Certainly not, looked in the mirror a couple of times and said, you must be mad lol. To be honest I am loving it even though it is hard work. Its really taking shape now so not too long before I have it built and working.
@@Astrobloke Your image of the Ghost Nebula from your half-built observatory is great so I'm looking forward to the next one when you are fully up and running.
Hardy Board is a great alternative to the once used asbestos board for cladding and soffits. It has almost the same fire retarding specs - at least the one I used was cement/wood cellulose matrix (not with plastic!). Maybe a slight (5deg) pitch on the roof would be a good idea for water and snow melt run off - just a thought. A rubberised roof is great too - same material as used on RLNI dirigible rescue boats.
Thank you cor watching and commenting. The cladding is a lovely finish and will last and give very good protection. I will be adding a slope on the flat roof, mainly for rain as snow is a very rare occurrence for us where we live. The rubber roofs I think look quite nice too.
Thanks James. So many considerations and trade offs but happy with mt decision. It did come out very well for such short integration, will add more when I get a chance. Clear skies
Hi Ron and thank you. I have had a little test run and it was a real joy. I know it will be a magical space once finished and really looking forward to it.
Enjoying your construction hints and following your progress. I’m from the UK but live in Utah and this week got my foundation poured. Keep up the videos and look forward to seeing progress.
Hi Martin. How are those skies in Utah? where in the UK are you from? Glad to hear you are building an obsy, really makes a difference for this hobby. clear skies
@@Astrobloke Hi - I am at about 5,000 feet (1300m) so transparency is very good - mountains cause turbulence, but half an hour away is v v dark. From Newbury Berks, helped form that club many moons ago - also a long standing BAA member. Have built 4 previously, this one will be the best one! 16x12 and 3 piers - enjoyable to see so many joining the craziness ha!
Thank you Nik. I can see the end in sight. It has been a crazy amount of work but have enjoyed getting stuck in. Will be so nice to kick back and relax in the space I have built, looking forward to that a lot.
@@woody5109 the eq6 will handle an 8” with ease. I am a huge reflector fan and love the images they get. What are your reservations and why you are not sure?
Great video Glenn, its really coming along nicely mate, got some great ideas there! It is hard work but worth every minute! You’re warm room is looking fantastic, I can’t wIt to come over and have a coffee and imaging session with some dark side of the moon playing on the record player😀 Excellent image as always! Clear skies mate👍
It's getting closer!! I think that is a good decision to go with a roof height to fit the home position. It gives a lot of peace of mind when you are getting NINA to shut the roof at the end of a session and the extra wall height will be that extra bit of wind protection. My two scopes can sit in the home position easily when the roof closes... however... since I converted to the side by side setup, it just pushed things a tad higher and now the roof would hit the Meade 10" dew shield so that's something to work on. Great image of Ghost Nebula and I think you are definitely on to something there with OSC cameras and dark nebula - processing mono of these targets is a bit of a pain.
It certainly is mate. I totally agree mate and to be able to leave it running knowing no matter where the scope goes the roof is never an issue is a nice thought. I agree that dark nebula and mono is certainly challenging when editing. I got a great image of the dark shark with my 2600mm but I had loads more data. I really want to take that target again with this set up and see how it fairs. take care mate and clear skies
@@Astrobloke Getting there, measuring the interior for the timbers and working out bolt sizes etc. The scary bit is cutting off the roof. How did you find cutting the plastic on your old one?
It's all coming along nicely mate I bet you're chomping at the bit to get it all finished, I hear you about having the scope in the park position I had to set mine up due to the height & opening & shutting the dome & one thing I learnt the other night is don't shut the dome when slewing to park or you could rip the camera from the RASA, luckily no damage was done but an idiot moment from myself. Love the image at the end to mate bet you were glad to be out again even after the Gremlins as we all have those, all the best & clear skies.
Hi Tich you know lol. I deliberated over it but its best to be that way as then no danger of mishaps. With gear this expensive its wise. Glad you got away with it and I am sure lesson learnt. The image was surprising for just 4 hours but these bortle 4 skies help a lot., was lovely to finally get the CT10 on them even though the gremlins tried to spoil the party.
