the doghouse Mark2 - a new beginning

[h0ughy]

ok second time around - what would i do different? ahh i know none of this (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=159519)

is there a benefit to have the platform for the dome higher?

would i be better routing data separate to the power?

do i just set it all up on a full concrete slab?

the location is in the top corner near the second panel:)

[Occulta]

Make sure this never has the chance of happening!

[glend]

Nice location David. Is that paddock out the back protected reserve or electricity easement? Hopefully nothing will ever get built there. What part of Newcastle?

[h0ughy]

that is a cruel joke and should be reported:sadeyes::mad2:

no chance of that close, other land is council public reserve, then wetlands and natural creek, then airport. industrial estate is full so cant be expanded

[strongmanmike]

Looks like a perfect blank canvas you have there Dave...choices, choices..? Get out the pen and paper again :thumbsup:

Chris's post is cruel I agree, reported :lol:

Mike

[RB]

Denied !
It's too funny..... besides, I would've put a Masters there instead.

:lol:

[GTB_an_Owl]

you trading sky for shade Dave?

geoff

[h0ughy]

no - due east is about the corner and south runs about a few panels along back fence, its higher ground there and when i get my new shed it will block all streetlights and vehicular lighting

[h0ughy]

not funny:P

[Rodstar]

Good to see you are moving on to something that will be even better HOughy! Looking forward,to seeing some nice images in the coming months.

[h0ughy]

Rod, my gear is spread over two properties, I cant setup and pack down due to all the crud I own and want to use and I am now getting desperate to do something, this ruddy comet is frustrating me I want to image it but don't have the resources and time at the moment. I miss my solar, I have a brand new Moravian camera with a complete set of filters never used and have had this for some time, the pain, the pain .... I am lost in space.;)

[RB]

Oh yes, "the pain, the pain".
Davo can't wait to see the new doghouse up and running mate.
Hurry up will you !
And let me know, I'll come up and give you a hand.
I can even help set up your levels with a laser or two. :whistle::fight:

:lol:

[multiweb]

Woohoo! Not long now. :cool:

[RB]

LOL yeah Steve, like running all your obs power needs off a single solar panel at night.

:lol:

[strongmanmike]

Several astro items over the years have been in this boat haven't they Dave? Like children you never knew :)

Mike

[h0ughy]

oh dear - what an orphanage I have :help:

[The_bluester]

A suggestion rather than conduits everywhere.

Conduits to plenty of places, but take them in to pits cast in to the floor. That way if you have (For instance and based on the design I am still brewing up) two desk locations in a warm room and a couple of piers, you can run comms conduits from where each work area will be in the warm room to a comms pit in the "Cold" area with the scope/s and then conduits from that pit to anywhere you reckon you might need one. Separate conduits and pits for power distribution, either DC or 240V.

If you run a conduit from everywhere you can think of for data or power, back to centralized pits rather than conduits from location to location you don't have to think of every possible cross connect up front, you just go from A to intermediate pit to B when you work out that the new gizmo in location A needs a connection to the thingy in location B, and then the whatsit in B needs a connection to that thing in location C so you go from B to pit to C.

You just need to make sure your conduit size is ample. The comms construction body in me would be tempted to put in P100 conduits anywhere multiple cables are likely, but a couple of P32 conduits is probably fairly safe, and easier to work with.

If you put in conduits make sure that you use sweeping, long radius bends. Nothing worse than putting in pit and pipe and then not being able to haul cable because the bends are too tight.

And lastly, make records and tag cables in the conduits. Nothing worse than not being able to remember where a pipe goes or what a particular cable in a pit is for.

[The_bluester]

P50 could be a good compromise in a couple of places, in case of large connectors.

[h0ughy]

looking into digging some holes - one thing I have noticed is that the soil structure is highly reactive - more so than the old observatory. I was thinking of raft footings for the deck (3x3m) with the footings for the pier to be the same as I did for the original doghouse. my question is the depth of footing? do I do 600mm footing for the deck?

as for the pier - I will dig out a hole so that it fits me in quite comfortably, so that should be large enough :lol: I will utilise the compost bin structure as it is coned in the first instance, though looking at what Strongman did for his, that looks a good way of doing it too:thumbsup:

also managed to find some soil testing results near my property

[glend]

My soil is similiar but I get down to mostly clay at 600mm. I put my deck footings down to 600mm. I used underground spec treated posts 100x100 and i dipped them in tnat Eco bitumin paint that Bunnings sells. Posts are set in real concrete not quickset.
I think you'll be right at that depth for the deck, but then I'm just a novice on this subject.

[h0ughy]

did a little prep work this afternoon

[JohnG]

Can you send some of your rain down here, David...:)

[h0ughy]

the reason it is a clear as this is that i have abstained from anything astronomical while my daughter has been away - call it a peace keeping mission ;) - so of course it looks clear:rofl:

[sheeny]

:lol:

Looking forward to seeing the DHO2 up and running soon, Dave!

Al.

[h0ughy]

ta Al - getting ready to concrete in the clothes line

[h0ughy]

another hot day - managed to get the clothes line done and started on the drainage. need to go an get some conduits and cables.

[AndrewJ]

Do i see a "Bunnings" hat in one of those piccies???

Andrew
PS If you hire some of their floodlights,
you could work at night too :poke:

[h0ughy]

yeah they are good for hardware - just not near me;)

[Rodstar]

Better to be lost in space than stuck on terra firma.

Be patient HOughy, better days will come. The universe ain't going nowhere.:P:lol:

[DJT]

Aah...but apparently it is..

According to that classic work of science, "Death from the Skies" by Philip Plait Ph.D. which found its way into my stocking this Christmas, as the universe is expanding and galaxies et al (ie, its contents) are moving away from us at an ever increasing rate, in the very distant future we wont be seeing much outside of our own galaxy (if you ignore our impending doom from our own Sun which will scupper any observing plans we might have quite some time before we lose sight of the other galaxies )



I suggest David puts his doghouse up PDQ before he misses something.

