Swan Reach Imaging Services

[Paul Haese]

This project has been a couple of years in the making. My business partner rang me three years ago and asked me if I would be interested in buying a property with him near Swan Reach. I of course agreed as I have been slowly working towards doing astronomy work that pays and this was my natural progression of establishing a hosting facility. The facility is located in the newly formed International Dark Sky Reserve with approved readings of 21.99 across the entire reserve. Our location is on the eastern side of the reserve so it is even further away from Adelaide. Adelaide is 160km away from the site.

Our goal is to initially build and operate a 9m x 6m roll off roof shed (contractor has been sorted) which will accommodated 9 piers to host robotic systems. My partner will have two piers and I will have one (I also have a dome on site so I get a another pier). We will only be hosting piers but not selling time on our equipment. If all goes well we will build another shed next year to accommodate further clients.

The site is located near Swan Reach on a 200 acre property. The compound where the facility is located will be fenced with security fencing and have security monitoring of all buildings and grounds in the immediate vicinity. Our primary concern is provide a secure site for our clients to have their equipment hosted.

Over the last 6 weeks or so we have selected the facility site, had earth works undertaken, installation of containers, purchase of a 63kwh battery system and 5.5kw solar panel system, holes dug for the panel support structure and NBN infrastructure installed.

In the coming weeks I plan on installing the steel framing, which I fabricated, into 700mm deep holes x 450 wide and pouring concrete. Once this is done we will install the power system and get that operational. Shortly to follow will be installation of Allsky camera and weather station and then commencement of excavations for the roll off roof and dome.

We hope to have the entire facility operational and bug tested by late October early November. If you are interested in becoming a client please send me an email to discuss further. We will be providing a high quality service in a dark sky with good seeing. I will personally install your equipment and ensure it is operating at peak performance. Service work will be conducted in a fortnightly cycle for all clients.

For now, please enjoy the construction ride.

First images are the site, then each will follow from here.

[Joshua Bunn]

Hi Paul,


This is great to see. The site looks the goods, I wish you the best in this and I'm sure you guys will do an awesome job. Following with interest.
Josh

[multiweb]

Massive undertaking. Must have taken some serious planning. I've heard about that dark sky reserve in SA. It's a really good initiative. The skies must be unreal down there. I assume you guys get some heat in summer as well. Doesn't matter much for the gear during the day or do you try to keep it cool as much as possible. Aircon? Insulation? I see you'll rely mainly on solar panels so power will be limited. How do you deal with internet and remote operation? Satellite? Or are you close enough for 4G reception?

[strongmanmike]

I think I found ya! :D

Looks like a formidable but very exciting undertaking Paul :) Looks like a great isolated site too and dark! :thumbsup:

We are on opposite ends of the height above sea level spectrum, huh?... I won't get 45degC days and you won't get snow :lol:

Does the Murray ever flood there?...I am assuming not.

Looks like a handy spot there, with some nearby amenities and access to frolicking on the Murray, should you chose, very cool.

Mike

[Paul Haese]

We have been planning this project for three years now. Most of it was working out what we were going to provide and what the long term plan should be. It does get hot there and we have allowed for higher insulation in the observatories to preserve equipment.

Internet is primarily fixed wifi which has great signal and there is 4G for back up. We have two towers 2.5km away.

Remote operation will be private networks to each operator. Our infrastructure is designed to only allow access only to the clients computer and the weather information.



The light pollution map confirms the darkness levels measured there 2 years ago. One of the great things about the site is that there is not much cloud during much of the year. We are far enough away from the coast for most cloud to dissipate before reaching our site. Major storms excepted. Temperature wise there will be some hot days but we are taking precautions to prevent too much of a build up inside the buildings. Certainly no snow. ;)

At 56 meters above sea level, the site is not subject to flooding. I think we are 40 meters above the river there. The 56 flood was about 9 meters above the river level at Swan Reach. There are signs at the ferry about the floods in the last 70 years.

