Back yard Observatory Extra's

[Neil]

G'day, I'm fortunate enough to have an observatory with a bit of room( 6m x3m shed with a 2.9m dome on top) I'm interested to know what extra's you may have in your Observatory? I've got a 127cm plasma TV which I'm able to display what I'm seeing via a G-Star-X video camera, this is great when you have a few visitors. Also I have a turntable which I play records on.......you know, they're made of vinyl with a hole in the middle and sound great, this is connected to a 5.1 surround sound system, sounds really great, as you can appreciate this is a relatively small area. So what do you have in your Man/Woman cave, clear skies.:thanx::hi::D

[TraKtorman]

I have installed Yamaha HS5 near field monitors http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-production/speakers/hs_series/hs5/ , a Dragonfly usb DAC http://www.audioquest.com/usb_digital_analog_converter/dragonfly-dac and a DBX driverack PA http://dbxpro.com/en-US/products/driverack-pa to smooth out the sound. I run Jriver MC20 http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?PHPSESSID=edimmmfcap02hbr sfin32dpnh4&topic=92737.0 through a wireless link to the house. In general I don't listen much while "working"/ imaging, but other times its quite nice. Happy snap attached (without the DBX).
cheers
peter

[strongmanmike]

Sounds awesom Neil, I was wanting to do this sort of arangement but with a 2.3m Sirus dome, do you have any photos of your setup? love to see'em :)

MIke

[Neil]

Yes I also have a 2.3meter dome( not 2.9 as I previously posted) Will post some pictures soon, once I work out how.:):D:)

[strongmanmike]

Great

Make your pictures small (longest side about 1000pix) and save them as a jpeg that is under 200k, then use the "manage attachments" button under additional options below the reply window, to upload to your IIS post :thumbsup:

Mike

[Neil]

Thanks Mike for the advice on posting pics, will give it a try over the week-end.:D:D

[Starlite]

Fully self contained Man Cave, Dog House, airconditioned, bed, 35 guitars, soundproofed, crank up The Foo Fighters, AC/DC, Rockabilly, Megadeath when the clouds roll in.Sorry no " Stairway To Heaven" allowed.

[strongmanmike]

:prey2: :thumbsup:

Mike

[Neil]

Wow John, very nice, is this your observatory or where you live or both maybe, and I guess you play the guitar?:rofl::party:

[ZeroID]

You no like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant ? :confused2:


Nice man cave though ....too damn nice ..;)

[Starlite]

Yes, I get PARANOID sometimes !!!. A nice sanctuary to get away from the women....:thumbsup:

[5ash]

I find luminous paint a worthwhille addition.
Regards philip

[ChrisM]

Hi Neil, I also have the TV screen and 5.1 sound. One little trick with the sound system is to mount a speaker (I used the 5th channel) on one side of the obs just near the base of the dome and pointing up at about 45 deg so that the sound reflects off the dome surface. It creates some magic effects, especially with you seated directly opposite! All the other speakers are downstairs.

Also have white board, a few charts & photographs, CCTV to view the mount from downstairs, 2-way radio/scanner, dehumidifier & heater.

[ChrisM]

Peter - that does sound brilliant... I've tried a portable Bose system in my dome but couldn't leave it there unfortunateley!



That's no observatory - it's more like a house in your backyard! Good set-up, just the same.

Chris

[strongmanmike]

:eyepop:.....:question:........:bow down:

Maaaate, now THAT'S an observatory :thumbsup:...looks a lot like Baza's here in Canberra.

Mike

[DavidTrap]

Chris wins!

DT

[strongmanmike]

Ooooh I dunnoooow, gotta be close...having a bed, library and your own hydrolic lift to take you and your scope through a hole in the roof is pretty speccy :question: :lol:

Mike

[Starlite]

I have 50% light pollution.... Chris wins...:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

:lol:

...I do have some shelves, a folding sofa bed, small gas cooker, a portable cooling fan..oh and a stash of cup-a-soups, noodles, tuna breaks and potato chips in mine :P

[Neil]

Just a few pics from 2 years ago,more to follow, clear skies.

[strongmanmike]

Great cave Neil, very cool :thumbsup:...actually looks very similar to my first observatory (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/observatory_construction&page=all) and with scope inside (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/55285272/large) that I built 10 years ago just south of Canberra

Mike

[Starlite]

Full cloud cover over SE QLD, got out the old Celestron Planetarium in the man-cave, just random green laser spots and a blue nebula in the centre.:)

[Neil]

:DThanks Micheal, will take some new pics and post them soon,Chris , I've always admired Sandy Ridge Obs, looks fantastic, clear skies.:D:):D