The Observing Area Build

[Alan White]

Well sad day, but sensible choice made I hope.
Pier unbolted and in the For Sale section.

Just the glued in bolts to cut off over the weekend and trim down the cable duct top,
sadly some hard graft now wasted, but rest assured the pad will not now sink 😀,
if it does Southern England will be in trouble!

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by Alan White

[Alan White]

To blend the Observing Area and 'Khazi' more with the garden, it has gone green.
Shame the garden has gone brown of course!

The garden fence is slowly being treated with green as well.
All blends well with the shrubs and trees.

And of course I have upped my 'Green' credentials too 😉

[AdeKing]

47 minutes ago, Alan White said:

To blend the Observing Area and 'Khazi' more with the garden, it has gone green.
Shame the garden has gone brown of course!

The garden fence is slowly being treated with green as well.
All blends well with the shrubs and trees.

And of course I have upped my 'Green' credentials too 😉

That looks incognito now Alan and blends in with the garden nicely. 

My wife has recently requested that I paint my white pillar mount green to blend in with the garden, that was a possibility with the Green GP on it  but seems wrong now it's got a white GPD2 mount attached to it.

[Alan White]

24 minutes ago, AdeKing said:

That looks incognito now Alan and blends in with the garden nicely. 

My wife has recently requested that I paint my white pillar mount green to blend in with the garden, that was a possibility with the Green GP on it  but seems wrong now it's got a white GPD2 mount attached to it.

Green cover over the mount Ade?

[AdeKing]

32 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Green cover over the mount Ade?

Actually I do have a green cover on it already, its apparently the three white legs sticking out from underneath the cover that she finds offensive.

[Alan White]

26 minutes ago, AdeKing said:

Actually I do have a green cover on it already, its apparently the three white legs sticking out from underneath the cover that she finds offensive.

You obviously don’t tan well 😂

[Swoop1]

You're Jake the P....

Oh- better not.

[iPeace]

Let's not go beyond the pale...

[Jamgood]

That was a great thread to read @Alan White. I really enjoyed reading about your journey from light pollution to observing again. Shame you had to lose the pier in the end but needs must, I guess.

[Rusted]

The new dangerous sport for 2020?

Extreme observing spot landscaping under duress.

Mine likes my two storey, 10' green dome on top of a 15' tall octagon [with veranda].

So there!
 

[Peter Drew]

All my "stuff" is over 2 miles from the house.   No, we don't have that large a garden!        🙂   

[Alan White]

16 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Landscaping under duress.

That is exactly how it felt, but very pleased with the end result,
even Mrs. W does not dislike the finished item.

[Alan White]

1 minute ago, Peter Drew said:

All my "stuff" is over 2 miles from the house.   No, we don't have that large a garden!        🙂   

And I thought I was trudging out to observe.

[AdeKing]

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

And I thought I was trudging out to observe.

Me too. 😳

[Alan White]

,Well, as these things go another change has taken place, perhaps what I should have done at the start!

The shelves all removed from the 'Khazi' and its now a mini-shed for the Dob and Tripod and Mount.
Driven by a year long project with the builders in at home, I needed to have access to the scopes and kit, clean and dust free.
For Jan and Feb, they have been wrapped away and no access to scopes, which was not tenable for a whole year or more.

So the Khazi is less toilet and more shed going forwards, for now, but as someone hinted at the start, it might grow more walls and a roof one day,
but that is more than a local managment convinving job as we sit in Green Belt amd might require permission.

As it was:

As it now is:

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by Alan White
To add pictures from phone

[NGC 1502]

Well done Alan, looks like the mini shed was made to measure, did you remove the loo roll 😁
 

You have strong looking dust caps each end of the Dob, more substantial than the shower caps I use, where did you get them please ?

Cheers from Ed.

[Alan White]

10 hours ago, NGC 1502 said:

Well done Alan, looks like the mini shed was made to measure, did you remove the loo roll 😁
 

You have strong looking dust caps each end of the Dob, more substantial than the shower caps I use, where did you get them please ?

Cheers from Ed.

Ed, thanks, yes indeed it was sized to possibly do this duty when it was built last year.

The caps are from the chap in Russia, Roman Backay at R-Sky, same maker of the Monks Hoods
https://r-sky.org/en/

As to the Loo Roll, its behind the Dob 😉 I still have a flush of sucess with this project!

Edited March 5, 2021 by Alan White
added a link and name

[Saganite]

A very nice Khazi Al.

Edited March 5, 2021 by Saganite

[Swoop1]

Is the kahzi deep enough for hinged shelves that you can flap down when using the area?

[Alan White]

2 hours ago, Swoop1 said:

Is the kahzi deep enough for hinged shelves that you can flap down when using the area?

Sadly not quite, miss measured when built by a 25mm!  
But where there is a will..... 
Thanks for the sugestion, food for thought.

 

[JeremyS]

12 hours ago, Alan White said:

Ed, thanks, yes indeed it was sized to possibly do this duty when it was built last year.

The caps are from the chap in Russia, Roman Backay at R-Sky, same maker of the Monks Hoods
https://r-sky.org/en/

As to the Loo Roll, its behind the Dob 😉 I still have a flush of sucess with this project!

Don’t forget to put the lid down when you’re through, Alan.

😊

[Alan White]

Fine folks, a penny for your thoughts on my musings if I may.

I have been pondering about the Observing Area and the direction it took;

I have noted that loosing the pier was dramatic and has reduced my inclination to go out and set up,
when I had a fixed spot I went outside and tried my luck with the weather far more than I am doing this year.

So three thoughts / questions as much to myself as SGL.

A mistake removing said pier or a step too few?
If a mistake, how do I resolve this?
If a step too few, more walls and a sliding roof?

Just my thought process in public really, but appreciate any input folks.

Mrs W is going to love this one when I drop it into conversation, I lived to tell the tale of pier build and removal, but... 😉


 

[Rusted]

What you really need is one of those bus lane, traffic bollards which pop up in front of errant cars.

Slap your mount on top and you are a certified, stealth pier owner.

[JeremyS]

Well, I thought you were going in the right direction with the pier, Alan. Having something permanently set up is hugely beneficial and a real impetus to observe

[AdeKing]

How about something like the iOptron tri-pier Alan?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-mounts-motors/ioptron-tri-pier-portable-pier-tripod.html

Not cheap by any means but this could be set up, with a mount on top then covered and left set up semi-permanently.

This would have the flexibility that it would be very stable and can be easily moved to give you to the prime observing spot back when you need it for the dob.