My DIY Observatory

[Radar]

Okay, slow down guys, it's getting delivered in two days. But I thought I'd prepare a thread for it anyway.

My design is fold off roof. Basically it's a cubby house, 3m x 3m, the roof folds open from the centre out to the sides exposing the sky. I went with this design (my design) after careful consideration. Roll off roof just required too much space, automated dome, too much $$$ at this point in my life.

Pictures of progress and splinters coming very soon.

Ray

[timthelder]

:woot: :woot: :woot: I'm sooooo jealous!

Oh yeah, I'm happy for you too:cool!:

Don't forget the christening with a 'cold bud light'.(drink it, don't break it!)

[omaroo]

Onya Ray :)

I'm NOT a fan of the roll-off roof design either. They're cumbersome, take too much lateral space and I'm not comfortable with a 9 sq.m sail sitting there on the outrigger in a wind.

Keen to see the photies.

[Radar]

Don't forget the christening with a 'cold bud light'.(drink it, don't break it!)

Just for you Tim, I will christen this observatory with a Bud Light.



Keen to see the photies.

Feast your eyes on these guys -

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[Radar]

So this is the base. A hole will be cut dead centre to allow my pier to go right through to the ground. It's been designed so that the floor boards are not in the way of the pier.

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This is the front (yet to be attached). I wanted the observatory to look pleasing on the eye (so I don't get in trouble with the missus). When we have guests over here, we sit in the backgarden a lot, so having something that looks "half normal" was important. :biggrin:

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[h0ughy]

So this is the base. A hole will be cut dead centre to allow my pier to go right through to the ground. It's been designed so that the floor boards are not in the way of the pier.

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This is the front (yet to be attached). I wanted the observatory to look pleasing on the eye (so I don't get in trouble with the missus). When we have guests over here, we sit in the backgarden a lot, so having something that looks "half normal" was important. :biggrin:

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LOL looks like a kids cubby house (say while turning green wiht envy). Well then I have just bought two of these piers to kick off my observatory. Made up by Steve Bain from southern cross piers, they are the same as the ones marketed in the US by piertech. what will you be using radar?

[hpcoolahan]

:woot: :woot: HooRar for Radar:woot: :woot:

Welcome to the "comfortable observers club" mate!!:thumbsupmate:

Keep those pic's comming mate, hanging to see the end result.
By the way, i thought YOU were going to do the construction??:rulez:

AH the life of a roaming computer genious/photographer,too busy for menial things like construction work hey!! lol


Clear Skies
Pat

[Radar]

looks like a kids cubby house

Well done Dave, or should I say "Sherlock" :biggrin:

I had the option of buying and modifying a tin shed or getting a cubby house company to make something to my special specs. I went for the wood option instead of a tin shed, because I felt it looked better and is probably much stronger. It also allows me to easily make mods, because I think wood is easier to muck around with than metal.

My pier is being specially made by an engineering company around the corner. It'll go right down through the floor boards and get concreted into the ground, making it independant of the obs. Best thing about this is that it's free! I already have two other piers setup in the back garden, and another pier sitting in the shed for other plans down the track.

Are you building the obs yourself Dave? Start an obs thread on our DIY section so we can keep track of it.


:woot: :woot: HooRar for Radar:woot: :woot:

Cheers mate, I can't wait to get this thing operational.


:
By the way, i thought YOU were going to do the construction??:rulez:


lol, okay, here's the thing. I thought I was constructing it to, but when the guys came to drop it off, they started constructing it. I was stoked. After watching what they did, I'm glad they did it rather than me.

I will still be doing the pier part if that's any consolation? :blink:


:
AH the life of a roaming computer genious/photographer,too busy for menial things like construction work hey!! lol


"construction work", what is that strange terminology? :biggrin:

Ray

[timthelder]

Just for you Tim, I will christen this observatory with a Bud Light.


Awww shucks,Thanks radar, I bet you say that to all your fellow astronomer mates.

You got a name for her yet?
Or are you just gonna go with something like "Natures Peak Observatory?"


What wood is the siding material? I don't know the available materials in your part of the planet. Not that it matters much, but there is a lot of expansion and contraction in wood siding materials.

