5m by 3m RoR... are you happy with yours?

[miki63au]

Hi everyone,


I'm about to start to plan and build my obsy :D


To avoid dealing with council, the max shed I can build is 5mx3m and max 2.5m height.
If you have one of these, are you happy with this size? If you do it again would you do it differently?


Instead of steel track/rollers, I want to use C-channels with rubber wheels. Is this a good idea?



Cheers,
Mick

[Merlin66]

Mick,
That’s about the size of the “work shed” I inherited when we moved down here.
I removed a section of the roof 3x3 mtr and then mounted it on C puriins and used 100mm rubber wheels, three per side to give me a ROR.
Just watch the size of the pier to allow clearing the wall height.
For the past four years it’s worked well for me.

[miki63au]

Great, thanks Ken :thumbsup:

[glend]

Mick, a 5mx3m observatory is pretty big, what are you planning on putting in there. Mine is 2mx3m and has plenty of room for my pier/mount, swing room for my largest scope, and a workstation area. I would suggest avoiding standard metal shed type structures, and go with standard stud walls with ext ply cladding; which is easier to build, insulate, and customise.

[miki63au]

Thanks Glen,


It is for a big(-ish) DIY EQ mount (11"/6" Byers worm gears) with C14 and perhaps 6RC with ED80 ancillary ... to cover desired FOV.


Yes, I do as a budget build... they love me at Bunnings :rofl:


Stud walls, structural particle-board floor with carpet tiles to prevent slippery condition in winter dew. Cladding is cement sheets with the added classic touch of corrugated iron horizontally half the height to mach the 1920s cottage we have.

The roll off roof will be part of the deck-pergola-shade-cloth arrangement

... so the building is not just a geeky cave... but we can have a wine'n cheese with music if no clear sky ;)


Well, that's the plan.... will see how my CC handle it. I'm a professional spender :D



Mick

[pmrid]

Mick, mine is 4x5 metres RoR and all-steel construction - except for the raised floor. I set it up with 2 metre-high walls to cut out wind. But it also cut out the first 22-25 degrees of sky. That wasn't a huge loss when imaging because of sky-glow and a bit of light pollution from Brisbane 90 km away. But it did limit me in terms of low-lying northern hemisphere objects and it reduced my normal imaging time elsewhere by an hour or so - depending which side of the meridian I was facing.

My roof is gabled - not flat. That was a mistake I think, since it meant the ridge/apex obscured my western vision over a wide arc. Think carefully about roof design and orientation. Another "roof issue" is whether you intend to use solar panels and a battery bank. With the benefit of hindsight, I think I should have installed a flat roof with solar - but the horse has bolted on that one.

Still on the roof - mine runs on rails made out of flat bar standing upright and welded to the main frame. The runners are metal castors with spring-loaded tension so they can move a bit to accommodate any small variations in the rails. It rolls back by hand and is solid. I' did try using rubber rollers on an earlier attempt but turned away from that because I just didn't think it was secure in high winds etc.

I installed a double-roof - i.e. 2 layers of metal with insulwool in between. That helps.

I also installed 3 piers - mainly because I had the room and at different times, the mounts and scopes as well. But I found it was too much. Keep it to 2 I would say.

I installed a separate warm room which is air conditioned and holds all my computers etc. This is a must unless you're going to cable back to your house and run it from there - and miss half the fun. I'm in rural country so the obs is well away from the house so at one stage I used some dishes to beam connectivity to and from the house but in the end decided I preferred to be on site.

Have fun.

Peter

[miki63au]

Hi Peter,thanks for the tips!


My location dictate the orientation of the building. NW-SE to follow fence-line and the fact I reluctant to cut trees to help my hobby.

My view is limited low to the horizon anyway, happy to concentrate to the sharper part of the sky :)


Re roof, I'm thinking of skillion stile to keep it simple... but not sure of the look and waterproofing issues. Will see, all flexible at this stage.



Part of the 3x5 building is the control corner... I like to be there :)
And in Australia/Adelaide the temp is not drop below 3C-ish too often. That's not cold, -20C is :D


Cheers,
Mick

[Star Catcher]

Yes that is the size of mine. I just got a standard garden shed and placed the gable roof section on a bogey with large 125mm rubber wheels. Just used a piece of standard L angle aluminium as the rails. All still working after 13 years.
Ted

[miki63au]

Lovely, thanks Ted!
I'll study the pics before mix any concreate :D

Mick

[miki63au]

Progress :D



Pier's concrete base... Bunnings 40L steel bin for form tube and plate, 16mm threaded rods for the flange.


Cheers,
Mick

[miki63au]

Concrete set... on top of it is the modified CGEM-DX with GSO 6RC and the mono rig.
Mobile obs table with comp and 4 monitor :D

... hmmm, and amp with Digi tuner /ABC Classic or Jazz ... and a glass of red :thumbsup:


Polar alignment for tonight. Hope to progress with building the Obs soon.

Dragging the heavy table, and place the scope on the EQ mount is a pain in the ... shoulder.




Mick