Pulsar Dome DIY Kit

[ambermyst]

Hi

Now we have our final house we have decided to build/buy an observatory this year. For convenience sake and looks we really like the Pulsar dome. The DIY kit is a lot cheaper than the full jobby (about £1200) and for the sake of building the walls for it the saving is worth having.

Q. Does anyone have any experience of building an obs based around the Pulsar DIY kit please? Its scary to spend that much money so we need to be sure its the right choice between the two options.

We have considered the ROR type but prefer the weather and light protection of the dome.

We look forward to your comments on this

Thank You

Trish & Colin

[RobB]

Given that I've just (in the last 2 mins) posted a similar question regarding Dome companies, inparticular Pulsar, I'd also like to hear the outcome. Talk about coincidence lol.

[ambermyst]

Now that is spooky Rob... We have just been reading all the posts on RORO and it does make you think about the security aspect of a dome. It actually looks like there is expensive equipment in it whereas a RORO is not quite so obvious. Decisions, decisions...really difficult one

Trish & Colin

[yesyes]

Now that is spooky Rob... We have just been reading all the posts on RORO and it does make you think about the security aspect of a dome. It actually looks like there is expensive equipment in it whereas a RORO is not quite so obvious. Decisions, decisions...really difficult one

Trish & Colin

That is THE main reason for me to go down the ROR route. It just looks so much more inconspicuous than having a dome. Especially if the dome could be seen from the street.

[ambermyst]

Just a quick update

We finally decided to buy a Skyshed Pod. We are quite lucky that we are tucked away in a corner where we live. So apart from our neighbours and the neighbours at the back of garden we seem to be quite secure ..I think, time will tell.

It went together just like it said on the tin and with frequent rewinds on the DVD provided it was not too difficult a job. (a few kicks and gentle taps with a trusty hammer didnt go a miss at times I have to say)

We are really happy with the decision although it took us weeks to make it and quite a few weeks for the delivery of the Pod but we got there in the end.

We just need clear skies now

Trish & Colin

[Multi-Coated]

Hope you enjoy your new Obs , I've had my dome now for about ten years and found it to be fantastic.

Rob.

[pmlogg]

I have one of the Pulsar domes but took the relatively easy way out and bought it with the walls. They had a demo one that they were selling for around 1/3 off. They did have a demo dome only but I feared that I would end up taking too long to get a proper shed base for it organised and I had concerns about sealing. I has to wait a while for a delivery slot but the deliverer was very helpful and assembly pretty straight forward.

I'm very happy with having a permanent setup and having the dome, rather than ROR does help cut out a lot of the local light. I have a small solar scope and it also provides some shade when staring up towards the sun.

Of course even with the pre-fab walls there still is a need for a proper base, a pier and flooring. I used normal decking as a floor and have routed all the cabling underneath it. That was a bit time consuming. Also, a round building (and pier) does make some things more complex. The table for my computer is supported from a structure attached to one of the joins in the wall panels and I boxed in the pier, and added a small table top to it. Waterproof boxes for the electic components are attached to the structure at the wall and to the wood around the pier.

I've not really had any problems with it since it went up last September other than one roller falling off. The new ones have a different design which should eliminate the problem. I am going to retrofit that on mine. At the same time I am going to replace the rollers with ones that have stainless steel bearings. The current ones need to be oiled otherwise they do rust and rotation becomes harder. I also plan to fit an extra 4 rollers (i.e. to have 3 per quadrant rather than 2) but this may not be an improvement as I didn't get the base wall perfectly round.

Condensation has not been a problem. I took others advice and put a dehumidier in, with a pipe to take the water sucked from the air out.

One of the issues with a dome is of course the need to rotate it if tracking for a longer period. Pulsar does a motor system but I could not afford it on top of all the other costs. However a DIY approach with the Pulsar design is not easy and I have yet to read of anyone who has successfully done it.

I did consider the SkyPod but was put off by the waiting list, and I thought it might be a bit tight inside. I looked at the Sirius too but it was far too expensive. You could look at the 3m ScopeDome. It's an interesting design and motorisation is probably easier. I don't know whether you can buy direct from Poland; the price from the UK distributer is a lot higher.

[eyeburst]

Rather a delay in responding to this post, but I have just built the Pulsar 2.2m dome which all fitted together like a dream. A couple of holes were slightly out of line, but otherwise it went together in a few hours without a hitch.

There is one problem, however, which I intend to take up with Pulsar, and that is that there is such a small overlap at the top of the shutter, that driving rain just pours in (all over the telescope and drive were it installed)!

No water came in anywhere else - but I will take up your comments about rustless ball bearings - I shall be very unhappy if the ones in my rollers rust.

[pmlogg]

I haven't experienced water getting in through the shutter of my 2.7m Pulsar. Perhaps there is more overlap. I have had some condensation on the inside of the dome but that is generally sorted out by the dehumidifier. Just in case however I do keep a cover on the telescope which covers most of the mount too.

On the rollers you might be best aiming off and greasing them, unless Pulsar have told you that they have provided you with the stainless version.

I have changed mine over and now have 12 spare standard rollers, 4 brand new ones and 8 used ones. (Enough for 3 users to increase their rollers from 8 to 12.) As BNL Bearings suggested the cages that retain the bearings can be popped out. The bearings do not just drop out, which is probably a good thing, but it means that changing them for stainless ones would involve a bit more effort than just dumping out the old and dropping in the new.