To minimize this, you will need to paint/stain/seal the inside as well as the outside. The outside of my house is Cedar siding, and it does some moving around for sure. keeps me busy having to go around and reset the nails that tend to back themselves out due to temp changes.

[Radar]

You got a name for her yet?
Or are you just gonna go with something like "Natures Peak Observatory?"
..

No name yet, but feel free to throw a few at me. I have a few ideas that are flying around in my head. I might need some ideas though.

The wood is treated pine (arsenic free). I will be staining this wood in the coming days. Any tips on the best way to do this welcome.

Here is a photo of how it looks at the moment -

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[seeker372011]

looks really good!!

[Radar]

Thanks Narayan. I can't wait to get to work in there.

Two more photo's here. First one is a view from the front of the obs. You can see my observing pad and pier through the door. The elevation of this obs gives me a pretty good view of all horizons (for suburbia).

The second photo is the hole for the pier. The sexy legs in that photo are mine (settle down ladies). :biggrin:

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[Tenacious Del]

very exciting project mate. you must be loving this. don't forget to put a bar fridge inside it. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

[timthelder]

Lookin good, you do some nice work:biggrin: Ahem.

Far as the staining goes, there are pretty much 4 choices. You can brush it on,(highly recommended.) Spray it on with a 'pump' type sprayer. Spray it on with an airless spraygun. Or roll it on with a roller(not recommended.)

I like using a combination of two methods. First I brush it on to saturate the wood really well, Then I spray it on with an airless spraygun to get those little cracks, especially the under edge on shiplap siding like you have. The spray gun would work really well on the inside in all the corner area's as well.

I can't stress enough on keeping a good weather seal on the outside over the stain, trust me.

I also recommend caulking ALL the cracks, to help keep all the little bugger's out of your scopes, and other valuables.

Are you going to insulate/finish out the inside of you OB?

Hope I'm not offering to much input...I just love seeing you get an OB.

"Poutin House Observatory?" :biggrin:

[CanisMajorTom]

don't forget to put a bar fridge inside it.

and don't forget to stock it with beer! :crazy:

well done Ray. I'm sure you'll be living in this thing.

Tom

[Radar]

Tim I have an electric spray gun here. I after slapping on some stain with a brush, I'll use the electric spray gun to get into the nooks and crannies.



I can't stress enough on keeping a good weather seal on the outside over the stain, trust me.


What is used for the seal? Varnish?



I also recommend caulking ALL the cracks, to help keep all the little bugger's out of your scopes, and other valuables.

What is the best way of doing this?

I would like to insulate it Tim, but I have no idea how to do this part. Again, feedback welcome.



Hope I'm not offering to much input...I just love seeing you get an OB.

Not at all mate, I want any idea people think of.



" Poutin House Observatory?" :biggrin:

I had to google that word "poutin". This is what I found -


Poutine: French fries with cheese curds and gravy.

This must be another American thing, but it's got me thinking. :crazy:

Ray :biggrin:

[Phil.H]

Great stuff Radar cant wait to see the finished shed.
Phil

[rogerg]

Hey Ray, I had no idea you were building an observatory! Good on ya! Sounds like a great choice for your circumstances. It'll be great :smile:

[Radar]

Thanks guys, I'm really looking forward to getting in there. Here is a piccy of the pier at the factory. The pier is upside down in that photo.

It's 2.4 metres long. The pier will sit one metre into the ground, another 60cm for the stilts that my obs sits on, then another 80cm into the obs.

I'll be cementing in this monster sometime Saturday. The plate on the end of the pier is currently being modified to fit my Losmandy G-11. :woot: :woot: :woot:

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[Tenacious Del]

looks like it's gonna be great mate. :smile:

[timthelder]

Man I can't wait to see this thing when it's ready to move into. I get a warm fuzzy feeling everytime I visit this thread.:biggrin:



What is used for the seal? Varnish?

Varnish would be to expensive and won't hold up well to the weather. I recommend a good outdoor wood sealer like you would use on a deck. Ask local advice on products available some brands are better than others, and I'm sure you don't want to have to be doing this every six months. The best I have at my disposal reasonably priced, lasts about two years before you would need to coat the wood again.Good luck squeezing in between that space between the two buildings.