There are some amenities in town, but it is pretty limited. A nice meal can be had at the hotel, there are a couple of caravan parks nearby and some smaller stores.

[mswhin63]

Nice project, I am still considering purchasing land in the area myself. Not sure how it will go but may change my mind in the next couple of years.

[Paul Haese]

Some progress - It's been a great couple of days at Swan Reach Imaging. First up we got our power station finally up and running (thanks to Geomatters Pty Ltd), we installed the solar panel system and the batteries over the last month but had to wait for the inverter and charger to be installed to allow power to operate. Secondly today we established the first stage of the security system, so far we are not using much power :P out of the 79kwh we have on hand. Thirdly we have our all sky installed and operating. We anticipate that the roll off roof will be installed in late September and operation of the facility will occur sometime in December this year.

Of note in the night sky image is the IR lighting up the trees which can be seen on left edge of the allsky image. We will eliminate this during imaging operations so that it does not affect our customers or prevent them from making the most of the night skies in the Reserve. We are pretty happy with how the sky looks ;) and are looking forward to showing you more in the next month.

[Paul Haese]

This image is without the IR light on. Pretty impressive skies these. Still and very dark.

[mswhin63]

Great coverage Paul, doing well. Love the use of containers.

[strongmanmike]

Coming along, love the all-sky camera view, I want to get me one of those for Eagleview :thumbsup:

Mike

[Joshua Bunn]

Great progress Paul.

What are going to do for keeping the inside of the containers cool in summer, assuming you have batteries and inverters in there?


Josh

[gregbradley]

Fantastic Paul. What a great project.

You could put a second roof on top of the container and put some roofing insulation under it or install a couple of whirlybirds in the roof.

Greg.

[Ryderscope]

Fantastic project. I’m looking forward to following development.

[Paul Haese]

Work continues at Swan Reach Imaging. Over the last couple of weeks we have installed the first observatory on site as well as on going installation of electrical and coms circuits.

There has been a delay of the installation of the large roll off roof observatory due to a mix up between the builder and the council. It will mean we will be installing that later this year.

In the mean time we will continue to move forward.

If you are interested in placing your own small remote observatory on site or want your equipment hosted please send me an email. We are interested in all sorts of arrangements.

[strongmanmike]

Looking good Paul, I assume that's your Scopedome, moved from Clayton Bay?

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Yes this was the dome at Clayton Bay. It is a version 1 Scopedome. I have modified it to have the latest control boxes after I had a nasty accident with the umbilical cord. It was a fatal flaw of the older version. With some adaption you can rid yourself of the umbilical cord and have flawless operation.

Personally, I prefer the older version as there is less silicone (I think I used 14 tubes on a recent installation) required than the new models. The new model has some great ideas such as the door in the side and the wiring lum works better. On the V1 model all the dome drains into wells at the bottom of the moving dome and then that runs outside, water cannot egress into the observatory floor. The new version relies on a good silicone seal in various areas. It can be achieved but you need to be careful during installation not to miss or go too thin with the silicone in the required areas.

[Paul Haese]

Hi Josh, I missed your question. We are working on some ideas about using passive cooling. Perhaps some polystyrene King Form insulation too.

[Logieberra]

Watching with interest. Good luck team!

[Paul Haese]

More developments at Swan Reach Imaging.

First up we finally have engineering drawings of the ROR shed, wind calculations and engineering calculations. All have been submitted to council for approval. Some of the drawings are attached to this post. The shed will be 9.1m long and be a total height of 2.3m high. Expected installation will be sometime in December now. Certainly greatly delayed from our original notifications, however the industry is very busy and our location is remote.

Second, we now have a system installed in the dome and will now need to do the dialling in to get it ready for imaging. It will shortly have an FSQ106 sitting on top with a STL11002. With any luck this time next week we will have imaging commencing on site.

[Joshua Bunn]

Good to see some more progress and detailed drawings Paul. I'm guessing that's your rig installed?