Good luck with the build :thumbsup:

[cometcatcher]

Run some induction coupling cable around your yard and take advantage of the high voltage power lines to power the observatory for free. ;) :P

Anyway looks like astronomy heaven there. Ham radio nightmare though.

[h0ughy]

chalk and cheese days (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCZbv7A_Uo&feature=youtu.be) added link to youtube of the rain

[h0ughy]

I have just found out that the drainage isn't plastic pipe as i hoped. It is vc pipe and it has collapsed right under the concrete. Have now changed most of what i will be doing for new pipes and pits next weekend. Will have to run entirely under house and outlet onto a new line. Will have another line to stop surface water near the doghouse and run subsoil lines as well. Will be getting a small digger to dig out the pier and drainage. For a small job initially i have now opened a can of worms! Will have to run power and data now in anticipation because of concreting and drainage.

I don't see much change out of 5k, that's going to be eaten up in all the prep work and the base. I did see merbau for $4.50 a lm at bunnings there is another grand? Might need to have a clean out to pay for rest?

And as usual its now raining. I have run a temporary pipe that just outlets on the grass for now. The existing drainage isn't worth a pinch of ......

[glend]

Today's rain can't be helping. Sorry to hear it will not be straight forward. I have given up counting up the cost of my litte RORO. I am on watch for some cheaper external wall cladding.

[h0ughy]

it pays to talk to people - even those you work with. A work colleague had a secret - they owned and ran a digger! Couldn't pass this one up:D i asked and for a few dollars more I have him and his little beast to do a lot of digging later this week and hopefully get me on track, drained and platform ready:question::help:

oh and why he owned a digger - long story but suffice t osay he had a little sewer problem that made it cheaper for him to dig and lay sewer pipe himself. what can i say he is a can do Guy:thumbsup:

oh and he hasn't an astronomical bone in his body;)

[h0ughy]

well it always rains when you dig - we had to bath the dog after we let her out afterwards - she found every bit of turned up ground. half the job done but it rained....... typical

[h0ughy]

progress to the end game - lots of digging - two tree stumps

[strongmanmike]

Tania must be lovin this :D

[h0ughy]

oh yeah she is absolutely loving it - NOT:help:

[multiweb]

:eyepop: Massive operation. Mate, I envy your civil engineering skills. I'm at the shovel mark II level only. :lol:

[h0ughy]

oh dear I am as skillful as a frozen amoeba :rofl: if not for my "help" I am at shovel mk1

[strongmanmike]

:lol: It is all show just to keep you inline I'm sure...deep down she likes what you do I recon ;)

Mike

[h0ughy]

well i knew she was speechless after she viewed the lake and the new mountain, not to mention the grand canyon

[strongmanmike]

What are you doing Houghy...makin a mess :eyepop:

:lol:

[h0ughy]

um not on purpose. i need the trench to put the power in and data, but i needed a concrete slab over to appease the wife. now as for the pier foundations - you can gauge the size by the hole and hoping wont move. tomorrow the rest of the drainage will be dug leading to the lake;)

[strongmanmike]

So is that big square hole for the pier?..it looks wide but kinda shallow..? Well probably looks deep enough but really wide..?

[h0ughy]

Ok here goes my feeble explanation

this means I will have the bearing pressure of roughly 4800 kg or 4.8 t . Looking into a footing suitable I decided on a broad load bearing footing that would repel water with force of mass acting on surrounding base and stabilize with area covered and distributed under the mount. this means that when swinging the mount around it should not produce momentum of the footing with any rocking even in dry periods when the clay shrinks. see here for soil type description (http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/SoilMech/classification/soilclas.htm)

the dome structure to be held is well under a 1000kg so normal footings of 450 by 450 are needed so with wind loading a footing of 450x 600 is what I came up with being a simpleton:D so there will be three stirrups per side allowing the 200 x 50 x 3000 beams to be spaced at 500 centres. the outer beam structure is 200 x 75 x 3000 and no way connected to the pier.

being right on the swamp I think that it wont dry out so I am looking for stability with consistent mass of the pier:question:

[strongmanmike]

Ooooo-k ya lost me after "Ok here goes" :face:...nah just kidding, sounds reasonable to me...you an engineer or sumthin :shrug:

Mike ;)

[h0ughy]

na mike i'm just a wannabe:rofl:

here is this afternoons efforts - i think she was suitably impressed - :rofl:


i was told to end this quickly:help:

[h0ughy]

there will be a slight delay - while helping me empty the trailer full of stuff my son decided my hand was to be removed as well while he was shovelling. I still have the hand attached but it is a tad sore. I spend over an hour with it in a bucket of ice water.

was a painful way of removing over a 1100kg of material, council charged me 110.00 for the privilege.

[strongmanmike]

Oouch! careful, we need to see this finished Dave!

...you sure you don't have a Groundhog infestation :question:

Mike

[h0ughy]

well i could look to see if Carl from Caddyshack is about:P

[h0ughy]

ok put in coms and power cables and subsoil and buried them.

need to set up pier location now

placed drainage and pits now for 2/3rds of yard. then we got 35mm rain in 30min - what a mess.

DA had been approved for shed so that side of the project can now commence :D

[RB]

Gee Wiz, that looks like hexavalent chromium in the drainage there Dave!
Best to sell up and move again mate.

:P :poke:

[h0ughy]

can you imagine what's in this soup mix then:lol: um its not draining away:question:

[alan meehan]

Lookin good so far concrete going in this week the weather looks good too

[h0ughy]

thanks Al, and thanks for having the discussion we did this afternoon.