I am so glad I found the Astrobloke sight. This is a most excellent step-by-step how to make a neat Observatory. It is rewarding and fun to see ideas come to life. 😎 Thank you.
Hi Chris and thank you for watching and commenting, glad you like the content. I am originally a South London boy but started this hobby and my youtube when livi g i. Southend on sea essex. End of last year we moved to Suffolk in the countryside where we now have space and darker skies. Moved from a bortle 6+ to a good bortle 4.
Based on my recent experience invest in a "Peppermint spray", I had to strip down my SCT to remove cobwebs inside the tube, God knows how the Spider got inside!
I have mount park sensors and then a back up IR beam (independent) of the observatory PC. That way the roof still does not close when the scopes are up. Still have nightmares about this issue, but after three years, they are less often 😀
That would be exactly the route I would have taken but then decided to have the roof clear no matter the position, Just means no bigger scopes (never say never hey? lol) Once I weighed up all the considerations like the trees and extra wind protection I think I have gone the best way for me. Just got to get it all working again now. Not long to go, clear skies
@@Astrobloke yeah, fully understand. In my case there was on choice, due to the limited space and having to clear the house for PA. My next observatory however…….
Beautiful work you are doing Glenn, good choice to go for the Hardy Board, I have used it also in the past and it is great to work with with and has a beautiful finish. Hope you have some good weather coming your way for the build, here is Belgium it's really bad. I had one clear night for the last eight weeks and it was windy, so lot of my subs weren't usable. Great image of the Ghost Nebula, not an easy target to capture, well done ! I also am looking for another camera to use on my Edge8 at f7, the 2600 MC doesn't perform well in my opinion on that setup.
Thank you Siegfried, the cladding looks really nice and will give it a very nice finish that will be very long lasting. Weather has been very mixed here too but doesn't sound as rough as what you have been having. The 2600 is a great sensor so surprised it is not giving you good results. F7 I am assuming thats with the reducer so you are around 1400mm. How long do you push your subs? Depending on your Light pollution because of that F7 speed you may need to try and push further than you are. Have you tried binning? just to see if it helps at all?
@@Astrobloke Thank you Glenn for the tip, yes I was thinking of trying binning the next time, and yes it's about 1400mm at f7 (setup for galaxy season.) The asi2600 MC performs outstanding on my Esprit 80 and Esprit 120 with an without reducer. It seems it has it harder on the 8" Edge reduced. As I do the calculation than I am slightly over-sampled but I didn't think it would be so bad. If I would get a few clear nights to try some things, but those are so rare this year. Well hope it will get better, as it is now it only can get better 🙂
Its coming on nicely Glen ,I wouldn't worry too much about the hight of the walls because the seeing conditions below about 20 degrees are poor , how high above the horizon would you normally stop imaging at ? , very nice finale image Glenn, thanks for taking the time to make these videos mate
Hi Tony. I agree with that and that was also in my considerations. 30deg and above is around my normal imaging range. I have plenty of sky to play with so all good. I always have the option of my mobile rig that I can take down the end of the garden and could actually shoot lower than 20Deg if I wanted. Really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment, your support makes the videos worth the effort
@@AstroblokeHi Glenn it's my pleasure to watch and comment on your videos mate, you and a few other channels are my lifeline to Astronomy and Astrophotography until I finished building our house and I have more time and money to setup my own rig and obsy, until then it's a Nikon camera and lens and RUclips lol clear skies mate
This was the motor I bought Arnstein amzn.to/3Akj2IT I haven't had a chance to test it yet but hoping it will be an improvement over my last one. If its still too fast or jerks at all I will add another capacitor to help control it better.
At the beginning of the video with you standing next to the mount, is it worth looking to see if you can add an additional retractable part of the side of the building on the east aspect such as a hatch or opening? Looks like you have a fair bit of clear sky between the top of the beam and the hedge. Perhaps not much but might mean you can track a target sooner on the right hand side of the trees on the east and then over the top?
I did look at that but its kind of deceiving what you see from the video. There are powerlines that way too. I have had a good look and the gain is so minimal it isn't really worth all the extra work but thank you for mentioning it. It really helps that people suggest things and it helps me decide what directions to take.
