30.07.2024 Observatory rambling.

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  Tuesday 30th. Another warm sunny day. 73F/23C at lunch time.

 I spent well over an hour, this morning, moving the timber standing against the shed. Over to the back of the newly leveled gravel, parking area. Where is now stacked fairly neatly, but horizontally. This will allow easier access to the observatory for dismantling. I have decided to take down the original, octagonal observatory. It is just an eyesore and won't be used again. 

 The cost of a Pulsar 2.7m replacement escalates rapidly with international delivery charges. I wish I knew if freight forwarding meant delivery to my front door. Having it delivered 200m away on the verge would be daylight robbery! I don't own a powered fork lift truck to bring 200kg to my house. Though the 6-8 weeks for delivery would give me plenty of time to organize a base and pier.  The dome and walls need a flat surface to ensure accurate alignment during the build. I could manage that on plywood sheets laid on sand.

 I have been racking my brains for a more manageable but mobile way. Of mounting the 6" solar telescope at 3000mm equivalent focal length for high-res imaging. One, not involving a fixed observatory. I found this YouTube tutorial posted on my own blog from 2019 but had completely forgotten about it until now. Instead of permanent pier in an observatory it is possible to polar align using the sun itself using SharpCap. I spent many happy hours fine tuning my polar alignment that way.

I'll post it as a link rather than embedding it. Otherwise the fascist despots at YouTube will show random videos on my blog. Once the initial video is watched.

https://youtu.be/zRT-HsRsftI?si=FKGOJ1Spmq-pIpAn

 To get back to the point: A stable four wheeled trolley could be moved down the drive. Complete with a heavy mounting and telescope aboard. To avoid the overshadowing trees and my own house. Roughly aligned using markers. Then fine aligned for imaging using SharpCap. The trolley would need stabilizers once it was parked. Easily managed using caravan and trailer accessories. After use, the whole contraption can be returned to a secure housing. 

 Such an idea would offer no shelter from the sun for the observer. One other major advantage of a dome is being able to avoid direct sunlight. No doubt a sun screen could be devised. Though at the risk of causing vibration from the wind if attached to the trolley. Power would be required. Easily managed with an extension cord.

 A much better alternative: An area in the front of the greenhouse could be cleared. To allow a secure telescope shelter to be moved aside. To expose the telescope already mounted on a fully polar aligned, fixed pier. The H-alpha filtration and camera could be plugged in. After being kept safely indoors. 

 The most important aspect is not having to lift a heavy OTA into place. [Well, not more than once.] The telescope could be turned, nose down beside the pier for compact storage. The secure shelter could become the imager's "warm room." Shade from the sun and fitted with a computer monitor. With a desk for the vital keyboard and mouse. 

 The shelter would be sized to suit the needs of both imager and the instrument. I have loads of 7" industrial rollers. To let the shelter run effortlessly in channel section rails. More timber and plywood than I will ever need for such projects. Failing that I could make a run-off roof. Though I am not very keen on these. Because they leave the imager so exposed. Greater length of the building would allow for a shelter at one end. Leaving the rolling roof safely over "the office." With some sort of closure devised between the telescope and warm room if needed. 

 Blocking the sunlight from reaching the computer monitor is vital. Even in the dome I used to wear black clothing. To avoid my reflection in the screen. This despite the AOC monitor having a low reflection surface. I kept the laptop closed on the desk. Using it for its rapid storage capacity and telescope/mounting control. The latest idea is to use a dedicated mini-computer fixed to the pier. Rather than using a laptop. I wonder what sort of storage these have? An imaging session with a fast camera can easily fill a 1TB SSD.

 

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29.07.2024 The clearance.

 

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 There is still work to do in dismantling the outer structure at the rear of the observatory. No room for Japanese stepladders between the trees. The two stretch, builder's ladder feels a bit unsafe at that height. The ground is a meter lower at the back. I could work from inside the old observatory if I took down the plywood cladding. Saw the posts off at the bottom first. Then at the top. Saving the wood is a low priority in relation to my own safety. Nobody would find me for ages if I fell. Except by chance. 

