TheSkySearchers-Welcome!

Posted: **Fri May 06, 2022 9:16 pm**

This past year has been very fryustrating for me in terms of AP. The extremely poor skies everyone has suffered has been compounded for me by very poor reliability of forcasts. I set up and tear down every night unless the forcast is good for a few days (very rare) This means that unless I have a forcast of a good period of hours I find it very difficult to find the will to lug everything out and set up.

So I decided that some form of semi-permanent set up was in order. For many reasons a proper observatory is not an option right now. Looking around I saw many examples of the "Todmorden Pier" - inexpensive and allegedly easy to build. So that was what I decided on. It took me just a couple of days start to finish.

Materials (if anyone has a real interest I can share the materials list and my build plan]

Former cut and drilled with anchor bolts fitted to test.

Anchor bolts removed and former used as template to drill cavity block

Hole dug

Former with bolts in place and concrete poured

Blocks painted and attached to anchor bolts

Ready to go

My intention is to initially use it with a Telegigzmos 365 cover and dehumidifier bags.

I hope its going to increase my imaging time.

Thake care

David

Posted: **Sat May 07, 2022 4:28 am**

Very nice, these were actually quite popular a few years ago for a semi-permanent setup.
I hope you get a lot of use from it.

Posted: **Thu Sep 08, 2022 9:33 pm**

Jockinireland wrote: ↑Fri May 06, 2022 9:16 pm Looking around I saw many examples of the "Todmorden Pier" - inexpensive and allegedly easy to build. So that was what I decided on. It took me just a couple of days start to finish.

Just wondering if you have had a chance to try out the pier and what you think of it so far.

Posted: **Thu Sep 08, 2022 10:12 pm**

Chich wrote: ↑Thu Sep 08, 2022 9:33 pm
Jockinireland wrote: ↑Fri May 06, 2022 9:16 pm Looking around I saw many examples of the "Todmorden Pier" - inexpensive and allegedly easy to build. So that was what I decided on. It took me just a couple of days start to finish.

Just wondering if you have had a chance to try out the pier and what you think of it so far.

Hi there, thanks for the interest.

So it's now in the ground 4 months and we have had an unusually hot and dry summer followed by a few weeks of heavy rain. The pier remains rock solid. I did PA once with sharpcap and have not redone it since. I've checked it a few times but not needed to adjust. PA Drift reported in PHD2 varies a little night to night but that's more to do with seeing I think.

I've left the scope and camera out most of the time under the telegizmo 365 except on the few days when temp went to high 20s C and I have seen no issues. The temp and humidity sensor tell me that the conditions under the cover are generally fine.

It now takes me 5 minutes to go from sitting on my sofa to collecting first image which has meant at least 3 sessions I'd not have attempted before.

So, I am absolutely delighted with it. I'm not seeing it move at all and I would recommend it 100% without hesitation.

HTH

David

Posted: **Thu Sep 08, 2022 10:40 pm**

David, that is really awesome!

I am going to introduce your photo's to my wife and see how she reacts to them. The backyard is her haven. She has plants and flowers everywhere. I understand that and that is why I haven't considered an observatory.
This type of semi-permanent pier would really help me also. I sometimes won't set up even if it looks good and the forecast is poor. So far this summer, I would not have been disappointed. My weather has been horrible since May. In fact, it is pouring outside right now.

My only concern is that the temperatures here get in the mid to high 30's in the summer (95-100F) and the humidity is also high. You stated that you brought your scope in during temps in the high 20's. Have you seen any data on equipment storage temperatures?

Your construction looks great as does the finished pier.

Thanks a lot for the post. Awesome stuff!

Posted: **Fri Sep 09, 2022 4:20 pm**

Hi Jim, @Juno16 yes I completely understand why your wife may be less than keen, it was something on our minds too. But I can honestly say that since I put it in I have come to feel that when it is covered it is much less obtrusive than I had expected it to be. It looks no worse or out of place than a covered peice of garden furniture or a covered BBQ. Heres a couple of pics to show how it looks. autumn is fast approaching in the West of Ireland so the reeds in the pond are turning fast and the grass needs a good trim - so it usually looks tidier than this.

