[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi All,

I have purchased a great piece of land (20 acres) just outside of Canberra.

(see pics)

Because of its location and position it will make an excellent dark site within short transit reach from town but with minimal/negligible town-lights effects

I plan to place an observatory to permanently house all of my equipment (apart from the TS120 which is grab n go).

I also plan to make use of the equipment available freely to interested public and schools by prior appointment/arrangement to help people evaluate this type of equipment and to help promote interest in astronomy.

However while my skills in other areas are good my construction skills really suck so looking for pointers & suggestions to help with determining which way to go with an "observatory"

I am after something neat and functional and cost effective. While a professional dome sounds great I am not really thinking along those lines.

I would have preferred a nice size shed say 6m x 6m or 8m x 8m where the roof opens or rolls off with the walls providing ideal sized wind breaks but it appears that no builders want to get involved in either a project so small or a project that they have not done like this.

So I am completely open to ideas and suggestion and any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Phil