Building a budget back garden observatory. Modified 8x6 Keter shed roll off roof observatory.

Рет қаралды 13,174

2 жыл бұрын

An overview of my back garden observatory build, modifying a 6x8 foot Keter plastic shed to have a roll-off roof. The inspiration came from Glen at www.astrobloke.co.uk; if you’ve not already done so, check out his amazing KZfaq channel “Astrobloke”.
Total build cost was about £1,100, of which £790 went on the shed itself.
The wheels are V-profile electric gate wheels, sitting on a V-profile rail.

Пікірлер: 36

@tacomaastro7462 Жыл бұрын

For the exxposed screws, I have used "Vinyl Color Vacuum Caps". They come in different sizes (and colors). Simple and neat. Nice job on the shed.

@MrGp3po 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your observatory build. Hope you enjoy the heck out of it!

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

I certainly am! I feel very fortunate.

@Astrobloke 2 жыл бұрын

Really well do e Paul and thank you for the mentions. Looks like you have done a great job and it will really add so much to your hobby. You’ll make changes as you go, little tweaks and improvements as you use it. I’d like to say I have superman strength but unfortunately not lol, the 6x6 roof is a lot smaller and doesn’t have any extra metal bars or bracing so clearly much lighter. Clear skies Paul.

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Glen, and thanks for your encouragement. 👍

@charlespeters9626 2 жыл бұрын

Paul, great video, thanks for sharing your experience. You and Glen have provided a great source of reference and inspiration. Keep safe. Regards Charlie (NZ)

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Charles - that’s very kind. Glenn is the real source of inspiration, and a lot more technically proficient!! All the best, Paul

@simonlaverick9920 7 ай бұрын

Super job Paul. Very inspirational.

@nightscapejournals 7 ай бұрын

Thank you, Simon - very kind.

@astrosathya1984 2 жыл бұрын

Really great video Paul. Kudos to your effort. Its come out really well.

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you - that’s really appreciated. 😊

@TK42138 2 жыл бұрын

Brilliant work 👍

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Andrew. 👍

@cosmicgeek Жыл бұрын

Very helpful video. You pointed out a lot of the pitfalls to avoid, and it looks like it works perfectly. Interesting last name.

@nightscapejournals Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Gary. I wouldn’t say it works perfectly, and still needs some tweaking, but amazing to be up and running in minutes!! Great last name - presumably someone else who’s spent their life saying “no, actually, it’s H *A* W”. 🤣

@cosmicgeek Жыл бұрын

@@nightscapejournals 😆

@92mrkite 2 жыл бұрын

In case of a pier, prefer 3 threaded shafts to support the mount. Optimal to get horizontal stability, analog to the barrel knobs for the collimation of the primary mirror of a Newton reflector. Enjoy your forthcoming clear skies!

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Jean Baptiste. I have opted for a tripod with EQ6R-Pro, and have got a good level and stability by drilling individual holes for the tripod legs through the plastic floor. Maybe a pier one day! But right now, I'm adjusting to using a full GoTo setup, having been 100% manual all my observing life!!

@SimonsAstro 2 жыл бұрын

Nice job Paul, I’m now at that stage of building my observatory! It’s been a long time coming, but not 30 years😀 Glenn has given me plenty of advice over time too! I’ve just subbed to your channel👍Clear Skies!

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

That’s very exciting, Simon - look forward to seeing your progress. I’ve really enjoyed having mine. ☺️

@secretstill Жыл бұрын

Hi Paul, I think you are too modest about your DIY skills. Looks like a nice job to me! I built a 6x6 version following Glenn's model and it has been such a fantastic experience both to build and use. I'm interested to see how you get on with the set up of the scope. One thing I did consider was the effect of wind on the walls transferring to the base so I opted to build a pier with the shed constructed around it. Keep posting the videos! Clear skies. Mark

@nightscapejournals Жыл бұрын

Thanks Mark - that’s very kind. A pier would definitely be the optimum setup in the obsy, but for me that would have been a step too far in terms of my willingness / ability to self-build. Although if I was doing it again now, I’d have more confidence to give it a go. I’ve not had any perceptible issue from wind yet, and the fact that the tripod doesn’t touch the plastic floor (just goes straight through the holes I cut) must help with this. But I’ve not yet imaged on a windy night. 😊

@adyjoy 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video with a great level of detail. I'm hoping to embark on something similar based on a cheap metal shed and your video will definitely come in useful. Any chance of a link to the gate rails you mentioned?

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind words, Ady. Your project sounds exciting - when I purchased my first serious used scope back in 1996, the guy I bought it from had made a roll-off roof observatory from a metal shed - nice, robust design. These are the rails I used: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313541951953 Good luck with your build!