 It might be wise to clear all the timber out of the way. A lot of it has been standing up, leaning against the shed for several years and looks awful. In truth it ALL looks absolutely awful! Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but precious few. Would ever want my 2-storey observatory "decorating" their garden! 

 It will be twice as much work taking down the original and its plywood dome. I am very tempted to remove the cladding. Saw through all the posts at the base. Then just pull the carcass over with the car and a long rope. 

 There are literally hundreds of screws holding the dome together. It would mean dangling from a tall stepladder to undo them all from the inside. I could more easily and safely[?] saw the remains into pieces from the ground. Think of all that free firewood kindling. Or not! The back garden and parking space would become inaccessible. Until the whole job was finished. With the severe risk of countless, sharp, wood screws dropping into the grass. Right where I maneuver and park.

 In case you were wondering: I might have put a Pulsar dome up there. To replace the plywood one. Pulsar very helpfully provide a dome only option. On a tall collar. Which provides the weather seal and a firm rotation base unit in one. However, as mentioned several times here, it would not remove the trees. Nor move the house from the southern boundary. 

 Nor remove the steep, internal stepladder. Needed to reach the observatory floor. Leaving a large, open rectangular, hole in the floor on the western side of the pier. With increasing age it becomes more difficult to climb with a heavy laptop. The laptop must be kept inboard to avoid toppling backward! The risk of falling down the stepladder will increase with each visit. 

 Out of an abundance of care, for my own survival, I want to get back down onto firm ground. There is just enough  space in front of the lean-to green house. On the south side of the house. Even enough room for a path between them. Helped by the curved nature of the intended new observatory walls. The pinch point would actually be quite short. 

By sheer luck there is plenty of shelter from westerly winds. The beech front hedge will hide the walls but not the dome. My neighbours' paddock hedge runs along the side of my drive. Which would place it stretching off for nearly a hundred meters just to the left in front of the observatory. Hiding most of it from the drive and distant road. Without blocking the sky. 

 It all sounds lovely until I have to build a floor and a pier for the new building. I am currently waiting to hear the delivery charge for the observatory. I balked at this last time. Finding that I could have a dome of twice the size delivered all the way from Italy. For less than half the price of a Pulsar. Far cheaper in fact than sending a Pulsar from Germany. Which lies just to the south of Denmark by motorway.   

 16.45 71F/22C. Hot sunshine as I cleared the observatory. I had to dismantle the telescopes to manage the weight down the outside stepladder. Then there was the chest of drawers full of accessories. Brought down one drawer at a time. Still lots more to do. It was very depressing going up there again. Everything was dusty and the massive, aluminium mounting was heavily spotted with corrosion. A period of my life now at an end. After several years of construction, new ideas, modification and endless optimism. Halcyon days. I thought they would last forever. A cup of tea and a rest and then I'll go back to it.

 The equipment is now all safely indoors. For how long? Before it can be brought back into use? Do I have options? Which don't include a whole new observatory?

 

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28.07.2024 Demolition continues apace.

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  Sunday 28th 64F/18C. Bright sunshine. 

 10.00 Stopped for a rest and morning coffee. I have spent an hour bringing down more of the outer observatory structure. Cutting through the bases of the uprights has sped things up. Though not as much as I would have liked. There are still far too many hidden screws. 

 I also have to be very careful to avoid falling objects. Including myself, now that the outer timber-work is no longer providing security. In the form of a sturdy guard rail. It feels increasingly exposed. Working up at the veranda/observatory floor level. About 9' or 3m meters above the new gravel. With more rubble available but the builders have vanished. For several weeks now.

 I am grateful for the safety of the Japanese tripod stepladder and its very wide base. It's large, metal feet are sticking firmly into the gravel as intended. The ground was originally 3' below its present level. Before I brought in the builder's rubble and topped it off with self stabilizing gravel. 

 12.00 69F/21C. I am dripping with sweat and need another rest! 3/4 of the larger structure has been brought down. Sawing through the bases of the twinned uprights has been the major factor. I had foolishly hidden many of the screws holding the frames together. When I added all the cross braces. 

