SWMBO has finally given in

[dark knight]

Well she who must be obeyed has finally given in. Permission to construct roll off roof observatory granted. Just need a good design and funds and I'm away. one quick question, what is the ideal height for the side walls? OTA will be pier mounted, pier will be constructed by a mate so height can be anything I want. Will a 6x5 shed as a starting point be adequate? OTA is a SW200p.

[dark knight]

Hmmm, ok that's 2 questions.

[ukbigd]

Do you mean like this one on ebay.......lol

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160311383463&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

[adamsp123]

Mark out size in corner of room and see if you (+one other??) plus scope fit with scope pointing every which way. Maybe use sofa or something to mimick 3rd "wall"

I suspect 6x5 might be a bit tight

Pete

[steve51450]

if its for imaging it can be narrow but if you want to do visual it will need a bit more space

my obs is for imaging and is 12ft long and just over 6 ft wide with a warm room at one end...toasty

if i had wanted to do visual i think 8ft wide minimum as you need more space than you think

you might want to pm plastic chicken as i have seen his and it is about the perfect size for visual and imaging

steve

[lunator]

I would say 8x6 is minimum. I had an 200mm F6 newt in an 8x6 roll-off and it was just big enough.

[Stephen Green]

Hi Talk to Richie Jarvis or pm him he has just built one

Stephen

[dark knight]

UKBigD - just like that , call me old fashioned but I like the idea of butchering a shed, ahem I mean making one from a shed so don't want to buy one pre made. Plus I can then make it fit my needs.

[Lady Isabella]

I started using a 7x5 shed, and it was not big enough. I now use a 8x8

roll-off roof, for my 5 inch refractors.

[dark knight]

thanks for all the sound advice, the bigger the better then. Looks like she's getting flowers tomorrow....

[RichieJarvis]

I built mine from scratch - its 1.8m by 3.5m internally, and currently houses a EQ6, with either a ZS66, Astro Pro 102ED, GSO 6" newt or GSO 8" newt. Its big enough for all of those, but I would have preferred it to be a bit wider for visual observing.

The other thing I would consider (which I didn't!) is a flap to drop down to the southern aspect to shoot those nice low targets in Sagitarius - currently I have to open the door for that!

Oh, thats another thing - a nice wide door is a good bet - makes it easier to take kit in and out - mine is a metre wide.

You can see images of the obs going up step-by-step here: http://www.deepsky.org.uk/equipment/observatory.shtml

One thing that I had to do to gain permission was to replace the old shed, as the obs was going in the same place - hence the roll-off area was built as a shed - its still having a few teething troubles, but it does work. I am going to have to redo the roof in the summer....

It certainly isn't going anywhere in the meantime though!

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

Richie

[adamsp123]

Flowers AND chocolates

[ukbigd]

Flowers AND chocolates

And a long night of passion......................lol

[dark knight]

Certainly not if it's a clear sky lol :)

[dark knight]

Richie that really is a professional job, looks great.

[michaelmorris]

On the subject of wall hieghts; you may find the following links of use.

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Observatory&Number=2591269&Forum=f80&Words=wall&Searchpage=0&Limit=50&Main=2591269&Search=true&where=sub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=3&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post2591269

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Observatory&Number=2350283&Forum=,f80,&Words=wall&Searchpage=1&Limit=50&Main=2350283&Search=true&where=sub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=3&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post2350283

http://ukastroimaging.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=37065.0

IMHO, you want it high enough to cut out unneccesary glare and minimise wind hitting you and the scope and for the roof to clear the top of the scope in it's stowed position. Too high and you unneccesarily restrict your horizon. One way around this compromise is to have flap-down sections of wall.

[RichieJarvis]

Thanks...

Its still got problems - I get water in the obs, and the shed roof is leaking... Thats my summer job, to sort that out though

Cheers,

Richie