Fondofchips Obsy will soon be finished, weather permitting.

[Guest fondofchips]

Does your warm room not open directly in to the scope room harry ?

No it doesn't, too much of the dividing wall would be lost on both sides.  Also gives the structure more strength.

I don't see a problem with coming out of one side & into the other from the outside.

Sliding doors are nearly always draughty & it is easier & cheaper to do it this way, warm room door will be insulated same as the rest of the warm room.

[Guest fondofchips]

More pictures added -

ROR roof runner supports & cross brace have now been fitted at warm room end.

Windows in warm room & in between the warm room & viewing room, not quite finished.

Roof felt has been filted on warm room roof & rubber seal on the ROR roof at that end.

Too wet to roof felt the ROR part of the roof, good progress considering the weather.

 

http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/3010-obsy-shed-stage-2/

[red dwalf]

theres a altair astro 8" pier for sale on astro buy and sell Harry, £300, good saving on new.

[Guest fondofchips]

theres a altair astro 8" pier for sale on astro buy and sell Harry, £300, good saving on new.

Thanks for that, after putting my scope in the viewing room I know how high the pier needs to be, I just need the shed man to finish his bit, too cold & windy out there to work on it today.

[dawson]

Looking really good Harry.

 

 

James

[catman161]

Looks great Harry that'll dramatically increase the amount of time you get at the eyepiece for sure.

[Guest fondofchips]

Still waiting for the shed builder to finish off, the ROR roof is now felted, both rooms stayed dry during the recent wet & windy weather.

Have fitted white rope light, red LED strips & 13A sockets in the viewing room, can't do anything in the warm room until it's insulated & boarded out.

Working on a 12V control box for the charger/battery & 12V supply to the pier.

Pier & 2 extensions ordered last week.

I don't think I've ever done a more time consuming project than this one.

 

Anyway I was out stargazing for about an hour Saturday night, would have been more comfortable if the obsy was finished.

 

Want to take some pictures with the roof open but the end stops haven't been fitted to the runners yet.  So its staying shut for now.

Cheers,

Harry.

Edited February 17, 2014 by fondofchips

[Guest fondofchips]

The shed builder has finished today & I've been doing some more work on the electrics & warm room.

Just waiting for a PC to arrive & wall bracket for the monitor in the warm room.

Pier should be finished soon, hopefully this week.

 

Pictures here: -http://www.thegreenr...Maintainer.html

This means my obsy will work during a power cut.

Edited March 3, 2014 by fondofchips

[Cazz]

I'm not sure why, but I can't get the link to work, so I've gone in via your signature one. :-)

It's looking very nice, you must be well pleased.

[Guest fondofchips]

Link to pictures is working now, for some reason it came back to EMS!

Thanks to all of you for your interest.

Cheers,

Harry.

[stash]

Warning FYI - unless you didn't already know

 

Sorry to to put downer on your beautiful new Obsys (looks great) but I hope if there are mains connection to the shed that its been done and registered by a qualified Electrician(who notifies  Building Control) or directly thru Building control.

 

Under rules brought in in 2005 sheds are now covered by law and you risk £5000 fine and its retrospective so if you sell and its checked !

 

I say this from experience - didn't get fined ( luckily )  !  remember this forum is on the Ether and so is the info

 

http://www.niceic.com/Uploads/File1247.pdf 

 

And no I don't work for the   council and I am not an electrician.

[Guest fondofchips]

Thanks for that Clive, I'm 17th edition qualified & work with a time served electrician so I have installed the electrics to his recommendations.

The electrics are on a seperate circuit on the mains distribution board.

Not easy if you have limited connection or on an old type fuse box though.

[stash]

Thanks for that Clive, I'm 17th edition qualified & work with a time served electrician so I have installed the electrics to his recommendations.

The electrics are on a seperate circuit on the mains distribution board.

Not easy if you have limited connection or on an old type fuse box though.

Wouldn't want someone to fall into the same trap as me - Mine were on a separate circuit/CU(Sub) with own tails (not put in by me !) it was just my friend had retired and was no longer attached to the number of approved "bodies".  50 time served yrs experience count for nothing it seems.

 

Still glads yours are ok  - still like your new Obsys with heavy duty slider 

[Guest fondofchips]

Laptop finally died after all the hassle I'd had with it, so I thought about it & decided to have a small desktop PC instead.

Bought one of these: -

 

 http://www.cclonline.com/product/132597/DC111-BB/Barebone-PCs/MSI-Wind-Box-DC111-Barebones-PC-Intel-Celeron/HDMI/USB3-0/WiFi-/BRB0170/

 

Note - no hard drive or memory at this price, just used the hard drive from the laptop & the single 4gb memory module from Crucial was £34.79 inc. postage.

Doesn't take up much room so it easy to hide it out of sight in the warm room.

Edited March 7, 2014 by fondofchips

[Teslar]

404 error with that link at least on my iPhone it is

[Guest fondofchips]

Have redone the link in the above post & its here as well: - http://www.cclonline.com/product/132597/DC111-BB/Barebone-PCs/MSI-Wind-Box-DC111-Barebones-PC-Intel-Celeron/HDMI/USB3-0/WiFi-/BRB0170/

 

Had a similar problem with another earlier link should be OK now.

