Hi Mike ,
What a great spot you have chosen I would say at that height you are above the snow line or close to it , I hope you have some warm long Johns because I think you will be needing them. How far are you from GooGong ,I haver a son who lives their and offend go and see him.
Hi Mike ,
What a great spot you have chosen I would say at that height you are above the snow line or close to it , I hope you have some warm long Johns because I think you will be needing them. How far are you from GooGong ,I haver a son who lives their and offend go and see him.
Ian
Quote:
Originally Posted by mura_gadi
Speaking of cold months ahead,
They say because you are inactive you dress for 10 degrees less than the actual temperature.
I was suggested freezer gear by a CAS member, one of the best bit of additional kit I have acquired.
You might be closer to deep freezer gear over freezer gear, but for warm light kit, you can move in, its very hard to beat.
The other one was to get some moon boots, having a few inches of space off the ground seems to help keep the feet a lot warmer.
Its a good thing its not about style though!
Hi Ian and Steve
At nearly 1500m we do get a reasonable amount of snow, it varies yearly of course but this last winter we had a few of days of decent snow.....and.......and
But luckily didn't have to use chains...our longer term neighbours report it can be quite heavy and deep making vehicular access very difficult or indeed impossible but only occasionally, maybe once or twice a season.
I do have a freezer suit but generally cold is not an issue for me really, during many clear nights over last winter at Eagleview, I seemed to be able to cope with fairly modest attire most of the time actually (probably the excitement of just being up there under a magical sparkling dark sky! ). On a few occasions last winter up there, with snow all around me and below zero temperatures, with low humidity, I was out in shorts I know. I usually just had a T-shirt + flannelette shirt + hooded spray jacket on, that's it and I could last 30-60min like that pretty easy this made it easy undressing to go inside periodically to warm up by the fire (-5C outside and 23C inside). With the new observatory I will have a separate control room shed next to the dome deck, with small heater, from where I will be able to control the imaging aaaand be close by for visual observing sessions with the 18" Dob as well. If not doing visual observing, I plan to control the observatory from inside the house via remote desktop or similar.. aaand if Diego from Sidereal Trading has his way who knows, down the track maybe even from the comfort of our place in Canberra
Ian, as the crow flies Googong is 37km to my north, or 54km (50min-1hr) by road.
The concrete support pillar and footing formwork is ready to take some concrete
I have designed the formwork so that I can do it all in one pour, ie filling the footing space first, through those two side access holes in the cover board, then after blocking these access holes, fill the formatube (resulting in a sturdy monolithic one piece support pier) Then finally, press the anchor bolts into the wet cement, sighting on my true south stake, positioned accurately in the distance
I used this same approach back in 2014 for my last telescope pier and that worked a treat
Mike
Last edited by strongmanmike; 08-02-2022 at 01:51 PM.
I like that control shed idea, Mike!
When this is all said and done and you have more time, it’d be really nice if you could share plans for those of us who want to emulate your build. I’ve decided I want the same dome that you have, they look fantastic
I like that control shed idea, Mike!
When this is all said and done and you have more time, it’d be really nice if you could share plans for those of us who want to emulate your build. I’ve decided I want the same dome that you have, they look fantastic
The concept sketch I posted for you previously is all I have been going off.
A builder will be building the elevated 4.6mX4.6m deck without specific plan drawings, I designed and will be constructing the pier and formwork but no plan drawings, the solar infrastructure will be pretty simple and Sidereal Trading will be installing the dome.
So, if you keep following this thread you should eventually have enough info and ideas to emulate it all pretty easily
The concrete support pillar and footing formwork is ready to take some concrete
>snip
Mike
I see your Strongman talent has not diminished, given the way you formed the reo-bar into those nice circular shapes, no doubt formed around your biceps given their girth.
The concept sketch I posted for you previously is all I have been going off.
A builder will be building the elevated 4.6mX4.6m deck without specific plan drawings, I designed and will be constructing the pier and formwork but no plan drawings, the solar infrastructure will be pretty simple and Sidereal Trading will be installing the dome.
