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Post by davy on Oct 29, 2016 9:22:09 GMT
Well folks,, it's a green light from Carol to get an observatory in her back garden,,the old observatory/ later to be an aviary is getting chopped up and a new observatory getting put in its place,the old astro shed was ok as a start point and learning curve,it was a 6 x 4 double door shed,i insulated it with loft insulation and lined the walls,it was five degrees warmer than ambient temp but realistically the shed was too small.
So lesson's learned. Although on slabs the shed still managed to rot the floor. So this time will be putting in a raised concrete base.
The shiplap shed started to warp it's panels not too long after setting up,, started to curl,wasnt too bothered as shed was lined but for long term I would not recommend a shiplap shed . This time I'm going for a metal shed,these have a ten year guarantee,shed will probably be 8 x 6 if I can squeeze in a 8 x 8 even better,
Looked at all the options for observatory and came up with pitfalls in every scenario, Roll off roof was the initial plan,but space is a big factor and to have a shed larger than 6 x 4 the frame to hold roof would be in next door's garden, switch it around and it would go over fence into communal ground and draw attention to my observatory and the local storage. Lift of section of roof,,too noisy for metal shed and too heavy in wood,so that was out as well. Drop down sections of walls and roof,, shed situated in a fenced in corner with six foot fence, that was out as well.
Roll off shed,would run over path and block off back gate and seriously cut down my fov, south to south west view only.
So solution while not perfect and still needs some tweaking is.
Max 8 x 8 metal shed on raised base,inside shed fully sealed and then loft insulation on walls ,and wood lined,electrics ran in external on wood in case it need's upgraded. White and red lightning and alarm and CCTV fitted,heating via tube radiator and hopefully upgraded to a truck night heater,,everspacker or webasto,, when it can be acquired through my work. Bench and storage built in . The scope will be on a small platform trolley that will get rolled out and risen off its wheels for stability,, hopefully a pier configuration. This will get pushed out on to the path , cables made into a loom and connected to computers. This then givese a warm room with plenty of space to spend a full night observing.and not have to depend on battery power. CCTV cameras will be set up externally and be linked to the ufo software for meteor detection.pc linked to a weather station set up so i can track my own weather.. remote link to observatory from house as well. Spent this year building up equipment and as ken said to me once I have enough equipment to kit out an observatory,this is my new plan,,,as high tech as I can make it and as usual thinking outside the box lol.
This is next year's project
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Post by davy on Dec 8, 2016 19:07:40 GMT
outsideology.com/grid-portfolio/the-arches-observatory/This is the ideal design for me,,few tweaks.like putting entrance at front of observatory under the roof open side and door to scope room on the same line so it leaves undisturbed area for electronics in warm room. Happy chappy..
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Post by Dragon Man on Dec 9, 2016 11:05:35 GMT
outsideology.com/grid-portfolio/the-arches-observatory/This is the ideal design for me,,few tweaks.like putting entrance at front of observatory under the roof open side and door to scope room on the same line so it leaves undisturbed area for electronics in warm room. Happy chappy.. Looks great, but I thought you just said you can't have a roll-off roof? You were going to roll the scope outside and you sit inside. Now I'm confused (which isn't hard for me)
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Post by davy on Dec 9, 2016 13:12:46 GMT
Lol..,,I had done a wee drawing in another thread of this outline last Saturday,, I was going to half the roof and roll it off,,but on this picture i can leave roof as one.. better idea,, no chance of leaking.. this is perfect for me. Just need to make a start next year,, clear the site again,,Carol had to use the space to store stuff ,, scaffolding finally went up to get building work done,,so can't do he haw till that's all done.
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robrj
Member
Posts: 248
home town/country: Escondido, CA
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Post by robrj on Dec 10, 2016 15:37:57 GMT
A clamshell shell design would be a good space saver but ensuring the roof didn't leak would be a challenge.
