ROR Observatory build from the past & changes over time...

[whipdry]

My ROR Observatory Build remembered...

I started building the ROR observatory in August 2009 & thought I'd share a few details of the build & changes made during the years since... have included must of the pictures but not that many were taken during the build.
At that time the rear garden had already been divided off & turned into a vegetable growing area along with a greenhouse. I'd drawn plans that would use the space left between this & existing fenced boundary. Tried building in a way that could be dismantled, some parts in sections & others completely... thought maybe I'd need to move at sometime in the future.

Once the position of the observatory was marked out & the location of the pier confirmed I made a start, I'd already decided this would be 12" in diameter & made of reinforced concrete with a substantial footing beneath, once the footing was in place I made the form needed for pier using an offcut of vinyl flooring, (SWR offcut from a local supplier) wire mesh, metal straps with timbers for extra support. 

Made a couple of mistakes with the pier;
1/ not enough agitation between pouring in the buckets of concrete to remove all the trapped air.
2/ one of the three threaded studs for the mount support plate was misaligned... both a little annoying rather than a disaster!

As part of the preparation before starting the framework, decided a layer of gravel (stones) would help with drainage & also blend in with the existing veg beds pathways.
After cleared the building footprint & surrounding area of grass/weeds, laid geotextile membrane over the soil & cut to fit up to the concrete pier & building support pads... the membrane would make life easier if I decide to remove the gravel at any time.

Used treated 4"x 4" fence posts form the main framework, the horizontal timbers are notched where joined to the vertical posts & secured in place with galvanized nails, the whole building including the roll off roof supports rest on eight small concrete pads, these are the only footings. Floor joists share the concrete pads for support, this & all the main framework structural bracing are cut from 4"x 2" treated timber. All these materials came from a local fencing material supplier.

 

Exterior walls were formed using metal frame C section studs (as used in some new build houses for stud partition walls) between the timber framework, along with insulation a breather felt membrane was fitted at the same time, all held in place by a combination of felt nails the M/F perimeter channels support.
Internally walls are lined with OSB fixed with self tapping screws into the metal studs, externally finished with treated featheredge fencing boards, fixed these with s/s dome head self tapping screws.
I used 22mm moisture resisting P5 t&g chipboard flooring fixed with screws for the finished floor.

Five roof trusses were made using treated 2"x 1" battens, (roofing suppliers usually offer better quality, less large knots) OSB & ply with each being glued & nailed for extra strength, the pieces for all were cut then built one & used it as a template for building the rest.        The trusses & OSB covering are fairly light but overall the roof is a large & heavy structure.
 

Originally I had hard nylon wheels just running along the 4"x4" top framework timbers, where the roof sides overlapped the side frame hard plastic slip shims helped guide the roof... over time a couple of the top 4"x4" posts the roof ran on began to bow outwards making it difficult to open, one being part of the open roof support could be turned easily, the other needed sorting with an electric plane as turning would be an easy job!

After getting a back strain I decided it was time to change the wheels... I'd included access panels & removable H frame as wheel supports in the original build, these are positioned internally at both end of the roof side upstands & made changing to V-groove wheels & guide rails fairly easy.

Gable End with Dropdown Door South facing view of Observatory

The picture shows original Featheredge Cedar Roof

North facing Gable End with cut out for door

Breather felt & battening with featheredge cedar provide the finished roof covering, although this looked good it eventually started leaking!
Replacing the breather felt sorted it for a short time but the roof now has a temporary tarp... had thoughts of using cement based slates & made a start but decided to stop. 
Other options I'd considered, insulated metal roof panels & most recently going off-grid with integrated PV panels & everything else that would require.  Can't seem to decide... keeping the tarps for now!
From other posts I've read here on this subject it seems butyl pond liner has 
a decent lifespan.

The observatory has a north facing entrance door with a frame constructed using CLS timber, lined with OSB that's glued & nailed to the inside, breather felt covers the frame outside finished with featheredge boards to match the rest of the exterior, this opens outwards revealing the small warm room that's partitioned off from the main observatory by a partly plaster boarded insulated stud wall, fitted to be just clear the ROR a layer of PIR insulates the ceiling & top part of outside walls. 
Everything that requires mains power is plugged in here, transformer, NUC, TV monitor, router, the recently added gate motor plus my observatory dehumidifier... guess this last one wouldn't be helpful with a fully off-grid option!

Both internal & external walls are built to a height that stops the gable ends of the ROR moving past them when opening & closing, this gives the warm room protection from the weather at all times.

This doorway through the internal stud wall provides access into the main observatory, frame is made from CLS studs & lined both sides floor board one side & OSB the other, think I also insulated the closed voids.

Hinged timber hanging from the top of Dropdown Door acts as stop making it easy to close from inside...

Internal view of Dropdown Door... the frame was originally part of the gable end but changes to equipment meant I needed for more clearance, now swopped over to being part of the door!

Original Imaging Rig pictured June 2012... think this show why I needed this observatory

Over time I've made several changes to my imaging setup & had my fair share of issues!
My original observatory setup had four scopes with three mono cameras each had it's own narrowband filter Ha, SII & OIII, an OSB, the guider used a 300mm camera lens, along with all the dew bands & auto focus gear, as mostly powered with separate supplies I learnt about ground loop & the problems it causes the hard way!
 