[Paul Haese]

Hi Josh,

yes that is one of my rigs, with one of my PME's (not the one you had; which I am still yet to turn on).

[Paul Haese]

Further development in the last week or so. We are working on the passive cooling of the containers. A whirly bird has been installed with ground vents and the containers have been spray painted in surf mist. So far the improvement has been significant on the internal temperatures. Next step is to create an insulative box within the container which holds the batteries and power systems. That should then hold day temperatures to 26 degrees C all year round.

[Joshua Bunn]

Hi Paul, that sounds pretty good. Is the insulated box within the container going to be touching the inside walls, or will it be a box (much smaller) with the container? Just thinking about any heat that the batteries give off, needing to escape and a too small a insulated box for the batteries, holding that heat in.
Looks great so far, its going to be a lovely facility.

[Paul Haese]

Yes the insulation will be touching the side walls. Problem being that batteries rack is bolted to the floor and the batteries are very heavy to move at 70kgs each. It is a bit of an oversight but there are solutions to the problem.

Regarding the heat the batteries give off I will construct the box to be about half the size of the container, allowing room for expansion with another power station later when we build another shed.

[Joshua Bunn]

It occurred to me that you could significantly increase the insulating value of the container if you spaced the insulation off the container wall by 50 to 100mm.

[multiweb]

^ This

[Paul Haese]

Final testing tonight of one of the dome imaging systems. That being the AG12 and QSI683 on PME mount. Seeing looks pretty reasonable overall. Guiding looks good too. Now just to collect lots of data. It's been a rather dry spell.

[TrevorW]

What about site security Paul, 10ft fence, barbed wire, robotic dog, CCTV, alarm, minefield, etc :)

[Paul Haese]

Hi Trevor, some of this is already in play. We have CCTV and alarm systems in place. We have been reliably informed that we cannot place a minefield on the site, so I guess that is not going to happen :P. Not sure about the robotic dog either. I am pretty sure I don't have the capital for that outlay :lol:. A fence is on the agenda when we are approaching being online with customers. Although locals in the area have advised being inconspicuous. Large fences and signs apparently attract unwanted attention. For now it is pretty well secure with high security locks to all doors and the cameras informing of any intrusions to the site. None as yet fortunately.

[Paul Haese]

Bit of an update:

We are still awaiting a development approval for our first shed at Swan Reach Imaging. The delay in approval has obviously set back the installation date. We are hopefully that we will have the shed installed and operational in February 2022 given how close to Christmas we are now.

In the interim though we are testing the site with imaging in our dome. So far the site is looking very good. In the last 80 days we have had around 77% totally clear nights and a further 6% of nights being partially clear. Given this data came from winter and spring weather that bodes well for imaging nights being offered at Swan Reach Imaging over the course of any year.

Transparency looks very good; we note that the sky looks very clear. Darkness is at 21.98-21.99 on moonless nights. Seeing is also looking very good too with FWHM values on data around 1.5"-1.8" on a regular basis. Some previous data at a another site within the International Dark Sky Reserve show that seeing can be as low as 1.3"-1.4".

I have attached an image of data taken from three sites (Clayton, Home and Swan Reach) but much of it is coming from Swan Reach Imaging. It is Ha data 780 minutes of calibrated and stacked data. Star sizes are native. Some minor processing has been done to show the core and outer regions better.

Exciting times for us and we are keen to get the entire facility and operational so that we can share those skies with clients.

[strongmanmike]

Comin along Paul, a big undertaking for you, patience is a virtue here.
I can't wait to get to the point of finally imaging from Eagleview :prey:

Mike

[Joshua Bunn]

They are some wonderful figures, the site looks real good, Paul.

[JA]

Sounds and looks like a great result Paul.:thumbsup:

Best
JA

[Paul Haese]

Update time

Great news today with the Roll off Roof observatory finally gaining building consent. This means that all approvals have now been made and our builder can finally move to build the structure and install it on site. We hope this means the roll off roof will be installed in the next 6 weeks and that we can commission the observatory shortly afterwards.