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Post by davy on Dec 10, 2016 19:14:50 GMT
I think I looked at every design that was put upon forums,websites and utube but nothing seemed to click,,I had thought pent shed with a half roll off roof but was still working out how to waterproof the observatory the internal layout was to be scope as you came in the observatory and have a warm room at rear,,the observatory image I posted link to just clicked with me,,,a full roll off roof that came only half way and covered the warm room,,bingo.the easiest solution was the best... the door will be located under the roll off roof and line up with internal door to scope room,,I won't have windows in mine for security reasons. Internally the shed will be insulated and lined ,floor will be insulated and have a second floor added to keep the heat in. The warm room will have a base station computer and monitor, a feed to second monitor installed in scope room, because the internal layout has changed I can now put in a pier,, I will use as many if the eqmod functions as I can,, tour option will be handy and game pad will be added, the base station will have my CCTV DVR linked to it via easycap and be used for all sky and eventually meteor capture via ufo capture software,, scope cameras will be linked to laptop.. the shed will allow broadcasting at sometime in the future as well..that's the idea anyhow. Going to be a big investment but will need to last a long time.
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Post by johnno on Dec 10, 2016 22:57:45 GMT
yep, you'll have to have it well insulated with all the bad weather you get up there, the damp conditions at this time of year will play havoc with everything.
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Post by davy on Dec 10, 2016 23:17:21 GMT
Looking forward to the build,, astronomy wise it looks a wash out again weather wise,so now i know I will be building the observatory I'm not too bothered this year,, will concentrate the early half of the year on getting the observatory the way I want it. And you ain't kidding about the weather John,,damp and dreary and has had some really cold weather .
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Dec 20, 2016 16:18:21 GMT
Do you have a lot of nights where you have some windows of clearness, or are bad nights usually a complete washout?
An obs really pays off when you have a 2 hour window because you can be up and running so quickly.
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Post by davy on Dec 20, 2016 17:41:02 GMT
Really tight fov from flat windows and light pollution pretty bad,, if and when the observatory is ready I can be set up in jig time,will have combinations of camera's In operation ,, CCTV cameras linked to DVR and static mounts for all sky observing,, DSLR cameras on heq5 with twin scopes., Just now the weather is so bad,that by time I sorted a basic set up,,I'd be pulling it apart minutes later , it's that bad😞
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Dec 22, 2016 18:28:06 GMT
I have those nights sometimes too, Davy. I wish I could have an observatory but my trees leave me no option but to move or find a little land out of the city.
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Post by davy on Dec 22, 2016 19:46:21 GMT
Don't get me wrong I'm filling my trousers,,lol, building one in carols is a big investment, £500 for the shed I want then to convert it to roll off roof, fit a pier ,construct a warm room ,fully insulate the shed, electrics, PC weather station,cloud sensor, I'm going to be out some serious money,, so I need to keep in carol's good books,,😞. But what is my options,, I've tried the portable set up this year so far and it's a wash out, so because of the weather,a dedicated observatory is the only way to go. It really appeals to me,flick a few switches and roll a roof off and quick check on polar alignment and start videoing and imaging. I can start adding in kit,like the off axis guider, and filter wheel and narrowband filters next year to supplement the modded canon 450d.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2016 13:07:32 GMT
Hi davy, Good luck with your observatory building. I remember my first build about 20 years ago. Split roll off roof and it was a brick building. There was the big mistake "brick" ok in winter but very bad in summer. I like your design but if you can and a lot of people don't do this but split roof is great not a full roll off roof. Then depending where your imaging you don't have to have the full Observatory open. But of course the roof is tricker to build and get right. Also insulation and ventilation you have to get right to make sure you don't get mould on equipment, a lot of people forget this! A full open Observatory can get a lot of moisture in it then you lock it up mould can build up quickly. I found out the hard way. Little things I did not think of first time. Even window placement and door placement makes a difference. So many things to get right in a Observatory we think of our telescopes which is great but if the Observatory is not right then it can be frustrating. Put everything down on paper many times And draw it out many times to to it all right because in the end you will be glad you did. All the best with it. In the mean time I await my Sky Pod to arrive. David.
