Pixel Skies Astro Telescope Hosting

[Robny]

Hi All

Does anyone use these: https://www.pixelskiesastro.com/remote-telescope-hosting-spain#

As far as I can tell, its a company that will host your own telescope (in spain) so you can use it remotely.  The fact that it doesn't state any type of guide price on their website, indicates to me that I cannot afford it 😂

But I'm just wondering how far out of reach it might be?  As its an interesting concept/thought given our perma-cloud situation 😬

Need to do a bit of research before bringing it to the attention of the finance director

Rob

[andrew s]

I have my rig there. I suspect the price depends on how much space you need. I have a standard space (Paramount MEII ODK16) and pay £300 pm.

The service is excellent.  Happy to discuss via PM .

Regards Andrew 

[Robny]

2 hours ago, andrew s said:

I have my rig there. I suspect the price depends on how much space you need. I have a standard space (Paramount MEII ODK16) and pay £300 pm.

The service is excellent.  Happy to discuss via PM .

Regards Andrew 

Thanks for letting me know, I think at the price its too much for me.  Arr well, was worth a thought, no matter how brief.  Thabks for taking the time to reply 🙂

[ollypenrice]

The way to cut the cost of a robotic setup is to share it with other imagers. Would that work for you?

Olly

[andrew s]

14 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

The way to cut the cost of a robotic setup is to share it with other imagers. Would that work for you?

Olly

If you are more interested in data and images than enjoying your kit then sharing a robotic set is the way to go. Obviously it's not for everyone and I miss tinkering with my kit but I am getting data on flare stars that would be impossible from Cheshire.

Regards Andrew 

[ollypenrice]

2 minutes ago, andrew s said:

If you are more interested in data and images than enjoying your kit then sharing a robotic set is the way to go. Obviously it's not for everyone and I miss tinkering with my kit but I am getting data on flare stars that would be impossible from Cheshire.

Regards Andrew 

As a robotic host (with no availability) I rather dream of having someone else fiddle with my kit!

🤣lly

Edited October 29, 2020 by ollypenrice

[pete_l]

5 hours ago, andrew s said:

£300 pm.

If purchased wisely that would get you a mortgage on a not too bad house in the area near Pixelskies. Though that then becomes a long-term investment and requires some presence (if only to set up your robotic rig).

Plus you have the issue of security. Would you be happy leaving 20k of kit unattended?

[Robny]

29 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

The way to cut the cost of a robotic setup is to share it with other imagers. Would that work for you?

Olly

Possibly in the future, though, maybe it's not for me.  Was wondering about the pricing to see if it is something worth thinking about, but it isn't, not yet.

12 minutes ago, andrew s said:

If you are more interested in data and images than enjoying your kit then sharing a robotic set is the way to go. Obviously it's not for everyone and I miss tinkering with my kit but I am getting data on flare stars that would be impossible from Cheshire.

Regards Andrew 

I'm not, I like using my kit, I like make adjustments and alterations but I like using it under the stars more, which at the moment is difficult.  

9 minutes ago, pete_l said:

If purchased wisely that would get you a mortgage on a not too bad house in the area near Pixelskies. Though that then becomes a long-term investment and requires some presence (if only to set up your robotic rig).

Plus you have the issue of security. Would you be happy leaving 20k of kit unattended?

Hmm...now that's worth thinking about...lol

Maybe a move to the country away from LP would be better, at least when I do get to use it I'm not battling LP also

[andrew s]

17 minutes ago, pete_l said:

If purchased wisely that would get you a mortgage on a not too bad house in the area near Pixelskies. Though that then becomes a long-term investment and requires some presence (if only to set up your robotic rig).

Plus you have the issue of security. Would you be happy leaving 20k of kit unattended?

I think this underestimates what's involved. Not only do you need to set up the rig but even the most trivial of issues may require on site support. In addition you would need an enclosure that you can guarantee would shut in bad weather, with all the other necessary services including satellite internet and much more.

As examples Dave has cleaned and realigned my filter wheel that stopped working, cleaned and replugged USB leads, reset the Paramount when it got into a "can't  slew" state and many more. All as part of the service.

Dave and the team at PixelSkies provide an invaluable professional service. It's not for everyone but running a genuinely remote robotic rig is not at all trivial. Value as always is a personal assessment. 

Regards Andrew

PS yes you could move there as an alternative @Robny

 

Edited October 29, 2020 by andrew s

[Whirlwind]

9 hours ago, Robny said:

Hi All

Does anyone use these: https://www.pixelskiesastro.com/remote-telescope-hosting-spain#

As far as I can tell, its a company that will host your own telescope (in spain) so you can use it remotely.  The fact that it doesn't state any type of guide price on their website, indicates to me that I cannot afford it 😂

But I'm just wondering how far out of reach it might be?  As its an interesting concept/thought given our perma-cloud situation 😬

Need to do a bit of research before bringing it to the attention of the finance director

Rob

They are more than helpful and very patient.  Hopefully I will have a system there shortly (they already have cameras etc) but am waiting for the mount to ship out to them.  Eventually it will be 12" corrected reflector and FLT98 but the world is not being kind at the moment to the plans.  

I have my own equipment at home as well, so that scratches the observing itch, but it's not a permanent set up (and probably won't be for a while) and it always seems to be clear when I have important work areas to attend which is more than frustrating.

It depends on what you like to do, whether it is the technical challenge, or you want the imaging.  I've sort of got over the technical challenge and actually want to get some decent images for a change (rather than a few hours here and there).

 

[ollypenrice]

2 hours ago, andrew s said:

I think this underestimates what's involved. Not only do you need to set up the rig but even the most trivial of issues may require on site support. In addition you would need an enclosure that you can guarantee would shut in bad weather, with all the other necessary services including satellite internet and much more.

