Fondofchips Obsy will soon be finished, weather permitting.

[red dwalf]

you can take them with you James, L.O.L.

i purposely built my obsy so that all the walls could be unscrewed from the base, even the floorboards can be unscrewed if desired, roof is a bit of a pig though.

you want a hand James i`d be more than happy to help with design and build, as long as you supply the bacon buttys 

Edited March 10, 2014 by red dwalf

[Guest fondofchips]

Have a look at this topic James, this shed could probably be made to dismantle & move fairly easily.  It won't rot like wood either.

Maybe the supplier could put you in touch with one of their customers in this area.

Must be fairly strong judging by the weight of it: - http://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/6981-observatory-potential-i-wonder/#entry80511

[dawson]

Any update on the observatory?

 

JD

[Guest fondofchips]

Nothing happened for last 3 weeks, expecting my pier & extensions later this week or early next week.

Having some hassle with my car & decided to change it, so I've been out looking round cars, test driving etc.

Should be finished quite quickly after the pier is fitted in.

Thanks for the interest.

Cheers,

Harry.

[Guest fondofchips]

Pier has arrived today, shown with the EQ6 adaptor & backing ring on top of the pier - picture here - http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/22414-my-pier-picture/

In the background are the 2 pier extensions, they can be combined to give me 4 different heights.

Weather not looking particularly good this weekend, but the job is inside.

More pictures when the pier is installed.

Cheers,

Harry.

[Guest fondofchips]

Installed the pier, leveled it & aligned best I can on a cloudy day.

Fitted the EQ6 & adaptor to the pier, some minor problems - bolts not quite long enough to bolt the EQ6 & adaptor to the pier & centre hole was 10mm not 12mm as needed for the EQ6.

Otherwise the mechanical bit of fitting the EQ6 to the pier is more or less done.

 

12V electrical supply for the EQ6 to do next.  I've had to leave until after the pier as there was a danger that the pier installation would damage the wires.

 

Pictures here: -

 

http://stargazerslou...ishing-touches/

 

Cheers,

Harry.

[+RonC]

Looking really Harry, first light soon!!

[Guest fondofchips]

Shed builder has decided that the existing doors on the obsy cannot be secured enough, so is going to fit normal external doors with proper mortice locks.

Hopefully that will happen later this week.

When that is done I will be able to set the EQ6 up.

[parklife2uk]

Looking awesome Harry

[Guest fondofchips]

New doors and locks being fitted today.

At last the project is nearly complete.

Cheers,

Harry.

Edited April 25, 2014 by fondofchips

[Guest fondofchips]

Despite the unfriendly weather conditions which means I haven't fully set up the AZ EQ6 mount yet, I have more or less finished the project.

Had a pile of trouble with PC's, 2 laptops died & they have been replaced with one of these: -

http://www.cclonline.com/product/130518/ZBOX-ID18-B/Barebone-PCs/ZOTAC-ZBOX-ID18-Barebone-Mini-PC-Intel-Dual-Core-1-5GHz-NM70-Express-Intel-HD-British-Plug/BRB0158/

 

This little PC is even better than the MSI Wind model mentioned earlier in this thread.  I have transferred the 2.5" hard drive from the laptop in each case.  The memory is not much dearer for 8gb on this machine as well.  I have even replaced my older large case desktop PC.

Had some hassle with Windows 8 product keys, Microsoft not so helpful these days.

 

Had to fill the pier with kiln dried sand to get rid of some ringing when it was knocked.

 

Door locks upgraded.

 

Just need some clear sky to finish setting up the EQ6 mount.

Cheers,

Harry.

[Guest fondofchips]

Not new to the forum, but new to me is Felix’s modified 200P, - picture here: -  http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/23968-200p-in-obsy/

 

Had a mixed bag of results with my stargazing last night, late evening viewing difficult due to a garden fire near me.

I got up again just before 4.00am & had a look at the Orion Nebula & Jupiter. 

 

Obsy working well now, 40mm ventilation tube between the warm room & the observing room has a small 12v fan drawing warm air through 24/7, keeping the observing room dry.  The warm room is warming up well during the afternoon when the sun is on the 2 windows.  Have stained the obsy darker to help it blend in with the surroundings.

Picture here: -  http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/23967-obsy-now-stained-a-darker-colour-so-it-blends-in-better-with-the-surroundings/

 

Cheers,

Harry.

Edited September 8, 2014 by fondofchips

[+RonC]

Looking really good Harry, just in time for the dark nights!

[catman161]

Looks fantastic mounted in your Obsy Harry-thanks again. One thing I forgot to say was that I would recommend a cooling fan for the base of the OTA. In fact you will see on the base there are 3 Velcro pads that I used to use to secure mine. Unfortunately (for you) the fan sold quite quickly. But if you want one that will fit perfectly and function brilliantly and is of excellent build quality you should drop Dion a pm on astronomy shed. I got mine from him and it was brilliant and really improved the cool down times and views by reducing the tube currents and the thin layer of warm air over the primary.

[Guest fondofchips]

It did take the OTA a while to cool down after being in the car & the obsy walls were warm after being in the sun all day.  So I left it with the roof open for a while.  Looking forward to a night when the moon is new or out of the way.   Did OK though, spent most of the night getting used to the new scope.  Will sort out a cooling fan to speed things up. 

[Guest fondofchips]

Ordered this fan for the 200P -  http://www.quietpc.com/nf-s12a-uln

 

& this variable speed controller  -  http://www.quietpc.com/fanmate2

 

The fan is 2 speed & the controller will allow me to get the fan cooling just right. 

 

I'll probably use the variable speed control on the slower of the 2 speed settings & leave the other one for turbo I want to get observing quick cooling!

 

Will let you know how I get on.

Cheers,

Harry.

[catman161]

The ones from Dion are variable speed too Harry. Also the plastic on which they are mounted is laser cut to the exact proportions of the bottom of the OTA so that all the air goes up the OTA and none is lost out the sides

[Guest fondofchips]

The fan support plate is cut, & the fan, speed controller & fan guard arrived today, needs assembling & electrickery.

[Guest fondofchips]

Fan now fitted to the 200P, currently in 600rpm mode which seems to do the job  -  http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/24031-200p-fan/

Picked up some more eyepieces over the weekend: -  TeleVue 2 - 4mm Nagler zoom, William Optics UWAN 4, 7, & 16mm and a Nirvana 28mm. 

Only used the Nirvana 28mm so far, report in the eyepiece section of the forum, very impressed with it.

 

Cheers,

Harry.

[Guest sharpie78]

quick question Harry.....what did you use for your rails for the roof and where did you get them please? I used a couple of long lengths of 3" x 2" with a channel cut out down the centre. The castors connected to the roof roll along inside the channel and it all works but I'm getting a little bit of water ingress when it rains a lot. It would appear the water is collecting in the channel and spilling over at a few points. I'm happy with the rest of my Obsy but I want to get the roof perfect and your solution looks like a better idea to my current configuration.

Cheers

Jack