OK i am having a thought - right out of left field.

due to the presence of snakes, rabid insects and the crappy ground i am on i was thinking something unthinkable - pouring the whole dome slab as an integral pour, being over 6 tons or just on 2.5 cubic metres. the dome just bolts to the concrete? am i nuts?

[h0ughy]

progress report - have to complete the shed, the drainage, the clothes line path, the path to the shed and then the area near the observatory before i can do the observatory. that is the order dictated by SWMBO. she also doesn't like the backyard being a mess.

So i have buried a keepsake - the ugly birdbath that was in the backyard - sort of a talking point - the body under the slab;)

so have dug the path (thanks for the help Scott) and the drainage and the rubble pit are now done

[bkm2304]

Naaa!!! You're thinking of Stockton, capital of HexV Chromium release into the Newcastle community. Around Dave's way it's just a bit o' the old lead and cadmium - no problem!

Richard:P:P:P:P;););)

[RB]

Looking good Davo.
I can send up a few Greek statues for you to bury too, if you like.

:D



:lol:

[h0ughy]

ok on the path to success - just one more step to go then the platform of the century:D

[RB]

Wow, looking so good.
Will you paint it yellow so you can follow it to the great and powerful Oz?

[strongmanmike]

Bella Concreta :D

[h0ughy]

:lol: doesn't that mean no stopping?

Unbroken (continuous) yellow kerb line

An unbroken yellow kerb line is a NO STOPPING line. You must not stop for any reason except a medical or similar emergency.

[h0ughy]

my next concreting effort will be a monolith;)

[h0ughy]

To get the next concreting bit done on Thursday I have had to roughly set out the location of the dome slab so that the angle for the next slab will be right alignment. Also note that for the dome I have opted to make a decorative sleeper slab which will be protected by black plastic for the pour - whenever that happens , then have infill of 4.4m3 of reo and concrete, so the outside will be timber. I have yet to dig them into the level position

[multiweb]

Wow! That looks hot. :thumbsup: Is that a control room on the side or a house extension to keep SWMBO happy as collateral?

[h0ughy]

thats my storage shed to keep her happy and my gear away from her.

[multiweb]

That would make a cool control room though. I only got a pier as collateral for relocating the clothe line.

[h0ughy]

i have done the clothes line and even the path, but i still climbing the mountain of things to get done before i can have a slab for the dome:sadeyes:

[strongmanmike]

Wow, you not doing things by halves huh Houghy? :eyepop:

Looks like you will essentially have the same setup as you did before huh?

Mike

[alan meehan]

Lookin good Dave shame about the rotten weather ,the base for the dome looks good ,almost there
AL

[h0ughy]

well been a bit wet - no lunar eclipse either.

working on the positioning and height of the slab of the dome, perhaps i need a submarine:lol:

[glend]

I like the swimming pool. You going to pump that out, or will it just refill? Coffer dam maybe.

[strongmanmike]

Man Shed looks great Dave :thumbsup:

Sooo, is that sleeper retaining wall box the formwork for a massive slab....:question:

Mike

[h0ughy]

:thumbsup:YEP WILL BE

[Derek Klepp]

Looking at those power lines Dave I would say you are building your castle.Good luck with it all.

[Paul Haese]

Lots of concrete David. Incredible footings for both the shed and the observatory. Is that a roller door up one end of your shed? What are you planning on driving up the ramp and putting in storage? Nothing wrong with going big. Loads of concrete.....

[h0ughy]

Yes it is a Roladoor Paul. As it is a storage shed only there is a 1.2m wide path off the slab with a fanned entry ramp. It will store the stuff I have including all the astro gear. When I do undertake the dome slab my new calcs have it at about 5.5 plus cubic metres, including outrigger support. I am hoping it will stabilise and support my endeavour's ;)

[multiweb]

Do you get lots of dirt bike racing in the reserve at the back under the power lines?

[Paul Haese]

5.5 cubic will be heaps and if it is the thickness of the side walls all the way through there should be no problem with vibration from foot traffic to the pier; without it being isolate. In fact I reckon you should be able to jump up and down whilst guiding and not even make a dent to the guide graph.

5.5 cubic is about 11.5 tonne or thereabouts.

[h0ughy]

That’s the intent, that there will be enough mass to counteract the tip toe to the computer control as I am not fading away to a shadow ;).
Also stops vermin like rats and mice, which I have found to be in plentiful supply, getting under the dome and making a home there.

[h0ughy]

no its a creek there

[Dealy]

So how's the dog house progressing Dave?

[h0ughy]

well its near killed me but i sold some gear to fund my furthering of this project. now you know we have had bugger all rain for the past few months, now after getting enough to start the project off again its raining - hard

also puts me at a crossroad.


I have a dome

I could build a roll off roof observatory and have two mounts in operation


:question:

[lazjen]

Do both and have 3 mounts in operation? :lol:

[glend]

Personally, i'd sell the dome and build a great Roll-Off, you will have more room to enjoy all of the equipment that you still have put away.:thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

I have both of those and each is in use each night it is clear. So go both is my suggestion. Although a large ROR does make more sense.

[h0ughy]

it does and after talking to the manager of works i have been instructed that i only have approval for the dome - nothing else:sadeyes:

but on a brighter note at least i have the dome:question:

[Paul Haese]

At least having one is better than none David. You know how good that is to have your equipment setup and ready to go.

[h0ughy]

just to recap this is the hole surrounded by the timber that will contain the slab that will hold the dome.

[h0ughy]

have dug in the sleepers and have set out the platform. need to join together and place plastic over it then place the reo. its getting there slowly, one main issue i have found was that all of the timber slabs have warped and twisted. :sadeyes:

on another note i have made an animated gif of the property from 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2015. lol

[h0ughy]

OK some small issues:sadeyes:, the timber is warped more than i thought :shrug:and none of the sides are straight, more bitter and twisted. since I cant work out how to fix this I will have to make it a feature. i have the steel now, so all i have to do is fix off the sleepers, cover in black plastic then set the steelwork.