As examples Dave has cleaned and realigned my filter wheel that stopped working, cleaned and replugged USB leads, reset the Paramount when it got into a "can't  slew" state and many more. All as part of the service.

Dave and the team at PixelSkies provide an invaluable professional service. It's not for everyone but running a genuinely remote robotic rig is not at all trivial. Value as always is a personal assessment. 

Regards Andrew

PS yes you could move there as an alternative @Robny

 

I endorse all this as a provider. Debugging and fixing is a non stop operation. A remote setup with nobody on site? 'Not a chance,' would be my view.

Olly

[tomato]

3 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

I endorse all this as a provider. Debugging and fixing is a non stop operation. A remote setup with nobody on site? 'Not a chance,' would be my view.

Olly

Yes, consider the ultimate current remote set up, the HST, look how much resource went into that, and they still needed folks to go out and fix it! 
Maybe it is the fact that the JWT has to  work remotely that’s making everyone reluctant to commit to launching it.

[gorann]

On 29/10/2020 at 17:38, Robny said:

Maybe a move to the country away from LP would be better, at least when I do get to use it I'm not battling LP also

That is what I have done - moved to a Bortle 2-3 sky by buying a small farm on the countryside. To compensate for cloudy nights in northern Europe I have over the last years built myself three obsies so I can optimise my efforts on clear nights (although so far I have limited myself to running two obsies in a single night). As many of us are going to work largely from home even after corona I think this is a way to go if your line of work allows it.

Edited November 1, 2020 by gorann

[Whirlwind]

56 minutes ago, gorann said:

That is what I have done - moved to a Bortle 2-3 sky by buying a small farm on the countryside. To compensate for cloudy nights in northern Europe I have over the last years built myself three obsies so I can optimise my efforts on clear nights (although so far I have limited myself to running two obsies in a single night). As many of us are going to work largely from home even after corona I think this is a way to go if your line of work allows it.

Unfortunately this isn't really an option in the UK as land is prohibitively expensive in most areas of England (barring random places in Scotland - and countryside houses are booming at the moment due to COVID).  

[gorann]

6 minutes ago, Whirlwind said:

Unfortunately this isn't really an option in the UK as land is prohibitively expensive in most areas of England (barring random places in Scotland - and countryside houses are booming at the moment due to COVID).  

Sorry, I forgot that you all live on such a small and crowded island🙄 Actually the same seems to happen with coutryside houses here due to COVID.

[JamesF]

19 minutes ago, Whirlwind said:

Unfortunately this isn't really an option in the UK as land is prohibitively expensive in most areas of England (barring random places in Scotland - and countryside houses are booming at the moment due to COVID).  

Part of me would love to sell my countryside house in England and move to somewhere with weather more conducive to regular astronomy.  Not sure I could do southern Spain though.  I do prefer to be surrounded by green and verdant countryside.  I think even Olly might be a bit too far south for my liking.  Can't really happen just yet though...

James

Edited November 1, 2020 by JamesF

[andrew s]

11 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Part of me would love to sell my countryside house in England and move to somewhere with weather more conducive to regular astronomy.  Not sure I could do southern Spain though.  I do prefer to be surrounded by green and verdant countryside.  I think even Olly might be a bit too far south for my liking.  Can't really happen just yet though...

James

Unfortunately,  verdant green implies rain! 😱

Regards Andrew 

Edited November 1, 2020 by andrew s

[JamesF]

7 minutes ago, andrew s said:

Unfortunately,  verdant green implies rain! 

Yes, the irony was not lost on me :)

I wouldn't insist on it being clear every night though.  I'd need to catch up on sleep at some point.

James

[Phillyo]

14 hours ago, JamesF said:

Yes, the irony was not lost on me

I wouldn't insist on it being clear every night though.  I'd need to catch up on sleep at some point.

James

You wouldn't need to lose sleep if you were running an obsy on your dry arid sunny lands though. Just set it off and go to bed!

[JamesF]

5 minutes ago, Phillyo said:

You wouldn't need to lose sleep if you were running an obsy on your dry arid sunny lands though. Just set it off and go to bed!

Assuming all I wanted to do was astrophotography :)

I'm uncomfortable when it gets too warm though (it's November and I'm still wearing shorts, even working in the veggie plot yesterday) and I just feel more at peace in a leafy green landscape.

James

[Synchronicity]

There's a rig set up on another remote host site for sale on https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=167104

I have no connection to this, just noticed it last night.

Get 10 people together as a club, figure out a sharing protocol all can agree on and it's maybe doable?

Michael

[andrew s]

59 minutes ago, Synchronicity said:

There's a rig set up on another remote host site for sale on https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=167104

I have no connection to this, just noticed it last night.

Get 10 people together as a club, figure out a sharing protocol all can agree on and it's maybe doable?

Michael

While not the same company they are run by the same people as PixelSkies. Regards Andrew 

[DaveS]

Not bad, it's less than the kit in my own obsy, but I don't like the look of that pier, a touch wobbly methinks.

[ollypenrice]

22 hours ago, JamesF said:

  I think even Olly might be a bit too far south for my liking.  Can't really happen just yet though...

James

Don't underestimate the power of Penrice's equation, S/A=V. (When  S = southness (??) A = altitude and V = verdance (???????)

🤪lly

 

[andrew s]

4 hours ago, DaveS said:

Not bad, it's less than the kit in my own obsy, but I don't like the look of that pier, a touch wobbly methinks.

You could ask to see the pointing graph from Tpoint. That would let you know how good it is.

Regards Andrew