Clayton Dome

[Paul Haese]

Couple of months ago I decided to double my imaging efforts via remote equipment, so I bought a dome from Scope Domes (http://www.scopedome.com/en/default.aspx). I contacted the local distributor (aka Rally) who is a member on this site and made my order. Last week the dome was delivered to my place and so I thought I would start a thread to show the development of this dome with you all.

My plan is to put the RC12 in the dome and the Tak in the roll off roof observatory.

The first image is of the dome as it is shipped. The second is of the new site. In the second image the pile of rocks is the site where the new dome will go. I will update the thread as things develop.

First thing it to get rid of the rocks. Some of it has to go into a wall up near the house and some of it is going to get picked up by a local contractor.

[h0ughy]

fantastic project Paul, so what mount you putting in there?

[Paul Haese]

Another software bisque mount. Maybe my current PME or a PMX. :)

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Interesting Paul!

What size is the dome?
I presume it rotates on base rail ?

Cheers,

Justin.

[Paul Haese]

Justin,

it is a 3 meter dome. It runs on a base ring. The walls of the dome are very thick and much thicker than a Sirius dome. I have seen a Sirius dome and I could push the walls slightly, these walls cannot be pushed in. The dome is fully automated and runs via an umbilical cord from the pier. It comes with a door which opens outward to allow easy access. Great quality and there should be more of them here in Australia. Their service is great too.

[jase]

Great stuff Paul. Looking forward to further updates. You like Echium plants too eh? ;)

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Jase. Yeah we love the Echiums, odd looking flowers and foliage looks really good missed with other types of leaves.

[frolinmod]

Impressive dome. Even more impressive rock pile!

[strongmanmike]

Awesome looking dome Paul! great design too, looks to have essentially about the same clear floor space as the 2.3m Sirius dome but the bulging sides will make it more roomy. I like the nice wide dome opening too although doesn't look to have quite as much wind protection on the dome opening side though as the dome opening goes down pretty close to the ground..?. but I am sure it will do the job very well :thumbsup:. The video of it working looks great.

Nice pickup, you will have a veritable observatory cluster when you are finished :thumbsup:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Congrats Paul! Looking forward to seeing the construction pics!

What made you go this way rather than Sirius?

Cheers, Marcus

[Paul Haese]

You should have seen the Rock pile at the start. Most of the rock has gone into a 15m dry stone wall about 800mm high. Moved all of it with a wheel barrow. Sometimes just one bit at a time. ;)



Yeah Mike it is about 2.6 on the ground I think. The open slit is about 700 up I think, so not much wind protection. Although Clayton rarely has wind at night. Most of the time it is so quiet that you can hear the ocean crashing on the beach near the Murray Mouth 6km away. The price was good too. A 3 meter Sirius dome costs quite a few thousand more than this one but the wall thickness is not as thick as this one.

One down side is the drive for the shutter runs via an umbilical. With the umbilical cord though this is not for observing in. I am looking at ways at present to put the umbilical under the floor.

[Paul Haese]

About 5000 dollar difference primarily. The units come complete with drives, electronics and cabling for just over $10000. A Sirius dome is much more expensive with the automation gear. Not to mention the build quality of these domes. I have seen a 3 meter Sirius up close and was not entirely impressed with the flex in the door or wall panels. Couple of guys I know bought these domes and had sung the praises of them. I bit the bullet a couple of months ago and ordered one.

I am also using their drives and USB2 kits on my roll off roof. Such is the adaptability of their equipment.

[jase]

That's not cool, Paul. Does the dome controller have the intelligence to support an unwrap function to ensure you don't get the cord wrapped around the pier? I can see a sky survey or high volume tpoint mapping run end in disaster. I certainly hope you can come up with an alternative. I'm actually really surprised someone hasn't already performed a wireless retrofit.

I can't sing high enough praise for a Sirius dome with Maxdome II motorised shutter and rotation. The solution is a rock solid platform for remote observing. I've been running in this state for the last five years without a glitch but as you state, you pay a premium for it. Hey, no one said remote imaging was cheap!

[Paul Haese]

Yeah it has that function Jase. The encoders keep an eye on where everything is and does an unwrap when needed. The Arkaroola boys use these domes and no disasters there.