[glend]

Those sleepers do not look too bad, the weight of the concrete is going to push out on them anyway. I'd suggest staking them in the middle of each sleeper (on the outside) to prevent them from bulging outward. Looks like more rain coming in the next few days, you've certainly had some bad luck with the weather. Good luck.

[h0ughy]

yes i have a heap of stakes to do that, 3 extra per side. you know it was dry in that hole this morning:rolleyes:

with the weather - yeah not been a great time with that

[RB]

They don't look too bad Dave.
Weather's going to be a bummer for the next week it seems. :sadeyes:
Typical, I've also got a heap of work outside too.
Maybe you can setup a marquee over the work. :D :P

'Abba' looks perplexed...... :lol:

RB

[astronobob]

Great work there David - enjoyed reading through all your trials and tribulations - The wide pier base is great as in application for your conditions also, , Lots of work done prior the Obs -
Looking on in interest with whats to come - grouse going ! !

[h0ughy]

On a weekend where it was my lovely wife's birthday - LOL 21 again, I managed to get a few more things done for the new era of imaging when the dome goes back up. Enter the Hi def 4k 48" TV with 16.1million colour response (from Aldi), the formply desk and 17mm ply wall. The cabinet was a left over from when we moved in 12 months ago, my attempt to cover a hole in the laundry failed so was left with what to do with it - now it has a use. Still a work in progress I did eventually work out that the aerial does need to be outside for reception LOL. Still need to add a shelf for the computer to sit on but i am getting there. Also upgraded the lighting in the shed

[h0ughy]

OK i will admit Rome wasn't built in a day but i wished my dome was.

What i have done is some forward planning- a future hedge fund ;)

I invested in 10 Leighton green hedging conifers (http://www.thetutuguru.com.au/garden-info/plant-factsheets/leighton-cypress/) (half price on Christmas eve for $9.50 from whalans nursery) and on boxing day i got 14 hardwood 2.4 sleepers for $2 each, a few screws,brackets and a lot of help from the family. 1.8m3 of 20mm rocks for behind the shed and 2m3 of enriched garden soil for the hedge fund.

I placed root guard to stop the trees impacting on the shed root wise.

So i hope this part of the project works - the way i am going they might be full size:sadeyes: before i erect the dome.

i am back at work on Monday and we are due for a fair bit of rain next week - typical

[michaellxv]

That's a good plan I rekon, I'm doing the same thing. Five units nearly finished next door with the drive down our boundary so no idea what sort of light polution we will end up with. I have started planting pitosporums down the fence line. Iv'e been picking up one or two with each trip to the big green shed. Another week or so and I should be done :rofl:

[h0ughy]

yep who would have thought the inner Gardener in us would come out:question:;)

[bkm2304]

Yes, good move for the future unwanted photon issue.
Hope the dome gets underway soon.
Have a great year, Dave.

Richard

[glend]

I planted a row of seven Leighton Green trees a couple of years ago as light blockers. They are really taking off now, over fence height and in another year should block a street light up the hill. I fear they will get out of control but at least they do the job.

[RB]

Hedge fund .... :rofl:
Careful Dave, Rome was also burnt to the ground by it's crazy emperor. :lol:

Looking good mate, at least its progress.

:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

i dont own a fiddle;):lol:

[h0ughy]

thanks Richard - i miss my astro life - so i can say that the dome will be built next year:D

[h0ughy]

got as shot of it?

[glend]

Here you go..I was told to plant them two metres apart as they will grow together without crowding each other. I will have to keep a couple of them trimmed around the support posts for the ROR. They are on the south side of that fence so they suffered abit the first year until they got enough height to get more sun. My neighbor a few doors down has a couple that are two years older than mine and his are five metres high and about three metres wide.

[h0ughy]

well i cant wait to see them all grown up:)

[RB]

Your's are already a year older Dave.

:P

[h0ughy]

:rofl:

[h0ughy]

exciting news - i did some work on this Doghouse today with the help of my best mate Al and my son - the formwork will go up tomorrow

also fell over and took lot of bark off my right leg

[glend]

Great to see it without all the water. Your trees are coming along nicely too. I hope this work is not going to bring on the rain again.:lol:

[h0ughy]

yes it will make quite a change to all the other posts of wet empty holes where a dome should stand:D

i was going to try to pour by next Friday but that nasty weather wishes to R.... R...... R..... i just cant bring myself to say it;)

so if i am lucky and can find a concrete pump available for wednesday then i will try for that:help:

[strongmanmike]

Wowee, now that will be a slab and a half Dave. Brad has grown into a useful young man it would appear :thumbsup:

Mike

[multiweb]

Terrific David. :thumbsup: I'm gonna look into these shrubs for hedging, they look neat. I was about to say the same thing, geez your boy shot up! :eyepop: My "baby girl" is taking me over in height too. :lol:

[h0ughy]

yeah mike -when he finds his mind he is a great help, up until then he is a normal teenager;)

[h0ughy]

ok only planted those at Christmas, so they are growing, all be it uneven.

Yes mate we have reached the age when our kids are taller than us, a long way from being held entirely in one hand:lol:

[h0ughy]

well now for today's effort:D. OMG i ache all over, can't squat, can't bend over, can't use my arms much but its worth it. I couldn't have finished this without the help of Al - and his long lost nail gun. hammering and screwing and not getting very far on the bracing - I would have been there for a year then i asked the right question for once, might go to bunnings and hire a nail gun? then Al says oh wait i have one........:P

[glend]

Better put a tarp over it, never know when that rrrrrain will reappear.;)

[h0ughy]

still would get in via ground water, but bought a drill pump from Aldi on Saturday;):P

[astronobob]

Great, moving forward again on this, beauty. wondered what happened to your build.
Thats one decent slab there, have to be near a full truck load, near 5 cubes in that one, um ; David ?

