For the last few years I have been doing some imaging from a dark site an hour or so north of Newcastle
The location wasn’t ideal for an observatory due to dust and privacy but a recent move very nearby means I can get this started.
3 rules
Keep it small
Use recycled materials wherever possible
Make it pretty
1 principle
Build it so that it can be used before it’s finished. I need to be running as soon as the concrete pour has cured
This is my second build so I have learnt a few things.
1) I don’t need a warm room
2) don’t over engineer
3) design for automation - the roof on the existing shob is pretty heavy.
The location is at the foot of the Barrington tops.
The nearest street light is a 25 minute drive away at 90KPH (as is nearest coffee:sadeyes )
From six Maps you can see the layout. South is at bottom and the pier will be located in between and to the rear of the two trees along the boundary.
There will be a clear run North above 45 degrees and the same for East and South. I don’t generally image to the west because of heat from the house and the fact that the object is dropping.
At the end of each stage I can image, adapt what I have done based on what I have learnt, and stop whenever I please if I think I have got the most value that I need from the build.
There are lots of things I could include but I don’t want them to stop me from actually imaging if I don’t do them.
Below is my imaging journey map for the first release.
From Left to Right you see the order that things will be done in and from Top to Bottom you can see the capabilities I can consider.
Everything above the red line is my MVP, (My Minimum Viable Product) that will allow me to image and still add extras if I chose to.
The larger the sticky, the more value it means to me.
The first release covers covers the Pier, Network connectivity and Power. (No walls and no roof! Aka a permanent pier )
This weekend I hope to get the rebar cage and concrete pour done
Last edited by DJT; 10-03-2021 at 06:45 AM.
Reason: Journey map updated, don’t need a design as part of MVP
David ,
We have a dob "pad", absolutely functional and minimal.
It is about a third of an old 44 gallon drum (one end). With end cut out and the rim retained.
A circular trench, say four inches deep, to receive the cut end. Place the drum and level it, then
pack the trench
fill the drum with rocks to an inch below the top of the rim
pre-mix cement to make a nice surface at the rim level
A perfect base for Sky watcher dobs. No observable movement in a couple of years.
David ,
We have a dob "pad", absolutely functional and minimal.
It is about a third of an old 44 gallon drum (one end). With end cut out and the rim retained.
A circular trench, say four inches deep, to receive the cut end. Place the drum and level it, then
pack the trench
fill the drum with rocks to an inch below the top of the rim
pre-mix cement to make a nice surface at the rim level
A perfect base for Sky watcher dobs. No observable movement in a couple of years.
Chris
Noice!
I have a dob I will put next to the obsy from time to time and sounds like that’s a great pad idea.
So, after some of the worst form work ever done in the history of observatory builds the footing for the pier is in and the pier mounted. It’s level and the mount is pointed in the right direction. I will do polar alignment via PemPro this weekend.
I have also sorted out a good wifi connection using a spare mobile broadband device and can Remote into a Lenovo M90n Nano that sits on the mount. I have no NBN here so all interweb is via mobile broadband which works fine with 2 adults permanently in teams meetings.
I haven’t yet found a DC adapter that includes Lenovas “slim fit”connection but I can run power temporarily whilst I figure out options.
I could happily call it quits now as I can image and this solves a problem but the key goal here is to do unattended imaging to increase the amount of data I can collect.
So what’s next? A little bit of design work to get approval from Carolyn then I will build the platform using wood I am recycling from a deck I am replacing and look at power options.
I have sourced a roll off roof solution by scope dome. If anyone has experiences or tips they would like to share please shout out. Not pulled the trigger yet so keen to get real experiences.
My solution may also give you some ideas for an interim step. It is very similar in concept to Bojan’s solution. From memory, my total cost was under $100.
My solution may also give you some ideas for an interim step. It is very similar in concept to Bojan’s solution. From memory, my total cost was under $100.