@@Astrobloke You are doing an awesome job! Really enjoying the series so far and great inspiration for both the build and the mods to the scopes! Cracking channel!
Hi Glenn Looking really good - thanks for sharing. Can you tell me what the make of your new motor for the roof is please. After watching both you and Simon’s excellent videos I decided to have a go at building my own. Kind regards James.
@@Astrobloke Thanks for your help Glenn - just ordered it. Not anywhere near ready for it yet but thinking ahead. I hope you have a great weekend. Clear skies. Take care mate.
Hey Glenn, looks like we got the same gate opener. I have extended my limit switches like you mentioned. The switch is just a circuit board with the reed switches soldered in, I soldered the extensions directly to the board, works like a charm, I'm getting ready to install the Arduino and I'm thinking instead of buying new switches for the Arduino, just soldering another lead on the existing board pads and running the wire to the Arduino. Should close the circuit, right? Any thoughts? Thanks
Hi and thank you for messaging. I tried using the built in inputs for the open/close signals from the limit magnets but unfortunately the communication to the Arduino didn't work properly. It behaved like it does if you use the wrong switches. i accidentally used normally open instead of normally closed and the roof would work but then either just open or refuse to close after a few moves. Something with the signal it gets either works or makes it behave irregularly. It would be great if you could just use the same signal for the limit stops and if you manage to get it to work please let me know as would be very interested. Clear skies
@@Astrobloke thanks Glenn, I have no issue buying more switches but I thought if it worked it would be great. I'll give it a go and if I have any luck, or no luck for that matter, I'll let you know. The wire and servo connectors I ordered will be in tomorrow. If I get it to work I'll load the video on my channel and tag you here or on FB in the ROR group. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
@@Astrobloke Our(US) treated usually has a color either green or brown. Sill plates here are the wood on the concrete forming the bottom plate of the wall (?noggins?). ((Place the perambulator in the boot while I have a fag on the Chesterfield)). Yep, American is not English!
![KAYTRANADA - Witchy (feat. Childish Gambino) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jGK3YVmGZ3Y/mqdefault.jpg)
A build like this is really not for the faint of heart! Great work, Glenn.
Certainly not, looked in the mirror a couple of times and said, you must be mad lol. To be honest I am loving it even though it is hard work. Its really taking shape now so not too long before I have it built and working.
@@Astrobloke Your image of the Ghost Nebula from your half-built observatory is great so I'm looking forward to the next one when you are fully up and running.
Hardy Board is a great alternative to the once used asbestos board for cladding and soffits. It has almost the same fire retarding specs - at least the one I used was cement/wood cellulose matrix (not with plastic!).
Maybe a slight (5deg) pitch on the roof would be a good idea for water and snow melt run off - just a thought.
A rubberised roof is great too - same material as used on RLNI dirigible rescue boats.
Thank you cor watching and commenting. The cladding is a lovely finish and will last and give very good protection. I will be adding a slope on the flat roof, mainly for rain as snow is a very rare occurrence for us where we live. The rubber roofs I think look quite nice too.
This is brilliant. Not just a talented astrophotography but a talented builder too. Great work
Thank you thats very kind of you to say
Good choice on the wall height Glenn.. That extra height will be a good wind break. The Obsy is coming along!
Thanks Jason. I think its the best way to go after mulling over all the considerations. Looking forward to getting to use it now. Clear skies mate
I think you made the right call with the wall height. Nice shot of the Ghost nebula.. just 4 hours! CS Glenn!
Thanks James. So many considerations and trade offs but happy with mt decision. It did come out very well for such short integration, will add more when I get a chance. Clear skies
I always hang out for the next installment mate so looking forward for the final result
Thank you Nik, glad you are enjoying it. Next video should be a big one as I plan to have the obsy built with a rolling roof for it.
So cool! Can't wait to see you kicking back and enjoying your hard work.
Hi Ron and thank you. I have had a little test run and it was a real joy. I know it will be a magical space once finished and really looking forward to it.
You make me feel very comfortable with my (yet unused) 533mc. Thank you!