[h0ughy]

:question::whistle:yes

[h0ughy]

good news - i have got the concrete pump booked in for 11 am tomorrow..... 4.8 cubic metres.

[glend]

Fantastic! Looks like a nice couple of days weather wise. Got all your ducts in for stuff your running through the slab/footing? You will be back in 'business' soon.

[strongmanmike]

As you say, when they find their minds, young sons (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/150313903/original)can be very helpful

When does the concrete arrive?

Ah..just saw your reply above, good luck with the pour - 4.8m3 that's over 3/4 of a big mix truck!

Mike

[glend]

News limited is carrying a story about another east coast low predicted for the weekend. Looks like you timed the concrete well,

[h0ughy]

yep i discovered that one a day before they ran it - hence the reason i pushed it for tomorrow:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

LOL Riley is more of a island man by the looks. Classic.

[h0ughy]

I officially have a hole full of concrete!!! :party2: :party2: :party2: :jump2: :jump2: :rockband: :rockband: :stargaze: :jump: :jump: :drink: :drink: :nerd: :nerd: :whistle: :whistle: :D :D

did a timelapse so post link later

[glend]

Congratulations! That is a massive piece of concrete. How long will it take to cure?

[h0ughy]

28 days - 42 full strength 7 days can add dome on;)

[Dealy]

Who's a happy boy?

Congrats Dave, it's been a long time coming. :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Congrats Dave!! :work:

[h0ughy]

oohhhh it has been an eternity - -thanks:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

thanks Marcus :thumbsup:- its hardening nicely at the moment - and a lovely east coast low is expected this weekend;):lol:

[h0ughy]

well here is some of the action;)

https://youtu.be/laOBvo861aQ

warning its a huge video, view at own risk

[strongmanmike]

Cool video, watched the whole thing :thumbsup:...where were you puting the left over concrete with that wheel barrow?

So I take it that you felt that isolating the scope pier would not be necessary because the slab is so massive and you plan not to be in the dome while imaging...?

Mike

[h0ughy]

the leftovers went near the back of the new shed and the hedge fund http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=200790

yes that is the hope for the future Mike, the shed with the warm room and modest monitor (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=191800)

[spacezebra]

I love it that guys where fluro in the backyard!!!

:rofl:

[RB]

Congrats David, that looks awesome and I'm glad it all went well.
Love the time-lapse.
Can't wait to see it all finished and you back into imaging again mate.

:thumbsup:



Petra, you do know that Houghy's signed a pre-nup that stipulates that he remains in Tania's view at all times when he's at home, don't you?

:lol:

RB

[h0ughy]

well its not a safe place near a concrete hole..... ;)

also protect me at least from the sun ;)

[h0ughy]

LOL i am sure that on many occasions she would not like to be reminded:rofl:

[RB]

:lol:

[astronobob]

Impressive work, well done, and grouse Vid :work: :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

thanks

[h0ughy]

ordinarily i wouldn't be saying this but i love today's weather, going off nicely in water......curing

[RB]

"What's it doing in the middle of a sheep paddock ?".... oh wait they're Ibis.

:lol:

[h0ughy]

oh id love it to be Parkes....... but its only a dish licker here (Abba). she has given up barking at them, in the rain. they came up to the back fence. not a dumb dog as its raining , cool and they are bigger than her:rofl:

[glend]

David that big Harbour Bridge footing in your backyard must be as hard as granite after this nice damp weather we have been having. When is the Obs going up? Would love to see a time lapse of that. :)

[h0ughy]

well see, me prancing around the yard is not a good thing:rofl:

[h0ughy]

ok for those with a dome, i forgot to which i should be lining up the slit, due north or magnetic north/south?

[DJT]

HI David

Ain't risking giving advice on this but can you tell me what software you used to figure out magnetic deviation?

Always getting that wrong.

Ta

[h0ughy]

http://www.magnetic-declination.com/

[h0ughy]

only left to bolt it down today. Scott Alder came over and gave me a hand to lift on the dome. Al has just turned up. happy days:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Ooooh looks good...you'll have to remove the word Domeless from under your IIS name now :D

Mike

[h0ughy]

Done;)

[h0ughy]

ok here is a question, i have to repaint the inside of the dome top black - do i do the inside of the wall units as well?

[glend]

Well was that (light scatter off the walls) ever a problem in it's previous incarnation? What sort of material is it, I mean if it is gel coat fibreglass you will need to rough it up to get paint to adhere I would think, but if it has flowcoat on it then that can easily be painted. I don't have a dome, but a roll off roof, and my walls are natural timber and don't tend to reflect much of anything. If your scope (assuming it is a closed tube) is pointed at the sky it is unlikely to find any reflection from the usually low level light of screens or red leds. If your running an open truss like an RC then probably a good idea to black the walls.

[h0ughy]

this is the view inside during the day and a rainbow at the end. the black interior roof needs a top up of black but the walls, they are a little thin.

this morning i sealed the base of the dome outside and inside - proved a winner a few hours later when it rained

[strongmanmike]

Unless you just want it to look like new inside (for aesthetics) I wouldn't bother painting that at all if it were me :question: looks like it would be plenty dark at night :shrug:

Mike

[h0ughy]

where you are probably do what you said but i still have headlights for the minute and for solar work during the day the matt black surface will be less glarey - and i just had 4 litres of black mixed up ;) .

also bought 30 charcoal nylon rubber backed carpet tiles for the floor

[RB]

Also Mike, you never know when someone in council might accidentally approve another Bunnings DA.

