geeks Roll off roof observatory - pic heavy!

[hairy v]

That is great work!

[geeks]

RacingPete said:

Love it. Following.

Cheers Pete

hidetheelephants said:

The secret life of sheds. Marvellous.

Ha! Yeah not all sheds are for stashing lawn mowers

jeremyc said:

I hope Mrs. Geeks is appreciative of her new private sun lounge.

Enjoying your journey, and the amazing imagery along the way.

Yeah she is on about a bistro set under the roll off rafters lol, might be doing something there next year

Super Sonic said:

The pic from MK is superb!

Thanks yeah its not bad, I would say it was the first image I did when everything just fell into place, I've had alot of good feedback on it from some properly good astrophotographers I respect as well which is nice

Hoofy said:

Christ, that's impressive.











All that to see into the neighbour's bedroom!

Hahahahahha I actually had to assure the neighbours that it didnt work like that, even if I wanted to (which trust me, no one would want to) it cant focus on something that close lol

hairy v said:

That is great work!

Thanks

[S13_Alan]

Nice! Glad to see you're making progress

[geeks]

S13_Alan said:

Nice! Glad to see you're making progress

Thanks Alan, hows things? How are you getting on with your EQ6-R Pro? I have just picked mine up to replace my EQ6

[S13_Alan]

geeks said:

Thanks Alan, hows things? How are you getting on with your EQ6-R Pro? I have just picked mine up to replace my EQ6

Not bad thanks, but sadly have managed nothing astrophotography wise since that last picture of Orion I posted, don't know if you seen it. I've only had the telescope out to do some visual stuff, and taking time to learn where things are a bit more. You get a little spoiled by the computers that way.

Did get some nice phone pictures of the aurora, but then so did nearly everyone!

Are you planning to motorise the roof? I love the idea of one you can just set up and be imaging with no effort (including going outside) to make the best of any clear hour here and there.

[Avenicus]

Fabulous - hope there is a beer fridge in there somewhere

[geeks]

S13_Alan said:

Not bad thanks, but sadly have managed nothing astrophotography wise since that last picture of Orion I posted, don't know if you seen it. I've only had the telescope out to do some visual stuff, and taking time to learn where things are a bit more. You get a little spoiled by the computers that way.

Did get some nice phone pictures of the aurora, but then so did nearly everyone!

Are you planning to motorise the roof? I love the idea of one you can just set up and be imaging with no effort (including going outside) to make the best of any clear hour here and there.

I just went back and looked at it and the soul neb, lovely work there bud, you've certainly got a handle on this now. Winter 23/24 was awful for imaging cant remember a season that bad!

Plan is indeed to automate the roof, most likely by using a gate opening system that I can wire in to an arduino to talk to either N.I.N.A or EKOS I haven't fully decided on which way I will go with the software side once its up. I have been using EKOS since 2019 via Astroberry its been excellent but not without its draw backs so I am considering a swap to N.I.N.A as its very well supported, decisions, decisions!

[RacingPete]

geeks said:

I just went back and looked at it and the soul neb, lovely work there bud, you've certainly got a handle on this now. Winter 23/24 was awful for imaging cant remember a season that bad!

Plan is indeed to automate the roof, most likely by using a gate opening system that I can wire in to an arduino to talk to either N.I.N.A or EKOS I haven't fully decided on which way I will go with the software side once its up. I have been using EKOS since 2019 via Astroberry its been excellent but not without its draw backs so I am considering a swap to N.I.N.A as its very well supported, decisions, decisions!

I love Nina, my go to for all sessions now.

[mkjess123]

A great project, but I think that you may have problems with the floor in future. It looks like you have used chipboard (I'm happy to be corrected) and this is really meant for internal use. If the underside of it is exposed then it will absorb moisture and break down. At some point you will go through it.
Sorry!

[illmonkey]

mkjess123 said:

A great project, but I think that you may have problems with the floor in future. It looks like you have used chipboard (I'm happy to be corrected) and this is really meant for internal use. If the underside of it is exposed then it will absorb moisture and break down. At some point you will go through it.
Sorry!

OP states moisture resistant floorboards, but think I'm with you, there will be only so much moisture a board can resist before it selfishly indulges is a fetish of it's ancestry...

[Alex Z]

Very nice project. Roughly how much is the telescope and mount?

[geeks]

RacingPete said:

I love Nina, my go to for all sessions now.

Interesting. I might tap your brains at some point. I’ve done a test run in my office but not run in anger yet I was saving that for when the ob was done as it’s one less thing to faff with. How are you polar aligning is there a model for that in NINA now? I know people used to use sharpcap for PA

mkjess123 said:

A great project, but I think that you may have problems with the floor in future. It looks like you have used chipboard (I'm happy to be corrected) and this is really meant for internal use. If the underside of it is exposed then it will absorb moisture and break down. At some point you will go through it.
Sorry!

illmonkey said:

OP states moisture resistant floorboards, but think I'm with you, there will be only so much moisture a board can resist before it selfishly indulges is a fetish of it's ancestry...

It is moisture resistant. It will get limited moisture exposure though but I see where you are coming from and I am pretty sure that should it give up I can replace it easily enough. Maybe

Alex Z said:

Very nice project. Roughly how much is the telescope and mount?

Thanks. Erm you want the actual price or how much Mrs geeks thinks I paid?

[geeks]

Not much progress but I did manage to fit the rest of the roof rails so the roof now rolls off and on albeit manually. I will add a gate kit soon enough so I don't have to go outside to operate it.

Will finish the cladding this week if the weather holds off long enough!

[Ian Geary]

geeks said:

Not much progress but I did manage to fit the rest of the roof rails so the roof now rolls off and on albeit manually. I will add a gate kit soon enough so I don't have to go outside to operate it.

Will finish the cladding this week if the weather holds off long enough!

Looks good - has a real Thunderbirds vibe about it.

You need some of those fold down trees for that other chap who posted last year.

[hidetheelephants]

Ian Geary said:

geeks said:

Not much progress but I did manage to fit the rest of the roof rails so the roof now rolls off and on albeit manually. I will add a gate kit soon enough so I don't have to go outside to operate it.

Will finish the cladding this week if the weather holds off long enough!

Looks good - has a real Thunderbirds vibe about it.

You need some of those fold down trees for that other chap who posted last year.

Needs the theme tune.

[Aluminati]

hidetheelephants said:

eeds the theme tune.

[geeks]

I will certainly get that video sorted

In terms of progress, well, I am happy to say that its 95% complete, or rather complete enough to be weather tight and its functional.
Still to complete:
Finish paint
Power
Automate
Roof lock
Few bits and bobs.
Website
Naming plaque

It is highly likely that I won't get to everything except the paint until late summer, Mrs geeks has surgery coming up and her recovery will be a few weeks work is hotting up as well and I have a ton of other things to get on with around the house to get through as well. So for now this will likely be the last update for a while. Unless, you know, I find an excuse

Last few pics for a while.

[hidetheelephants]

geeks said:

I will certainly get that video sorted

Much as I'd love that beware of copyright strikes; do you have a small child you could bribe into humming the tune or playing it on an instrument if that's their forte, thus evading the copyright algorithm? You have the best astronomical observatory on PH, although that is a small field.