i thought i would start this thread to chronicle my decent into madness as i try to build a remote observatory. Given that i live in an apartment and have limited access to the sky, i thought it would be best to build an observatory at the family holiday house. it has access to fantastic dark skies and is not too far away from home (around 2 hours). the plan is to build a ROR observatory on an existing slab of concrete which currently supports a redundant shed. i have configured a micro controller to do all the grunt work which will be connected to a remotely operated PC. i have attached the first 4 images. the first is an electric gate opener which will be used to roll the roof on and off. this is rated to 1000kgs and should do the job. the second image shows the bits and pieces. the micro controller, the rain sensor which will trigger the roof to close, the modified electric gate remote which will now operate off the micro controller and the modified power board which will also run off the micro controller. the other 2 are of the proposed site and what stands in my way.
next items to tackle are;
connecting and coding the distance sensor which will give let me know if the roof actually opens and closes when i initiate it.
clearing out the shed, dismantling it and removing a tree (as per the council guidelines) which is overhanging the future site.
given that i can only work at the site on the weekends it will take longer than i would like but my current plan has me completing the project, albeit without the finishing touches, by the 5/07
heres anther opt you might like roller shutter for roofs I having one installed next week its around $1000 uninstalled does come with remote and hopefully should be able to use my iphone.
A bit of progress made over the weekend. i have cleared out and dismantled the shed that existed on the concrete slab and timed it perfectly so that the people who bought it were able to help. this was no trivial task as the shed was over 6x4 mtrs. probably more importantly, i have made progress with the brains of my observatory. i have completed all the electronic components and housed them in a box which will be mounted in the observatory. this allows remote control of the power, the roof opening and closing as well as emergency closure if rain is detected (which can be overridden if the sensor is wet for whatever reason) and finally a distance sensor which will give me an accurate reading of how far the roof rolled back and whether it is fully open/closed. next steps are to remove the 2 trees seen in the pic and prep the slab for construction. looks like i am still on track to have it completed by the first weekend of July
Good bit of progress. Do you have a website where you're charting your progress. I want to build an observatory and having someone whose gone through the process post info would be helpful.
I am not charting progress anywhere else, but after i finish i might put something up. unfortunately all my plans are hand drawn which makes it a bit difficult to give all the details, but i will definitely be posting my learnings on this thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by RugbyRene
Good bit of progress. Do you have a website where you're charting your progress. I want to build an observatory and having someone whose gone through the process post info would be helpful.
attached to this post is a rough design of the observatory i am building. page 1 shows the front, rear and side of the observatory in closed and open position, the second page shows the footprint as it relates to the existing slab. i have gone with a design that will roll back some of the wall in order to give greater visibility as well as catering for the automated roof mechanism. any feedback is welcome.
just a quick update, the 2 trees are no longer and the site is ready to be built on. that was quite a job but all done now. i will be building the observatory on the first week of July. the site has a clear view of most of the sky and is very dark with wonderful views of the milky way, a slight upgrade from being in Sydney. the next update will be pictures of construction, i am also planning to do a time lapse. definitely starting to get excited about finishing the project.
Construction week is finally here
the car is packed with enough tools to fill a bunnings and all the timber etc is scheduled to arrive tomorrow arvo. i will try to post daily updates for the next 5 days.
thanks to the fine work of Telstra i have not had access to the internet over the past few days but i am happy to report that progress has finally been made on the Somnium observatory. as much as i would love to have it complete this week i think it is more likely going to require another couple of days work some time in the next few weeks, let alone all the power and internet cabling that needs to be done. so for now, i have raised the skeleton of the structure, the rails and the roof work perfectly, 3 of the walls and the roof are in place. still need to construct the door frame properly and the face of the structure, add paint, attach edging, connect the electric gate opener and if i have time, line the interior and paint it (the interior) black to limit any reflection.
It will look fantastic Aidin. do you have nice horizions out yourway
Thanks for that Sara, i am looking forward to taking advantages of the view, the horizon is pretty good, some mountains and a couple of trees around but the skies are extremely dark.
the latest image is attached, unfortunately it will stay this way for a little while until i can get down again and continue building.
spent the majority of the day putting in the door frame, the door and the door handle/lock. i also managed to put the cement fibre on the back of the observatory roof along with starting the pine edging. progress is being made, i can't wait for this to be done and dusted !
i have attached a few images which should show it in a bit more detail. The roof runs on 8 rollers each have a load capacity of 85 kgs, not that the roof weighs anywhere near that (my guess would be around 80 - 100 kgs in total) but more to ensure the weight is distributed. the rails are made of 2, 90x45 beams with a notch cut out then glued and screwed together to make a 90x90 beam with a channel. at the moment it runs directly on the timber, i am going to keep an eye on it and if need be i will line it with metal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flugel88
Aidan thanks for sharing your build.
I would be interested to see what you used for your rollers and channel for the roof.
Got any more pictures?
Nice interesting roller design different to all the others I've seen done.
I really like how you have made your walls a little short and your roof section a little taller I'm guessing to improve your field of view.
Something that i would have to consider when i finally get the chance to build one.
My building experience has only gone as far as constructing flat pack furniture so far so its going to be a steep learning curve for me .
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