Its a great camera Melvyn and produces lovely data. I am very happy with it.
Looking good, great size too, can’t wait to see the finished build….👍🏻
Thank you mate. I am very lucky to have the space to do this. Hope to share a more completed structure with a roof soon.
Enjoying your construction hints and following your progress. I’m from the UK but live in Utah and this week got my foundation poured. Keep up the videos and look forward to seeing progress.
Hi Martin. How are those skies in Utah? where in the UK are you from? Glad to hear you are building an obsy, really makes a difference for this hobby. clear skies
@@Astrobloke Hi - I am at about 5,000 feet (1300m) so transparency is very good - mountains cause turbulence, but half an hour away is v v dark. From Newbury Berks, helped form that club many moons ago - also a long standing BAA member. Have built 4 previously, this one will be the best one! 16x12 and 3 piers - enjoyable to see so many joining the craziness ha!
Blimey, it's really coming along isn't it? Looks great 👌
Thanks Basil. I am very happy with it and yes its really taking shape now. Still lots to do but I plan obsy up and running in next 2/3 weeks
Wow it's looking fantastic.... Another great video, looking forward to seeing it all done. Very well done.
Thank you Steve. Next video should be a big one as I hope to have the main structures up and finished with just little touches to do
Nice image. You are almost there. Insane how much work it is to put this together
Thank you Nik. I can see the end in sight. It has been a crazy amount of work but have enjoyed getting stuck in. Will be so nice to kick back and relax in the space I have built, looking forward to that a lot.
Been looking forward to more content on your build mate, great work
Cheers Mark, thank you for taking the time to watch and comment
Build is looking great, never give up. Final image is also fantastic
Thank you Woody. Its really getting there. I won't surrender, I promise lol. I was very pleased with the image especially for just a short integration
I’m a Zenith 61 guy but I’m looking at an 8” reflector…just not sure. I just upgraded my mount from a EQM-35 to the EQ6R pro so I’m getting there.
@@woody5109 the eq6 will handle an 8” with ease. I am a huge reflector fan and love the images they get. What are your reservations and why you are not sure?
Great video Glenn, its really coming along nicely mate, got some great ideas there! It is hard work but worth every minute! You’re warm room is looking fantastic, I can’t wIt to come over and have a coffee and imaging session with some dark side of the moon playing on the record player😀 Excellent image as always! Clear skies mate👍
Thanks Simon and that sounds like a perfect evening. Hopefully won't be long now.
It's getting closer!! I think that is a good decision to go with a roof height to fit the home position. It gives a lot of peace of mind when you are getting NINA to shut the roof at the end of a session and the extra wall height will be that extra bit of wind protection. My two scopes can sit in the home position easily when the roof closes... however... since I converted to the side by side setup, it just pushed things a tad higher and now the roof would hit the Meade 10" dew shield so that's something to work on. Great image of Ghost Nebula and I think you are definitely on to something there with OSC cameras and dark nebula - processing mono of these targets is a bit of a pain.
It certainly is mate. I totally agree mate and to be able to leave it running knowing no matter where the scope goes the roof is never an issue is a nice thought. I agree that dark nebula and mono is certainly challenging when editing. I got a great image of the dark shark with my 2600mm but I had loads more data. I really want to take that target again with this set up and see how it fairs. take care mate and clear skies
Another great video Glenn! Having the same weather issues with my obsy, but slow progress. Pictures to follow!
Hi Jeremy and thank you. Yes the weather has been an issue for me too plus other things but getting there. Looking forward to seeing your build mate
Brilliant work, lovely image too Glen 👍
Thank you Mark. How is yours coming along?
@@Astrobloke Getting there, measuring the interior for the timbers and working out bolt sizes etc. The scary bit is cutting off the roof. How did you find cutting the plastic on your old one?
It's all coming along nicely mate I bet you're chomping at the bit to get it all finished, I hear you about having the scope in the park position I had to set mine up due to the height & opening & shutting the dome & one thing I learnt the other night is don't shut the dome when slewing to park or you could rip the camera from the RASA, luckily no damage was done but an idiot moment from myself.
Love the image at the end to mate bet you were glad to be out again even after the Gremlins as we all have those, all the best & clear skies.
