2004 Observatory Modification
Introduction
My decision to move from the 10" scope to the
14" meant that the observatory needed to go through some major
adjustments. Fortunately the observatory itself was just large
enough to cater for the new sized scope but new footings and floor would
be required. In addition to these structural changes, equipment
placement within the observatory also had to change.
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New Footings - 28 February 2004
The original 'footings' were simply 8" square pavers
laid directly on the ground. The new scope is
considerably heavier that the 10" so proper footings were required.
To avoid the movement in the pads that I saw with the
10", I dug 300mm holes and filled these with
rapid set, topped with a 12" square concrete paver. 2 more
concrete pavers were laid on top of each other, joined with mortar, and
bringing each footing to floor level. |
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New Floor with Concrete Piers - 06 March 2004
Here you can see the new concrete footings for the Giant
Field Tripod (GFT). The piers just protrude above the height of the
observatory floor. The trouble with having the tripod feet protrude
through the floor (and sealed at floor level) is that moisture caused some
surface rust on tripod after only a year. The part of the tripod
above the floor had no rust whatsoever. |
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Holes Filled and gaps taped - 08 March 2004
Although not obvious in
this shot, the Giant Field Tripod takes up considerable room. You can also see some
priming of the old floor around the doorway. Water does leak in hear
during heavy storms so the priming should allow the wood to last
longer. I will eventually seal the entire floor with some bitumen
paint. I just used heavy black cloth tape to cover
the gaps between the floor and the piers.
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Scope Installed and ready to go - 28 March 2004
Big Bertha - the 14" LX200GPS SMT has been
installed with the assistance of local society members. As you can
tell, the scope just fits in. Park position had to be set well
over on its side to allow the roof to close over the scope.
There is very little room to spare in the observatory so
the shelving had to be installed down the East and West walls of the
observatory. Fortunately the computer gear still fits although I did
need to invest in a mini keyboard.
This setup sets my horizon to approximately 34 degrees
N/S and 24 degrees E/W.
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● Email Me:
higginsdj at bigpond dot com ● |
