I was lucky enough to acquire a second hand Sirius Observatory earlier this year (it was about 6 years old). I had been thinking about putting up a ROR shed or something similar, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Last weekend, most of the install was done to my backyard (
Install Photos).
Some things to be aware of if you do get a second hand unit:
* I made an error with the observatory positioning, such that I can't open the lower shutter all the way when it's near the shed. Although annoying, I can work around this fairly easily by having the shutter only partly unfolded. It would be quite rare that I would be pointing that low anyway as it's only to the east that it's even possible, and for those occasions I'll override the partial unfold.
* If you change the layout of the panels, which I had no choice but to do, there's some internal guard-type panels that will no longer fit correctly - the drill holes will be all wrong. These will need correcting or remaking (it's fibreglass btw).
* I was fortunate that the original owner had bolted the observatory to concrete floor, but had not put the bolts through the fibreglass, but used square "washer" plates to hold it down. This means I'll be able to do the same without needing to match current holes in the observatory wall panel floor, etc.
I've still got some distance to go with this yet before it's all complete, so if I discover anything more I'll add it here. I'll be able to start using it soon anyway, even if it's not all done (e.g. I'll run a power cable out for a while until I organise permanent electrical access).