On temperature and humidity, i did a lot ofsearching and asking people and found that there are many people who leave their scopes out in all weathers under the 365 cover, including some guys in texas and Arizona who have no fear of the summer temps there. Of course there are others who will say that its not a good idea but they were invariably talking from opinion rather from knowledge. I put more value on the real world experience of folks who regularly leave their kit out in 40C without issue or worries.

The reason I brought mine in when it hit high 20's c was, as you know I have ASI2600mc and have not yet had any "oil on sensor" issue and did not want to tempt fate by exposing it to such high temps. With my new mono QHY 163m I have no such worries and will leave it out irrespectve of temperatures. But we are unlikely to see 30c again here any time soon!

Trapped humidity during the long periods it will be left out covered was more of a concern for me. So I hang a dehumidifier (link below) off the scope under the cover and close the bottom of the 365 Cover tightly with ratchet straps. I have a temp and humidity sensor which records contantly and which I can accessfrom my mobile. It has shown that when the scope is covered and with the dehumidifier bag it will pull the humidity down from over 90% to well below 70%, quickly and easily, then maintain a constant humidity of 55-68% which is good enough for me.

So, from my perspective this has been one of the best things I've done in terms of making my AP life more effective and enjoyable.

I do hope this helps.

take care

David.

Posted: **Fri Sep 09, 2022 11:04 pm**

Jockinireland wrote: ↑Fri Sep 09, 2022 4:20 pm Hi Jim, @Juno16 yes I completely understand why your wife may be less than keen, it was something on our minds too. But I can honestly say that since I put it in I have come to feel that when it is covered it is much less obtrusive than I had expected it to be. It looks no worse or out of place than a covered peice of garden furniture or a covered BBQ. Heres a couple of pics to show how it looks. autumn is fast approaching in the West of Ireland so the reeds in the pond are turning fast and the grass needs a good trim - so it usually looks tidier than this.
close.jpg
far.jpg

On temperature and humidity, i did a lot ofsearching and asking people and found that there are many people who leave their scopes out in all weathers under the 365 cover, including some guys in texas and Arizona who have no fear of the summer temps there. Of course there are others who will say that its not a good idea but they were invariably talking from opinion rather from knowledge. I put more value on the real world experience of folks who regularly leave their kit out in 40C without issue or worries.

The reason I brought mine in when it hit high 20's c was, as you know I have ASI2600mc and have not yet had any "oil on sensor" issue and did not want to tempt fate by exposing it to such high temps. With my new mono QHY 163m I have no such worries and will leave it out irrespectve of temperatures. But we are unlikely to see 30c again here any time soon!

Trapped humidity during the long periods it will be left out covered was more of a concern for me. So I hang a dehumidifier (link below) off the scope under the cover and close the bottom of the 365 Cover tightly with ratchet straps. I have a temp and humidity sensor which records contantly and which I can accessfrom my mobile. It has shown that when the scope is covered and with the dehumidifier bag it will pull the humidity down from over 90% to well below 70%, quickly and easily, then maintain a constant humidity of 55-68% which is good enough for me.

So, from my perspective this has been one of the best things I've done in terms of making my AP life more effective and enjoyable.

I do hope this helps.

take care

David.

Thank you very much David for all of the photos and information!

I am working with my "planner" on the look of the permanent setup. Not sure at this point.

I might come back at some time with some questions if you don't mind.

Posted: **Sat Sep 10, 2022 7:40 am**

Juno16 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 09, 2022 11:04 pm
Jockinireland wrote: ↑Fri Sep 09, 2022 4:20 pm Hi Jim, @Juno16 yes I completely understand why your wife may be less than keen, it was something on our minds too. But I can honestly say that since I put it in I have come to feel that when it is covered it is much less obtrusive than I had expected it to be. It looks no worse or out of place than a covered peice of garden furniture or a covered BBQ. Heres a couple of pics to show how it looks. autumn is fast approaching in the West of Ireland so the reeds in the pond are turning fast and the grass needs a good trim - so it usually looks tidier than this.
close.jpg
far.jpg

On temperature and humidity, i did a lot ofsearching and asking people and found that there are many people who leave their scopes out in all weathers under the 365 cover, including some guys in texas and Arizona who have no fear of the summer temps there. Of course there are others who will say that its not a good idea but they were invariably talking from opinion rather from knowledge. I put more value on the real world experience of folks who regularly leave their kit out in 40C without issue or worries.

