Observatory Inquiry

[johnnyt123 (John)]

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen....

I am looking at placing an observatory dome in the backyard.
I have no idea about whats good out there and what works....so i seek some noble wisdom from you fine people...

I mainly need a 2.3m dome or there abouts...
My main concerns are that it is completely automated and can be controlled via PC. In saying that i would like the shutter to be remotely controlled and the dome to rotate in sync with the mount.
I would like it to also have weather protection and automatically close if the weather turns sour.....

So if anyone can guide me to the right dome or provide any kind of information i would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance..

John

[Ric]

Hi John

Have a look at Sirius Observatory's, I'm pretty sure they cover most of what your looking for.

http://www.atscope.com.au/sirius.html

cheers

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

Good Day John the following might help;

www.atscope.com.au/sirius.html

Fair bit of info on that link.....some of the other members will be able to give you first hand info on the automation of the dome....I operate mine manually... Cheers Tom

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

you bet me by 2mins John

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

I meant Rick.....to much sun today

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by johnnyt123

My main concerns are that it is completely automated and can be controlled via PC. In saying that i would like the shutter to be remotely controlled and the dome to rotate in sync with the mount.
I would like it to also have weather protection and automatically close if the weather turns sour.....John

...don't we all

Good luck with the project, in the end it comes down to money really as a package like that from a commercial outlet will cost a bit...but if you have the budget you can get a turn key 2.3m Sirius Observatory based outfit straight off the shelf that will do all that

Mike

[johnnyt123 (John)]

Thanks for all your responses......

I got in touch with Sirius and what I am asking for will set me back around 12k.....
Now that's not a cheap project......

Does anyone have a dome they may wish to sell?

John

[Spookyer (Brett)]

How about a rollon/rolloff roof shed?

Much cheaper.

[johnnyt123 (John)]

Originally Posted by Spookyer

How about a rollon/rolloff roof shed?

Much cheaper.

Can you automate that?

[mmillwar]

G'day John,

I found a lot of good information about dome/observatory designs from this site -

http://obs.nineplanets.org/obs/obslist.html

... many, many hours of reading will bring you up to speed. Over the years and in the end I went with Sirius/home built design and progressively automated the lot.

http://astro.yorkcreek.net/Observatory.html

Hope this might guide you.

Regards, Merv

[adi (Avi)]

sorry for posting it here but is there any observatory available in melbourne?

[Paul Haese]

Scope dome, fully automated for 10-12k. base of dome is 2.5m maximum width is 3m. Very easy to put together and automate. Good software which integrates with lots of software.

http://www.scopedome.com/en/default.aspx

See Rally on this site for importing the product.

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

........... a package like that from a commercial outlet will cost a bit.........
Mike

Actually, ATS sells Sirius domes *cheaper* than going to Sirius directly.