New ,totally automatic Clamshell Observatory

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Well, Ive been real busy this week.

On a conversation with Aussiepete (of MMS fame), he gave me the inspiration to build my own, thats all it took. But if it wasnt for Pete I wouldnt have thought of it, thank you Pete, you have the talent to motivate at
precisely the right time ;-).

http://fredsastro.googlepages.com/observatory

The full explanation is with the pics. Its far from finished and
looks rough at this stage, but the plan was to make a totally
automatic, reliable, functional Obs at a fraction (10%, some $1200)
of the price of a commercial dome. Pretty it aint.

Deliberately, it is made almost enirely from bits from Bunnings
(except for the drive system and PLC (controller)), and designed to
be easily assembled and maintained in a remote feild situation. All it requires in
open/close commands fron the Obs PC, and the simple inexpensive PLC
($250) controls all drive and saftey functions.

Ive searched the net and cant find anything like this design. Im
supprised it hasnt been done before, its so simple and inexpensive.

Ill post a video of it working when the PLC is installed.

Cheers
Fred

[jase (Jason)]

Geez Fred, looks like a glorified kitchen sink or Mechano set. Pretty it ain't, but practical it is.

So what is the estimated unobstructed view of the sky (in degrees) when complete?

My hat goes off to both yourself and Pete. Well done.

Cheers

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

What a Ripper Fred. I've seen this style of observatory before at Eric Rumbo's place in BrisVegas, but not with the simplicity, ease of construction and with automation. Looking forward to seeing the finished product

[Bassnut (Fred)]

hehe, trust you Jase, yeah, the counterweights do poke up somewhat when fully opened, but with the Obs front pointing north, the ME raises the OTA at the corners (where the counterweights are) so that the obsruction is at a minimum, (and they are the furtherest away, at the corners) certainly less than 20deg from the horison. I cant test it with the rig, its just too hard without a suitable pier. Direct north, south, west and east, viewing is almost to the horison.

Im open to critisism though, how close to the horison would you be inclined to image?.

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Paul, thanks, do have a web link for Erics effort?.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

No unfortunately, I don't think he has a website. I may have a photo or two somewhere one a computer, I'll have a look see.

[skeltz (Rob)]

very interesting design fred! but i still like a dome due to the fact that the wind doesn,t worry them so much...and where i come from we can get a bit of it.
But hey good to see something constructive and new
CHEERS ROB

[g__day (Matthew)]

Innovative Fred - doesn't the RCOS look impressive on top of the Paramount. Have you mastered it all yet? Are you using the Sky6 and Tpoint to push it round?

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Rob, you have a point there, it is suspectible to wind, theres swings and slides. I have found the ME to be stable in a strong breeze, but this is a downside. The lack of thermals mitigate this weakness somewhat. And also the cost .

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Yeah, the PME needs Sky6 just to work at all, and then theres the commercial license............. Tpoint also provides a painless pointing experience, along with the other endless apps. Remote imaging is a mine feild, Brad Moore is one of the few (only?) bods to make this all possible, my hat off to his tireless efforts.