Caulk the cracks with the same type caulking you would use to seal around windows on your house. Just use the old fashioned manual caulking gun. Do this from the inside, shouldn't take you long...



I would like to insulate it Tim, but I have no idea how to do this part.


I see a problem in this area...If you insulate it, and make it nice and cozy, when you open the roof will this not cause focusing problems due to the change in temperature?:hmm: Of course I suppose you could open the roof a couple of hours ahead of time and give the mirrors/lens's time to adjust to ambient temperature. Then there's the problem of closing the roof and raising the inside temperature, causing everything to form condensation...

I need more input on this one from some others with OB's.
You may just want to put some thin wood panels on the walls for appearances,and not insulate or put some minimal insulation.



I had to google that word "poutin". This is what I found -



You Googled it?:lmao: Gotcha. "Poutine" sounds tasty though.

The correct spelling would be 'pouting'. Which is what I do after the missus scolds/corrects me(for whatever reason.)...Then I go to my pouting house/storage building to 'play' with my scopes till I get over it.

Southern U.S. slang.
yelling=yellin
going=goin
doing=doin, etc. Just anything you say lose the 'g' off of 'ing'.

[Radar]

Cheers Tim. I'll look into all of that. Pier is going in the ground tomorrow, hopefully the roof, stairs and door goes on tomorrow as well.

It's a real buzz 'building',,,,ahem,,,,,I mean 'getting' something like this.:biggrin:

Ray

[gyro]

I assume the nursery is finished, ready and waitng :wink: :wink: or is this a dual purpose 'obs' :biggrin: :biggrin:

[Radar]

I assume the nursery is finished, ready and waitng :wink: :wink: or is this a dual purpose 'obs' :biggrin: :biggrin:

lol, nursery is all done. Strictly no nappies in the obs! :crazy:

[Radar]

Okay, roof, front door and stairs came today.

The roof is quite heavy to fold out and will need some kind of safety stoppers on either side of the roof. I planned for this and will work something out over the next few days. For me it's easier to see the obs first, then design a system to hold the fold out sections.

The pier still needs to be cemented in. Probably do that later this evening when it's no so hot.

There is a ton of room in the obs. It's 3m by 3m. Really looking forward to getting setup in there.

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[beren]

Gday Ray looks great mate making great progress :bow:

[timthelder]

The roof is quite heavy to fold out and will need some kind of safety stoppers on either side of the roof.


I was noticing the hinge location on the fold away. (started to get alarmed because their location won't allow the for the roof to fold totally down against the side.) But I'm sure a couple of pieces of chain cut to the right length, will allow the roof to fold back to about a 30' angle that way it'll be out of the scope's line of sight.

This would allow you to pull it shut from inside as well.

Looks great!

Reminds me of a tavern out of a spagetti western.

Hmmm, "Dry Gulch Observatory?" :biggrin:

[seeker372011]

this is a great thread...

[AstroBob]

this is a great thread...

its good watching other's do stuff like this. it gives me a buzz. :smile:

[hpcoolahan]

looking good for a home made , sweat encrusted, blood and tear stained construction.....:itsme!: :woot:

lol......

You must be chuffed old chap!!
Congrats and keep the photos coming mate.

Clear Skies
Pat


Welcome to the club.....now it will rain for the next 3 months in Perth!!

[Astrolounge]

what a great project, it looks absolutely fantastic and l hope it gets lots of use.

[CanisMajorTom]

any updates radar?:confused:

[Tenacious Del]

is it setup yet? I wanna come and christen it. bud light i believe?

Del

[phoenix]

Hey Ray

Love the observatory! any updated pictures?
when you coming down to build one for me ? :biggrin:



Cheers Jason :pipethinker:

[Radar]

Will hopefully have some more pics over the weekend. The pier is finally going in. I can't wait to get this thing up and running.

Ray

[Noel Carboni]

Awesome stuff, Ray! It warms my heart to hear of your construction. What a great little place from which to make great images.

-Noel

[wakaleo]

What a great little project, Ray. Your idea now has me thinking!

Looking forward to the full construction de-briefing.