[jase]

Great to hear Paul. Looks like the dome slit opening allows for good clearance as targets cross the meridian near zenith too. Sounds like you're all set then! Looking forward to the updates. Hop to it!

[marc4darkskies]

Yes, very slick - nice to look at! But ... ummm ... where's the door? :confused2: Presumably beneath the slit? Having the door rotating with the dome wouldn't work for me. Even though I'm semi automated, I still want to get into the dome to do "stuff" without walking in circles, falling off the deck or entering while the dome does a tracking move.

[naskies]

Nice! Glad to hear that the Scope Domes appear to be good value for money. I hope that big tree in the background of your first photo doesn't obstruct your views too much?

[Paul Haese]

Actually it is at the back and therefor covered when the shutter is open. I have attached two images here to show you what is looks like.

It probably would not suit you then Marcus. I am using this specifically to do remote imaging. I don't need to go in unless it is an emergency. although you could build this on a round wall with a door in it and not use the door model.

[Paul Haese]

Hehehe, none of the trees here make it past 4 meters.;)

[jase]

Looks awesome Paul. Love the 'space age' door opening. I want one. :)

[Paul Haese]

I reckon it looks a bit like the little space pods out of 2001 a Space Odyssey. Very cool.:)

[RobF]

"Open the pod bay doors Paul"

"You know I can't do that Rob" :D

[Paul Haese]

Hehehe.

[strongmanmike]

Really..? Man that's a pretty significant short coming really I recon :shrug: I guess once you have everything purring remotely it will be a mute point but until then..? :help: useless for anything but remote really...wouldn't suit me at all :doh: Guess you could build a deck all the way around that is just below dome slit level and then use a stool and step out..?

regardless, still looks awesome :thumbsup:

Mike

[allan gould]

Good one Paul, looks excellent and should increase your productivity.
Allan

[Paul Haese]

Yeah I can see that it might not suit everyone. For me it is only for remote work. The roll off roof will still be my celestial cubby house.;)

[Paul Haese]

I am hoping so Allan, ordered the mount for it today. Urgh , there goes my savings.

[Astroman]

Well that will make your house easier to spot from the road. Terrific looking Dome too.

[ericwbenson]

It's actually not too bad to get in/out. The slit is 0.9m off the ground (and 0.9m wide), with a little hop and scissor step you can jump in/out while imaging. It's a bit trickier when it's doing a pointing run and it starts moving while you're half way across...

I must have jumped thru the slit a couple dozen times a might during commissioning, it's amazing how often the tool you need is on the other side of the wall ;)

In Ark since my shutter is modified (the bottom lip is 60mm higher), I added a wooden step/ledge on the inside wall to give a little more clearance.

EB

[Paul Haese]

Ah yes that will make it easier. Not that it is not hard to see it now. ;)

[Paul Haese]

Update time,

with the last of the rocks used for a wall I have built (3 feet high) it was time for the excavator to come in and clear the rocks out of the way and dig the hole. The limestone in this part of the block is about 4 feet deep and I have had the hole dug to 3 feet deep, nearly 1 meter by a meter at the top. I will need to use a crowbar to widen and bell out the bottom a little but you can see from the images that the hole is basically right. The excavator had to use a hammer bit to break the rock. It took about 2 hours to dig down 3 feet. After the last hole I dug by hand with Virgs; I vowed I would not do this again. It was hard work and took 8 hours to get down with a jack hammer deep enough. This time I used hydraulic power.


Time for mesh and concrete now.

[Virgs]

I still say it would have been quicker with explosives!!!! At least the Hilti is not going to get stuck this time....

[Astroman]

HEHE!!!

Great Work Paul, I like the idea of letting someone else do the hard work :) Makes it more enjoyable if your not supporting a crook back from digging..

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys,

Virgs you know there are plenty of crazy people at Clayton but I reckon that might just be crossing the line for even them.

Andrew, I will have to underground the power cable yet, that might enlist a bit of pain. I am thinking of using a quick cut saw for sorting that out.

[Rigel003]

First time I've seen this thread. Major developments!! I won't know the place next time I visit.

[Paul Haese]

Its going to be clear tonight and you could visit if you were not other wise engaged. ;)

[Logieberra]

That dome looks very slick. Strangely, it reminds me of Tom Cruise's latest flick, Oblivion. The techy-specky MX should be right at home in there :)

[Peter.M]

The MXs larger brother is calling this place home. Looking great paul, I am spewing I had to miss this weekend. As always will just have to hope for another good night. Tonight is looking perfect, if I didnt have the birthday to attend I would be there in a flash.

[Paul Haese]

Hate to tell you this Pete but the sky is perfect tonight. Great seeing and lots of data being gathered.

[strongmanmike]

Footing set in solid rock huh?...cool, that shouldn't move then :thumbsup:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Yeah I am contemplating putting some REO into the rock by drilling in and chemical anchoring. Its all good though. Some more planning first though.

[Quark]

First time in a long time I have looked in this section of IIS.
Seems like you have certainly been busy Paul, looks great.

Often I have been able to image in conditions that would have made it impossible, if not for the protection of my dome.

Clear Sky's
Trev

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Trev, things have stalled a little as I am planning how power etc will make its way into the observatory.

[Peter.M]

Little hamster in a wheel?

[ZeroID]

Use Rockite, that is what it is designed for. Bunnings have it. I used it for rocket nozzles, it is basically nonexpanding but sets like rock and secures them extremely well. Cures in about 30 mins for hard but goes absolutely solid in 24 hrs.
It is used in the building industry to secure railings and the like into concrete floors and surfaces.

[Paul Haese]

Update guys.

Went down to the house today and formed up the pier support. Steel reo rod of 10mm with some mesh over the top. Also you can see the power conduit with guide rope.

Concrete this weekend. Another week or two and I will go the outer concrete for the rest of the obs to sit on.

[Paul Haese]

Had a visit from my old mate Conacrete today. Pier support poured and finished. Dimensions are 1400 x 1200 x 900 (tapering from the top down the bottom with a dimension of 600 x 600); approximately around 0.85 cubic meters. I think that is about 2.1 tonnes. Certainly more than enough weight to hold the scope in position.

Maybe end of next week I will pour the outside section of concrete to hold the dome. Images to follow.

For now this is the pier support image.

[Paul Haese]

Now that the pier support has been stripped of its formwork, I picked up a half a tonne of compaction sand to level off the site to allow for concrete to be poured next weekend, which will surround the pier support. Watered in and levelled off. The site will need to be quite compacted before I pour concrete to ensure it remains stable. This stuff sets very hard after a bit of rain, which we are expecting tomorrow.

[Paul Haese]

Update,

Today I went down to the house and formed up the outer concrete ring. Concrete is ordered for Saturday and the weather looks good. For those interested I used 6mm plywood for the form and 75mm gal mess for the reinforcement. I cut the plywood to 100mm thick and the reo stools are 45mm high. Concrete will be 25mpa with structural aggregate. Getting exciting now. Not long before the dome will be installed.

In the first image you can see the pins placed to hold the form and I have adhered the expansion joint foam to the side of the pier support.

In the second image you can see the completed form. I had to scribe around the rocks on the other side and black form plastic to prevent moisture coming up through the concrete.

Don't mind the rocks, we have been having some windy days of late (normal for the time of year) and those are just there to hold down the mesh until pour day.

[RickS]

Looks good, Paul! Will you christen the slab with champagne?

[Paul Haese]

Look if I don't my wife will.;)

[strongmanmike]

Hey that looks veeery familiar (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/150313904/original) Paul :thumbsup:

Your observatory will be operational before you know it ;)

Incidentally the pier support pad looks quite large, was there a particular reason for this?

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Yes thought you might see some familiarity there Mike. The diameter is 3 meters though.

The whole process started in March this year when I decide to buy the dome. Building the backend of the scope has taken about 7 weeks now and is about to have a major upgrade from what I lovingly called the Battle Tank. I will you guessing on that.

The pier support is the same as the one in the roll off roof obs seen in the background. The larger the pier support the less likely there will be any movement from the weight of any large mass such as a large OTA swinging and causing a moment of inertia. All this obs has been planned with a much larger telescope in mind down the track. I don't want to leave anything to chance. The imaging train and the pier support structure are part of that plan. The pier will also have a large diameter too to prevent deflection. Part of my plan to collect mega data. For now it will be the RC12, but in time it will be something else.;) I will give you a guess though. The pier will be around 600mm long at most.