:P

[h0ughy]

you'll keep - :P

[h0ughy]

more progress - i painted the entire inside - 4 litres of black paint well spent and then i placed carpet squares inside, looks homely now ;).

Still have to mount the dome rotation motor and solar charger, and get the electricity and data put on.

[glend]

Looks nice David. Is it water tight now?

[h0ughy]

well that rain cold front that came through it was dry. sikaflex goop under the dome to fill the gaps inside and out

[alan meehan]

Oh! so neat ,home away from home you have been busy

[h0ughy]

LOL yes mate - paying for it now but it was worth it:thumbsup:

Oh and i think your observatory should be called the chicken ranch ;)

[strongmanmike]

Oooh purdy :thumbsup:

Mike

[h0ughy]

:thanx:mike

[h0ughy]

forging on:help:

tomorrow i am getting the data connection put in for the network from the modem to the observatory, and Friday I will have the power put on.

I am making sure i have enough power and network connections;)

At that point i can put in the pier. :)

now i have indicated south and magnetic south so if i align the pier to magnetic i should be able to move the mount to true south easier?:question:

Now i am a little hesitant as i think i might need to raise the pier by a tad:question::help:, not sure about that:shrug: yet as my light dome horizon would be masked out by the walls and the slit opening. I was thinking about a steel section?

after that i can put in the computer and the mount.

[h0ughy]

data connected - power tomorrow:D

[h0ughy]

amongst the other building works today the power was finally connected. i will install the pier and computer tomorrow hopefully

[acropolite]

Nice work Dave, I'd do the same here but I'm slowly being built out and the street lights are breeding faster than a wardrobe full of coathangers.

[strongmanmike]

Geez, you're working hard Dave!!:eyepop:

[h0ughy]

well someone has too:P

listen as a brush up for the directionally challenged what do i line the pier up to (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=201342)

[strongmanmike]

Point you polar axis magnetic south...then move it in azimuth to the east by your magnetic offset for Newcastle (about 12.5 deg), or to your left if you are behind your polar axis looking south (the line marked S on your concrete) - easy!

Mike :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

i used my smart phone with the gps function on to find magnetic north /south then swung back to true north south, then my brain hurt because i couldn't remember what to do next. So in this case it should be where S is marked:question::thanx:

oh and i did do it when it said 192, to press the buttons moved it:lol:

[h0ughy]

oh dear :doh: :prey:,

installed the pier - only for it to fail. wouldn't rise or fall but could hear the motor turning.

lucky i have a spare!!!!!

so i had to dismantle the pier then transfer the coupling to the spare and install it again.

small steps:sadeyes::help: as thing been stored for 2 years

[cometcatcher]

Great to see you are back in business Dave!

[h0ughy]

thanks but i am far from that - i am still struggling to remember where the cables go and how i had things set up.:help:

[h0ughy]

suffering man flu from astrofest, not really well, i did manage to address the dome rotation issue yesterday. it doesn't jam the motor anymore

[alan meehan]

Well engineered Dave, soldier on :cold:

[h0ughy]

ok now my next problem - maxdome 2 encoder problems.

I connected up the mount and the dome to the computer today. not what i expected.

connection to the titan was ok but the connection to the dome is through a RS232 keyspan usb connection, its set to com3. it does connect it does move the dome but when i went to calibrate it its all over the shop. 107,137, 147, 187. previously it was set to 227. anyhow the connection dropped out so i wiggled the connections and reset them all. initially that seemed to fix the connection issues but i still have encoder count issues?

[h0ughy]

still have issues with the encoder - probably have to pull the unit off completely and redo, cleaning the sensor or repainting the cog?

[h0ughy]

still yet to drift align but I have settled on the configuration to keep solar and deep space imaging set up permanently

[h0ughy]

I managed to get some time today and pulled the motor drive off the dome. i cleaned it and used some of my white Subaru forester touchup paint to paint the white bit on the shaft. it worked a treat the dome rotated and counted off 227 ticks twice - happy with that!!:D

now i have to redo all the calibration dome figures to get the pointing aligning with the mount......:question:

not the worlds quickest build:P

rain due tonight:lol:

[h0ughy]

this was the shaft prior to repainting

[Derek Klepp]

I wondered why the clouds came in for the weekend:lol::lol:

[h0ughy]

yeah yeah been doing a bit of tinkering and measuring and it is absolutely bucketing down now:rofl:
:help:

[h0ughy]

ok been doing bit of measuring and finding my centre of existence.

now i did come across a thread a little while ago where someone explained how it should work... must find it again:question:

[g__day]

Look at the last post on page one of http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=139546&highlight=maxdome

That plus the insight that in the Southern Hemisphere folk the East / West dome / mount axis offset must the the opposite sign of what is documented! Once that was done for me the dome slit perfectly tracks the OTAs. For me my parameters are (note using inches):



Offset East 4.25" (later discovered this was the error - East should be entered -4.25 for the Southern hemisphere)
Offset South -8.25"
Dome radius 44.9"
Height of mount pivot point below dome -26.5"
Height of mount pivot point to scope Optical axis 13.25"
Home position sensor Az bearing 130 degrees.

As per my note for users in the Southern Hemisphere for MaxDome II users on the Cyangen forums:



1. After kit fit out - ensure you blow all the dust out, especially around your sensor
2. There are plenty of dome / mount alignment schematics on the web, look one up if you are unsure or the terms used
3. Realise the Az bearings for East / West, North / South offsets, Home and Park positions all refer to Celestial, not Geographic or Magnetic compass bearings
4. Use suspended plumb lines lines plus rotate the dome to ensure the line doesn't move is a great way of checking you have the dome's rotational centre identified, and the big one
5. Reverse the documented sign of the East / West offset if you are in the Southern hemisphere! East is Negative when you are Down Under!

