Roll off roof observatory

[Lester]

Hi all,

I have had an observatory since I was 16 on the farm; now my wife and I have bourght a block of land and built a house just north of Port Lincoln. I am in the process of building a roll off roof observatory, after thinking through all the alternatives; making another dome or getting a mass produced dome.

The roll off roof type offers views of larger areas of the night sky than a dome. This one will have 3 walls that can fold down from 2 metres to 1 metre to allow views down to the horizon. It will be all steel frame with colour bond cladding and no insulation. The floor will be timber and off of the ground to allow quick cool down time.

I just finished the cement pier yesterday. It has 9 sides and is 1250mm above ground and will be 800mm above the observatory floor. The hole has a depth of 1.5m. The mold will come in a few days time.

I am waiting for a Losmandy Titan mount to arrive that I ordered in April 2008.

Here are some pictures, with more to come later.

[Hagar]

What a magnificent looking site Lester. You can open the roof during the day and sit under it with a cold one and take in the view then at night take in a different view. I hope it is big enough for a bed. If it were mine I wouldn't want to go home.

Looking Good.

[Lester]

Hi Doug, its only 50metres from the house, so will also have mains power, which will be a advantage from the old 12volt battery power.

The dimensions are 3 x 4 metres.

[wysiwyg]

Great job Lester!

Looks like a great start to a fruitfull future of imaging mate!

All the best in the new year!

[matt]

Looking good, Lester.

It should help the imaging being so close to a large body of water like that. Depends on the wind direction and speed etc....

But fingers crossed for regular good seeing at your new site:thumbsup:

[mozzie]

great views lester and that ocean looks like a great location cant wait to see more photos :thumbsup::thumbsup:
mozzie

[Lester]

Thanks Mark, Matt and Peter.

Today I welded the fixed walls into place. I changed the design from having three folding walls to only 2. The wall on the right is towards the west and house, so to have it folding down to only 1 metre in height would give me a good view of the house and rainwater tank; not necessary. Also the west is where most of the winter rain comes from and easier to keep it weather proof when it is in one piece.

The wall frame is 50mm RHS galv 3mm thick.

[Ian Robinson]

NOW !!!! that's a thought ..:D.. wonder how much a hammock costs ???

Under the roof when it's rolled off will be a very nice breezey and shadey place in summer when my ROR Shed is built.

[Lester]

A little bit more progress has taken place. The timber mold has been removed from the pier. Today I cemented in the sliding roof supports. The roof guides are 150mm galv C channel and are long enough to allow it to move 1 metre past the south wall to help access southern objects.

I got a shock on steel price after getting some more RHS galv lengths. The price has gone up 300% since I last purchased this material 4 years ago. Don't think I will be getting this locally again.

[astroron]

Looking good Lester, I wouldn't mind a change of Scenery with you for a little while:P lovely outlook

[Lester]

Thanks Ron.

I finished the frame welding yesterday. I have had to wait for the wind to subside, as welding in this dry area isn't something I like doing, even with a good fire break around. The wind can blow sparks for many metres especially when welding over 2 metres above ground.

The roof frame is supported by 8 poly wheels each with a carrying capacity of 50kgs. At each end of the wheel assembley there is a smaller 40kg wheel fixed horizontally to stop any crabbing and jamming.

Next is to fix the colour bond cladding.

[Lester]

Some more images.

[Lester]

The observatory is cladded with colour bond steel and the floor is 15mm ply wood.

I can see the end comming of this construction. After nearly a year away from this great hobby I am looking forward to getting back to what I love.

[Terry B]

Brilliant construction. Makes mine look very amateur.

[[1ponders]]

Looks fantastic Lester. I can really appreciate how your feeling atm, waiting to get in!!! I love the folding wall idea. Certainly looks like a pretty straight forward construction. Wish you'd done yours before I started mine. :lol:

[Lester]

Thanks Terry and Paul for your comments.

Its a pity some of us are seperated by many kilometres, it would be good to see some set ups in the flesh to get ideas and share info.

[[1ponders]]

Bring on Star Trek technology......Beam me over Scotty. :)

[Lester]

This is showing the north and east walls lowered. They can be lowered further just by lengthening the retaining chains.

[Omaroo]

That is superb Lester. Really superb. The steel-frame walls look super strong, which makes them an effective barrier to thievery as well as flexible in their positioning. The fold-down idea is fantastic. You lucky sod - I wish I was down in Cooma more often so that I could justify building something similar. There's no point building one of these in suburbia where I am. Can't wait to see a night shot of your imaging system up and running and a dim red glow coming from within.

[sheeny]

That is excellent, Lester!

you've done a great job of it. Well planned and executed!

Al.

[Lester]

Thanks Chris and Al for your comments.

I dismantled the mount and scopes from the old observatory today with the help of my 2 sons. Hope to have the new observatory up and running within a week.

Unfortunately I haven't heard andything on the Titan mount yet; it was supposed to turn up October last year, so will have to put up with the ever reliable Goliath mount for a bit longer.

[Omaroo]

Great to hear Lester.

Isn't it fun trying to work with Scott Losmandy? LOL!

[Lester]

Fun, Chris you call it fun. Perhaps I need your sense of humour.

I am getting the mount through Matthew Lovell in Adelaide, just as well, as I may get tooooo pushy with Scott and have to wait longer.

[Lester]

My setup has been moved into the new observatory = 14" LX200, water cooled OTA via bilge pump that circulates ice water through 1/2" hose till the primary mirror reaches ambient temperature. This usually takes 2 hours.

FS102 Takahashi and DSLR can all easily be carried by the Goliath mount.

The observatory has been sealed from the outside elements with foam rubber.

I have both 240volt and 12 volt power within the observatory.

I am happy with the extra room after my old observatory and don't have to crawl around in places on my hands and knees any more. Also have room for a cupboard to store accessories.

[mat,v]

Absolutely AWESOME setup Lester,,:2thumbs:I'll bet there are a lot of very envious stargazers out there,(myself included):sadeyes:,,,,just need a granny flat next door for all the "unexpected visitors",,,Great to see all the hard work has payed off :thumbsup:,,now kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour,,,CONGRAT'S,,,,,,MAT;)

[pmrid]

That look terrific Lester. The location is also pretty darn awesome. That Losmandy will look pretty good in there - if it ever turns up. Of course I have an ulterior motive for hoping that is sooner rather than later.
Peter

[Lester]

Thanks Matt and Peter for your comments.

I am hoping soooooner too Peter.

[Jen]

:eyepop: that looks awsome Lester nice work hope you have some great nights in there cheers :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thum bsup:

[Ric]

Love your setup Lester, it looks fantastic.

Very well thought out and executed.

Cheers