[Astroman]

Nice Paul a CDK20 would look good on that Pad :) Good luck with the concrete.

[Paul Haese]

Hmmm not sure about a 20. That might be a bit too big.

[Astroman]

Hope your concrete turned out well Paul. Just sprayed mine to add a little moisture to it. A little hot out there today.... Great day for curing concrete.

[Paul Haese]

It was ok Andrew, but I ordered 25MPA and I think I got 35MPA. The mix went off in 45 minutes. I just got it screeded off and it was getting hard. That made it hard to trowel it off. I ended up with small holes of around 5mm in the topping here and there. I can sort it later with flowcrete, but the mix came from Port Elliot and it was a little dry on arrival. It will be hard as a rock now. It should have had a bit more water in it to account for the warmer weather.

Anyway another image for you guys to peruse. Next step installing the dome next weekend, with the help from a mate or two.

[Astroman]

Good Job Paul. Bad luck about the quick setting though. I was lucky mine was quite wet, but also only had 2km from the Concrete place to here, so not that much of a drive. Cant wait to see the dome on it.

[Paul Haese]

Its all good Andrew I will most likely put in some form of vinyl so the umbilical cord does not catch anywhere. So it will be hidden from view.

[Paul Haese]

Stripped the form out today and cleaned up the site a bit. Now for the dome to be installed. With any luck weather this weekend will be good.

[Astroman]

Good stuff Paul, is it that colour because you wet it or did you put something on it?

[Paul Haese]

Jut washed it down to get off all the dags and dirt after stripping it. Otherwise it is grey.

[RickS]

Looks good, Paul!

[Paul Haese]

Checked the levels today and those are not too bad. One bad patch but plastic packers will sort that out. Only a couple of millimetres out of level here and there. I am sure some packers will sort that out.

[strongmanmike]

Still looks familiar :P :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Nice work Paul.

So you are planning to have 2 observatories there - one for your short focal length refractor and one for longer focal length?

Nice setup plus you've got the incredible location with the excellent seeing.

Greg.

[Paul Haese]

Yes Greg, two observatories for wide and narrow field. The wide field will be in the roll off roof and I will also do planetary imaging in there from time to time. So I have set up that scope so I can simply take it off the mount at any time. The narrow field rig will be in the dome.

Eventually I want to have a 17" or something of that size in the dome and something like a fast newt or RH in the roll off roof. Aperture is really needed to get a good S/N ratio in a shorter time frame. However as you know that takes lot of money. So for now I have the imaging trains with the mounts and some acceptable scopes.

The seeing really makes the location. No wind at night with very still seeing and dark skies. Its almost perfect. The only down side is the proximity to the water can mean cloud on a lot of occasions. Though I think I get about 150-170 nights a year of clear skies. It might be more than that on average, and that means I can get lots of data to process.

[EricB]

Paul, your location and set up sound ideal! All the best with your project.

Eric

[Paul Haese]

Like pulling teeth:

I installed the base ring today. Couple of funny things. In the first image I followed the advice of Rally to screw together the base ring panels upside down. That was easy. However, try turning a 2.6m ring over on your own. It was a bit like a snake swinging about in the breeze.

The second image is the base ring sections bolted together.

Second funny thing is that whilst I spent a great deal of time ensuring the slab was level prior to the pour in the end it has a 12mm fall on it over 2.6m. That meant putting packers in on the northern side. Now I am torn between filling that gap with silicone or removing the packers and just bolting it straight down to the concrete. My builder mentality is to fill the gap and maintain the base ring being level. That way the observatory is truly level and runs properly.

I also ensured that the ring was exactly centre to a mark I put on the pier support. It is just south of the conduit. It took some time to get it right, but there is only 2 mm difference now from N/S and E/W. That is fairly critical to ensuring the dome rotates properly. The base ring has to be a circle.

Not many sleeps now until the dome is installed.

[RickS]

Looks good, Paul! You're making me jealous :)

[Astroman]

I'd be tempted to pack it also.. great Job though!