 Fortunately the joists I used for supporting the observatory floor and cantilevered veranda are still present. Though access grows progressively more difficult now. With the two, nested, buildings overlapping at the side of the shed/workshop. I actually worked from a roof ladder on the shed roof at one point. There was no other way to reach the plywood cladding on that side. 

 I pressed on in the hot and sunny afternoon at 70F/21C. Reaching the screws in that area required a different ladder. I would have had to waste an hour tidying up. To be able to use the Japanese tripod stepladder. It has such a wide stance at the bottom.

 Finally I had removed the last visible screw. So I could drag the uprights free. There is still the junction between old and new observatories to tidy up. I had moved the double doors. To the gap between the buildings for more shelter from the prevailing SW wind. So I built a sort of canopy over it. That all has to come down.  Much of the timber I have removed has long screws sticking out of it. So there is quite a lot of work to do before it can be safely stacked.  

 It is rather sad to be undoing everything I built. Just making it up as I went along. With the advice of astro forum members with more woodworking experience than myself. Apart from the dome leaking it has served me well. With little sign of deterioration or unwanted movement.  

 Who else would be daft enough to choose an octagonal building with a veranda and a trapezoid dome? All the extra wok required to be able to lift components and work safely at such a height. Always working alone. 

 I spent countless hours up there. Imaging the sun in H-alpha. Or occasionally trying my luck on the moon. The overall cost was far more than I had dared to imagine. Though this can be safely divided by the number of hours of use. Not to mention the pleasure of building it. Then finding ways to maximize its performance and ease of use. The chain and crank drive to the dome's roller drive was fun and effortless in use from my imaging chair.

 It kept me at home instead of wandering the countryside on my touring trike. So that was much better for my wife. Who feared I would have an accident one day and leave her all alone. Suddenly I was always around. Or within easy reach. To help with any lifting, mending or chores. The irony is that she went first. Leaving me alone after 55 years of marriage.

 Only now, after two years of apathy, am I finally recovering some of my lifetime passion for astronomy. If not now, then when? I am 77 and have just had an operation to open up my clogged heart arteries. Who knows how many years [?] I have left of physical and mental fitness? To be able do anything of real interest for myself. 

 I am dismantling the observatory to provide the materials to start anew. Not from on high in the wooded back garden. But in the narrow front garden. Where once the sun never shone. Was never allowed to shine.

 The final picture shows the progress today after tidying up the debris.

  ~*~

26.07.2024 First frame brought down.

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   Friday 26th. After a wet day the sun came out. I managed to get one frame down from the observatory. It will be mostly dry for the next two days. So I can continue the search for the 150mm/6" screws holding the frames together. It feels rather unsafe standing up there now. With only the few remaining boards left over from the original veranda. With nothing outboard. The frames and noggings provided a sturdy handrail.

 I had a sudden inspiration for a new pier. If I am to invest in a Ioptron CEM120 mount. The old pier from the Fullerscopes MkIV is still standing in the garden. I welded it together at work many years ago. The original "smelly" Hammerite paint has protected it quite well.

 The high hedges drove me to invest in trailer guide wheels for a little mobility. Not helped by the top heavy nature of the contraption. While the uneven ground made it very unsafe. Particularly with a 7" f/12 refractor aboard!

 I could lose the wheels and use the sturdy tubular feet. To provide underfloor leveling via 16mm studs. [Screwed rods.] Failing that I can cut off the legs and pour concrete around the 7" thick wall pipe. It has a strongly welded top plate. Which can be adapted to the CEM120 base plate. 

 I'll make an intermediary adapter, with suitable bolt spacing, from thick aluminium plate. Commercial adapter plates cost a king's ransom! As do the simplest pretensions of a telescope pier. Most of which are far too low, as standard, for a refractor. A thousand quid just to hold up a mounting? £1500 for a heavy, tripod-pier? Which isn't even mobile without crane hire! Ridiculous! They are just playing to the vanity of wealthy amateurs.  

I am doing it all wrong! There is no need to drop the frames as units. Just because that was how I raised them. I can use a bayonet saw to sever the uprights near the ground. Just above the steel work will do. Then I climb up to the veranda level and cut through the cross pieces. Drop the uprights as single units. That way I don't have to search for the screws. The uprights are no less useful for being only slightly shorter.