[h0ughy]

EUREKA!!!!!!!!! thanks that's exactly the help i need :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:(well i need other help but that's my wife's point of view;) )

[strongmanmike]

Oh no..?..I'd agree with Tania....

:nerd: :lol:

[h0ughy]

ok need to get things better resolved. i have cut and joined to bits of timber in the middle exactly 225mm so i can fit it within the interior of the dome. i have it now compass n/s, e/w

play stopped due to grand final;)

[g__day]

That looks a pretty nice set-up! I am sure you have done it but for others reading it might help to state:

1. rotate your dome 90 - 360 degrees and ensure your marked centre - the bolt between your two beams doesn't move on the horizontal plan - meaning you have the exact centre.

2. in your case - then align those beams to Celestial North and South and East and West - those are the offset vector directions you need - so measure your offsets at the same angle as those beams point!

3. If there is a large offset vertically - drop a plumb line from the centre.

4. Measure in mm or inches - but keep it consistent - the offset N/S and E/W from the plumb line to the mounts pivot point - which is the point inside the mount where the RA and Dec axes intersect

5. If you are using TSX - and using a simulator driver vs a native driver (e.g. I use a Meade LX200 - as they don't have a working Vixen SkySensor2000-PC driver) - look under the Display tab and right at the bottom there may be a Driver tab - with a German Equatorial tick box - if there is set it or your offsets will be wrong when you do a Meridan flip.

If you do have The SkyX with Camera, Dome and Tpoint add-on - try Closed Loop Slewing - it is simply amazing!

[h0ughy]

well i fixed the camera array from hitting the monitor - bought a vertical monitor stand, and for some creature comfort i got a chair from Aldi which was on special, put that together watching bathurst.

I also got a plumb bob - i managed to get the last one "ever" from bunnings as i was told they wont be stocking these any more with the advent of laser levels and the like.

I am finding it hard t get things done with other issues going on and the weather, i am sick of Mr sidonio sending me all his high cloud:P

[RB]

Sounds to me that they're running out all the stock in lieu of the new DA they put into council.
I wonder where they're moving to?

:question:

:rundog:

[glend]

Nice setup, how about a coffee machine and a fridge?

On the monitor stand, can I ask why two? I assume your running two separate computers. :question:

[RB]

Two keyboards, two mice, two of everything in that Ark.

:lol:

[multiweb]

There should be two chairs too. One for visitors. :P

[h0ughy]

Yep two computers

[h0ughy]

I dont have any friends :P

[h0ughy]

Had that tested in january;) always have a spare

[RB]

:lol:

BTW do you need a yellow laser guide star?

:P

[multiweb]

A comfy reclining chair and a glass of Port and I'm anyone's friend.

[xstream]

Where's the bloody bed? After all it is called the Dog House. :P

[RB]

Class re-union at Houghy's place guys.....
Maybe we can break the Guinness world record on how many amateur astronomers we can cram into a 2.3m Sirius Dome.

:lol:

[h0ughy]

yes quite true. but my Aldi comfy relining chair is all mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[h0ughy]

its in the warm room AKA shed;)

[h0ughy]

ummm maybe not a good idea:P i dont like the word BREAK:eyepop:

[h0ughy]

well tonight i tried to drift align = its been so long, work , cloud, life..... what a horrendous evening :sadeyes: :sadeyes:

i was out by heaps - so much so i think i have made a grave error in the setup from scratch and i no longer have any adjustment left so have to pull it all down and try again

so i rechecked the magnetic declination

Latitude: 32° S
Longitude: 151° E
Magnetic declination: +12° 21'
Declination is POSITIVE (EAST)
Inclination: 63° 17'
Magnetic field strength: 56463.3 nT

then something dawned on me I may have adjusted the whole mount the wrong way from the start, i think i am pointing so far to the east that i stuffed up. I will pull everything down and redo it from scratch:question:

I really think the little electrical wires behind us affected both my compass and the gps phone compass:question:

so what i think i have done is adjust to the east by 12 degrees then done it again by a similar amount by accident then bolted everything together. there is no limits to my stupidity:shrug: i should have gone the other way :screwy: :rolleyes:

[alan meehan]

ooops

[cometcatcher]

If it makes you feel any better, one night I was trying my hardest to drift align and it just wouldn't. I kept this up for hours and finally gave up, only to step back from the mount, take a look at it and realised I was pointing north! :screwy:

[h0ughy]

thanks for trying to cheer me up:thumbsup: i need to concentrate on getting it right - though i cant for the life of me understand why i did what i did:question:

[h0ughy]

oh yeah:rolleyes:

[h0ughy]

ok trying a calm mind and have a fresh look.:stupid:

its fully clouded:cloudy: out so I cant even try it on the sun yet:rolleyes:

platform is level,:thumbsup:
I adjusted the mount to be lined up, level and pointing straight.:prey:

I adjusted the lat to be 32.9 on the digital level:work:

ok so that seems ok.:ashamed:

now to the concept I seem to be stuffing up:question: - I have taken off 12.3 degrees from the magnetic south bearing on the compass so simply in my understanding the physical compass needle pointing to S, then rotated mount to point at 12.3degrees to the east from S which then should have the mount now (almost) pointing to true south?:question::poke:

am I missing something crucial but simple here?:help::shrug::o

[glend]

Well yes that is correct basically. Having just setup my new mount on the pier i have been through this again. A compass with a rotating bezel helps because you can preset the offset. I am lucky that when i setup the pier i made a mark on the obs wall that corresponds to true south. When facing magnetic south with your compass, true south will be offset 12.3 degrees to your left (or eastern side).

