Step II of My Retirement Project: the Warm Room

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jrkirkham United States of America
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Step II of My Retirement Project: the Warm Room

#1

Post by jrkirkham »


It's hard for me to believe I am actually doing this. I've been talking about it for probably 10 years now. My goal was to have the framework finished by the end of next year, but being home bound gives me time to get started.

Step 1: Complete: Finding a small area to put up a small observatory. I found a small piece of property owned by a friend. It has low horizons, rural skies, and is about 3 miles from my house. I recently put up a small SkyShed POD XL 3 on a 12'x12' deck. I posted my progess as I went along.

Step 2: In Progress: I just purchased a small 8'x12' lofted barn style garden shed. It has two 4'x8' lofts, which I plan to turn into bunks. I have a propane heat system for it. Future plans will be to add two screened windows for air flow, insulation, and solar panels to operate both the POD and the warm room. I can slowly tweak those projects after I am retired. My goal right now is to get everything up and functional and stay within my budget.

Concerns: You always have to know yourself and make trade offs. By adding the loft I added a little more height to the building. I am placing it just to the north of my POD and positioned so I can still see Polaris. The lofts were a necessity for me. My grand kids all live out of state and I wanted bunks for when they visit. I also wanted a small footprint (8X12 is less than 100 sq. feet) to save money on heating, but still large enough to handle two or three people if I have guests with me.
Rob
Telescopes: 50mm refractor, ED80 triplet, 90mm makcass, 10" dob, 8"SCT, 11"SCT
Mounts: Celestron CGX, Orion Sirius + several camera tripods
Cameras: Canon 6D, Canon 80D, ZWO-ASI120MC
Binoculars: 10x50, 12x60, 15x70, 25-125x80
Observatory: SkyShed POD XL3 + 8x12 warm room
AL Projects Completed: Lunar #645, Outreach #0280, Universe Sampler #93-T, Binocular Messier #871, Messier #2521, Messier Honorary #2521, Constellation Hunter Northern Skies #112, Planetary Transit Venus #1, Galileo #26, Outreach Stellar 0280, Meteor Regular #157, Solar System Telescopic #209-I, Observer Award #1
AL Projects Currently in Process: Double Stars, Comet, Lunar Evolution
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helicon United States of America
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Re: Step II of My Retirement Project: the Warm Room

#2

Post by helicon »


Nice project Rob. Look forward to seeing the final product.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
Don Quixote
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Re: Step II of My Retirement Project: the Warm Room

#3

Post by Don Quixote »


jrkirkham wrote: Fri Apr 10, 2020 3:18 pm It's hard for me to believe I am actually doing this. I've been talking about it for probably 10 years now. My goal was to have the framework finished by the end of next year, but being home bound gives me time to get started.

Step 1: Complete: Finding a small area to put up a small observatory. I found a small piece of property owned by a friend. It has low horizons, rural skies, and is about 3 miles from my house. I recently put up a small SkyShed POD XL 3 on a 12'x12' deck. I posted my progess as I went along.

Step 2: In Progress: I just purchased a small 8'x12' lofted barn style garden shed. It has two 4'x8' lofts, which I plan to turn into bunks. I have a propane heat system for it. Future plans will be to add two screened windows for air flow, insulation, and solar panels to operate both the POD and the warm room. I can slowly tweak those projects after I am retired. My goal right now is to get everything up and functional and stay within my budget.

Concerns: You always have to know yourself and make trade offs. By adding the loft I added a little more height to the building. I am placing it just to the north of my POD and positioned so I can still see Polaris. The lofts were a necessity for me. My grand kids all live out of state and I wanted bunks for when they visit. I also wanted a small footprint (8X12 is less than 100 sq. feet) to save money on heating, but still large enough to handle two or three people if I have guests with me.
This sounds like a fine project Rob.
Bravo !!!
Please post pictures as you progress.
Thank you.
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jrkirkham United States of America
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Re: Step II of My Retirement Project: the Warm Room

#4

Post by jrkirkham »


Here is a shot of the exterior and interior.
Attachments
interior.jpg
exterior.jpg
Rob
Telescopes: 50mm refractor, ED80 triplet, 90mm makcass, 10" dob, 8"SCT, 11"SCT
Mounts: Celestron CGX, Orion Sirius + several camera tripods
Cameras: Canon 6D, Canon 80D, ZWO-ASI120MC
Binoculars: 10x50, 12x60, 15x70, 25-125x80
Observatory: SkyShed POD XL3 + 8x12 warm room
AL Projects Completed: Lunar #645, Outreach #0280, Universe Sampler #93-T, Binocular Messier #871, Messier #2521, Messier Honorary #2521, Constellation Hunter Northern Skies #112, Planetary Transit Venus #1, Galileo #26, Outreach Stellar 0280, Meteor Regular #157, Solar System Telescopic #209-I, Observer Award #1
AL Projects Currently in Process: Double Stars, Comet, Lunar Evolution
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yobbo89 Australia
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Re: Step II of My Retirement Project: the Warm Room

#5

Post by yobbo89 »


very nice, it looks like a holiday house !
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .

Image
Don Quixote
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Re: Step II of My Retirement Project: the Warm Room

#6

Post by Don Quixote »


This is a GREAT idea !
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