The 'Cubby House Observatory' would be appropriate but perhaps a bit too 'twee'?

Jim

[CanisMajorTom]

have you named this thing yet Ray?

[Radar]

have you named this thing yet Ray?

Okay, I've finally got a name for it.


Or are you just gonna go with something like "Natures Peak Observatory?"

Tim gave me the idea. :biggrin:

"Nature's Peak Observatory".

I like the sound of it, not just because it is the same as my astrophotography website, but "Peak" makes it sound like it's on top of a mountain somewhere (when in fact its in my backyard :biggrin:).

I'm 99% sure I'll go with this name, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Cheers

Ray

[timthelder]

I like the sound of it, not just because it is the same as my astrophotography website, but "Peak" makes it sound like it's on top of a mountain somewhere (when in fact its in my backyard


I had another thought hit me while I was in the privy...(I know you didn't need to know that, but it keeps the thread interesting.)

You have Nature's Peak and MyAstroSpace...Combine the two for

Ta-DA...

"Astro Peak Observatory" (or maybe Astral Peak?)

It's astronomy related AND you get to keep your mountain in the backyard.:biggrin:

[hpcoolahan]

got my vote!!!
love it Timthelder

patrick

[Radar]

"Astro Peak Observatory" (or maybe Astral Peak?)


Geewizz Tim, that's another great name! Astro Peak Obs. This is getting harder and harder. :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

Ray

[timthelder]

It has a better ring to it than..."Ray's Roost Observatory." :biggrin:

[Radar]

The roof mechanism should be finished this week. Then I can put the pier in. Then it's astrophotography time.

Ray

[seeker372011]

boy there's going to be no holding you back...

the way the weather has been I can really see the benefits of an observatory..tonight is clear but I am too stuffed to set up especially with that early morning alarm hanging over my head..but if everything were already set up and I didn't have to worry about polar aligning or star aligning every single session..why even mid week sessions become practical :smile:

[Radar]

the way the weather has been I can really see the benefits of an observatory..tonight is clear but I am too stuffed to set up especially with that early morning alarm hanging over my head

My sentiments exactly Narayan.

Also I thought I'd show everyone what's taking so long. I'm just waiting for some parts of a rail system for my slide out roof. I was going to use linear bearings but they want thousands of dollars for a system like that. :frown:

The fold off design would have been awesome, but because this is quite a large obs, each side of the roof is too large to safely fold off. So each section of roof will slide out instead.

Here is a photoshop image of how my roof will slide out once it's done.

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[hpcoolahan]

SO ARE WE THERE YET???

lol
Patrick

[Aussie Pete]

Looks Fantastic Ray :)

But it needs curtains and a white picket fence methinks..oh and some flower boxes under the window sills :)

Is that gravel i see under the structure? Good idea.. allows the ground to lose heat fast and get your local seeing maximised.

It will all be worth it mate...Malin Awards look out!

Pete

[Radar]

But it needs curtains and a white picket fence methinks..oh and some flower boxes under the window sills :)

Is that gravel i see under the structure? Good idea.. allows the ground to lose heat fast and get your local seeing maximised.


Picket fence and flowers? Possibly,,,,, but I doubt it. :biggrin:

Gravel is underneath it Pete, I didn't realise that this was a good or bad thing. Glad its a good thing though. :smile:

Now finally I have the pier in. Having our first child a few weeks back put this project off for a while, but I'm back on track. Pier goes into the ground about 1.5 metres. It weighs a ton (not literally).

I'll wait a few more days for the cement to dry, then I'll mount a scope onto it. I can't wait to fire this baby up.

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[h0ughy]

looks like your almost complete Radar

[hpcoolahan]

Well done mate , your neally there.

Looks great , more picies when the scope is set up please:biggrin:

Cheers
Patrick

[wakaleo]

It's looking terrific, Ray. You must be getting pretty excited by now, seeing as it's almost a 'real' observatory.

I like Tim's suggestion of 'Astro Peak' for the obs name - it has a nice ring to it and as he says, it keeps elements of names you already use. Do I understand correctly that you'll be christening it with Budweiser beer? Hope it's the fair dinkum Czech version (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud%C4%9Bjovick%C3%BD_Budvar) and not that insipid yankee stuff!