[Paul Haese]

Decided to finish packing it out today and fill the gap with silicone. Its all sealed now and good rigid enough to walk on.

[Astroman]

I think the choice to do that was a good one Paul. Would save a great deal of headaches later if it didn't work properly, and now it's done I am sure you won't lose any sleep over it... :)

[Paul Haese]

Gotta say I am a bit peed off that the slab level was not near perfect. Something must have moved during the pour as I double checked this to make sure it was level all the way around.

In the end though it is about making sure the base ring is level.

[strongmanmike]

First ever slab and mine was almost peeeerfectly level :P Italian...concreting is in our blood (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/150313901/original) :lol:

Seriously, you are right, as long as the base ring is level it's not really an issue :thumbsup:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

LOL, did ya maka the conacrete too Mikie?:P

I think the problem came about because the concrete was too stiff. The MPA was a lot higher than I ordered. Done lots of driveways, shed floors and all sorts over the years, but never had to screed still concrete before.;) It was almost plasticine while I was screeding it. Besides 4mm per meter is not that bad.:lol: Sorry builder speak for she'll be right.

[strongmanmike]

Ah...I recon if it were builder speak it would be a little more..?..shall we say colourful :question: :lol:

[Paul Haese]

Update. Building Observatory Day.

Man this has been 4 months in the making. What a good day. No wind and some high cloud about to help keep the sting out of the sun. I had some help from mates who came down to help. I could not have done it without them. I want to especially thank Peter.M for his help.

The side panels were like wrestling with an elephant (to carry them we had to turn the panels so the curve was facing up) and the door panel was like hanging onto a tigers tail while it is running. There were lots of little things to do after we got the panels up, like installing the drive rim, which we had to drill the holes for and then do up the nuts for the bolts by hand, whilst the other person had to put tension on the drive rim and bend it slowly around a circle. That was really time consuming. Then putting the drive cover which not only covers the dome drive but also holds down the dome to the base ring. Then before we could install the shutter we had to install the rollers which prevent the shutter from coming off in the wind. All time consuming and it took us nearly 7 hours all up to lock up. Very tired now but happy this is one step toward having another imaging rig working.

Some images of the various stages of assembly including one of me putting in some bolts up the top of the dome to hold the door in section in place.

[RickS]

Looks great, Paul!

[Spookyer]

Nearly there:rofl:

[Peter.M]

No worries Paul, always happy to help. Im looking forward to seeing the scope performing in its new home.

[strongmanmike]

Wow, that's a real beauty! Are you still going to put steps up to the dome opening for getting in and out?

Mike

[Virgs]

Paul, when are you going to let the cat out of the bag about the interior being Meade blue?

[Paul Haese]

Remembering the dome rotates around. It might have to have steps all the way around. Not sure if I want to go to that extent.:)



Yes Meade Blue but not Meade inside ever. :lol: The blue will go nicely with the red of the PMX, SBIG and the computer case.

[Peter.M]

Just attach them to the front of the dome and they can rotate with it. You dont even need to use good attachments, just call them "decorative".

[Paul Haese]

LOL, yeah just like the stupid handles. :rofl:For those that don't know; the only poxy thing about the Scope Dome is the decorative handles that don't have long enough screws to go through the body of the shutter. So they you either drill our the holes just a little which results in the handle flopping about or just silicone up the holes.

[frolinmod]

I guess I don't understand. Why not just purchase some longer screws?

[Paul Haese]

Just observation Ernie, there are supposed to be the right screws for the job. I will have to either silicon up the holes or buy longer screws. The handles don't do much once the drives are engaged. So I might as well silicon on the holes.

[Loupy31]

Hi Paul,

I was in Clayton Bay on the week end visiting my inlaws, I drove past about midday on Sat. and saw a few guys there working away.
Your observatory and your new Dome Look Very nice...Well Done.

Peter :thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Peter that was us. You should have stopped in.

[Loupy31]

Yes your right I should have, would have been great to meet you guys, Next time we are there , I will call in and say hi..........:thumbsup:

[astronobob]

Thats a Neat and sexy lookin Ob's Paul, Job well done, all the best !