[Paul Haese]

Update time

We have been quite busy at Swan Reach imaging. In the last couple of months we have started installing one of two sheds on site. This shed is my business partners roll off roof shed which is 4.5m x 3m. I have attached some images of the construction which I have undertaken over the last month. I only have to install the ridge cap and the cladding is complete and water tight. We then plan on having the concrete slab (200mm) laid next week by a contractor and then the final commissioning of this shed will commence.

We have also installed a 1100 litre rain water tank to hold some water for cleaning and construction. With the help of jerry cans and a bit of rain on site that is now filled.

The big shed is being manufactured by our builder at present and we anticipate that installation on site will occur within 5-6 weeks.

Exciting times

[Paul Haese]

Concrete has now been poured in Jarrod's observatory. The slab is 200mm thick and this gives a wall height inside of 1600mm. In the coming weeks we will apply an epoxy sealant to the floor, install power, coms, piers and roof drive system, with any luck this shed will be operational in a month or so.

[Paul Haese]

Finally I can report that the big roll off roof is being installed on site at Swan Reach Imaging on site by Apex Home Improvements. In two days they have dug the holes and installed the bottom frame of the shed. When it is finished it will look like the smaller shed. Very soon we will be commissioning the observatory and then we will be looking for customers. It's starting to get exciting now. :D

[strongmanmike]

Looking good Paul, you are going to have a lot of scope space:eyepop:.. and I know the feeling :thumbsup: but, sheesh..feels like things take forever sometimes though :scared:

Mike
Ps. my 3M Scopedome arrives this weekend :D

[Paul Haese]

Today the roof structure was installed and I watched it being opened and closed easily remotely with two guys sanding on it. It opened moved very easily without jamming and that fulfils my primary requirements. Tomorrow I think the walls get sheeted and the concrete for the posts and outriggers is poured. Friday the roof gets sheeted. Perhaps by the weekend the shed will be competed.




Mike I think we will get perhaps 12-14 scopes in the big shed.

It will be exciting getting your dome. Having installed a couple now, just remember you will need heaps of silicone tubes. Double what is in the manual is best.

[Paul Haese]

Update

Well the roof did not go on today as it was too windy. However I did get to open and close the roof; it was a one handed hardly pushing at all effort. Perfect engineering, fabrication and installation. It's going to be an awesome shed. I have included some images of the shed detail. There are some images of the finish detail.

To say I am highly impressed is an understatement. It's a dream come true and it did not cost an arm and a leg.

[Paul Haese]

Another update. Hope you all don't mind.

Today the main shed was completed with cladding and structure. Concrete is probably being poured next week and then final commissioning from there. The main shed opens and closes with very little effort and it is a credit to Apex Home Improvements to delivering a product which is of a high standard. It was worth the wait.

Also today I finished the smaller shed and installed the ridge cap and the top flashing around the door which had been omitted in the original delivery. Commissioning of this shed will hopefully take place soon as we are waiting on parts from Scope Dome in Poland.

[Joshua Bunn]

Don't mind at all Paul.
Even though I may not comment, I do read it all and I find it quite interesting.


Josh

[DaveNZ]

Wonderful new observatory Paul.

I presume you will need to have it well insulated from that Aussie sun to reduce scope cool down times.

What telescope systems will you have installed ?

Dave

[Paul Haese]

Hi Dave,

yes the observatories are well insulated.

As for telescopes installed that will be up to the clients. The big shed is purely for hosting of clients equipment.

[Paul Haese]

A big day yesterday for Swan Reach Imaging. Our concrete contractor poured the 12 cubic metre slab in the big roll off roof. It now means we can do final commissioning of the roof control, power, coms and wall insulation for that observatory.

I have included some drone shots of the facility as it now stands with views East and West.

The plan is to have the observatory to clients in mid June, so if you are interested in a hosted pier please let me know via PM.

[strongmanmike]

Looking good Paul :thumbsup:

I assume you will just be bolting piers to the slab, without separate pier footings?..how thick did you go with the main slab?

There is what looks like a small concrete slab extension, next to your Scopedome, what will go there?

Mike

[AdamJL]

yeah looking good... although I'm super curious as to what this is... nothing to do with AP!
I used to do wildlife photography (would love to get back into it), and anything like this just says "big nest", especially as there are what appears to be tracks leading to it.

Although from this angle it could be anything, including a mini rubbish tip!

[Paul Haese]

We will be bolting down the piers to the slab with no isolation piers. We went with a 200mm slab depth. The slab weighs about 32 tonne, so will be heavy enough to operate multiple scopes over it simultaneously. The roof only moves for cloud, clear skies and mornings. I used a 200mm slab for the dome and have found no vibration present at all.

The small extension was for stepping into the dome. It was a little difficult getting in and out of it, so the material left over from the main pour was put there by the concreters. Nothing visual being used there just yet.




That is a wombat warren. There are two or three living in that warren. We have several larger warrens on the property with one warren taking a space as large as a soccer pitch doubled. It is huge. There are 30-50 wombats in that particular warren. These guys are not a problem this close to the observatory site, so long as they stay that distance away. They help to keep the grass down too, sort of portable mowers.

[strongmanmike]

Sounds more than adequate :thumbsup:

How far did your concrete have to travel, to get to you?

Mike

[Paul Haese]

The use of a single thick slab is used commonly in large ROR systems as I understand it. I don't think anyone is using isolation piers under their slabs in this context as far as I know.

The only place nearby is Mannum which is 54km. The concrete was 32mpa for added strength. We have used the same supplier all the way through so that we get consistent results.

[AdamJL]

Ha, I knew it. Fantastic! They're like our version of badgers, which I've spent time photographing. Similar nest setup by the looks of it.

[strongmanmike]

Ah, about the same distance mine had to come, plus coming up the mountain added a bit more time, meant it was tight for setting too quickly, had to move fast when it arrived.

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Things are progressing well with a high probability that we will be open for business at the end of next month once bug testing is complete.

We have on order the motor, VSD, gearbox, rack and pinion for the big observatory. Those should be ready for pick up next week.

Our low voltage computer is also coming in from Compulabs (IPC2) and should arrive next week. That will control the roof opening and closing on the big ROR.

This week we had the power connected to small ROR and to the big ROR. That involved a lot of work and lots of back filling of the trenches.

Network installation has also commenced and progressing forward with network cable undergrounded, racks installed and connection points installed around the observatories. There is still some more installation of connection points required but it is a lower priority at this stage.

We have also spread out some crush rock around the site to help with heat reduction in summer and to keep the fine dust at bay. I moved 10 tonne of it on Wednesday and it near killed me (certainly not as able as I was in my 30's :P )The plan is to spread the other 10 tonne pile all the way around the observatories over the next few weeks.

We are happy to take enquiries from anyone interested in having their equipment hosted in pristine dark skies, so if you have been holding back feel free to make contact and be one of the first to be hosted at this site.

[strongmanmike]

Looking very professional (and expensive :eyepop:) Paul :thumbsup:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Bit of an update.

As of today we have a working roof drive system at Swan Reach Imaging. There is still some tweaking to do to the settings in the VSD, some cable management and installation of the open limit switch. All of which I plan on completing later in the week when I visit out there again.

I have a video of the roof opening a little and closing on our Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/SwanReach.Imaging

I have included some pictures of the drive system in the big observatory for your perusal and enjoyment.

[LonelySpoon]

Looking good Paul!
I'd love to see the video but I don't do Facebook...

Neville
LSO

[AdamJL]

+1!