I found that placing a straight piece of timber molding in the dovetail clamp, and using that as a "gun sight" to true south, i could get very close to exact. You only need to be within about 2 degrees for the various plate solving PA tools to dial your mount in exactly. I used Sharpcap's new PA plate solver tool and it is brilliant, takes less than three minutes to get very good PA. Sharpcap is a free download and contains the plates for Northern and Southern hemisphere pole areas in the app so no Net connection required to solve the PA. You don't even need the mount to have power to use it, just release the clutch and rotate RA until it tells you to stop. I am sitting on 9 arc seconds off perfect right now. Which is close enough for any target to be close to my scopes and cameras centre of field of view for tweaking in framing.

And don't forget the mass of your mount ( if it, or the pier, is made of ferris material) will affect the magnetic bearing. Get as far away from any ferris source as possible, including your belt buckle.

[h0ughy]

thanks Glen,

i have included some of the images i did when trying to read the compass and getting it right the yellow tape is roughly mag south and i have but a few turns of the screw for adjustment for drift alignment

[h0ughy]

OH A HUGE FACEPALM FOR ME:ashamed:

Going over everything again today I realised I transposed the RA and DEC cables:stupid:

:doh::confuse3:

I spent 4 hours on it last night, frustrated. I could get it to move down a reticule line without the drive on in both axis but them tracking on it went diagonally. the importance of photos, I wentto look at some of my old setup dome images and something stood out to me - highlighting what an idiot I really am, I transposed the drive cables

[GTB_an_Owl]

"LABELS" Dave ..............LABELS!

geoff

[h0ughy]

ok ok i know - with new school year there should be a label maker available to sort this one out:thanx:

[RB]

Make sure you label them right...... :lol:

:poke:
:scared3:

[h0ughy]

:rolleyes: waiting for some cloud to clear so i can re drift align

[alan meehan]

still waiting

[h0ughy]

:sadeyes: yes

[h0ughy]

bought a new battery for the dome rotation after the current one failed. 97 dollars later have it on charge now before i install it.

[h0ughy]

i finally managed to get the dome working today and have it move majestically with the scope and mount - well it doesn't do that really, just a lot of grinding and clattering then stop with an open hole in front of the scope:D

but it seems to work:)

i finally worked out i had a number of errors and problems
1. me
2. a dicky reed switch (last thing changed)
3. software, or should be called softWAR:mad2:
4. combination of all above

and what happens after i get all this to work............cloud:help:

[multiweb]

That track looks a bit rusty mate! :eyepop: What's your PE on the dome? :P

[RB]

:lol: Marc.
Once in a blue moon....

RB

[h0ughy]

its a bit rough, probably better than an eq2:lol:

[h0ughy]

have a few of those this year:thumbsup:

the thing is that a $6 part broke which was stuffing up the dome rotation, i was glad i managed to find out what it was and fix it.

i have plans for long day solar imaging to make some animations like i used to - but better so that they don't look amateurish

Its a looooong process..........

[alan meehan]

well done Dave you need to put some silicon spray around the track

[h0ughy]

your right Alan, on the list

[h0ughy]

the celestron 11" RASA was installed then pulled down for the planetary setup

[h0ughy]

Introducing the celestron RASA 8 to the doghouse observatory. Been crook lately so this has been a bit of a wait to get it working. Loaded it onto the Titan today and then connected everything up. I currently downloaded carte du ciel 4.2 and see it up then connected it to ascom dome control and it seems to be working well. I am hoping to see first light tonight. :thumbsup:

So the camera works, this will be a test to see how flat the field will be with the adaptor set I have had to use. Then there is the computer connections, the new software and setup. 😂 I did try some cable management :rofl:

[xelasnave]

Most impressive David I hope you were well enough, that the weather was ok and everything worked for you.
Alex

[h0ughy]

Well I had some success and some failure. I will have to revisit the cable management to see if it contributes to the woeful guiding. Haven't processed the two test targets yet, ngc104 and m42, must do flats tonight. Hooking up to the computer is an amazing experience, it pointed to where I wanted. The dome synced with the scope very well. All I need to do is plate solve for the scope. I also noted that I didn't have an option for auto focus with The software I have. There must be a way just need to work it out. Also when I get to it, seeing if the camera distance is right.

[xelasnave]

You have done well and really not that many problems.
I am very happy that it went so well. Looking forward to see your images and particularly exposure time for subs and time all up.
Hope you are feeling better.
Alex

[h0ughy]

much more data needed , light pollution kills my skies. i may have to tweek the spacings to remove the two shimms i have in the imaging train.

it was an interesting first light:question:

i need to work out how to get decent flats again:question::question: had to do these without flats both around the 40 odd minute mark and only slightly cropped

[RB]

Funny you should say that, I picked up one of these from Jaycar the other day (as a doorstop accessory) in case, by some miracle, I ever get into imaging again.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/ultra-thin-led-panel-roof-light-10w-215mm-cool-white/p/SL3478

[h0ughy]

Well I have this but the problem is the idiot using it.

[lazjen]

That looks remarkably similar to the unit I've got - USB powered, you could adjust the brightness with the power button.

I found that even on the dimmest setting it was too bright for LRGB.

So, I've got 2 bits of white translucent perspex between it and the scope as well. Diffuses the light more and flats for L are around 2 sec each.

[h0ughy]

Yet to play that game :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

i am beginning to wonder when i will get to reside back in the doghouse, its been a stark and terrible time since October last year. i have forgotten how things work.

then it struck me - do i need a new pier to support the titan? the other really isn't up to it but i was living in hope all these years. it used to only have a G11 on it, then went to the titan.

[multiweb]

I don't even remember where the gear is stored. :lol:

[h0ughy]

I know where it's stored just not how to work it or what goes with which bits :question:

[RB]

I don't know where it's stored or remember how to use it....

:ashamed:

[h0ughy]

not good news - my dome and mount computer has died - not happy jan. it has a serial port for maxdome control. i am imaging tonight manually moving the dome. need to work out how to get past this hurdle in a easter covid19 weekend!!!