[Paul Haese]

In the last week I have been slowly installing the electrical equipment to automate the dome.

In the first image I have installed the shutter inverter and shutter connection board. I have wired up the limit switches and power lead to the inverter.

In the second image the homing sensor is in position and the dome motor is temporary installed.

The third image shows the shutter motor wired and the open limit switch to the right. The white timber is the prop to hold the top of the dome open properly. I am trying to source a expanding prop, but for now this will do. For some reason the domes sometimes need this prop. Without the prop the shutter does not slide up and down easily.

The fourth image shows the dome connector board and inverter completely wired up. You can also see the umbilical cord which rotates around the dome. It will be connected the USB board which controls the entire dome. It is yet to be wired up.

The last image shows the mess I created by sorting out the new computer (red box off to the right of the coffee table). Visible is the STXL, PMX, Atlas focusor and under that is the Pyxis 3" rotator. All the cables are just to make it all work. I have finally got it all talking to CCDautopilot. I just need to commission it all in the dome, doing tpoint, V curves, collimation and work out how to use SkyX.

More commentary and pictures as I complete things.

[astronobob]

How heavy is that mount, Id put it at the end of the table or risk snapping the table in half how you have it ! just trying to protect your sexy furniture , , ,

[Paul Haese]

Not that heavy and the table is made from 40mm MDF. All packed up now though. :)

[gregbradley]

Looks great Paul. You're gonna have a lot of fun.

The only thing that seems out of place with all this high end gear is the GSO RC. I guess you must have faith in it that it will be worth it. It seems the weak link in the chain, like putting a Ferrari V12 in a VW. But I know you have an upgrade path in mind.

Greg.

[Paul Haese]

You get what you pay for Greg as you know. The optics on it are fine for now, but one day as I mentioned to you before I will get a big scope as a replacement. I know what these optics can do now with flexure and average guiding; I think I can produce much better images yet with the right imaging train. Until I can afford to replace this scope, I will see just what these GSO RC's can do. I have seen some really nice images out of them drifting around on CN. I think the only failing is the tubes on the 12" scopes. I have an order to replace that with the new truss which is soon to be shipped. If I can wring out fine detail with this mirror set in a truss then that will work for me for a few years until I look at a 17"CDK or 17"RC. If not I have at least satisfied myself that I have done what I could.:)

[gregbradley]

Truss is the way to go. I see the problems a few have had with tubes in the CDK12. I had a tube RCOS 12 inch and I don't recall problems with that particularly but it probably had more thermal current issues than I realised. Flexure/current are probably the weak points of a tube. A CDK17 in your area should perform like Martins in the Sierra Nevadas.

Greg.

[Paul Haese]

I finished wiring the dome shutter today. I had to use a continuity tester on the umbilical cord as there are 14 wires and 13 of them are black. You need to test each cable to determine which end belongs to which at the other end.

I have provided a video for you guys to check out the shutter opening and closing.

In the coming days I will wire up the dome motor and associated wired components such as the homing sensor and the shutter encoder.

Click here (https://vimeo.com/78512230)for video.

[Paul Haese]

Dome rotation wiring finished today. Piece of cake compared to the wire up of the umbilical for the shutter. I did a video for everyone's amusement.

Click here (https://vimeo.com/78609556)for video.

[Paul Haese]

Picked up the pier today. Hmm I think the computer tray got lost in translation. I am sure I said 350 from center. Oh well no drama. I will need to put some rubber on those edges though. Might collect a shin or two.

So I will be installing the pier and finalising wiring this weekend. Maybe even get the mount in perhaps too.

I am waiting on an adapter from the Atlas to the STXL. GSO seem to think their back focus from the rear of the scope is 281.34mm. Unfortunately this is not correct. I had an adapter made to suit so that the focusor was in the mid position, the focusor had to be racked right out (on the Atlas it is only 10mm) it did not come to focus. I read 290mm to focus. I even checked using matches to pack out the adapters on the Atlas and rotator to take an image that was in focus. So it will be another 3 weeks yet before I can set up the system. Though there is still a trench to be dug for permanent power.

[Astroman]

Thats a pretty quick stop, can it be set to ramp up and down a little, I'd be worried about throwing a gear tooth. Pier looks good Paul.

