Absco pool pump shed

[Octane (Humayun)]

Hi all,

So, in the limited space we have in our current backyard, the minister for war, finance and treasury has given me the go-ahead to get an Absco pool pump shed.

I've measured my gear and it will fit nicely inside it; the scope will be parked horizontally.

These sheds come with a skillion roof that opens via a hinge mechanism.

Does anyone know what the best way to go about automating the roof will be? I want it to be controlled via ASCOM so that I can integrate it with AAG CloudWatcher.

Can anyone point me in the right direction with regards to what motor/controller and miscellaneous hardware I would need to put it together?

Thanks!

H

[LewisM]

Me thinks thou shalt talk to Mr. Muhlack. Not sure if Richard's is fully automated, but I believe he is using the Absco shed.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Yep, I know he's using the shed, but, I don't think his is automated.

H

[LewisM]

Isn't this what wives are for? Opening shed roofs?

(where is that bomb shelter to hide in...)

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

Very interested to hear how you go about this H.

cheers

russ

[Octane (Humayun)]

I think the easiest way would be to get a linear actuator.

The Forster Systems controller supports this method:

http://www.fostersystems.com/viewitem.php?productid=7

Hrm!

H

[troypiggo (Troy)]

OOh. Very nice. What are they worth?

[Bassnut (Fred)]

OK, thats interesting H. The controller looks to be right, saves doing all that from scratch, and its ASCOM compliant, bonus.

Linac linear actuators are popular in OZ http://www.linak.com.au/techline/applications.aspx

I had a poke at a clamb shell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs8boe4xruM and used rotary control as I couldnt work out how to use linear actuators. If an actuator opens to vertical, how do you move passed that?. Im a bit thick with mechanicals, im sure the answer is obvious and others will chime in.

One warning. What killed my design stone dead in actual site use, was it was a wind sail. A bit of wind, and things got wobbly and out of control quickly, just when it needed to close with a storm coming. If wind is possible near the shed, open/close it manually on a windy day and check how it behaves/how much energy it takes.

[Logieberra (Logan)]

http://contest.cheapsheds.com.au/con...pump-cover-152

[Octane (Humayun)]

Troy, $285 US.

Fred, yep, the Forster people also mentioned that it would be mechanically-impossible after the vertical max position. But, that is OK; in my backyard, to the north is the house and I can't see anything past the meridian, anyway.

Logan, yep, I saw that a while back.

If we move, or if I relocate the scope elsewhere in the backyard, then, I wonder if the roof could be automated with a garage motor and chain/sprocket-type setup?

H

[rogerco (Roger)]

I can't find where I have seen it done but the starting point is to counterbalance the weight of roof about the hinge then you don't need much force to get it over.

[Somnium (Aidan)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Troy, $285 US.

Fred, yep, the Forster people also mentioned that it would be mechanically-impossible after the vertical max position. But, that is OK; in my backyard, to the north is the house and I can't see anything past the meridian, anyway.

Logan, yep, I saw that a while back.

If we move, or if I relocate the scope elsewhere in the backyard, then, I wonder if the roof could be automated with a garage motor and chain/sprocket-type setup?

H

I use an electric gate opener with an arduino to control the opening and closing. I wrote an ascom driver for it too. Cost for the system was around $300 for the gate opener and $10 for the arduino and other minor electronics. The system works flawlessly. while it is not as straight forward as plug and play, i managed to write the code for both the arduino and the ascom driver and i am not a computer engineer. Let me know if you want any more info, happy to share my code and talk about what is possible. the system i developed could easily be packaged up and reused, or minor adjustments to make it work with a different type of roof.

Aidan

[rmuhlack (Richard)]

Originally Posted by Somnium

I use an electric gate opener with an arduino to control the opening and closing. I wrote an ascom driver for it too. Cost for the system was around $300 for the gate opener and $10 for the arduino and other minor electronics. The system works flawlessly. while it is not as straight forward as plug and play, i managed to write the code for both the arduino and the ascom driver and i am not a computer engineer. Let me know if you want any more info, happy to share my code and talk about what is possible. the system i developed could easily be packaged up and reused, or minor adjustments to make it work with a different type of roof.

Aidan

Now that is the business

H is correct, my absco pool cover sheds are not automated. I don't think that the hinge setup as supplied by absco is particularly well suited to automation - the roof does act like a sail when opening and closing in windy conditions. I have been thinking that a roll-off mod with something like the setup proposed by Aidan might be the way to go (for me) in the future

[Octane (Humayun)]

I'm open to all suggestions!

How would we go about converting the roof?

The area where I'm located doesn't get much wind, as it's blocked by the house. But, it is still a consideration.

H

[rmuhlack (Richard)]

Originally Posted by Octane

I'm open to all suggestions!

How would we go about converting the roof?

The area where I'm located doesn't get much wind, as it's blocked by the house. But, it is still a consideration.

H

I think adding rails for the existing roof to slide on and some wheels, and from there its just like any other ROR design.

[garymck (Gary)]

I used to use one of these pool pump sheds to house a vixen gpd2 plus vc200l.

I simply hinged the roof as it came in the kit and put a support behind the shed. I simply flipped the roof open and allowed it to rest on the support behind. This stopped the roof going past the hinges travel. Worked fine and was easy to flip.

I would say that it was VERY cramped inside and I would not use it for visual - simply too small.

cheers
Gary

[Octane (Humayun)]

Shed ordered. Arrives in two weeks.

H

[Somnium (Aidan)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Shed ordered. Arrives in two weeks.

H

great stuff, have you figured out how you are going to automate the roof ?

[bugeater (Marty)]

This little shed looks very tempting. I was looking forward to building a little timber observatory, but this would be much quicker and cheaper.

[Octane (Humayun)]

We've just had an offer on a house accepted.

The shed can be used for something else.

I will build my own roll-off roof observatory, instead.

H