The Erection has Started

[Shawn]

Now more than 4 inches off the ground..

Looking good for xmas.

[iceman]

Sitting down? Come on, get up and start working! :)

Looks great!

[Shawn]

Good one Matt, should I mention that was the sixth, the one thats not exactly perpendicular to the ground, Its hard to work in high 30s.

[matt]

Truly.... a manly achievement.

[Shawn]

Its hard yakka mike, gimme a break I start work at five thirty, finish at one, in the heat of these tropical pre wet days, Sweat and tears mate, Its good to sit down with a brewski, and think to myself, oh pooh..:D

Thanks for the encouragement youll get an invite to opening day...:)

S

[Shawn]

I know it looks Like Im smiling in that image,I assure you that was image was taken for the forum, Its not a smile I just sat down on a hot electrode, The other image is embarassing, they are nylon shorts..:lol:

[Shawn]

I do OK when under pressure to get to an Astro Camp, thanks Houghman..

S

[rmcpb]

Looks like it is getting a built in dunny as well. The complete observatory!!

[ving]

that looks like its coming along nicely :)

matt, you are a dirty minded individual ;)

[mark curtis]

You sorta look like I did during my big erection, I'd sit there for a while then I'd pace back and forth somtimes with a tape measure in my hand, It's like waiting for a child to be born. Your not going to be right until its all done and your face is glued to an eyepiece. And then your family and friends will forget what you look like.
You have a wonderful and fun time ahead of you.

[Shawn]

You got that right, Do a bit, ponder , do a bit ponder, rained today so it was just ponder , ponder ponder...LOL. As soon as I get started again Ikk add to the thread

Cheers All

Be well

Shawn

....

[ballaratdragons]

Geez Shawn,
I hope that tree right behind the wall is gonna get the chop! :thumbsup:

[Shawn]

But you cant stop a man on a mission

[Shawn]

Still goin. false floor taking shape... stressed diaphram design...

S

[Shawn]

Heres the upshot.

These things fit together somehow...:lol:

[iceman]

At the request of the thread author, I have cleaned up this thread and moved it back to ATM&DIY forum.

Please keep off-topic banter to a minimum in the non-general chat forums.

[iceman]

How come the floor is up so high? What do you plan to put under it?

Is that for cabling/power etc, so you can still get under there for repairs etc?

[Shawn]

The floor hieght is neccessary to accomodate a door into the obs, since obviously you cant climb in and out of the dome slit all the time, I decided on 1 meter , because it works out that the pier would need to be 1500 high above false floor hieght for the scope to be able to see down to its mechanical limits at 17deg south, polar mounted , underneath Ill have a slit system Aircon , the lawnmower weedwhacker ets, Ill put a low door in one side for general stowage, . Varios lift ups on the dome room floor for sundry Items. cabling ducting etc all accesible, maybe even hide all the comp gear under there and just have the LCDs visible. that would be a nice touch...

Ive got my work cut out if Im to get the crane in to put the dome assy on top before xmas,

Cheers Mike

[Shawn]

Also I dont know if you can make it out on the first image, but the sub floor pier assy will be reversable, if I ever drop polar, so that the centre of axis on the scope will central in the dome.

This is because Im not sure how well the 14" will perform leaning over at 17deg off horizontal, It may be not viable, for astrophotography. In which case Im in trouble, De rotators,,,Yuck...

S

[stephenmcnelley]

Any plans on how to deal with the geckos Sir D?
That erection will be a haven for the squillions of critters you have in those parts.

[Shawn]

The building itself needs to be dustproof as there is a horse arena in the same paddock and a very long gravel driveway, so I figure that critters should not be an issue..

S

[Shawn]

Today

Trying to put the floor down in the Obs, and the drizzle, nearly wore my tarp out puttting it up , taking down putting it up talking it down, I dont believe in God, but this orchestrated campain of obstruction is talking on Godlike proportions. Crap.

The floor is made out of chopped strand board you see " I dont know what some of our other members call it" It basically a byproduct of timber processing, compressed into sheets with a resin, Looks like a breakfast cerial, and in fact behaves just the same. Show it a bit of miosture and it turns into something with the tensile strenght of half a pound of well cooked noodles..:lol:

If its not fine tommorrow Im going to write a stern letter to BOM....

[xelasnave]

I was going to wait till you had finished to say it looks dam good, but maybe you could use some encouragement and patience councelling.. Remember Rome was not built in a day and I recon this could be harder.. or this time next year you will look back and laugh... working at night under flood lights would be cooler so this approach gives you more available time...feeling better now. You should be proud Shawn it looks excellent but given the problem with the mount maybe you need another mount like those Paramount Mounts ..thats the sort of mount that would look good in such a fine observatory.
As to the strand board if made with resin one would think it should be impervious to water, but if not why not add a layer of resin ..have you had any experience with applying resin to ply or the like;) :D :lol: :lol: :lol: .
alex

[bloodhound31]

Dunno if anyone would see co-incidence or if theres anything in it but....
Shawn doesnt believe in God and hes having a hard time...
Barry believes in God and Ive asked for His help....and Ive got nothing but help all the way....

X + Y =.....???

Who knows?

Personal choice i suppose...

Keep workin on it though Shawn. It looks great. Love your plans mate, very impressive and well thought out.


Baz:D

[Shawn]

May end up, going along those lines Alex , and yes the whole dome is glass on ply, just wont stop raining enough to let me put it on, Baz is going to put in a good word for me. Try again this afternoon. Let you know how I get on..

Thanks for the encouragement..

S

[bloodhound31]

Baz starts praying for Shawns observatory and salvation.............:prey:

[xelasnave]

I just posted in another thread herein that the rain is following me personally of that I am sure. I dont believe in anything really other than seeing blessings in everything that comes your way be it reward or suffering all are part of a valuable life and above all taking personal responsibility for a result. I pray that I am right on that one.
alex

[Shawn]

Baz You Beauty , I got the floor down , post a pic or two later....

....

[bloodhound31]

VEDISTI???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Italian grandmother on my wifes side used to say that all the time.

It means, "YOU SEE???!!!!

I can ask the Lord for more for you mate, but you do know you have a direct line yourself?

Baz:D

[Shawn]

Stairwell cut in ,,,crane arrive monday to lift the dome Assy on, do the walls and the foof of the warm room in the weekend...

[iceman]

That looks excellent shawn! Less than 2 weeks till xmas!

[Shawn]

Hmmm, yes Mike thanks for the reminder....:). Going to be full on as soon as the dome is up there, In sorta stalled at the moment waiting for the crane. :(

[Shawn]

Here is a subfloor view, where you can see where the pier will protrude through the false floor , the floor bearers are missing in this area, one or two of the steel pads for the sub floor pier are visible in this image..

S