  ~*~

 

25.07.2024 Demolition continues!

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  Thursday 25th. Warm and sunny. I spent most of the day dismantling the outer observatory building. I had to remove more of the plywood cladding. This took some time because of the poor ladder access through the trees growing close behind the building. 

 First I had to remove all the plywood leaning against the building. I just laid it in a stack on the ground. It was already wet from all the rain while standing on edge.

 Then it was a matter of removing umpteen 6" screws. Which were holding the vertical frames together. I had rather foolishly hidden many of these screws with the 50x100mm noggings. The horizontal timber braces. 

 No matter how many screws I removed there were always more. So that the frames refused to be pulled over with a long rope. 

 The image shows the result of today's activity. Most of the horizontal timbers have gone. I had deliberately made the larger building separate from the original, inner one. It is just a matter of searching out the last of the screws. They are all driven just under the surface so are difficult to spot.

 The DeWalt screwdriver is noisy but excellent for this job. Having enough torque to undo even a 6"/150mm Torx screw. Without viciously twisting my hands and wrists as the electric drill had done. When I was inserting the screws. I need to dismantle the observatory to reclaim all the concrete carport anchors. With which I supported the timber uprights. On both the later and older buildings. 

 The shrub growing wildly in the foreground was supposed to have disappeared. When I started spreading gravel to level the area. I had cut it right down but it has come back with a vengeance!  It produced pretty flowers when it half hid the observatory. It had been there for 28 years.

 

 

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24.07.2024 Update on solar options.

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  I have made a good recovery from my "surgery by wire." Having ridden over 200km on my bike in the last week alone. A series of hospital appointments suggest I may yet live a bit longer.

 I have continued to monitor the solar astronomy, imaging forums. My interest is rebuilding itself steadily. 

 There are several serious hurdles to overcome. The larger observatory is only half demolished. That was put on hold while I had my health issues fixed. The original 10' [3m] observatory still stands within the shell of the larger building. Sadly the plywood dome continues to leak like a sieve. Access at such a height is far too dangerous to apply any external remedy. Which severely limits the use of the observatory. 

 The wisest way forward would be to totally demolish the entire observatory. It is an eyesore and difficult to believe it will ever improve. Placing an observatory on the ground in the same spot would be utterly pointless. The surrounding trees and hedges are growing wildly.

 I have a tentative plan to erect an observatory in the front garden. This would house my 150mm/6" H-alpha solar refractor. Which will be supported on a heavy duty equatorial mounting. Probably an Ioptron CEM120. My first ever purchase of a commercial mounting! I think I have waited long enough at 77 years of age and counting. 

 The sky from the proposed site is blocked by trees to the west and east. Though I would still get many hours of completely unimpeded sunshine to play with. Just no early or late sun. Which only sometimes raised the hope of better seeing conditions. Fields stretch for miles to my south. With only a few houses dotted at various distances. The nearest a low farmhouse at 65metres to the SSW. This is hardly likely to noticeably affect my seeing conditions.

 The observatory needs to be guaranteed to be simple and easy to use. The boundary beech hedge will be quite close but can be trimmed to match the lowest altitude. At which the sun is ever likely to be visible in winter. 

 I really like domes but have no plans to re-use my preset dome. It needs far too much work to become pretty and [far more importantly] waterproof. Do I want to spring for a 2.7m Pulsar dome? I am not sure. It is a lot of money but provides a turnkey solution without much compromise. It is no smaller than my present dome. Once the plywood ribs and base ring are taken into account. The Pulsar is relatively clean of projections internally. It would require no maintenance over the likely time I have left. It can also be sold relatively easily by those I leave behind.      

 It would need a concrete slab to be stable in the SW gales. The pier is an issue. I have loads of seamless steel tubing in all sizes to be used as a former for a concrete pier. This would need a suitable bolt arrangement at the top. To level and fix the mounting securely. An internal plastic pipe can allow easy, internal pier cabling.

 

  ~*~