Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Haese
Calling anyone who has automated their roll off roof. I am looking for info on suppliers and equipment used. I have contacted a few US firms that make the equipment. One (Pier tech) quoted me $9000 USD for motor, rake and pinion, control box and all electronics with software, which I just about laughed myself to death. Next a great bloke named Jim Collins makes the same sort of gear but relies on Fosters to supply the roof control box and software which was cheap. All up around $3500 delivered to Australia. However their gear runs at 60 hertz and our power systems run at 50 hertz, which means they will not work here from what I know (happy to be wrong here though).
So what I am looking for now is anyone who has done this here, what motors did you use? I am assuming rack and pinion design. What controller box and who made it? If you made it would you consider making one for me? What about scope park sensors and roof open and close sensors?
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Paul,
When I designed the 6 meter sq. Nanango-TIE-QUT Observatory (NTQO) at my Stuart Range Obs. Ellesmere, Qld, back in 2002, we used an auto commercial sliding gate motor with R&P rack running in the middle of the 1 ton roof.
While the rack could have gone to one side of the roof, from model tests in the lab at QUT, we saw twisting inertia, so we went straight down the middle, under the roof.
The C14 parks to one side under the rack.
For opening and closing, we used a simple Day/night sensor. So when the skies got dark at sunset, the roof would opened at a predetermined time based on a Davis Vantage Pro weather station. If it was too dewy the roof wouldn't open. If there was too much cloud - 65% or more, the roof wouldn't open. If the skies got cloudy or the dew exceeded 85% the cameras would shut off and scopes would park and the roof would close up.
All this was being programmed by students from QUT, but when funding suddenly ran out in 2009, it all went to pot. But not was all lost. I now own all this stuff and being a self employed astronomer, I don't need to worry if the scopes were parked before the roof opened or closed due to weather changes, as I'm now on site 24/7.
So with a bit of thought one can easily design a system to open/close based on a light sensor and weather station. All one needs is some electronic background and presto, you have an automated roof system. The downside of automation is however, the program itself, electronic burn out, jamming, failure of weather station and or light senor, sudden change of voltage/weather conditions, lighting strikes, scope does not park or wake up.... the list is endless. But if you can design a fail-safe system, then the advantages outweigh the cons.