Hi Tich you know lol. I deliberated over it but its best to be that way as then no danger of mishaps. With gear this expensive its wise. Glad you got away with it and I am sure lesson learnt. The image was surprising for just 4 hours but these bortle 4 skies help a lot., was lovely to finally get the CT10 on them even though the gremlins tried to spoil the party.
All coming along nicely, it's going to be absolutely amazing once completed. I'm looking forward to the next stage. Cheers Ryan 👍
Thanks Ryan. I am getting very excited by the prospect of it being done to the point of use. Hoping next video will show a completed obsy
I am so glad I found the Astrobloke sight. This is a most excellent step-by-step how to make a neat Observatory. It is rewarding and fun to see ideas come to life. 😎 Thank you.
Thank you and glad you are on board, appreciate the support and kind comments. Hope to have a big update in 2 weeks
Looking like steady progress. Looking really great.
Its getting there. Next video should be a big one as will have most large parts done
Nice update 💪
Thanks mate
Never caught what part of England you are from! Enjoy watching your videos and updates on your observatory build. Keep up the good work👍🏻
Hi Chris and thank you for watching and commenting, glad you like the content. I am originally a South London boy but started this hobby and my youtube when livi g i. Southend on sea essex. End of last year we moved to Suffolk in the countryside where we now have space and darker skies. Moved from a bortle 6+ to a good bortle 4.
Based on my recent experience invest in a "Peppermint spray", I had to strip down my SCT to remove cobwebs inside the tube, God knows how the Spider got inside!
Will check that out. I have had the odd web in my newts but easily and quickly removed with a duster
Great videos glenn
Thank you
wow, this is looking very good
Thank you
Looking good. Weather has been poor up here for weeks now, no imaging but opportunity to research new targets
Thank you. I have had a few days effected by the weather but slowly getting there. hope yours improves soon.
I took the train down to plymouth this week and the weather was amazing.. typical. But all i cant seeing on the route was empty land ideal for a obsy
@@Grumpydadwithtech I often do that spotting sites and thinking that would make a great remote obsy site
I have mount park sensors and then a back up IR beam (independent) of the observatory PC. That way the roof still does not close when the scopes are up. Still have nightmares about this issue, but after three years, they are less often 😀
That would be exactly the route I would have taken but then decided to have the roof clear no matter the position, Just means no bigger scopes (never say never hey? lol) Once I weighed up all the considerations like the trees and extra wind protection I think I have gone the best way for me. Just got to get it all working again now. Not long to go, clear skies
@@Astrobloke yeah, fully understand. In my case there was on choice, due to the limited space and having to clear the house for PA. My next observatory however…….
Beautiful work you are doing Glenn, good choice to go for the Hardy Board, I have used it also in the past and it is great to work with with and has a beautiful finish.
Hope you have some good weather coming your way for the build, here is Belgium it's really bad. I had one clear night for the last eight weeks and it was windy, so lot of my subs weren't usable.
Great image of the Ghost Nebula, not an easy target to capture, well done ! I also am looking for another camera to use on my Edge8 at f7, the 2600 MC doesn't perform well in my opinion on that setup.
Thank you Siegfried, the cladding looks really nice and will give it a very nice finish that will be very long lasting. Weather has been very mixed here too but doesn't sound as rough as what you have been having.
The 2600 is a great sensor so surprised it is not giving you good results. F7 I am assuming thats with the reducer so you are around 1400mm. How long do you push your subs? Depending on your Light pollution because of that F7 speed you may need to try and push further than you are. Have you tried binning? just to see if it helps at all?
@@Astrobloke Thank you Glenn for the tip, yes I was thinking of trying binning the next time, and yes it's about 1400mm at f7 (setup for galaxy season.)
The asi2600 MC performs outstanding on my Esprit 80 and Esprit 120 with an without reducer.
It seems it has it harder on the 8" Edge reduced.
As I do the calculation than I am slightly over-sampled but I didn't think it would be so bad.
If I would get a few clear nights to try some things, but those are so rare this year.