So, if you keep following this thread you should eventually have enough info and ideas to emulate it all pretty easily
I see your Strongman talent has not diminished, given the way you formed the reo-bar into those nice circular shapes, no doubt formed around your biceps given their girth.
Cheers
Dennis
I wish! my arms have shrunk from 20 inch circumference in my hey day, to now.....well, they are little bigger than pipe cleaners
I do occasionally still surprise myself (and others) though, there is some residual strength at least
At nearly 1500m we do get a reasonable amount of snow, it varies yearly of course but this last winter we had a few of days of decent snow.....and.......and
But luckily didn't have to use chains...our longer term neighbours report it can be quite heavy and deep making vehicular access very difficult or indeed impossible but only occasionally, maybe once or twice a season.
I do have a freezer suit but generally cold is not an issue for me really, during many clear nights over last winter at Eagleview, I seemed to be able to cope with fairly modest attire most of the time actually (probably the excitement of just being up there under a magical sparkling dark sky! ). On a few occasions last winter up there, with snow all around me and below zero temperatures, with low humidity, I was out in shorts I know. I usually just had a T-shirt + flannelette shirt + hooded spray jacket on, that's it and I could last 30-60min like that pretty easy this made it easy undressing to go inside periodically to warm up by the fire (-5C outside and 23C inside). With the new observatory I will have a separate control room shed next to the dome deck, with small heater, from where I will be able to control the imaging aaaand be close by for visual observing sessions with the 18" Dob as well. If not doing visual observing, I plan to control the observatory from inside the house via remote desktop or similar.. aaand if Diego from Sidereal Trading has his way who knows, down the track maybe even from the comfort of our place in Canberra
Ian, as the crow flies Googong is 37km to my north, or 54km (50min-1hr) by road.
Hi Mike I have been remote access for the last 12 months even it doesn't get as cold as were you are. Am using a KOGAN ATLAS MINI PC - (KAMPCZ300NA and using Anydesk and Tight VNC as soft wear for access
Ian
Hi Mike I have been remote access for the last 12 months even it doesn't get as cold as were you are. Am using a KOGAN ATLAS MINI PC - (KAMPCZ300NA and using Anydesk and Tight VNC as soft wear for access
Ian
Ok, thanks for the tip, I'll take a look at those Ian
The concrete support pillar and footing formwork is ready to take some concrete
I have designed the formwork so that I can do it all in one pour, ie filling the footing space first, through those two side access holes in the cover board, then after blocking these access holes, fill the formatube (resulting in a sturdy monolithic one piece support pier) Then finally, press the anchor bolts into the wet cement, sighting on my true south stake, positioned accurately in the distance
Mike
Hi Mike
I just stumbled across an eBook dedicated to Pier Designs - "The long awaited D.I.Y. E-book on Telescope Piers and Foundations!"
Might be too late though, seeing how advanced yours is.
Cheers
Dennis
Ah thanks Dennis, yes that would have been great to get ...still might
In the end though and this being my fourth observatory construction, this is the third time I have used this sort of support design and construction and in fact, it is exactly the same approach as my last pier made for my, soon to be previous, observatory, with the same gear on top and that was rock steady and worked flawlessly for 7 years now..at least as far as I have been able to tell
So, I'm confident it will be sufficient again
Mike
Last edited by strongmanmike; 08-02-2022 at 01:53 PM.
..hey, maybe an RAT kit 
....heck, they have been scarce in 2022 but in 2047, nobody will remember what they were (hopefully 
) 
thanks doctor Hough 
(probably the excitement of just being up there under a magical sparkling dark sky! 
I know. I usually just had a T-shirt + flannelette shirt + hooded spray jacket on, that's it and I could last 30-60min like that pretty easy 
this made it easy undressing to go inside periodically to warm up by the fire (-5C outside and 23C inside). With the new observatory I will have a separate 
