Magellan Boy Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) A photojournal of the construction of my new observatory in Belper. This will use a Skyshed POD XL-1 and Skyshed pier, and house a 10" Meade ACF SCT and Altair Super ED 80/480 APO on an NEQ6 Pro mount. 8th October 2012 The site untouched The site de-turfed - there goes the only flat area of lawn in my garden! The decking frame has been started. The support posts on the western side have been extended upwards to accomodate a movable tarpaulin screen to block stray light from next door. 9th October 2012The outer frame of the decking is complete and the all important hole for the pier foundation has been dug Close up of the 'ole. It's about 3 feet deep and around 45 cm on a side Concrete is poured into the 'ole Test fit of the template holding the foundation bolts with the (upside down) Skyshed Pier base The template has been pressed into the concrete and levelled. Shuttering surrounds this upper section of the foundation 10th October 2012The decking joists are in place and a weed surpressing permeable membrane has been placed on the ground surface The plywood template is removed from the pier base to check on the concrete. Some air bubbles have caused the lunar like surface but the surface itself is otherwise completely level. The shuttering will be left in place around the concrete. Note the gap between the pier base and the decking joists - this is to prevent any vibration from the decking reaching the pier (when I jump up and down like a big kid during observing...sometimes) An 'in-situ' test fit of the pier onto the pier base. This is starting to look like an observatory! The plywood template was put back to simulate a gasket I intend to place between the pier and the concrete. This test fit helps in working out how the decking will fit around the pier. Half the decking boards are now in place. We've used a smooth upper surface rather than the grooved one normally employed in garden decking. This is to provide a relatively smooth surface upon which to build the POD and prevent water running under the dome along those pesky grooves. Actually I plan to seat the POD on cushion vinyl flooring - but all being well that's later in this story. We've left a 4mm gap between the decking boards to allow for any expansion of the wood. Gravel has also been added around the edges of the structure to hide any unsightly membrane and improve drainage. The pier is offset on the decking but will be central to the POD, with one bay sticking out at the north-west (top right) corner. 12th October 2012The decking has been cut to fit around the hole for the pier. A frame of wooden slats has been placed around the inside edge of the hole in the decking. This frame will support a removable wooden cut-out which will fit around the pier. We've left the plywood template on for now but will replace it with a gasket when we fit the pier proper. Those small screws at the corners of the template will help remove it again. A removable plywood cutout has been made to fit around the pier. Another test fit of the pier, showing how the cutout fits around the fins, but leaving a small gap. The completed decking, pier foundations, removable cutout and 'light-shield' suppprt posts. Job done...for now 22nd December 2012The POD has finally arrived! I'm storing it in the garage until it's assembled. Here we see the bay, the other 5 wall sections and the 4 dome segments. I've gone for an XL1 with midnight grey walls and lunar grey dome. No room for any more bays on my plot. I think the one bay is quite cavernous as it is! Note the all important tubes of Lexel sealant. As I may wait until spring now to do the assembly the dome segments are being stored on their side to prevent warping of the base flange. 25th May 2013 Cushion vinyl flooring has been loose laid across the decking. This should provide a good seal under the POD walls as well as a nice floor for the interior. It will probably be trimmed back to the walls once the POD is affixed in place. I'll also make a cutout for the pier. The vinyl is 3.8mm thick so if I drop any eyepieces they should survive! Actually...it would look good in my kitchen... The four dome segments and the bay have been moved onto the decking. I was mightily relieved that they fitted down the side of my house! Hmmm...maybe I could interest the Tate Modern in my 'sculpture'! 2nd June 2013 The primary dome has been bolted together ...followed by the secondary dome. Lexel sealant has been applied to the join on both dome halves. Being totally clear it is almost invisible in this picture. It runs all the way along the join both inside and out. I left the sealant two weeks to cure before continuing to work on the dome. Lexel is amazing stuff and is far superior to silicone. I found it far easier to work with as well. I might use some in the bathroom... 9th June 2013 The skate wheels have been added to the wall sections. The dome will ride on these. 15th June 2013 Metal flange plates have been screwed to the base of the primary dome. These plates will ride on the skate wheels atop the walls. The string was an attempt to maintain compression of the dome segments - in order to help keep circularity while the plates were attached. We also used some legwork. The primary dome has been flipped onto its flange and a rubber L-gasket has been added to the remaining edge. This gasket will provide a weather seal between the primary and secondary dome when the latter is closed. I am very grateful to Mike Dumelow, Anthony Southwell and Tony Barker of the Derby & District AS for their kind assistance in the construction of my POD. Edited July 27, 2013 by Magellan Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Love it Mike, a tutorial on building an obsy is just what EMS needs. Keep it up and take loads of photo's, well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Cheers Mick, I'll do my best. I'm completely new to building an obs and have employed a local landscaper to do the foundations and decking! POD is ordered with Altair Astro and all being well I should get it in about a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I wondered where you were Mike, clearly at home having too much fun! I look forward to seeing the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Hi Craig, fun yes, but quite nerve wracking too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 That looks fantastic! I would (as I'm sure everyone on EMS would!) love a POD obsy! Also I would first like to live somewhere where I can see more than just 4 (only just at that) stars in the Pegasus square. Urban astronomy is not great Love to see the progress on this thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Cheers Felix. Yeah well Belper is perhaps darker than many other urban locations in the East Mids but where I am still gets a fair amount of light pollution to the south from the Aurora Derbeinsis, and from Ripley etc. to the NE, as well as those photons chucked up by Belper itself. Hmmm, now can I see more than the 4 stars in the Square of Pegasus tonight!!!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Looks fantastic Mike, there's a lot of hard work getting it to that stage. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 So the next star party is at Mikes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Cheers Martyn. In this case the hard work was done by my builder! It's been hard work though agonising over whether to go for a roll off roof or a dome type construction, or even use one of the Scope Buggys and stick my kit in a shed. Whether to wreck the garden, empty my bank account, p*** o** the neighbours (actuallly they've been fine), etc. etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dwalf Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) looking very nice, it`s exciting and will certainly add to the enjoyment of stargazing when you don`t haveto keep setting up each night, will there be an open evening when it`s finished ? started work on my obsy also, taken a few pictures but can`t at the moment get them small enough to post ! Edited October 10, 2012 by red dwalf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Thanks Rob. Yeah, I got fed up of hauling the EQ6, OTA and associated kit out each time I wanted to observe. What kind of obs are you having? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dwalf Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 mines a wooden roll off roof 10` x 8` with a warm room, base is almost completed, when i get the pictures small enough i`ll post some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Yeah I came close to ordering a roll off roof from Alexanders Observatories (not being the DIY type) but decided it would take up too much room and went for the POD instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8472 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I like it. I've been seriously thinking about doing something like this for a couple of weeks now. But using a small Pent shed and ROR. Would save space and cool-down times for my future scope (which I still ain't got, yet!) Ultimately, I don't think I can be bothered with all the digging and the laying of a concrete pad, especially at this time of year. I'm still nursing an earlier injury sustained from laying a few patio slabs earlier this year - Doh! Keep us posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Altair Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Hi Mike congrats on a very nice pier installation and your pictures are textbook! Best, Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 Thanks Nick! I must say I am extremely pleased with how its turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bryndalf Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Great photos its really looking good. What side of Belper are you on? I'm in Holbrook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ely Ellis Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Looks like a real good profesional job. Good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Cheers guys. Bryn - I'm on the Openwoodgate side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Looks great, well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bryndalf Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Not far at all then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellan Boy Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 My POD has finally arrived! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Nice!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Strings Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Hi Mike any chance of a tour of your completed facility? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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