The Tuckidome has commenced construction

[Jeffkop]

Hello All

YES .. Construction on my observatoty has begun !!!
Im not sure what is the best way to go about documenting it, but have chosen a blog to be able to comment it better.

I'm not 100% on the blog editing process and how it will let me lay it out .. but I will find out as I go.

So if you wish, have a look here http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com.au/
to keep up with the progress.

I will update this thread with the dates of new posts.

This is exciting !!!:D:D

[scagman]

hi Jeff your off to a flying start. The spot you have choosen looks nice. Hope the rest moves a long as smooth, without those little nasty ants.

[CDKPhil]

That looks like a good workout. I am envious of your site.:)

Cheers
Phil

[Jeffkop]

John .. they burn when they get you but luckily the3 worst of the sting is over in 5 minutes or so.

Yes Phil .. its not wall to wall but its still a great site .. what you lose out on in the west the east may possibly let you start tracking a little earlier.

[vanwonky]

That's looking like it will be awesome Jeff. I am also very envious of your site. Makes me want to move away from the city every time I see something like that! Look forward to your updates.

What program did you use to get that info on the images if you don't mind me asking?
Cheers
Dave

[Jeffkop]

Hi Dave

Heres hoping for awesomeness mate.
The overlayed images come from a Theodolite app on my iphone. Its amazingly accurate .. Ive done triangulations to test it.
It just overlays the camera picture in real time with all that data.

Thanks for the interest

[Jeffkop]

Hi everyone.

An update on my progress.
Its not been as fast as I would like but some things are not in ones control.

http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com.au/view/sidebar#!http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com/2012/02/posts-and-bearers-ready.html (http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com.au/view/sidebar#%21http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com/2012/02/posts-and-bearers-ready.html)

[h0ughy]

lol i went to the hire place when i set off to go from Newcastle to Rockhampton to get my dome, measured so it would fit inside the floor. Well done on your purchase. I take it Gerald is scaling back his astronomy now?

[Jeffkop]

Gerald has recently had some sort of procedure on his back and isnt up to whatever astronomy desires and so he decided to sell his observatory which is such a shame, but he knows whats good for him more than anyone I guess. So yes Dave he is scaling back ... But the dome lives on here .. getting closer now ... just off to get the sand & gravel and cement now ... should have stuff setting by tonight

[h0ughy]

hope you don't attract any storms this afternoon. Good to hear He is ok. you won't know yourself once you get the dome going......

[ChrisM]

Well done Jeff - looks like you will have a fair slab of sky to use. I like the presentation on your blog too and look forward to seeing more updates.
Chris

[Jeffkop]

Yeah Chris ... Whilst its not ideal the sites still pretty good ... Thanks for the positive comment on the blog ... More coming soon ... Pier footing next just have to tie the reo together .. Make a little boxing n call the concrete truck

[Jeffkop]

More work completed to the Tuckidome ... see here http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/footing-and-column.html (http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/footing-and-column.html#%21http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com/2012/03/footing-and-column.html)
Thanks for the heads up on the compost bin Houghy.

[Marke]

Looking great Jeff

[marc4darkskies]

Looking good there Jeff and I'm enjoying watching your progress. Looks like you have a mighty fine site there too!

Cheers, Marcus

[Jeffkop]

Feeling GREAT Marke !! ... I guess in house building parlance thats the foundations in ... "Im out of the ground" .. now for the flash stuff mate.



Its coming along Marcus, will try and complete the flooring on the weekend.
I think the site is going to be great mate. Like Ive already mentioned, its not horizon to horizon but thats OK. I had about a 45 degree window of sky at the last place I lived and every chance I got I lugged my G11 out with my TS102 and ST2000 polar aligned it, gave the mount a 3 star idea of my sky and thought it was fantastic. Im SO looking forward to the prospect of all the sky I have now (in a much darker site too) with a permantly setup, polar aligned Titan with a BRC250 and an STL11000 in the armoury mate.

Watch THAT bring on some rain :lol::lol:

[CDKPhil]

You are doing a great job there Jeff. Very neat.
I bet you can't wait to get it finished and get that Titan up and running.:thumbsup:


Cheers
Phil

[Jeffkop]

Thanks Phil ... you may not have said that 10 mins before I took some of those photos mate ... there was old cement bags everywhere and the remains of 2 palettes that I bashed apart to use for the boxing material, a piles of pavers used to keep the bearers in position while the post concrete went off plus all the tools :lol::lol:

[Jeffkop]

A break in the rains means .... More work completed to the Tuckidome ... Have finished the flooring structure and the steel pier .. see here http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/floor-joists-decking.html

Am cleaning up the sirius dome today, removing old silastic, cutting the fiberglass back then polish ready for dome install later on in the week .. weather permitting.

[Marke]

You have to be pleased with that Jeff its very neat and well done . Isnt it great to have a break in the weather to actually get some more done .

[Jeffkop]

Oh Yeah Mark .. feeling like the time until first light is closing in now.
The weather has dictated all of this, and its GREAT to see it sunny for a stretch mate. Fingers crossed for it to continue

[CDKPhil]

Looking very nice there Jeff. It will be great once you get the dome up and running.:)
Your pier looks very well made and very solid.


Cheers
Phil

[Jeffkop]

Hi everyone following this and thanks for all your help.
OK .. the weather has been GREAT for 2 weeks and its allowed me to finish of this project. All the info is here http://jepsobservatory.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/tuckidome-becomes-reality.html

[Marke]

Great job Jeff you can sit back and relax and enjoy it now - no excuse not to image :thumbsup:

[scagman]

Looks really good. I hope you can get clear skies to enjoy it.

Regards

[Jeffkop]

Oh no mate ... havent done all this to make excuses not to use it ... 3 years of patience has left me SO KEEN .. its going to be great. Look forward to seeing yours completed Mark



Hmmm .. well Ive polar aligned the mount last night .. and tonight I have to go out for T .. hopefully the expected less than ideal weather predicted will wait until tomorrow ... fair as I can be. Cheers for the wishes.

[CDKPhil]

That's really nice Jeff.
You must be very happy with the result. A lot of people would be very envious of you having a dome in such a great location.

Are you going to automate the dome?

Cheers

[Jeffkop]

HI Phil

Yep I bought it with Maxdome. I have fitted it all and I can rotate it manually. I have had to contact cynogen however as their Maxdome drivers dont work correctly with the new ASCOM 6 platform. They have been able to reproduce the errors and are working on it as I type.
So having the dome synced with the scope is coming. I have been busy setting up polar alignments and modelling my sky so far. All great so far. Will be imaging tonight after Origin is over and QLD have won again.
Will see you over on your thread next mate

Jeff