[strongmanmike]

Video of things moving, always cool :thumbsup:...Marcus is hounding me for a moving picture of my new dome too :lol:...better appease him next visit :)

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Today we completed the final phase of the construction of our facility at Swan Reach Imaging with the successful opening (https://www.facebook.com/100080205512816/videos/pcb.137559302260920/813186752962026) and closing (https://www.facebook.com/100080205512816/videos/pcb.137559302260920/489862302906043) of the roof by the roof software and control system. If you are a Facebook user please go take a look. Our page is open to the public. I am not sure if you have to have an account to view the page.

It is all very exciting and a great relief that the culmination of several years of planning and execution have finally come to fruition. Of all the projects I have done in the past (the company that I owned did ceiling and partitions contracts for many years completing large projects like prisons, multistorey school building, high end motor vehicle show rooms etc) this one ranks as the most satisfying to me personally. 18 months ago we owned a bare 200 acres of land, not so now. :)

So here is an image of the completed drive in the big shed with cable management and one of the closed limit switch and the probe to activate it. I had to think a little laterally to create the probes for the limit switches. The open limit switch is a bit like an Apollo docking probe which just points out to make forward contact with the limit switch and allow the inertia of the roof to slowly dissipate and bring the roof to a stop.

[Bassnut]

I saw the video, all looking proper industrial Paul, and smick drive tuning, well done!. extra nearly open and closed limit switches would've made life easier, but hey, control looks smooth as the way you've done it :thumbsup:.

[AdamJL]

It's more that some of us don't want to click on anything to do with FB, especially given how invasively they track people and the history of how shady they are.

Not wanting to get off into a tangent here.. but if you have another way of sharing video (for free, like YT!), that'd be good, and good for potential customers who don't want to click FB links ;)

(plus, FB is dying anyway)

[Paul Haese]

FB is what it is, but I hear you regarding people not wanting to use it. So with that in mind I have uploaded the recent videos to Vimeo.

Click here (https://vimeo.com/724481909) for video of the opening roof.

Click here (https://vimeo.com/724483872) for video of the closing roof.

[glend]

Absolutely, I agree, I will have nothing to do with FB. I hope your not relying on FB as a business tool.

[LonelySpoon]

Thanks for the vimeo Paul,

Just one comment:
:eyepop:

Wow!

Neville

[AdamJL]

thanks for posting that. Very interesting videos. Can the roof be closed manually as well? I always wonder about that... what happens if it jams and rain comes through?

[Paul Haese]

Hi Adam, at present no the roof cannot be moved manually easily, although it is a matter of unbolting the gearbox from the mounting board which is easy enough to do. The roof should not jam at all, it is on a gate track and wheels and that means it will generally slide over any obstructions. In the 30 or so times I have opened and closed the roof manually and the 10 or so times I have opened and closed the roof with the motor it has not looked like it would jam. I was fairly deliberate with the design to prevent jamming. Even the hold downs have a bit of clearance to allow some up and down but not enough to allow derail.

The observatory is protected by the software monitoring the cloud and rain sensor and if cloud comes in; the roof closes immediately. There is no delay. Cloud will predicate rain falling out there as rain is reasonably rare at the site. Only 180-200mm or so a year. In addition to this, the hardware via the firmware is programmed to shut if it looses contact with the computer or the AAG Cloudwatcher.

[Paul Haese]

Hi Neville, that is what we are thinking at present too. Such an exciting venture.

[Paul Haese]

The slab in the big shed has been finished with a helicopter finisher to provide a very smooth surface. Over the last few days I have applied two coats of sealant to the concrete slab. This will aid in cleaning the floor in the years to come. It will also prevent concrete dust from entering the optics of our clients equipment. The sealant when fully dry will not show the overlap marks seen in the attached photo. When I walked in this morning to apply the second coat I could not see any overlaps from the previous coat.

Later this week I will install the first test system into the shed and we can commence bug testing. I will do a few weeks bug testing to ensure the system works correctly in all manner of circumstances.

As I have said before if you are interested in reserving a spot for yourself in the shed please PM or email me for our terms and conditions.

