Building the Home Observatory

Striker (Tony) · #1 08-03-2005, 05:51 PM

HI All,

I am considering building an Observatory in my back yard.....What I would like to know and would make a great thread is....

People who have built one......what not to do and what to look out for....

How much and where you can buy a Dome Observatory.

How to build one from a garden shed or any other method....

Just basicly idea's to help out someone like myself and others who is considering one.....but just dont know which way to go.

I can sell it to the misses as a Garden shed...That I have worked out.....it's the moveable roof thats the problem.

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #2 08-03-2005, 05:57 PM

Excellent Idea Tony.

Quote:

Originally posted by Striker
I can sell it to the misses as a Garden shed...That I have worked out.....it's the moveable roof thats the problem.

How are you going to convince the missus that rakes, Mowers and shovels need a domed roof? lol

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #3 08-03-2005, 06:13 PM

.

Striker (Tony) · #4 08-03-2005, 06:19 PM

Mike....I want Ken banned from this thread......lol

I want practical information...for all who are intersted in such a project.....do you ever see me writing rubish on other threads....lol...woops my mistake...hehehe

westsky · #5 08-03-2005, 06:30 PM

Tony domes start around $6000.00
better get a Titan :-))

westsky · #6 08-03-2005, 06:33 PM

You gotta open the roof to let the insects out, or if birds fly in there then they can get out
there's a thousand reasons for having the roof open pick one and tell her.:-))

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #7 08-03-2005, 06:45 PM

How about a small Silo or a Plastic domed-top water tank.(with a bit of work to make the roof spin and open)

There must be a rural supplier near Brisbane somewhere.

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #8 08-03-2005, 07:00 PM

Tanks come in all sizes. Cut a door in the side, and work out a way to rotate the top.

Comet Hunter · #9 08-03-2005, 07:04 PM

If you're looking for ideas Tony try Amateur Observatories Some sites are very informative, others not so....

Astroman (Andrew Wall) · #10 08-03-2005, 07:26 PM

My dome was originally built by someone else, I bought it for $250. Biggest mistake was not asking for instructions on how the original owner was going to build it. He designed it from the ground up, and I had to work out how and what he was doing. Although it looks good now, alot of effort went into the design of it.

GO ROLL OFF!!! Getting home made domes to rotate properly is a PITA. Especially when the base and top are slightly warped.

I still need some help getting the dome to rotate correctly, I am thinking skate board wheels will do the job.

I have been on this project since 1998, I am sure in 2098 it may be completed.

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #11 08-03-2005, 07:40 PM

Andrew,

I'll be in that site for months, Wow, so much to look at. Thank you.

Striker (Tony) · #12 08-03-2005, 07:51 PM

Great Site Andrew...I too will be in their for hours......

I dont really want a Dome or water tank...I would prefer a shed (wooden or Metal) bit more practical.......

Comet Hunter · #13 08-03-2005, 07:54 PM

Yep! I was when I found it

As I said though, there are some really good sites in there - but some/most aren't all that helpfull - depending on what kind of detail you're looking for of course...just a matter of slowly working through them

rumples riot · #14 08-03-2005, 08:19 PM

First things first.

The Pier and its footings. There are several schools of thought. This is the one that I chose. The footing should be a minimum of 220kg of concrete, more is better. This is roughly 500 x 600 x 500mm. The hole should be belled out at the bottom of the hole. This hole should be completely isolated from any other concrete and therefore poured first with a rubber strip running around the pier concrete. Then the pier should be a minimum of 140mm in diameter. It needs to be precision welded so that top and bottom plates are 90 degrees exactly.

Anyway, you can see all the tips that I made on the thread for Blackwood Observatory.

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #15 08-03-2005, 08:34 PM

Tony,

For a really attractive wooden shed, how about a cubby house. Maybe someone could help you rig the roof to slide off.

www.aaronsoutdoor.com.au is a good example for ideas.