Well hope it will get better, as it is now it only can get better 🙂
@@siegfriednoet would definitely either try binning or push subs longer. Be interested to find how you get on. I am going to wish clear sky thoughts
@@Astrobloke Thanks Glenn, will keep you informed
Its coming on nicely Glen ,I wouldn't worry too much about the hight of the walls because the seeing conditions below about 20 degrees are poor , how high above the horizon would you normally stop imaging at ? , very nice finale image Glenn, thanks for taking the time to make these videos mate
Hi Tony. I agree with that and that was also in my considerations. 30deg and above is around my normal imaging range. I have plenty of sky to play with so all good. I always have the option of my mobile rig that I can take down the end of the garden and could actually shoot lower than 20Deg if I wanted. Really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment, your support makes the videos worth the effort
@@AstroblokeHi Glenn it's my pleasure to watch and comment on your videos mate, you and a few other channels are my lifeline to Astronomy and Astrophotography until I finished building our house and I have more time and money to setup my own rig and obsy, until then it's a Nikon camera and lens and RUclips lol clear skies mate
Awesome Glenn - I`m also thinking of use a motor with softstarter. It protects the roof form sudden movements. Do you have a link to your motor?
This was the motor I bought Arnstein amzn.to/3Akj2IT I haven't had a chance to test it yet but hoping it will be an improvement over my last one. If its still too fast or jerks at all I will add another capacitor to help control it better.
At the beginning of the video with you standing next to the mount, is it worth looking to see if you can add an additional retractable part of the side of the building on the east aspect such as a hatch or opening? Looks like you have a fair bit of clear sky between the top of the beam and the hedge. Perhaps not much but might mean you can track a target sooner on the right hand side of the trees on the east and then over the top?
I did look at that but its kind of deceiving what you see from the video. There are powerlines that way too. I have had a good look and the gain is so minimal it isn't really worth all the extra work but thank you for mentioning it. It really helps that people suggest things and it helps me decide what directions to take.
@@Astrobloke You are doing an awesome job! Really enjoying the series so far and great inspiration for both the build and the mods to the scopes! Cracking channel!
Hi Glenn
Looking really good - thanks for sharing.
Can you tell me what the make of your new motor for the roof is please. After watching both you and Simon’s excellent videos I decided to have a go at building my own.
Kind regards
James.
Hi James. Here is the motor we both bought, amzn.to/3I2HIdk
Best of luck with your build and happy to help if you have any questions
@@Astrobloke Thanks for your help Glenn - just ordered it. Not anywhere near ready for it yet but thinking ahead.
I hope you have a great weekend. Clear skies. Take care mate.
Hey Glenn, looks like we got the same gate opener. I have extended my limit switches like you mentioned. The switch is just a circuit board with the reed switches soldered in, I soldered the extensions directly to the board, works like a charm, I'm getting ready to install the Arduino and I'm thinking instead of buying new switches for the Arduino, just soldering another lead on the existing board pads and running the wire to the Arduino. Should close the circuit, right? Any thoughts? Thanks
Hi and thank you for messaging. I tried using the built in inputs for the open/close signals from the limit magnets but unfortunately the communication to the Arduino didn't work properly. It behaved like it does if you use the wrong switches. i accidentally used normally open instead of normally closed and the roof would work but then either just open or refuse to close after a few moves. Something with the signal it gets either works or makes it behave irregularly. It would be great if you could just use the same signal for the limit stops and if you manage to get it to work please let me know as would be very interested. Clear skies
@@Astrobloke thanks Glenn, I have no issue buying more switches but I thought if it worked it would be great. I'll give it a go and if I have any luck, or no luck for that matter, I'll let you know. The wire and servo connectors I ordered will be in tomorrow. If I get it to work I'll load the video on my channel and tag you here or on FB in the ROR group. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
Do folks in the UK not use treated lumber for sill plates?
All the wood used is pressure treated. There are no sills in this obsy however. Are you referring to the noggins ?
@@Astrobloke Our(US) treated usually has a color either green or brown. Sill plates here are the wood on the concrete forming the bottom plate of the wall (?noggins?). ((Place the perambulator in the boot while I have a fag on the Chesterfield)). Yep, American is not English!