new shutter on my roll off roof

[petershah]

I've been meaning to get around to sorting out the shutter on the roll off roof it has been a bit of a pain to open and close.
What better use of these light summer nights than to refine the kit.
This is what I've come up with....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s2Z2t9kQgk&feature=youtu.be

here is another quick tour of the Observatory showing a little more of the scope and location. Don't look too close, I'm not a carpenter but I will be tidying a few things up. BTW that great big tree will be coming down....not only because it is directly South but because its too close to the house .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJTPmIEPKeU

[Lee]

Nicely done.... How weatherproof is the end with the raising flap?

[petershah]

Its not bad, we get sideways rain here regular :sadeyes: and 3ft of snow last winter.......never been wet inside at all.....the only thing is wasp nests and it can get dewy, so I have heaters which stay on while the scope is parked and its very important to have good ventilation to let out the damp....I also have airflow under the observatory.

[alistairsam]

That's a cool idea. any details on how it was built?
would love to see some close up pics on the mechanism.

apart from a cloud sensor, are there any rain sensors normally used?

the other night it looked to be a clear night, but started drizzling. so I'm guessing a rain sensor would also be needed to close the dome/shutter.

Cheers
Alistair

[petershah]

Hi Alistair, yep it does have a rain sensor. Ill sort out some pics and post them for you. Is there anything in particular you would like to see???....its really a simple design, using heavy duty "V" pulleys on an angle iron rails for the roof then a cantilever and balanced shutter. The roof is operated by a garage door opener which is wired into a universal Velleman board and is run by lesvedome software which is Ascom compatible ...see link http://www.dppobservatory.net/DomeAutomation/DomeDriver.php
all automated with CCD Autopilot....it will park the scope before closing the roof, but I will be fitting a safety switch that cuts power to the roof when the scope is pointing up.

[alistairsam]

Thanks Peter,

which rain sensor do you use?
I was interested in seeing how it drives both at the same time and also the cantilever assembly.

Cheers

[petershah]

Here are some pics showing the cable system and mechanism when the roof is open and closed. I've also shown the heavy duty wheels and track.

this is the rain detector I use, but it seems to have trouble if the rain is very fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQv5sAe6RfQ

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RAIN-SENSOR-RAIN-ALARM-RAIN-DETECTOR-Regensensor-/181167059825?pt=UK_BOI_Industrial_A utomation_Control_ET&hash=item2a2e65f371

let me know your thoughts

[petershah]

just found this photo.....this was before the weather got bad :sadeyes:....everything stayed dry....although the shutter was not counter weighted in this pic the system used the same shutter.