Striker (Tony) · #16 08-03-2005, 08:37 PM

They look great Ken...My neigbour is a retired carpenter......"time for him to get out of retirement".......I am going to speak to him....

mch62 (Mark) · #17 09-03-2005, 08:18 AM

Try this link .
Basic info for construction.
Check your council building codes or be discrete in the construction.
You never know who is watching.
I asked all sorts of questions about a dome and the codes and the building inspector didn't have a clue about domes and ratings.
In my shire , max area not requiring a permit is 10m2.
So my observatory is 3.15 x 3.15 which works out to be more than large enough for a Newtonian.
The next thing is height restrictions and again different councils have different heights .eg 2.4m for me , others are 2.7 ect ect.
This kinda rules out a dome for me.
A dome becomes quite high and sticks out like a sore thumb , unless you camouflage it.

I have gone with a roll off roof , to keep the height down below my restriction.
This also only looks like a garden shed when closed.
Also offers open unrestricted views of the sky and is a lot cheaper and time consuming than making a dome.
If you design the base and walls properly and with a dome in mind you can always make one at a latter date once the neighbours have gotten used to the new shed.

I am about half way finished on mine at the moment.
Just putting in the pier for the fork mount.

Don't skimp on the size of the pier and base.
Bigger is better.

A rough rule of thumb is to have the pier the size of the scope objective but this depends on design and height and weight of the scope.

A good place to get a steel pier material in Brissy is East Coast pipe supplies.They sell old mining pipes and off cuts.
I got a 355mm x 6mm x1.8m for $120 for example.
I have my old steel 220mm x 1.8m pier if you need one.
You can use a concrete pipe but steel allows you to weld shelves ect to it.
You need lotsa concrete for the base 1m x1m x1m is not uncommon for a pier but again it will depend on scope size and design and height , and you also need to fill the pier.

The Mapelton observatory base is this size , but the pier is fairly high and undersized and dampening times could be better.

last but not least , remember one thing ---aperture fever.
Is it going to take a larger scope later on.

Mark

http://www.homedome.com/online.htm

Striker (Tony) · #18 09-03-2005, 10:09 AM

Thanks heaps Mark........

I will be speaking to Council and whats your thoughts on a solid round Concrete Pier instead of steel...surley their would be less vibration and movement in Concrete then steel...even though a solid steel pier is great...

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #19 09-03-2005, 11:02 AM

Speaking of councils: Gordon, one of the members at our Ballarat Society had an old falling down shed in his back yard.

He spent two years in his spare time buiding a brick observatory INSIDE the old shed. He also made a dome and left it out in the yard to get dusty, overgrown with grass and old looking.

When he had finished the building he let it sit for a few months gathering dust and rat dropping.

When he was happy that it looked cruddy enough he went to council and asked if he could pull down an old shed in his back yard so he can use the old observatory inside it! (He supplied photos of the inside showing a messy, dusty observatory)

Permission was given. All he did was swep it out, hosed it all down, placed the dome on (with about 5 friends) and was in business.

This was in a small town just outside Ballarat called Elaine.

Cheeky bugger!

p.s. Gordon was about 70y.o. when he did this.

mch62 (Mark) · #20 09-03-2005, 12:52 PM

Yep , you can use a concrete pipe but they only come in 2440mm long. You use to be able to get shorter ones at 1200 & 1800 but i was unable to find them any more.
You can how ever break the end with a mallet and cut the rio inside to get the length you want .That end will go in the hole as it will be butchered. Either that or dig your hole deeper.
You will need threaded rode to put inside to attach a mounting plate use 5/8 or 3/4".You will still need to fill with concrete the same as the metal pipe. They come in about a 350mm OD 300mm ID depending on manufacturer.
Will be cheaper than the metal pipe but the metal ones will allow welding directly to them for brackets and eyepiece holders ect.
It's up to you which way to go.
Weather it's a concrete pipe ,steel pipe or a round sono tube it's filling the inside and making it's mass greater that is going to shorten the dampening times.
You can even make a square form mold out of ply and fill it with concrete.Remove the ply and you have a solid hunk of concrete with a large mass.
When I first did my old pier for my refractor in a concrete pipe I didn't fill it with concrete , how ever it 's dampening was good but was notably heaps better when filled .
I't's the mass that is more important then the cross sectional size , but a 12"concrete pipe will do it for you.
Remember to bell the bottom of your hole to give a larger foot print for the base. Also take into concidereration the off set weight of a fork mount on a pier. A GEM is located directly over the pier where as a fork has the mass off from the centre of the pier. Although the meade wedges sit forward a bit to keep the weight more over the centre of a tripode.
A concrete pipe will cost about $90 depending on where you get it.
Mark