[Toymaster]

Have redone the link in the above post & its here as well: - http://www.cclonline.com/product/132597/DC111-BB/Barebone-PCs/MSI-Wind-Box-DC111-Barebones-PC-Intel-Celeron/HDMI/USB3-0/WiFi-/BRB0170/

 

Had a similar problem with another earlier link should be OK now.

That looks interesting Harry and well priced...

 

Was hoping it had Bluetooth for a Keyboard, but looks like it need a USB dongle or a connected KB.

Are you going to use a USB HDD and / or boot from an SD Card.

 

Let us know how you get on.

V Tempting 

Ade

[Guest fondofchips]

Ade, I had the 320gb 2.5" SATA  HDD from the dead laptop, so I only needed to buy the memory extra.

I'm impressed with the speed & the graphics for so small a PC.

However its only just had Windows 8.1 Pro, Stellarium, CDC & anti-virus software put on it so far.

If I do any imaging I will use the more powerful desktop PC in the house for Photoshop work etc.

Have fitted a bracket this morning for my 22" monitor - this one  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DQT8XBA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

Brilliant value for money very strong, has tilt adjustment a short swivel arm & up/down as well.  Comes with plenty of screws wall plugs etc.

Also treated myself to a decent mouse mat: - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0052C4MNM/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Please bear in mind that this mouse mat is 390mm x 290mm so measure up first before ordering!  (Or it will be like buying a telescope that's too big).

Thanks for the interest,

Cheers,

Harry.

[Toymaster]

Ade, I had the 320gb 2.5" SATA  HDD from the dead laptop, so I only needed to buy the memory extra.

I'm impressed with the speed & the graphics for so small a PC.

However its only just had Windows 8.1 Pro, Stellarium, CDC & anti-virus software put on it so far.

If I do any imaging I will use the more powerful desktop PC in the house for Photoshop work etc.

Have fitted a bracket this morning for my 22" monitor - this one  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DQT8XBA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

Brilliant value for money very strong, has tilt adjustment a short swivel arm & up/down as well.  Comes with plenty of screws wall plugs etc.

Also treated myself to a decent mouse mat: - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0052C4MNM/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Please bear in mind that this mouse mat is 390mm x 290mm so measure up first before ordering!  (Or it will be like buying a telescope that's too big).

Thanks for the interest,

Cheers,

Harry.

 

Thanks for the info...

 

That's a good price for the bracket even with delivery.

 

Ade

[Guest fondofchips]

First light with the obsy, Friday 7th March.

 

Rolled the roof back & set up as soon I got home from work about 5pm.  I started with the moon as the sun set, nice detail on a mountain range on the terminator as the light changed.  Stopped to set up my PC & screen so that I would have Stellarium handy.  Sat for a while in the warm room with a bottle of beer and had this really nice feeling of reaping the rewards for all my work in the past 11 months.  Switched to Jupiter, there was quite a lot of aircraft engine trails about which made observing a bit hit & miss for a while.  (I live near East Midlands Airport which can be a nuisance at times).  When the aircraft trails cleared I went back to the Moon enjoying the detail on the mountains and the craters. I then tried to locate M44 and had some trouble finding it, but it was well worth the effort and then on the the Seven Sisters.  Next was the Orion Nebula and I had a break for a while.  I went back to Jupiter and stayed with it until I had played with all my eyepieces and rechecked the scope balance, also worth the extra effort as I got the best views of Jupiter so far.  I then had another break and my plan was to wait for Mars & Saturn to rise above the adjacent house roofs but the cloud rolled in just as Mars was about to clear the roof.   A very good night though, really felt like I had achieved a lot, in observing, equipment and the shed build.

 

Saturday 8th March, no observing but I bought a Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 AZ mount so I'm still happy though I missed the best viewing night.

 

No pier yet, makes it a bit difficult using the tripod inside the obsy, you have to sit very still but still sheltered & the warm room is a real luxury.  Looking forward to the obsy being fully operational.

 

Thanks for your interest.

Cheers,

Harry.

[+RonC]

Good report Harry, makes a difference doesn't it!! I sit in my warm room (shed) heater on, gentle Planet Rock and a beer! Can't beat it!! 

 

Cheers

Ron

[dawson]

Sound idillic "well jel"

I'd really like to come and see it at some stage, as i still toy with the idea of getting one in my suburban back garden; the wires are getting more numerous and the set up time seems to be getting longer not shorter!

Glad it's all come together.

Jd

[+RonC]

Get it done this Summer then James, ready for the dark nights later in the year!! 

[Guest fondofchips]

Ron is spot on with his "Get it done" message as it has taken me longer to complete than I originally planned, a lot longer, the obsy was supposed to be ready for Comet Ison coming in and I'm not finished yet.

Will let you know James when its more or less finished.

Cheers,

Harry.

[dawson]

I'm just scared of having it built and then in 5 years wanting to move house.

 

But yes, I am keen.

 

I look forward to a tour.

 

JD