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Post by davy on Dec 26, 2016 14:05:42 GMT
Hi David,,the roof will only half roll off, inside will be two compartment large as possible scope room and small warm room,, from a closed position it will only roll back to a position that the roof will cover the warm room and the rest of the roof will be supported by the skeleton frame support,, no windows in the design,, warm room and shed will be well insulated and will open door to scope room when finishing a session to stabilise the temp,, initially I will have shed pipe style heaters but will be putting in an everspacker or webasto night heater set up,,my work does repairs and installation if these so I'm very knowledgeable in this,,cost peanuts to run but are expensive to buy,, But with superior heating and can be programmed to come on and off and a frost guard switch would be used. I don't bother drawing it out now lol,,it's all done in my head now,,full schematic lol,, as I've said it will be a few quid spent on it,, initial start within two months,by third she should be in place and month four I will start conversion to rot and warm room, month 5 will have security system and electricity fitted,month six floor cut out and pier dug out and fitted, month seven. Weather station and meteor detection cameras fitted,month 8 snagging. Then upgrade to stage 2 heating and ventilation after 1st season findings,,line scope room with insulation and line with pine. Unrealistic of course but that's the plan lol
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2016 22:08:32 GMT
Hi David,,the roof will only half roll off, inside will be two compartment large as possible scope room and small warm room,, from a closed position it will only roll back to a position that the roof will cover the warm room and the rest of the roof will be supported by the skeleton frame support,, no windows in the design,, warm room and shed will be well insulated and will open door to scope room when finishing a session to stabilise the temp,, initially I will have shed pipe style heaters but will be putting in an everspacker or webasto night heater set up,,my work does repairs and installation if these so I'm very knowledgeable in this,,cost peanuts to run but are expensive to buy,, But with superior heating and can be programmed to come on and off and a frost guard switch would be used. I don't bother drawing it out now lol,,it's all done in my head now,,full schematic lol,, as I've said it will be a few quid spent on it,, initial start within two months,by third she should be in place and month four I will start conversion to rot and warm room, month 5 will have security system and electricity fitted,month six floor cut out and pier dug out and fitted, month seven. Weather station and meteor detection cameras fitted,month 8 snagging. Then upgrade to stage 2 heating and ventilation after 1st season findings,,line scope room with insulation and line with pine. Unrealistic of course but that's the plan lol Davy that sounds very nice I look forward to seeing your pictures. One thing I love to do on the net is look at everyone's Observatorys and how they are all set up there so many great ones in the world it's fantastic. And what ever works for each individual is perfect for them to give them pleasure under the stars the ultimate end game. again all the very best with yours. regards David.
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Post by davy on Dec 26, 2016 23:15:02 GMT
This is the design. There will be no windows and the entrance will be on the end and the roll off roof,to the corner nearest us,so it gives me a bit of depth for a bench at the end and I can mount monitors on wall in front of bench,heater under bench to keep me warm sitting in one place for a while, door into scope room will be parallel to outside door and will be mortice locked as well as a second security feature,shed will have a very substantial security system,combination of security cameras,high pitch sirens and strobes to disorient any nosy buggers , external camera on house wall will put pir siecurity lights up as well.. and kit will be insured.
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Post by davy on Dec 26, 2016 23:28:08 GMT
On the picture I put up the uncovered end wall and wall with door and windows a wide angled lens camera will be set up a all sky cameras with views from south east to south,these will eventually be linked to ufo capture software for meteor detection. Outer wall at door side will have weather station sensors fitted,this will have PC interface for precise local weather reports to help predict good nights and I'm interested in the hitecastro cloud/rain sensor as well,,.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2016 7:27:00 GMT
Davy sounds and looks a great project all the best with it.
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Post by fondofchips on Dec 27, 2016 11:15:53 GMT
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Post by davy on Dec 27, 2016 11:50:34 GMT
Hi harry, I would like windows in the observatory for a bit of light ect but security is a big issue where I am,if I fitted a window, I would be as well leaving the observatory door open, a bathroom extractor fan could go in but I think it's overkill given design of the observatory,, with roll off roof,the scope room is very well ventilated,and warm room will have two doors, one external and one internal to aid ventilation,, after a king donner kebab it will be handy 😂.. heating wise year one will be basic tube heaters to take the chill off the observatory,its a hard one to sort out pre build keeping condensation in check,but with information from the weather station and thermometers I hope to keep it too a minimum,second year as I have said I will install a night heater you find in trucks and motorhomes, these are thermostatically controlled by a temp sensor in the unit or in the fancy control box,a simple t piece on the hot air pipe will supply hot air into both scope room and warm room, closable vent in scope room will divert hot air to warm room, roll off roof will bring scope room to outside ambient air temperature,an optional frost guard switch mounted externally to the shed can bring heater on automatically to warm the observatory, if I go for an everspacker over a webasto I can use the Edith software/hardware to control heater via PC remotely.but that's just going overboard but may be handy for remote observatory.
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