South Side Observatory

[AstroBee]

Coming along nicely, Henk! Looking forward to seeing your roof design in action.

[JayTee]

Henk, a quick question (while you're de-plastifying)

Is your project customizing a "pre-fab" building, or is this a total custom project? Total custom means that you have a vision in your head that you are working toward.

Cheers,

[SkyHiker]

What to do if you don't have someone to hold that nut when you screw it in from the other side of the wall...

Power...

[SkyHiker]

Is your project customizing a "pre-fab" building, or is this a total custom project? Total custom means that you have a vision in your head that you are working toward.

It's not pre-fab because I have to put it together myself. This is what I ordered when put together as specified, a simple lean-to garden shed.

"Vision" is a big word. This is what I have in mind right now for the roof support, the simplest method I can think of. Basically, the original roof support beam is attached to the side walls. That beam is replaced with a 2x2 that runs through the middle of the frame. Then 4" wide triplex lining around there that serves as the edge of the "lid" (=roof). Attached at the wall edges are some constraints to make sure the roof slides in the right position. It only has to be lifted a few feet, then I can flip it and slide it up to close it. Let's see if that can work.

[messier 111]

nice project .

[SkyHiker]

After spending many more hours yesterday deplastifying the roof panels, good progress today.

The side and rear panels are up,

Here you can see the size relative to myself,

.

I framed the shed's upper side and rear panels,

and completed the frame on which the roof panels will be placed. It has 2x2s at the bottom that I cut from recycled 2x4s, and plywood strips that hang over the edge of the upper panels of the shed, also recycled as you can tell from the crappy look. It's a bit moldy but good enough.

Tomorrow I should have the basic structure complete! The frame added a lot of weight though; maybe I need to do something with a pulley and counterweights, let's see how heavy it is.

[SkyHiker]

No activity yesterday (I went hiking). This morning I added the constraints to the side of the shed. Should I need any counterweight pulley for lifting the roof, I will place a 2x4 underneath it that rests on the concrete, and use 2 concrete blocks for a counterweight. I fitted the frame, and it fits perfectly. The frame itself slides on and off without a problem. As much as I want to attach the roof panels right now and try the weight, I must polyurethane the frame first. I may as well work on a power socket and get some roof handles from the store.

[Gordon]

It's really coming along nicely!

[JayTee]

I can't wait to see your roof in action.

[SkyHiker]

I can't wait to see your roof in action.

Me too. I think the weight is OK. I got 2 stainless steel handles from ACE to lift the roof with.

I put the door in, added a wall outlet and put 3 layers of poly on the frame.

The poly needs to dry 3 days before putting it in operating condition according to the instructions.

Unfortunately, I will be traveling next week so I will have to wait with the roof panels until next weekend. Once that is done, the obsy is basically complete and functional.

I will still need to do some caulking, and epoxy putty to glue the structure to the concrete and fill the cracks below the water dam, but this is California, so rain is not expected any time soon.

[SkyHiker]

The observatory is done and operational! Well, I still have to add some roof trim, do some caulking and waterproofing but that's minor.

I took the roof off twice and put it back on, it did not seem to be a problem. I only have to lift it 2 or 3 feet then I can flip it and sliding it on along the roofline is easy.

The exterior,

the interior,

the power outlet.

When opening, first slide the roof down using the handles,

then lean it against the fence so it is not obstructing the telescope.

[SkyHiker]

Overall, the cost of the shed was $490 after taxes. The power outlet and roof frame are from recycled materials of the old shed. I added 2 handles for $30 total, so over all the cost is only $520. Of course, I reused the concrete slab of the old shed so that did not add any cost. I also did not have to add a pier because the G11 HD tripod is equally good.

The construction takes patience and some skill. Doing the modification to a detachable roof (the observatory mod) was really not that much work. Most of the work was in assembling the metal shed. Taking the plastic off the panels was a time-consuming PITA. Assembling all the panels with a gazillion screws takes a good deal of time. Compared to a plastic shed (I have a 7x7 one), I think it takes much more time but working with metal and modifying it is probably easier than doing the same with a plastic shed.

So, if I had to do it again, I would do the same. It is a cost-effective way of building a simple observatory and is dirt cheap too. Now, I haven't checked if my 12" Newt fits with enough clearance, but it should. I won't do it now because I have to get ready for travel. But it looks good and I'm happy with the result.

[KathyNS]

Very nice, simple build.

How is the roof secured when not in use? Do you have some anti-lift hardware in case of high winds?

[starfield]

This is shaping up nicely. Can't wait to see it when you're all done.

[jrkirkham]

Congratulations! I can hardly wait for a first light report.

[JayTee]

Yay, Henk!

I have to chuckle at the difference 14° of latitude makes. For your climate, your obsy is perfect. Up here, that structure would be a DEEP freezer!

Anyway, great design and build. Once again, can't wait to see it in operation.

Cheers,

[SkyHiker]

Very nice, simple build.

How is the roof secured when not in use? Do you have some anti-lift hardware in case of high winds?

Thanks!

The frames of the roof and the shed are 2x2s side by side. My plan is to drill a hole through both and stick a long fat nail through it, in the middle on both short sides. I will make sure to keep the nail in place when the wind rattles the shed somehow, TBD.

[SkyHiker]

I have to chuckle at the difference 14° of latitude makes. For your climate, your obsy is perfect. Up here, that structure would be a DEEP freezer!

True! Insulation = zero. There are 5 mm door cracks. In California, not a huge problem. The roof will also not collapse under a load of snow.

Anyway, great design and build. Once again, can't wait to see it in operation.

Thanks! I decided to dumb the design down as much as I could. The size is one reason why it works. The roof is small enough to raise with manpower, and the wall height is low enough to minimize the energy required.

As soon as I get back I will put my mount with the 12" in it and make a video with a roof demo.

[SkyHiker]

Except for the title of this thread I did not mention the downside, which is that the view is limited to the Southern skies. In my case, it's because it's all I can do with the limited real estate around the house. Since I was going to replace that shed anyway it was a nobrainer to implement a simple removable roof option. It will make it much easier to do astrophotography, and being limited to one part of the sky is a good compromise.

For now I will just use my AVX on the driveway for the Northern skies, or maybe add a new mount. Toting the G11 back and forth is not worth the trouble, I think, and defeats the purpose.

I'm curious if the WiFi on the Pi4b is good enough to connect to the router from inside the walls. I may have to add a repeater or ethernet cable.

[Ylem]

Very nice Henk!
May it bring you many years of enjoyment!