[Paul Haese]

Yeah ramps up fine, but it did seem to stop suddenly. Interestingly my roll off roof has no ramping and it is fine.

The gear also is polyurethane, and as a result has lots of give.

Here is a shot with the computer sitting on the computer shelf. Not so bad really, worked out fine.

[Paul Haese]

Busy day today. I installed the pier (picture one), it was a bit of a struggle to get the thing over the door of the dome.

I then installed the mount, scope and computer. Everything seems to work well, but I will need to take the scope off the mount to install the cables. I just could not be bother today doing that. Next week sometime I will install the cables.

Next step is to dig the trench for power (urgh I hate limestone), and then on to PA and Tpoint modelling.

[gregbradley]

All very neat and tidy. Looking good Paul. One thing to remember with the PMX mount - always lock the axes before taking anything on or off including the camera. It can unbalance and slip on the gears otherwise. Its easy to forget to do it. Its looking like you will be getting lots of data soon.

Greg.

[Paul Haese]

Greg I know what you are saying. I learnt this little lessen when I was about 32. I had a long Newtonian on a GEM with 2" shafts. For some reason now forgotten to me I removed the counter weights briefly. I was swinging down and back again. I had just taken the last counterweight off (with the scope in place; a very stupid thing to do) and swung back and was hit by the end of the counter weight shaft on the right temple. I can tell you it Teed me off like a golf ball. I reckon I flew at least 6-9 feet through the air. When I got up I thought I had cracked my skull. I went to the hospital and by the time I got there I had a lump on the side of my head of about 2". It turned out I had some very bad bruising but no real damage (well maybe ;)). From that day onwards I have always locked the axis as I am working on a scope. If I am pulling something off the scope it goes in the native home position and is locked off.

I have become pretty familiar with the PMX locks already and been using them well. Good piece of advice though and others ought to follow the practice.

Yes hoping to gather heaps of data on any given night that it is clear. One target I am working on still needs about 12 hours and I already have 25 hours of data. Another is on 17.5 hours but needs colour and lum to start soon. Of course the moon is a factor. Though narrow band can be collected during full moon as you know. So with a narrow field unit working I ought to have plenty of data to play with and maybe produce my first image that makes APOD.:shrug:

[jase]

Haven't checked in for a while. Great progress Paul. The set up looks a real winner. Mega data awaits.

[strongmanmike]

Coming along Paul, looks awesome :thumbsup: that long awaited ease of collecting mega data you are craving is getting close ;) :thumbsup:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys, though already doing mega data with the roll off roof. Last couple of nights sleeping like a baby while the remote system is collecting narrow band photons. Pretty soon I will have toooooo much mega data to deal with. Ah the joy of too much data.:D Couple of current projects are in the 20-30 hours of data at present and will most likely hit the mid 30 hours for each. It is so easy when it is remote.:thumbsup:

[kinetic]

Paul,

great pics and progress story.
One thing, does the computer have fan cooling on the power supply?
Might it vibrate and make the pier resonate a bit?

Steve

[Paul Haese]

Good point Steve, I will check that and if so put in a rubber matt.

[kinetic]

Rubber mat might not help much.
I know brand new fans are almost vibration free but once you get some dust
on the fan blades they vibrate from being out of balance.
The platform might need just a gusset, it might not even be a problem at all.
Some PCs even have piezo power supply cooling, that might be an option ( as long as the peltier PWM doesn't make a worse electronic noise!)

FWIW....

Steve

[Paul Haese]

Something I had not considered Steve. Worth mentioning. It has a gusset now, but not very wide, I might invest in some vibration pads to control any further movement.

[Paul Haese]

Just to check back on the vibration with the computer. I ran the computer today sitting on the little bench.

Surprisingly there was no apparent vibration. The plate is 10mm plate that holds up the computer, the entire mass of the pier is most likely absorbing any fine vibration that the computer might be making. The fans on this computer are pretty quiet too. The whole power supply is very quiet too. So here's hoping that this might be a good design I have come up with. I will obviously report on how things turn out with the system imaging.

[icytailmark]

very nice observatory paul. Why did you put your computer so close to the pier and not on a desk?