[strongmanmike]

Veeery nice, better than my concrete slab I did for the 18" Dob housing :sadeyes:

Mike

[Bassnut]

This is professional and well thought out, bodes well !.

[Paul Haese]

Time for an update.

Bug testing has commenced with the installation of one system and another one is part way through installation.

The attached image shows a 200mm imaging system and one of my Newtonians in part way commissioned.

There is some cable management of the 200mm system to be done but we awaiting on a 3m USB3B cable to arrive. Once that is done the computer and power supply can be installed in a weather and light proof box.

The AG12 will have an ASI ZWO6200 with 7 position filter wheel and Atlas focuser with Primaluce Lab Eagle computer.

[graham.hobart]

sent you a PM mate for email info

[Paul Haese]

Update

We are currently conducting trials of the automated opening and close of the roof. All is going well so far and we anticipate that very shortly we will be open for business.

Essentially, the big roof opens at dusk and closes at dawn via command from the weather sensor that it is unsafe for the roof to be open during daylight hours. The roof will also close upon weather abort data. Once the weather abort conditions have passed (sometimes hours, sometimes minutes) the roof will reopen again. Clients will be able to access the weather data and script their equipment to respond to that data. This will ensure that they can image after a weather abort and be assured that the roof will be open when the data says it is clear.

So stay tuned for our announcement that we are open for business.

[Joshua Bunn]

Hi Paul,


As you will be having multiple clients under the same roof, so to speak, how do you deal with one person wanting the roof to close in response to a weather event, while someone else not? Or do you control when the roof opens and closes, and clients script their equipment based on that?


Josh

[Paul Haese]

Our system will be in control of the roof and no one else will have access to it other than the admins for the site. The roof closes immediately upon a weather abort notification and then once the abort is cleared, there is a three minute period until the safe command is given. When the safe command is given the roof will open again. Clients will also be using the same link file from cloud sensor and so can automate their imaging to recommence imaging once the safe command is given. The roof will take a minute to open, so systems should roughly coincide with the roof being fully open. Since everyone is working off the same file and safe time period, imaging should have little disruption. We may change the safe time to a shorter period but this period is reasonably short and allows for any contingencies where conditions might change and require that the roof remain closed.

[Paul Haese]

Update time.

I can now announce that our final field testing is complete. The roof is now totally robotic and automated and we have had no issues with its operation.

This means that we are ready to receiving clients, so please feel free to contact me about having your equipment hosted at our facility.

Attached is an image of how clients equipment will be setup including protective boxes, pier and cable management.

[strongmanmike]

Hmm? that OTA looks very familiar...but no Bentspoke (https://www.bentspokebrewing.com.au/) sticker on the side :question: :P

Looks very professional

Mike

[Paul Haese]

The sticker is on the other side. ;) Though no bent spoke brews consumed.



That's our aim to be professional. :thumbsup: It's been a journey, but we're there now. :)

[LonelySpoon]

Congratulations Paul,

I hope you get many clients to the facility.

I wonder, does the shed set any records for a roll-off roof?

Neville

LSO

[Paul Haese]

No records that I can think of at all. I am sure the one at Siding Springs is bigger as well as the ones at Moorook.

[alan meehan]

Well done Paul massive effort very very professional

[AdamJL]

What's a rough ballpark figure for a slot in one of these observatories?
I'd like more time to use my kit but it's a big mission to do so from my location.

[Paul Haese]

Generally the price involves the real estate the scope uses. This will mean the slew diameter of the scope plus another 350mm each side. Pricing starts from $900 per month (small refractors to 8" scopes) and there is an installation fee which is based on the size of the scope. A small scope (400-600mm FL) will be around $750 which includes full cable management, setup in PA, balance and setup of your account with VPN on your own VLAN. Your equipment will then be serviced each month. Optics will only be cleaned when absolutely necessary. Price per month also includes all power and internet costs.

Please PM or email to our email of swanreach5354@gmail dot com for further details.