I solved the issues with a single 25amp power supply set at 13.8V this powers everything, it does get warm but has a built in fan for help with ventilation, works as a heater for the warm room in winter but needs air flow from outside on hot summer nights.

Transformer cover has a clear Perspex window with soffit vents holding it in place allowing airflow.

Shown with winter cover 

Most of the equipment used now get there power through a mounted fused power distributor, some are feed through a USB software controlled relay board for on/off switching, this can be setup with a timed schedule.

I've added vents one in the north facing gable end, this really needs an extractor fan in the summer, a couple more were cut through the walls at the opposite end in the observatory, these have sliding covers as only needed for air flow on hot days.

Outside of added lower Air Vent with internal sliding closer (south facing)

After seeing this on SGL; astrobloke-and-joe's ROR guide... in January 2022 I started an upgrade that included using an automated gate motor for opening & closing the roof, fitted this internally along with Arduino & control software.

Assembled Gate Motor mounting bracket

Gate Motor fitted to plywood mounting bracket

Completed Roof Motor upgrade with Arduino & Relays also Live to Motor 240v Relay switched by IR Receiver 12v Relay when Mount is Parked

Plywood support for Roof Motor Rack also has room for the Motor Stop Reed-switch Magnet

Picture showing Motor Rack runs just above Warm Room ceiling

Both parts of sensors shown close together here, this indicates Roof Closed in the control software

Part 1 of Roof Open sensor

Part 2 of sensor will be activated by above as it draws close, will then indicate Roof Open in control software

Both parts of Mount Park sensor (unable to integrated with roof software, red LED indicates Mount Parked). With the DIY setup I have the software can only use ascom to determine the mount park position, as I now have a friction drive mount there's a possibility of slippage... meaning ascom may get the wrong info. about the mounts position! 

With little clearance between roof & scopes it's important the mount is correctly parked otherwise opening & closing is risky, I felt the need for an extra safety feature. 
I'd looked at a few micro switch options but decided I'd try using the 12volt IR emitter & receiver/relay supplied with the gate kit, found a mirror worked as a reflector the problem would be getting the angles correct.
After a little pondering I decided to mount the IR emitter on an adjustable bracket & the receiver directly on the wall, then made a bracket that extended from the end of a dovetail & attached a small mirror, with everything adjusted for heights trial & error eventually found the correct angles, mirror aperture was also adjusted to maximise park position accuracy. When the IR receiver is activated it's 12v relay activates a 240v relay in the warm room this switches on the live feed to the gate motor, meaning it can't operate unless the scope is parked correctly.

As seen here the gable end opening is close to the counterweight bar as the roof passes by!

Same on this side as it passes the EFW

Both IR emitter & receiver, pictured during setting up

Small Mirror & metal bracket attached end of scope dovetail, angled to reflect IR from Emitter back to Receiver went Mount is correctly Parked

Eventually got around to clipping all the cables runs, around doorway & into Warm Room shown

 

Another addition is a gadget I built after finding this on SGL; DIY cloud and rain sensor with ascom support? 
The build has sensors for IR sky temperature, rain & another for ambient temperature, it works as a ascom safety switch, the box also contains a mini Arduino that runs the code & a 5V heater with its own power supply for drying the rain sensor. 
Had a couple of problems with parts, a leaky waterproof project box & IR temperature sensor was oversensitive, it's possible to reset but never figured out how!  Silicone fixed the box & restricting the view sorted the IR sensor readings, project box is weathering and with periodic cleaning rain & ir sensors it's kept working... all parts came direct from China!

Things for the future... figure how to automate the dropdown door, sort out a roof covering perhaps integrated PV that would need to include batteries... has anyone else here done this?
Maybe none of the above & just reconfigure my setup to include new CMOS cameras... but then again considering the weather in my location lately perhaps just a large tarp is all I need!

Observatory 2020

Changes to Veg Beds in 2023 Sitting area created, also a spot for Visual Astronomy during imaging sessions.

Overall I've enjoyed having the observatory, deciding to build it was one of my best decisions.
    
Any questions just ask... I'll do my best with answers.

Peter 

 

 

Edited February 3 by whipdry
Move misplaced picture

[M40]

A great build and fits in with it's surroundings perfectly, take a virtual pat on the back.

Looking at your drop down door conundrum, do a search for belimo damper actuator and linkage kits. They are basically rotary actuators which accept a rod type linkage so your flap can be operated in a raise lower arrangement. 

All the best 

[whipdry]

21 hours ago, M40 said:

A great build and fits in with it's surroundings perfectly, take a virtual pat on the back.

Looking at your drop down door conundrum, do a search for belimo damper actuator and linkage kits. They are basically rotary actuators which accept a rod type linkage so your flap can be operated in a raise lower arrangement. 

All the best 

Thanks for your reply & the suggestion for the drop down door, I've had a look & can see how that type of actuator works, just need to find a linkage kit that suites my door.

Cheers

Peter

[M40]

Here us a belimo one..... https://www.belimo.com/uk/shop/en_GB/p?code=ZG-AF

There is a massive range of stuff so there should be something there, your biggest challenge will be matching the stroke of the actuator to suit your door flap. If you can arrange your doorflap to rotate on a spindle, then using these actuators would become a lot easier for you as these actuators are primarily designed to drive spindles. 

All the best

Edited February 5 by M40