And you're now a dad too! Congratulations. Boy or girl?

[Radar]

you'll be christening it with Budweiser beer?
And you're now a dad too! Congratulations. Boy or girl?

lol, gday Jim, I was going to use the yankee stuff, but budvar looks interesting. Hmm, hard decisions.

And it's a boy. Ronnie Titan.

Put the rails on today. The roof is sliding back and forth nicely. Can't wait to fire it up. More piccies coming soon.

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[Radar]

Here are some more pics. The pier is in. The mount and scope are in.

I'll paint the outside of those metal channels over the weekend.

Front of obs.

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Looking at the back wall.

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Looking at front wall.

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Through front door.

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3m by 3m, heaps of space.

Probably see first light tomorrow, when it's not cloudy!

Ray

[timthelder]

Looks awesome Ray. No more packing and toting, huffing and puffing...I envy ya mate!:tongue:



3m by 3m, heaps of space.


The refrigerator will take up a little bit of room....got to have some snackies and coolies. :biggrin:

Oh yeah, and a coffepot.

[Radar]

The refrigerator will take up a little bit of room....got to have some snackies and coolies. :biggrin:

Oh yeah, and a coffepot.

lol, a bar fridge? Good idea.

Here is a pic of the roof rolled off.

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[hpcoolahan]

I just found the REAL unedited picture of Radar , and hes in the photo.
Always new we would get to see him sooner or later.

Cheers
Patrick

[gyro]

""Duh !!"" :biggrin:

[wakaleo]

Here is a pic of the roof rolled off.



Hmmm, rather nice design. Can I assume you simply lift the overlapping iron when closing the roof? And I can't see any guttering - is there any or does the rain just run off the roof into the neighbours yard? When you get rain, that is!

Jim

[Radar]

I just found the REAL unedited picture of Radar , and hes in the photo.
Always new we would get to see him sooner or later.

Cheers
Patrick

lol, Pat, when you take photo's of me, please only show my good side.


Hmmm, rather nice design. Can I assume you simply lift the overlapping iron when closing the roof? And I can't see any guttering - is there any or does the rain just run off the roof into the neighbours yard? When you get rain, that is!

Jim

Yes, yes and no.

lol, I will explain further.:biggrin:

Yes at this stage I just push the overlapping roof up a bit. Very simple, but I'm going to make it even shorter, so that there is not so much overlap.

Yes the rain just runs off the front of the roof (toward the front). The back wall is ten centimeters higher than the front. This gives me a better Eastern Horizon. The obs faces East.

No, the rain runs off into my yard, toward the front of the obs. More pictures coming soon.

Cheers

Ray

[Radar]

Electrician came over today. Installed a red bunker light, and two white bunker lights. Switches near the door way. Also installed a four way power point at base of pier, and a double power point in the corner.

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One of the first astro photo's from my obs. Just a quick 15 second widefield with my sony cybershot to show the view. Note the Southern Cross near the eyepiece.

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5 second exposure of my obs with the red light on (spot the milburn wedge).

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Everything is pretty much finished, only insulation to go now. Will fire it up very soon.

Cheers

Ray

[timthelder]

Hope you don't image toward the south much...That big bright streetlight's gonna be a huge pain in the keester.* Or maybe the exposure time on the pic makes it look huge. Nice OB's Ray!


* "Why yes officer, I have a BB gun...but I haven't used it in years.":rolleyes:

[wakaleo]

Hey Ray, I s'pose any time you have baby-sitting duties young Ronnie will be getting very used to the inside of the obs! Or is the wife putting her foot down re the prospect of having two sky-obsessed males in the family?

The obs is looking really good mate, and making me very jealous. I've discovered that here in Atherton if it's not raining the dew is almost as heavy! Quite depressing really, especially as I'd also have to clear a fair portion of the mini-rainforest in our yard to get a decent area of sky to look at. Beautiful part of the world to live though!

Thinking seriously about moving house again to a more astronomer-friendly (and less mould and fungus friendly) area, but we won't be doing that for at least a year. Ah well, I'll just look at everyone else's terrific pics for the time being.

[CanisMajorTom]

looks amazing mate.