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  #141  
Old 02-09-2020, 02:05 PM
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lazjen (Chris)
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Wow, what a setup.
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  #142  
Old 02-09-2020, 02:16 PM
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multiweb (Marc)
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That's an awesome build Josh. Those videos on FB are pretty cool.
I see now how important it was to go up high. That red dust at ground level would be an issue in the long run to stay on top of.
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  #143  
Old 02-09-2020, 02:34 PM
dikman (Richard)
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I can imagine quite a few people seeing that and wondering WTF? Spread a rumour that it's an ASIO spy station keeping an eye on China's Mars mission.
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  #144  
Old 03-09-2020, 06:35 AM
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Wow!

Hope you reap the rewards from your efforts thus far.

DT
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  #145  
Old 05-09-2020, 08:32 PM
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Sunfish (Ray)
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Felicitations for topping out.
The time lapse is great.
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  #146  
Old 16-09-2020, 11:28 PM
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Joshua Bunn (Joshua)
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Thanks everyone for writing, sorry for the long delay.
I've been testing and running a few things in the observatory, found a couple of things that need modifying. Hopefully i can get them on this weekend and ill post some pictures of it.





Quote:
Originally Posted by h0ughy View Post
Wow I am awestruck and gobsmacked at the same time

What a sensation! thanks David


Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike View Post
.......

Well?...after catching my breath Josh....all I can say initially is....Fugg me dead! Mike

Hahaha, I'm half Italian, so i found that pretty funny



Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike View Post
Unbelievably incredibly impressively amazingly stupendous....

The time lapse of using the crane was pretty cool...hey, I'm still scared but looking at you guys scampering up and down in fast motion made it look pretty benign...

Congratulations on an amazing project, you have certainly set the mark for the top position of amateur observatory construction

Mike

Thanks for writing Mike, always find your comments entertaining yeah the ladder didn't fall off haha and the winch worked well.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidU View Post
Wow, just wow !!!

cheers Dave!


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Originally Posted by strongmanmike View Post
It's funny, I like many others, have been looking at and enjoying this project progress and have imagined it completed...but man, the final product is even more incredible than imagined...speechless is a well used term but in this instance is pretty fitting. To conceive, design, construct and bring to completion such an inspired concept, is truly incredible...nicely done Josh, you are now the king of observatories aaand by a country mile!

Mike

Thanks Mike, high praise indeed. funny you say that, about 10 minutes after it went up, and the crane had left, I stood there and thought... yes, its pretty tall


Quote:
Originally Posted by muletopia View Post
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
yes, what you said ... thanks Chris

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkArts View Post
Is that an observatory or a launch complex?

recon I could do both


Quote:
Originally Posted by lazjen View Post
Wow, what a setup.

Thanks Chris


Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb View Post
That's an awesome build Josh. Those videos on FB are pretty cool.
I see now how important it was to go up high. That red dust at ground level would be an issue in the long run to stay on top of.

Thanks Marc, yes that, and hopefully up into some steadier air


Quote:
Originally Posted by dikman View Post
I can imagine quite a few people seeing that and wondering WTF? Spread a rumour that it's an ASIO spy station keeping an eye on China's Mars mission.

and they'd probably believe it to


Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidTrap View Post
Wow!

Hope you reap the rewards from your efforts thus far.

DT

So do I David, thankyou.


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Originally Posted by Sunfish View Post
Felicitations for topping out.
The time lapse is great.

thanks Ray, I like them to
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  #147  
Old 05-10-2020, 11:19 AM
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LostInSp_ce
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One of the most impressive builds I've ever seen Joshua. Absolutely magnificent all-round from concept to completion! A real treasure. Thanks for sharing.
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  #148  
Old 05-10-2020, 01:00 PM
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Simply amazing Joshsua! I caught up with this thread only today and have just spent an hour going through it and looking at the pics and videos. Wonderful stuff! Having built a slightly non-standard obs myself, I have an idea of some of the challenges you faced, but huge credit to your design and construction abilities! Your pier looks _very_ stiff so I doubt that it would have any low frequency component to its resonance. Your lattice construction reminded me of the stiff frames I saw under the 8 m mirrors at the VLT in Chile (pic attached).



In support of the general consensus on having a pier tall enough to get above the ground effect, I discussed that with an amateur in the US who built a pier about 4 or 5 m tall for just that reason. He carried out some site tests prior to settling on his design, whereby he made actual measurements at 'normal' height and again at ~4 or 5 m above the ground. From memory, he got an improvement of ~0.7 arcsec at the increased height.



I may have missed it, but have you said what telescope and mount you will be installing?



All the best,
Chris
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  #149  
Old 06-10-2020, 02:19 AM
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Joshua Bunn (Joshua)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LostInSp_ce View Post
One of the most impressive builds I've ever seen Joshua. Absolutely magnificent all-round from concept to completion! A real treasure. Thanks for sharing.

Thankyou for writing! its great when a plan comes together


Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisM View Post
Simply amazing Joshsua! I caught up with this thread only today and have just spent an hour going through it and looking at the pics and videos. Wonderful stuff! Having built a slightly non-standard obs myself, I have an idea of some of the challenges you faced, but huge credit to your design and construction abilities! Your pier looks _very_ stiff so I doubt that it would have any low frequency component to its resonance. Your lattice construction reminded me of the stiff frames I saw under the 8 m mirrors at the VLT in Chile (pic attached).



In support of the general consensus on having a pier tall enough to get above the ground effect, I discussed that with an amateur in the US who built a pier about 4 or 5 m tall for just that reason. He carried out some site tests prior to settling on his design, whereby he made actual measurements at 'normal' height and again at ~4 or 5 m above the ground. From memory, he got an improvement of ~0.7 arcsec at the increased height.



I may have missed it, but have you said what telescope and mount you will be installing?



All the best,
Chris

Thank you Chris.


Yes, there are a few non standard challenges. I will be doing an update post in the coming weeks with how things are going.
I have stood under those VLT telescopes, they are awesome as you would know. The pier, is very rigid for sure. with the happy snaps and test shots i have taken before getting automation going, i have seen a marked improvement in seeing compared to my previous site, but i don't have a comparison at this site for ground level vs 9m up. 0.7" is a hugh improvement, well worth the effort for the guy in the US. I downloaded a frequency measurement app to my phone, for memory, the pier resonated at around 1000 Htz, but i can check that again.


At the moment i have a PME and Planewave CDK 12.5 in there.


clear skies,
Joshua
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  #150  
Old 08-10-2020, 09:41 PM
Spleenus (Darren)
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That looks like one heck of a beast - glad to see it wasn't built in Albany with all the cloud that keeps rolling in.....relentlessly!!! Looking forward to seeing more updates come through on this project.
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  #151  
Old 08-10-2020, 09:43 PM
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Joshua Bunn (Joshua)
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Hi Darren.
Nice to see another Albanyite on here we know the clouds all to well. It would have been such a waste to build along the south coast. I have some more updates to come yet...


Cheers
Joshua
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