Just finished my second obsy

[gorann]

In mid April I found an advertisement for a 14" Meade LX200R at the major Norwegian net site for used stuff (finn.no). For those that may not know, the LX200R is the same scope as the LX200ACF but since Meade initially argued that this was a Ritchey-Cretien type scope, they were sued and lost, so they had to change the name from R to ACF (Advanced Coma Free).

I was just too tempted as the price was ok, 25000 NOK so about 2500 GBP, and I could not resist. Also, I had just bought a Mesu200 mount for my obsy and had my EQ8 left over. So, I decided to buy this big Madame and to build a second obsy for her, next to my old one, and put her on the EQ8. In any case, she would not have fit under the roof of the old one and I have a countryside property with plenty of space and a dark sky (60°N in Sweden and some nights SQM=21.6 so Bortle 2). So in late April, I started building a second obsy and now two months later it is done. This time I built a fully insulated structure so that the big Madame would not have to freeze except on clear nights. Here are some images of the building process.

I started with the pier, attaching it to 600 kg of concrete. For the pier I used the kind of plastic tube used for moving water under roads (a culvert) and filled it with steel reinforced concrete. The roof is at a 7° angle and is moved down by gravitation and up with a 12 V winsch (the type used on quad bilkes). The low end of the obsy is facing south. The floor and roof are insulated with styrofoam blocks and the walls with glass-wool. Inside it is 2.5 x 2.3 meters and the hight of the walls falls from about 2.0 meters to 1.5 meters.

[gorann]

First the Madame herself on the steps of the old obsy

[gorann]

Then the digging and concrete work (old obsy in the background)

[gorann]

Then the wood work started. In each of the two beams holding up the rood I put four rook bearings.

[gorann]

Insulating the obsy

[gorann]

Some details of the sliding roof, the pier (with 12 V and 240 V outlets), and the interior.

Edited June 24, 2019 by gorann

[gorann]

Finally, painting the outside and bringing in the EQ8 and the 14" Madame

Edited June 24, 2019 by gorann

[JamesF]

That's gone up impressively fast

Doesn't the cable for moving the roof have the potential to cause diffraction spikes in the image?  Or do you remove it before starting?

James

[wimvb]

1 hour ago, gorann said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, gorann said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very nice, Göran. And a very short build time. 👍

Btw, for those who are not pixel peepers, two essential details. No shoes allowed inside, and a shoehorn next to the entrance. 😋

[Firas]

Congratulations on the neat work Göran! It's masterfully built and well thought. 

The Madam is looking tough!

Are you going after deep sky with it? 

/Firas  

[gorann]

35 minutes ago, JamesF said:

That's gone up impressively fast

Doesn't the cable for moving the roof have the potential to cause diffraction spikes in the image?  Or do you remove it before starting?

James

Yes I unhook the wire. It would not only cause diffraction spikes, it would also restrict the movement of the scope. But unhooking it takes 10 seconds and with a flat roof like this I need to park the scope in horizontal position. The advantage with the flat roof is that I do not have the sky view obstructed by the gables.

[gorann]

42 minutes ago, wimvb said:

 

Very nice, Göran. And a very short build time. 👍

Btw, for those who are not pixel peepers, two essential details. No shoes allowed inside, and a shoehorn next to the entrance. 😋

Yes, no shoes allowed and I have a HEPA-filter air cleaner inside to keep the dust away. Could save me from taking flats (Yes I am being naive😉)

[gorann]

37 minutes ago, Firas said:

Congratulations on the neat work Göran! It's masterfully built and well thought. 

The Madam is looking tough!

Are you going after deep sky with it? 

/Firas  

Thank! Yes, as deep as I can go if the EQ8 can handle it. Maybe I finaly have to move the Mesu200 in there (I drilled the pier-top plate so it can fit both mounts). The scope weighs at least 40 kg with saddle bars, dew shield and cameras, and I need 40 kg of counterweights, so it will take the Chinese mount to its limits.

Edited June 24, 2019 by gorann

[Miguel1983]

Nice work !

[MarsG76]

Great work.. looks nice and neat.

 

[Rob]

Nice Build there.. looks very sharp!. Enjoy