Further development in the last week or so. We are working on the passive cooling of the containers. A whirly bird has been installed with ground vents and the containers have been spray painted in surf mist. So far the improvement has been significant on the internal temperatures. Next step is to create an insulative box within the container which holds the batteries and power systems. That should then hold day temperatures to 26 degrees C all year round.
Hi Paul, that sounds pretty good. Is the insulated box within the container going to be touching the inside walls, or will it be a box (much smaller) with the container? Just thinking about any heat that the batteries give off, needing to escape and a too small a insulated box for the batteries, holding that heat in.
Looks great so far, its going to be a lovely facility.
Hi Paul, that sounds pretty good. Is the insulated box within the container going to be touching the inside walls, or will it be a box (much smaller) with the container? Just thinking about any heat that the batteries give off, needing to escape and a too small a insulated box for the batteries, holding that heat in.
Looks great so far, its going to be a lovely facility.
Yes the insulation will be touching the side walls. Problem being that batteries rack is bolted to the floor and the batteries are very heavy to move at 70kgs each. It is a bit of an oversight but there are solutions to the problem.
Regarding the heat the batteries give off I will construct the box to be about half the size of the container, allowing room for expansion with another power station later when we build another shed.
Yes the insulation will be touching the side walls. Problem being that batteries rack is bolted to the floor and the batteries are very heavy to move at 70kgs each. It is a bit of an oversight but there are solutions to the problem.
Regarding the heat the batteries give off I will construct the box to be about half the size of the container, allowing room for expansion with another power station later when we build another shed.
It occurred to me that you could significantly increase the insulating value of the container if you spaced the insulation off the container wall by 50 to 100mm.
It occurred to me that you could significantly increase the insulating value of the container if you spaced the insulation off the container wall by 50 to 100mm.
Final testing tonight of one of the dome imaging systems. That being the AG12 and QSI683 on PME mount. Seeing looks pretty reasonable overall. Guiding looks good too. Now just to collect lots of data. It's been a rather dry spell.
What about site security Paul, 10ft fence, barbed wire, robotic dog, CCTV, alarm, minefield, etc
Hi Trevor, some of this is already in play. We have CCTV and alarm systems in place. We have been reliably informed that we cannot place a minefield on the site, so I guess that is not going to happen . Not sure about the robotic dog either. I am pretty sure I don't have the capital for that outlay . A fence is on the agenda when we are approaching being online with customers. Although locals in the area have advised being inconspicuous. Large fences and signs apparently attract unwanted attention. For now it is pretty well secure with high security locks to all doors and the cameras informing of any intrusions to the site. None as yet fortunately.
We are still awaiting a development approval for our first shed at Swan Reach Imaging. The delay in approval has obviously set back the installation date. We are hopefully that we will have the shed installed and operational in February 2022 given how close to Christmas we are now.
In the interim though we are testing the site with imaging in our dome. So far the site is looking very good. In the last 80 days we have had around 77% totally clear nights and a further 6% of nights being partially clear. Given this data came from winter and spring weather that bodes well for imaging nights being offered at Swan Reach Imaging over the course of any year.
Transparency looks very good; we note that the sky looks very clear. Darkness is at 21.98-21.99 on moonless nights. Seeing is also looking very good too with FWHM values on data around 1.5"-1.8" on a regular basis. Some previous data at a another site within the International Dark Sky Reserve show that seeing can be as low as 1.3"-1.4".
I have attached an image of data taken from three sites (Clayton, Home and Swan Reach) but much of it is coming from Swan Reach Imaging. It is Ha data 780 minutes of calibrated and stacked data. Star sizes are native. Some minor processing has been done to show the core and outer regions better.
Exciting times for us and we are keen to get the entire facility and operational so that we can share those skies with clients.
Great news today with the Roll off Roof observatory finally gaining building consent. This means that all approvals have now been made and our builder can finally move to build the structure and install it on site. We hope this means the roll off roof will be installed in the next 6 weeks and that we can commission the observatory shortly afterwards.
We have been quite busy at Swan Reach imaging. In the last couple of months we have started installing one of two sheds on site. This shed is my business partners roll off roof shed which is 4.5m x 3m. I have attached some images of the construction which I have undertaken over the last month. I only have to install the ridge cap and the cladding is complete and water tight. We then plan on having the concrete slab (200mm) laid next week by a contractor and then the final commissioning of this shed will commence.
We have also installed a 1100 litre rain water tank to hold some water for cleaning and construction. With the help of jerry cans and a bit of rain on site that is now filled.
The big shed is being manufactured by our builder at present and we anticipate that installation on site will occur within 5-6 weeks.
Concrete has now been poured in Jarrod's observatory. The slab is 200mm thick and this gives a wall height inside of 1600mm. In the coming weeks we will apply an epoxy sealant to the floor, install power, coms, piers and roof drive system, with any luck this shed will be operational in a month or so.
Finally I can report that the big roll off roof is being installed on site at Swan Reach Imaging on site by Apex Home Improvements. In two days they have dug the holes and installed the bottom frame of the shed. When it is finished it will look like the smaller shed. Very soon we will be commissioning the observatory and then we will be looking for customers. It's starting to get exciting now.
Today the roof structure was installed and I watched it being opened and closed easily remotely with two guys sanding on it. It opened moved very easily without jamming and that fulfils my primary requirements. Tomorrow I think the walls get sheeted and the concrete for the posts and outriggers is poured. Friday the roof gets sheeted. Perhaps by the weekend the shed will be competed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
Looking good Paul, you are going to have a lot of scope space.. and I know the feeling but, sheesh..feels like things take forever sometimes though
Mike
Ps. my 3M Scopedome arrives this weekend
Mike I think we will get perhaps 12-14 scopes in the big shed.
It will be exciting getting your dome. Having installed a couple now, just remember you will need heaps of silicone tubes. Double what is in the manual is best.
Well the roof did not go on today as it was too windy. However I did get to open and close the roof; it was a one handed hardly pushing at all effort. Perfect engineering, fabrication and installation. It's going to be an awesome shed. I have included some images of the shed detail. There are some images of the finish detail.
To say I am highly impressed is an understatement. It's a dream come true and it did not cost an arm and a leg.