The start of the DOGHOUSE observatory

[h0ughy]

well I am about to start my venture into having a permanent observatory. With two room of the 3 cleaned I will be ready to start the project in a month. To kick off the project, I have revised my plans - drastically.

I was very lucky to pick up two of these variable height piers made by Steve Bain of Southern cross piers fame. one will be for the eq6 and one for the Losmandy g11. when parked the piers will be at a height of 1.1m (700 pier height and 400mm concrete base.) when raised to max extension of 500mm the scopes can poke their heads almost out of the observatory to gain some horizon if needed. that is fantastic. Steve's design is very similar to the pier-tech one, but better;) cause an Australian has done it:thumbsup:. its so good that Steve uses it himself, and another member of IIS has i believe invested in one:whistle:, but that's his story:lol:;).


I thought I could get away with the two piers within the one 3m observatory, but I am still assessing this.

ps the images are from Steve Bain

[Dennis]

Sounds like exciting times ahead for you Mr. H0ugh! It will be a terrific asset and an invaluable aid to productivity; not to mention a gateway to unbridled fun! Congrats and good luck with the project - keep us posted of progress.:thumbsup:


Our Brisbane Lord Mayor is nicknamed "can do Campbell". I guess Newcastle now has its very own "can do Dave"! :lol:

Cheers

Dennis

[edwardsdj]

Looking awesome Houghy :)

[h0ughy]

might also explain this weather as well.........thanks for the backing Dennis & Doug!!! now looking at the design of what i want. I am split between a full roll off roof and a split roof?

[anthony2302749]

A 4m x 3m Observatory would be a better size for two scopes to fit in as you see from my own observatory project.

Anthony

[h0ughy]

quiet true, but I have the luxury of being able to "wire" things up to my office 10m away so that I could operate the scopes remotely:shrug: and not be in the shed once I opened it. also there is the question of getting ground from SWMBO:scared:. I would prefer the larger size - but that would require a DA application and that would be expensive - have to make everything meet green standards and other stuff......I prefer to whack it up:whistle:. But if I have to go down that path i will;)

[sheeny]

oooo you lucky, lucky... HOughy!

What I wouldn't give to be spat a' ina face... I mean to have an obs!

Congratulations Dave! I am envious!

Al.

[ballaratdragons]

Good stuff, Houghy. Looks like you are finally starting to get somewhere towards your obs.

Yeah, 2 piers in one obs, a bit tight with limited space!

[h0ughy]

going to draw up what i need this week, but I love the fact i can go up and down and retain my polar alignment.;) as for tight - if I can move around I will be happy - no one else here at home interested and I doubt I will be using an eyepiece:whistle:

[avandonk]

You will not know yourself h0ughy once you align a permanent pier by drift aligning. Some nights I think my guiding setup is not working and after about ten or twelve minutes it clicks. I still have a relay box on the parallel port that nudges the RA and DEC via the handset of my Mel Bartels system. I wired it myself as this way I am in control! The really nice thing is I have the relay box wired into the handset and the sensitivity can be set in Mels software. The trick is to balance aggressiveness with speed of guiding.

Bert

[xelasnave]

Good on you David way to go
alex

[h0ughy]

thanks Bert and Alex

[abellhunter]

S w e e t , :thumbsup:
Nothing like going out at sunset, un-chaining the roff and hitting the "Go" button on the winch.... R R R R R R R R R R R R R R :rofl:

___________________________________ ___________________
Large Group Scope &/or The new OZ Observatory plan [see post #35]:eyepop:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=27969 (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=27969)
___________________________________ _____________________

Best Wishes, Lance aka "abellhunter":D

http://www.anzaobservatory.com (http://www.anzaobservatory.com/)
...is Moving to the Southern Hemisphere any ideas, suggestions or
comments?:thumbsup:
humphreys@greencafe.com

[h0ughy]

see here for an update http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=298515&postcount=49

[spearo]

Houghy,
i think 3x2 is going to be a bit cramped, i'd aim for the 3x3. Build or buy depends on your skills and tolerance to frustrations (hahahah, I built mine far enough from the house and anyone else that I could let out many an expletives without anyone being offended during construction! )
:]
frank

[h0ughy]

actually now I think about it more I might be better off with a 3.6 * 2.4 , but a 3x3 sounds good

[spearo]

I think you're right , 3.6 will give you some room to maneuver

frank

[davidpretorius]

looking superb!

[h0ughy]

:shrug::help: no sod turned yet?

[seeker372011]

c'mon hurry up then ...I admit freely, I am envious-i can't even get permission to put up a permanent pier :)

[h0ughy]

yes my point exactly;):lol: I hope to have ministerial approval late this month/early March:whistle:

[Ric]

Top stuff Dave, with all these people building observatories I am tempted to start my own but alas there are other priorities first.

Hopefully my sod turning ceremony will happen towards the end of the year.

[cahullian]

Nice one dave,
I was wondering why we have been getting downpours each and every day for months now.
By the look of things we will never see stars again.
I'm off to start build an Ark, I think I will call it the
HMAS H0ughyrainmaker...

Gazz

[davidpretorius]

i meant the pier looked good:lol:

[h0ughy]

OK now I decided to get a bigger shed then the free one- what type? I live in an area that does get prevailing winds (ie NE/SW ) and a heap of dew/fog?

what roof line design would be best for the observatory, Gable end, flat roof or skillion?:help: