It has Been near a couple of years since I sold my Bob'servatory 1 which is located at Leyburn Dark Sky Site, Darling Downs SE QLD !
Astro-imaging halted to a complete Stop ! Tho I have a backyard 'Astro Area' It does Not compete with a Permanent Set-Up
Id really like another 3x3m Obs, but our living conditions aren't that free, as wife on disability and myself on Carers, fortunately we still in QLD Housing, the down side is : they only allow us one 3x3 permanent shed which is in the photo, my workshop, welding, power tools etc, , and I have two smaller sheds elsewhere !
So Im kinda thinking off a Roll-Away structure - Something like the 'ol Out-House', Lol, but on wheels, then its Not Permanent
Have seen quite a few of these around the web, keeps the Pier & Gear protected and saves on rigging up & down, plus all the other advantages, eg alignment etc
Ive picked up a 1.5 x 1.5m garden shed (another one ) which will go next to the fence (left side - above photo) for astro storage, Lappy control room maybe as well, so I need to make way for that 1st
Making a Little Progress, bit of gardening (on left) to make way for some 'crete patching' where a 1.5 x 1.5m astro store shed which can be seen leaning against the fence, bought from Gumtree - bargain and it has never been Set-Up, half price quick sale
Thought to add a bit of Background to the area as before seen in above pics.
Back in 2010 I started the Backyard Astro Area which took about a month to complete !
1st pic) Before work started with a few 'makeshift' bits about for a rough plan to assess usage of space & where appropriate to set the Pier !
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th pics) Assembly and construction of Pier, all done in my humble 3x3m garden converted Workshop Shed. The Pier was made from 4mm wall 100mm x 100mm Gal box and 10mm thick blue steel plate, Stainless threaded rod, nuts & bolts for 'mouse cage' to secure the little Heq5p mount !
Then came the Pier Foundation & the hole dig, not need any 'overkill' for this fit, tho very much adequate !
1st pic) Reo Cage using 50mm square mesh cut & tied appropriately, note: cutting gaps inline for the DynaBolts - make for assured easy drilling when concrete is set, blue metal aggregate is one thing for drilling with masonry drill bit, but tempered gal steel can skew your hole and cause locking your dynabolt before its hit all the way in !
2nd pic) 600mm Diam hole x 500mm deep with a square cut-out ontop, which was going to be formed with an extra 100mm above to meet up to top of pavers inc bedding sand.
The steel star picket is 600mm long with 300mm hammered and crowbar'd 'blunt end' 300mm into solid shale - its probably half rusted by now, tho the main purpose was to stabilise the foundation for 1st few yrs during season rains and dry spells so it has been firm during this time for good bedding/settling into the ground around it. Also note: at bottom left of
pic deep in hole is a shale outcrop which was left for further stabilisation, the dirt was hosed of this before pouring the concrete for maximum bonding.
3rd pic) Ready for 'crete pour 1st thing in the morn. The white 320mm diameter Poly pipe is used to cover the pier when not in use for protection against the elements.
4th pic) Pier foundation Poured along with a step edge and riser in the background and a channel drain at right next to existing shed, the distances between the edging and Pier Base was measured to suit a nice fit for pavers to exclude cutting pavers in third/halves or what have you. Also some sand brought in for paver bedding.
5th pic) Ive had my hand in Stonemasonry, its good to leave on good terms, so I was able to grab some excess 'Black Galaxy' slabs, cut to size 'all free' for my outside shelving, the narrow slice has the shiny surface facing out, behind it is the back of wider slice.
Final pic) Pier mounted, under white poly pipe with a lid. Pavers down, Black Galaxy Granite edges shaped, ground & polished looking purdy on the Bessa Block stands !
I've only used this area with a scope about about 6-8 times over the last 6 yrs - hopefully my 'soon to be' enclosure will see an end to this slack astro hobbyist, Lol
1.5m x 1.5m Astro Storage shed installed (not Ob's or Scope Cover)
Keeps astro gear close, cant/dont store gear in workshop shed as too much grinding, welding, sanding drilling, paint etc etc.
2 x cheap Bunnings shelving sets ($12-$15 if memory serves) secured with pop-rivets together and to the shed walls making both shelves & shed sturdier
The Roll-Away-Scope-Cover will (when built) travell to the left grassed area exposing the scope set-up on the paved surface
Was thinking of good pump-up barrow tyres/wheels x 4, tho with the scope cover being a pretty tight fit, Im also thinking of Gate Tracks so can guide back into place without hitting things
Theres always some small jobs in the Yard/Shed, tho when Larger works come by, one likes to have 'Full Unbroken Days, which is not often, a few days in a row is even betterra - so these upcoming Hol's I hope to see this project through, done & dusted ?
1stly need to score some Timber for wall frames - most likely from the Stone Masonry Yard tomorrow, !
They have plenty of FREE timber from 'packing' used to support Stone Slabs in their Shipping container deliveries
Which is actually what I used for my Previous Leyburn Obs...
Bit of work needed readying them for use, Chainsaw and de-nailing, but every cut & every nailed extracted is saving this duck $$
Am done with the 'Agonising' of the O'l Back - Tho happy is one man with someone else's 'Free Rubbish' as mentioned, from the Stone-mason yard.
Using the chainsaw in just the right places makes this job a lot easier, tho the de-nailing, even with a good jimmy-bar, wood-splitter and Lump-hammers etc still gives the upper body a nice work-out, them 5" nails are stubborn buggas hey..
Anyway, think I have enough to get me started - plenty more where this comes from
Way to go !! Bit of a good workout and some usable results.
My Ob is a bought tinshed but the floor and most of the rest of the gear is 'repurposed' pallet timber, concrete pipe, chucked out PC's and electrical gear.
I actually scored a very long network cable chucked from work which has now connected the Ob to the rest of the world. First thing it did was tell me my copy of Windows is not Genuine !! It's a re-imaged DELL done with the OEM disks so should be kosher but I have others I can use.
) which will go next to the fence (left side - above photo) for astro storage, Lappy control room maybe as well, so I need to make way for that 1st 
