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A fascinating post for me as I am wrestling with this of late.
I started setting up my EQ6 in the yard. A PITA to set up each night and my images were lousy.
The next step was straight forward. I had a uni task to take a 5 hour image of a galaxy cluster. So I set up on the back deck and marked where the legs needed to be positioned for rapid set up. For there it was obvious - leave the gear out overnight if it was clear.
It was the a short step to set up a pier and run the rig for inside the house using Real VNC. What a revelation - no mozzies in summer or chill in winter.
So I invested in a PMX and now automate.CCD Autopilot was a lifesaver. I can now image all night confident that the system will focus, plate solve, flip on the meridian etc.
The gear lives outside under a Telegizmos cover. I use a fitPC which stays outside too and I have Ethernet and power run to the pier. If its wet, I collect the cabling that hangs below the cover - power and Ethernet comes via an all weather power box. So it takes 5 minutes to set up.
When I ran the gear in person I often did the maths. Image only at weekends - so that is at most 3 nights out of 7 or 12 nights a month. Exclude one weekend at full moon - down to 9 nights. Assume 1 cloudy weekend a month - down to 6-8 nights a month. Then family, work, social commitments - now you have 3 - 5 or so per month. Not great odds - 10 - 15% of available time.
So....
I am 7km from the Sydney CBD and the sky is crap. And its humid. And I am paranoid about rain. So I am days away from committing to move my gear to Coonabarabran and have it hosted by iTelescope. It's expensive. But dark skies and a professional set up that responds to the weather while I sleep - that is the nearest to perfection for me. I toyed with the idea of a cheap place in the country for an obs - but that is very expensive and frankly I couldn't commit the time to using it properly.
The rent a scope concept is great. I have used iTelescope for a year or so. The big issue is getting access to the scopes. I find it hard to get time when I am ready to image as there are plenty of others vying for time around new moon.
The upside is you can get access the northern skies - a bonus for us Aussies. My first image of M31 was such a buzz.
For me, the key is to be able to image while maintaining time with family. I have a busy job and many is the night I avoid looking outside to avoid being torn between family and imaging. So if I can indulge my passion and my job and my family and the odd jobs around the home and meet up with friends from time to time and, and, and ... You can't combine this with a busy imaging schedule if you sit by the scope each night, thermos in hand.
I do appreciate the joy of sitting out under the stars in the bush. That sense of escape is not to be missed. But for me it's only a few times a year. And this is too expensive a hobby to enjoy a handful of times a year.
Pete
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