[Paul Haese]

The observatory has an umbilical cord that goes all the way around the observatory. The cord powers the shutter and provides coms to the shutter control. You cannot have a desk in this observatory as a result. So everything has to be up and off the floor.

[Paul Haese]

The dome has power now. Dug in the cable today. Hard work with a jack hammer and limestone. Urgh, next time I buy a place I am carry a shovel with me and dig a hole before buying to determine the quality of digging.

Nice to have that job done though.

[Paul Haese]

Commissioning getting along nicely now. I have the dome connecting to SkyX and slewing to the target. I had to replace the original encoder which went under the rack, but the dome flexes on hot days and this chews out the encoder. The new encoder fits directly to the motor and works a treat. Very easy to install.

Now for PA and Tpoint modelling.

[graham.hobart]

Looking good Paul, tell me -is that an RC 12 or a 10 on your PMX? it's pretty big.
Cheers
Graham.

[Paul Haese]

It's an RC12 Graham and yes it is pretty big. It is quite heavy and can be a bugger to take off any mount.

[Paul Haese]

Probably the final update on this project. I have done most of the primary commissioning now with only V curves to run for focusmax. Then I will be imaging full on each clear night.

Last night I took a photo of the scope in place in the dome. As you can see there is lots of wiring. The computer is sitting on the UPS and there is a IP power switch on the computer. Nothing can be on the floor because of the umbilical cord which can be seen on the left coming of the dome wall. The umbilical roams around the floor of the observatory. Dome rotation motor can be seen to the right. Testing has shown the idea of putting a self on the pier was a good one. No vibration can be felt at all or seen in the images so far. Time will tell though, though I think the mass of the pier and the concrete plug in the ground will more than dampen any other minor vibrations coming from the computer or UPS.

I am currently waiting on a truss setup for this set of mirrors, so that will no doubt require a new Tpoint model and V curves.

I have included a link to an animation I took last night whilst doing a 400 point tpoint modelling run. Happy to report that went well and with no cables becoming snagged.

Click here (https://vimeo.com/82160517)for video of Tpoint modelling run. Watching the dome and the sky moving (fun).

[RickS]

Very neat, Paul! Now you can take it easy while the megadata rolls in.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Rick, not as neat as I would like, but that will happen over the Christmas holidays.

With any luck the megadata will start rolling in soon enough.

[Paul Haese]

Now nearing final commissioning of the dome. Tpoint modelling complete with pointing to 23 arc seconds. Focusmax fully commissioned and doing focus runs with acquire star enabled. Guiding commenced, but not to my satisfaction yet. Tests last night showed Dec axis right on the line but RA was moving up and down past the centre line like a sine wave. That means PEC is next. Once that is done I can then commence working on integration with CCDAP. In the next week or so I hope to have it all ready to image.

[strongmanmike]

Have to say Paul, a big project you took on there and looks like it is all coming together to a final success, well done and I wish you well in the collection of your mega data :thumbsup:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Mike, despite the size of the project I have enjoyed this more than the roll off roof project. The dome was so much easier to sort in a lot of ways. At least I sort of knew what I was looking at this time.

[Rigel003]

It's been a massive job for you. I take my hat off to your patience and perseverance. The inside of the dome looks very cool.

[Hans Tucker]

I got say I love the look of the Scopedome and I am surprised that the cost is below what is locally available. Could you give some feedback on how the dome handles the heat this week since you are up for another 40 degree heatwave.

[Paul Haese]

No problems whatsoever Hans. The guys up at Arkaroola have hotter temps and never had any real issues.

[Paul Haese]

New Truss in the dome, using the old mirrors from the RC12. :D

[strongmanmike]

Sexy...rawrrr :evil2:

[Bassnut]

Lookin mighty fine :thumbsup:

[Astroman]

did you just get the body only or did they send you mirrors also? btw that looks hot as Paul, sexy looking setup.

[Paul Haese]

I had the RC12 scope which had a tube. I knew 3 years ago they were going to change that design with either a truss or a carbon tube, but it would be ages before it would be available. So I bought the tubed scope and always had the long term view of getting the truss or a carbon tube for it. So I just bought the truss and pulled out the mirrors from the ali tubed scope and installed them into the new truss.