the block and tackle.

Or, you'll spend the rest of your life untangling cord. Been there, done that, much too often. 

[rodrigol]

And after a long pause posting here (but I've been posting in the imaging forums) I'm taking most of the advice and... 

The pier is almost done. Some repair is needed for the floor and I hope to finally get the C11Edge out... 

 

[Miguel1983]

Like it, nice work !

PS, does your wife know you took the Dyson ? 😬

[Rusted]

The build quality and finish look excellent!  And now a really serious pier too!

Is the roof still very stiff to move? What about a boat trailer winch?
Quite inexpensive and lots of pulling power. You'd probably have to use two.
Or just move the hook from one end of the roof to the other to go both ways.

I'm using a simple 4" urethane industrial roller and bicycle crank to rotate my hefty 3m/10' plywood dome.
It's completely effortless but that is due to using eight, 7" industrial trolley wheels with "proper" bearings.
It's still hard work [for me] to move the dome manually by pushing or pulling. Overcoming the inertia is the problem.
So my friction drive must be very efficient and provides a perfect drive ratio.
The dome can rotate as fast as I care to turn the crank and reverse is instantaneous and equally effortless.
You'd need to site the crank low down for comfortable winding with a simple chain drive up to the roller under the roof.

 

[Swoop1]

That is quite a clever rotation method and, as a bike shop droid, Iove the crank repurposing😀

[rodrigol]

Need to see about changing rollers. I can move the roof with one hand, but would like it to be with my pinky! 

Some more progress below... 

Yes, I know my tiles are a bit wonky 😁

 

[Rusted]

On 13/06/2019 at 00:09, Swoop1 said:

That is quite a clever rotation method and, as a bike shop droid, Iove the crank repurposing😀

Thanks. The trick is in the leverage applied by the relative spacing of the pivot, counterweight and BB/crank/friction roller assembly.
I can't recommend the friction system highly enough. It has absolutely transformed my ability to rotate the dome completely effortlessly.
Though I haven't applied Rodrigol's Standard Pinky Test yet. I'll report back.

I nearly walked away from the entire dome building project in tears once it was fully clad.
I'm sure other obsy builders must have hit that wall with the increased weight. It really was that bad!
Manual pushing or pulling was killing my ageing, RSI damaged shoulders and elbows!
Despite frequent "cranking," on most clear days ever since, I have now fully recovered.
An ROR friction drive would be much simpler to achieve. 
Sincere apologies for hijacking rodrigol's thread.

[rodrigol]

The latest now is below 

 

I'm now purpising a Celestron Motor Focuser, but the one I got was jammed tight. Hoping for a fix soon.