The reason I brought mine in when it hit high 20's c was, as you know I have ASI2600mc and have not yet had any "oil on sensor" issue and did not want to tempt fate by exposing it to such high temps. With my new mono QHY 163m I have no such worries and will leave it out irrespectve of temperatures. But we are unlikely to see 30c again here any time soon!

Trapped humidity during the long periods it will be left out covered was more of a concern for me. So I hang a dehumidifier (link below) off the scope under the cover and close the bottom of the 365 Cover tightly with ratchet straps. I have a temp and humidity sensor which records contantly and which I can accessfrom my mobile. It has shown that when the scope is covered and with the dehumidifier bag it will pull the humidity down from over 90% to well below 70%, quickly and easily, then maintain a constant humidity of 55-68% which is good enough for me.

So, from my perspective this has been one of the best things I've done in terms of making my AP life more effective and enjoyable.

I do hope this helps.

take care

David.

Thank you very much David for all of the photos and information!

I am working with my "planner" on the look of the permanent setup. Not sure at this point.

I might come back at some time with some questions if you don't mind.

Of course Jim, any time.

Take care

David

Posted: **Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:52 pm**

Juno16 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 08, 2022 10:40 pm David, that is really awesome!

I am going to introduce your photo's to my wife and see how she reacts to them. The backyard is her haven. She has plants and flowers everywhere. I understand that and that is why I haven't considered an observatory.
This type of semi-permanent pier would really help me also. I sometimes won't set up even if it looks good and the forecast is poor. So far this summer, I would not have been disappointed. My weather has been horrible since May. In fact, it is pouring outside right now.

My only concern is that the temperatures here get in the mid to high 30's in the summer (95-100F) and the humidity is also high. You stated that you brought your scope in during temps in the high 20's. Have you seen any data on equipment storage temperatures?

Your construction looks great as does the finished pier.

Thanks a lot for the post. Awesome stuff!

For a minimally invasive way to retain your PA, here's a proven method by a G11 board member. You might set up once a month just for the new moon week and leave a telegizmo on for that time.

It makes me think, for a tripod on solid ground you only need to corner one leg, move the second one up to some barrier, the third one can then remain free. I need to try this. Right now, I'm aligning the outside of the tripod feet with some markers. It is not 100% accurate but by just doing that, my initial PA always only about 2' to 5' off. Maybe, with that confinement, I can get it 1' accurate and forego PA corrections altogether.

Nice project David, it looks great. It doesn't look like a temporary quick fix to me! I don't know if it would be much harder to put rebar in the base and, after it hardens, pour concrete into a cardboard tube on it.

Posted: **Sat Sep 10, 2022 7:03 pm**

Hi Henk,

Thanks for your input. I previously has sunk small concrete pads which were marked so I could place my scope in the correct position each time. This required only a slight PA adjustment each time.

But honestly, PA was only a minor part of the grief of setting up each night -- taking all the gear out (mount and OTA separately as it too heavy all together), connecting all cables, (even if I left them on the OTA), Balancing etc etc just made the the whole process to much to be bothered with unless I was sure of a long clear night (Which are very rare here) And the thought of taking it all in again next morning before work added to the inertia.

So with the pier I find that I'm willing to get up and running - it takes 5 minutes - even when the forecast says I'm only going to get a couple of hours. In the morning I throw the 365 over it and its good.

As to rebar then pouring concrete into a tube, I think mixing that much 'crete and pouring it to that height would be beyond me physically. Also if I ever need to move my pier I undo the nuts, take the bolts down level with an angle grinder, throw a square of turf over and its gone. Not so with a 3ft high 18" diameter rebarred concrete pillar. So yes, it would probably give a pier more worthy of the name but was just not suitable or appropriate for my personal situation. And my little Todmorden is rock solid and doing its job fine so I'm happy enough.

Take care

David.

Posted: **Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:25 pm**

Jockinireland wrote: ↑Sat Sep 10, 2022 7:03 pm Also if I ever need to move my pier I undo the nuts, take the bolts down level with an angle grinder, throw a square of turf over and its gone.

Ah OK I missed that part. I suspected that the bolts could be undone I just didn't see it in your pictures. Now it makes even more sense!

TheSkySearchers-Welcome!

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