@ian-lw9ns 11 күн бұрын

how did it work out 2 yrs later ? I'm in planning stages for a 2.6m x 3.2m colorbond steel garden shed conversion that will sit on a floating steel framed ground level deck, with the roof supported by boxspan steel columns and beam , using B&D panel lift tracks & rollers , my New Atlux and homemade cf 250mm f/4 newt will be on a steel pier ( was a foreign order I had a welder cobble together ) that will be fixed to big inground concrete footing (0.5 cum ?). Gets up around 40C here in summer and I don't want to have a warm slab producing turbulent air in the observatory so the extra expense of a floating deck is worth it to avoid this allow faster cool down once sun sets. I''ll deal with things in this order 1) concrete footing for steel pier 2) floating deck 3) roof boxspan supp structure w/ panel lift garage door roller guide channels and roof assembly completed. 4) walls assembly and reinforcement ( we get Tropical Cyclones and Tasman Sea Cycles here ) 5) 12v dc power. I've been drooling over other's observatories since I was kid, I'm now retired . This observatory has to see me out so it's got be big enough to accomodate scope upgrades and durable. I''ll hire a handiman to do the work - I dont have the DIYS building skills or gear. I'll power everything using 12V batteries, charged in day time w/ a camping 80W solar panel fixed to the roof. Only thing that will need mains power will be an old desktop and monitor , I'll use a 12VDC - 220VAC 4x4 car inverter .... Observatory will be 13m from back house and I dont want expense of getting a sparky to deal w/ running electric cable in conduit in a trench in the ground. I do plan to build a 14" cf surrier style f/4 newt eventually and I think 2.6m wide shed will be adequate.

@nightscapejournals 3 күн бұрын

Wow, Ian, that sounds like an amazing build! It seems you’ve thought of everything and I wish you all the best with the build and its use. Like you, I’d been drooling over observatories since I was a kid, so building one was a dream come true. However I realised quite quickly that deep sky imaging was not what floated my boat - I struggled with the constant tweaking and fixing of the setup that seemed to be needed and the build was always a little lacking in good craftsmanship. I realised I don’t get the same buzz from deep sky images as I do from taking pictures of the night sky out in the landscape or from observing through en eyepiece (and the floor setup isn’t conducive to observing). So after some painful thought I dismantled it and it now has a new home with an accomplished deep sky imager, who I hope is really enjoying it! Good luck with yours!!

@ian-lw9ns 5 сағат бұрын

I'm getting a 3m x 3.2m slab layed for a separate same size Garden / workshed in mid August will put the same size shed on top ( have a double garage full of stuff and we have tubs full of stuff in spare bdrm, dining, study and laundry that needs moved out. Wife has a bee in her bonnet. Good opportunity to monitor covered slab and shed temperatures over summer to help me decide on floating deck or slab for observatory.

@ian-lw9ns 5 сағат бұрын

@@nightscapejournals I have my first scope build (a 10" f4.7 newt that I've converted to a dob .... I used a PVC stormwater pipe as it's tube (only cause I scored the offcut as a freebee).... heavy tube , but works OK for viewing and stargazing. Might motorise the plywood rocker box and base to make it do GoTo..

@thomaswade6896 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Paul, thanks to you and Astrobloke for taking the time to make these inspiring videos. I came across yours recently and am planning to do something similar. Can I ask if you fixed the keter shed to the base? I live on top of a hill which is great for Astronomy but I catch a lot of wind and presume the sheds are quite light. I have a paved area I would be building on but not sure if I could fix to pavings?

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Thomas - thanks for your kind comments. Sounds like an exciting project! I did not specifically fix mine to the ground. To an extent, the fact that the roof rail extends from the top of the wall structure out on to the outer roof support assembly means there's an element of tethering, so I've not found it necessary. Let me caveat that I'm no structural engineer! A few weeks after finishing it, we had the strongest winds I've ever experienced since we moved to this part of the world - regular 85mph gusts for a 24 hour period. It survived completely unscathed, which is more than I can say for my nerves! But if you're in a super exposed location, it might make sense to either attach a brace to the walls and bolt that to your base, or alternatively place some paving slabs inside the floor of the shed, essentially making it immovable. I hope to post another video in the next couple of weeks on some of the usability challenges I've had. Good luck!

@thomaswade6896 2 жыл бұрын

@@nightscapejournals Thanks for replying Paul I am going to give it a go. I think I’ve found you on Twitter so will let you have some photos when I get going

@nightscapejournals 2 жыл бұрын

@@thomaswade6896 look forward to seeing it! 👍