[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.