Dome Observatory

Shedmanstyle

Hello everyone.

I have a thread in DIY where I am building a manshed, and as part of that I will build a dome for my LXD 75. In astronomy I'm a total beginner, but I love getting out there and looking at pretty much anything in the sky.

My question:

Hs anybody here built their own dome? I have looked at RORO and its not suitable, so a dome it is, even though I change my mind about its design every other day.

Long term project here, originally planned to finish by end of 2019 but mid 2020 is okay with me. That date will include the manshed, which appears to be the easiest part of the project at this stage.

ps200306

I built one of these from a kit bought from this crowd. It was fairly pricey including shipping, and there were extra costs associated with building decking underneath it, and a metal telescope pier with concrete base.

It claims to be suitable for scopes up to 14", but I've actually found it a struggle to manage even an 11". Maybe it works if you're as skinny as the guy in the picture, and you get the pier offset from the dome centre by exactly the right amount.



But if you've got a larger scope or the pier is too close to centre, you will not be able to point at the zenith without being occluded by the dome clamshell. Or if you offset the pier too much and are a fat git like me, you won't be able to squeeze between the scope and the dome wall. They more or less acknowledged this was a design flaw by releasing a "dome zenith table" (at extra cost), basically a quick release mechanism for the dome top which pops it off onto a supporting trellis, making the zenith acessible. I've got one but haven't fitted it, as neither the dome nor the 11" scope get much use for the time being.

If you want get really fancy they've released a "Pod Max" which is whole different scale of beast (and price).

rolion

@Shedmanstyle

Nice one but may I ask you the location of the shed / dome, please !?
If is in town, due to high level of light pollution you will be very disappointed by bad quality of seeing and by the reduced horizon.

Out there country side, with no pollution, well, i envy you, is a dream !

Also, keep in mind that myself, for the past 30 days I managed to put all the equipment out only twice, one in full day light and second in cloudy night but had to do it for the joy of my junior.

How much full time vs part time do you think, plan and hope will get used !??

Shedmanstyle

rolion wrote: »

@Shedmanstyle

Nice one but may I ask you the location of the shed / dome, please !?
If is in town, due to high level of light pollution you will be very disappointed by bad quality of seeing and by the reduced horizon.

Out there country side, with no pollution, well, i envy you, is a dream !

Also, keep in mind that myself, for the past 30 days I managed to put all the equipment out only twice, one in full day light and second in cloudy night but had to do it for the joy of my junior.

How much full time vs part time do you think, plan and hope will get used !??

Hello! Luckily I'm in the country an no problems with light pollution or neighbour. Again height undecided but approx. 3 metres - just above the shed it will be attached too. As for useage - Hard to say really. If the weather is right and slies are clear I'll be out every other night

Shedmanstyle

ps200306 wrote: »

I built one of these from a kit bought from this crowd. It was fairly pricey including shipping, and there were extra costs associated with building decking underneath it, and a metal telescope pier with concrete base.

It claims to be suitable for scopes up to 14", but I've actually found it a struggle to manage even an 11". Maybe it works if you're as skinny as the guy in the picture, and you get the pier offset from the dome centre by exactly the right amount.



But if you've got a larger scope or the pier is too close to centre, you will not be able to point at the zenith without being occluded by the dome clamshell. Or if you offset the pier too much and are a fat git like me, you won't be able to squeeze between the scope and the dome wall. They more or less acknowledged this was a design flaw by releasing a "dome zenith table" (at extra cost), basically a quick release mechanism for the dome top which pops it off onto a supporting trellis, making the zenith acessible. I've got one but haven't fitted it, as neither the dome nor the 11" scope get much use for the time being.

If you want get really fancy they've released a "Pod Max" which is whole different scale of beast (and price).

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have looked at the options you shown but they are way puta my budget, plus I get a real kick from designing and building things! I'm hoping to base my drive system on these, however that's still in its infancy design wise.