You only need cover like this... (it is small water tank I found in Bunnings)
I used it as temporary arrangement for years...
Thanks
Both those ideas would work well but odds are this will be a fairly quick project in terms of the physical build part so i will use a 365 scope cover for the short term.
I rapidly gave up on any ideas of DIY automation as the risk to equipment outweighs the cost of a turnkey solution for an unattended solution. I expect there will plenty of debugging going on even with that.
There is a key goal at play here which is to increase image capture time 5 fold by the end of this year and increasing again next year through further automation.
If I can get to that I can commit to contributing to some projects.
Well then..
It’s been 21 months since the pier went in and not much has happened since.
It’s been a challenging couple of years but it’s game on for 2023.
The frame for the deck has finally been started. It’s quite a steep slope so it will be a raised deck.
On top of this there will eventually be a quite small roll off Obsy cunningly disguised as a woodshed (design signed off by CFO) with a bench area on the deck for looking down the valley and will incorporate into the deck a pad for the Dob based on the Oil drum idea below.
The goal for this iteration therefore is finish the deck and so be able to use and store my Dob.
Hi Trevor
I have no have plans either, keeping it “fluid” as they say.
Decking part was finished today. Will be measuring up the the ply for the floor of the ROR space and also thinking about whether or not to use decking boards or Marine ply for the area around the dob base once the oil drum is in.
Toying with the idea of incorporating manual setting circles in that area.
As a dev who lives day to day life in an agile environment, I love the planning here, and certainly understand wanting to iterate on the plan.. getting the pier sorted first will at least mean during the build period, you can benefit from the advantages of having static polar alignment and quicker deployment/tear down times.
Once the pier and mount are up and running, you'll be able to easily visualise the requirements for inside the obs. Where things need to be, maximising the floor space and cleverly routing cables in the most logical way etc.
And….up and running again after a bit of a hiatus. Sourced an abandoned drum, filled it and added concrete to finish it off then completed the rest of the deck.
Took the dob out for its first spin this weekend after a much needed mirror clean and after building a roll off cover which it turns out is great for holding eye pieces and wine glasses.
Now to get the observatory up. I can’t do any imaging out of Sydney now after council put an unshielded LED light outside the house. Apparently they feel it’s necessary to light up the bottom of the garden, 40 metres away from the road. Have asked council to arrange to fit a shield which they said they had arranged but not done..
Looks like it’s pretty hopeless now for this site so time to push on with the original plan.
Excuse daggy picture
Quote:
Originally Posted by muletopia
David ,
We have a dob "pad", absolutely functional and minimal.
It is about a third of an old 44 gallon drum (one end). With end cut out and the rim retained.
A circular trench, say four inches deep, to receive the cut end. Place the drum and level it, then
pack the trench
fill the drum with rocks to an inch below the top of the rim
pre-mix cement to make a nice surface at the rim level
A perfect base for Sky watcher dobs. No observable movement in a couple of years.
Now to get the observatory up. I can’t do any imaging out of Sydney now after council put an unshielded LED light outside the house. Apparently they feel it’s necessary to light up the bottom of the garden, 40 metres away from the road. Have asked council to arrange to fit a shield which they said they had arranged but not done..
They are astronomy killers those LED street lights, I have one across the street from my front yard and it lights up 70 percent of my back yard like a Friday night football game. The only dark area of the yard is surrounded by 30 foot high tress, making it useless but I'm going to get onto the council, they are illegal trees right on the neighbours fence line and if she trims them to 10 feet I'll be happy, otherwise it's some poison but I don't want to end up breaking the law and causing myself problems.
My back yard also has the glow from McDonald's up on the highway and Hungry Jacks on my side of the highway 2 blocks away, it's torture and sees me not bothering even taking my gear out much at all.
I hope you find a decent solution at minimal expense David.
When I was a kid a sling shot, slug gun or 22 fixed all of my light problems......
)
