Telescope Reviews: Orion Ranch Observatory

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Equipment Discussions >> Observatories

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Orion Ranch Observatory
#3430560 - 11/05/09 08:26 AM Attachment (588 downloads)

Well, after a couple of months spending my weekends cutting and chipping cedars and scraping cactus off of the 11.2 acres I bought (Christened Orion Ranch) just down the road from the intersection known as Oatmeal, Texas (4 miles south of Bertram, TX), I finally broke ground on my new roll-off observatory this past weekend! I'll try to keep good picture logs, but this will give you an idea of where I started from.

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3430565 - 11/05/09 08:27 AM Attachment (290 downloads)

More cactus near where we were thinking of putting the observatory.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3430571 - 11/05/09 08:30 AM Attachment (235 downloads)

And even more cactus and cedars in the area where we were thinking of putting the observatory.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3430573 - 11/05/09 08:32 AM Attachment (385 downloads)

And after months of clearing...

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David Pavlich
Transmographied

Reged: 05/18/05

Loc: Mandeville, LA USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3430603 - 11/05/09 09:02 AM

Man...you've done a ton of work. My back aches thinking about it!

So, when do you think the first image will be taken?

David

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3430672 - 11/05/09 09:40 AM

Congratulations! Looks like you will have beautiful, dark skies! At least with the cactus around, don't have to worry about much creeping up on you!

This will be an exciting time for you; and we love taking the journey as it will be built!

Post Extras:

Starman27
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/29/06

Loc: Illinois, Iowa

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#3430868 - 11/05/09 11:31 AM

Now the fun continues.

Post Extras:

andyschlei
professor emeritus

Reged: 03/05/06

Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Starman27]
#3431012 - 11/05/09 12:46 PM

That looks like a wonderful site! Keep those pictures coming.

Post Extras:

Radiostar
professor emeritus

Reged: 10/16/08

Loc: Thunder Bay, Ontario

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: andyschlei]
#3431139 - 11/05/09 01:39 PM

Are you taking reservations yet?

Best wishes for your project.
Eddy B

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Radiostar]
#3431892 - 11/05/09 08:46 PM Attachment (337 downloads)

Here's another view looking back towards the "House" (shack) that was on the property. It's about to fall down, but at least there's stinky well water and restroom facilities! For a frame of reference, the cactus in that second picture above was in front of the fence around that "house". Although I had to crop/shrink it a lot, this gives you an idea of the slight grade I have to deal with. Also, compared to the grey cloudy skies for the past couple months, you can see the beautiful blue skies we're having now!

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3431915 - 11/05/09 09:07 PM Attachment (251 downloads)

And here's a view of the area that's nearest level. Unfortunately there's a nice big red oak (with the moon peeking over its shoulder) right by the area. I don't have a problem eliminating cedars (they grow like weeds) but a big beautiful old oak is another story. It's got a few dead branches, but is still a nice looking tree. Unfortunately, moving the location further down hill doesn't help much for viewing as the elevation of the tree remains the same. Ugh!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3431970 - 11/05/09 09:41 PM Attachment (258 downloads)

And finally, here's last weekend's ground breaking.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: David Pavlich]
#3432021 - 11/05/09 10:07 PM Attachment (227 downloads)

Quote:

Man...you've done a ton of work. My back aches thinking about it! So, when do you think the first image will be taken?

David

Thanks David. I actually took a few pictures a couple of weeks ago during the new moon. That was the first time we had clear skies long enough to even do any observing. It was also our "real" first light on our SkyWatcher ED-100 from Astronomics. That and the 8" SCT hits the limit on my CGEM SBS setup, but here's the Pleiades from that night. Turned out pretty good for a couple hours of shots and some quick processing. The ED-100 takes some nice shots and gives good views. My only complaint is that the focuser is too loose and doesn't hold when near vertical even when locked down. It also tends to shift focus when you tighten the focus lock. I've been meaning to contact Astronomics to see if there's an adjustment that could improve it. I lost about an hour or so of exposures due to shifting focus!

I'm hoping to pour the first pier this weekend and be able to try it out in the coming weeks.

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#3432059 - 11/05/09 10:26 PM Attachment (258 downloads)

Quote:

Congratulations! Looks like you will have beautiful, dark skies! At least with the cactus around, don't have to worry about much creeping up on you!

This will be an exciting time for you; and we love taking the journey as it will be built!

Thanks Carol. Funny you should mention the critters. I kept hearing something creeping around and shuffling in the leaves on a couple nights while I was out there. Finally got the flashlight on it and discovered a small armadillo. Certainly not uncommon here in Central Texas. At least now I know what's been digging all the holes around the area! And then last week we had a visitor come check out our carrying cases we'd left out overnight (attached).

On the other hand, we did catch a nice buck in the headlights when leaving one night. Looks like I'll have a few other things to try to take pictures of while I'm out there.

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432064 - 11/05/09 10:28 PM

Thanks to all for the comments!

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432097 - 11/05/09 10:49 PM Attachment (259 downloads)

Here's my attempt to verify the direction of true north. Either Starry Night gave me the wrong time for the solar transit or my attempt to align on Polaris was WAY off. My initial attempt involved setting a T-post with my red headlamp on it at one end of the field and then moving to the other side and attempting to site the post location to be directly in line with Polaris when vertical and in a position such that it blocked the light from the first post. That SHOULD have been a decent north/south line and is represented by the light shadow in the photo. I then hung a plumb bob from the line and photographed the shadows when the sun was directly overhead (supposedly). The shadow from the plumb line should be pointing straight north. Not sure which is which, but I'll have to try both a couple more times to decide. Once I get the first pier in place I can also attempt to use my telescope alignment to verify the axis as well.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432116 - 11/05/09 11:05 PM Attachment (221 downloads)

Just about level. You can see the north-south line strung up here as well. But boy look at all that rock!

Beo

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David Pavlich
Transmographied

Reged: 05/18/05

Loc: Mandeville, LA USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432124 - 11/05/09 11:11 PM

Nice image of M45! It's one of the images that I never grow tired of seeing. The blue nebulosity is gorgeous. As a matter of fact, I was thinking about imaging it, printing a bunch, frame them up and send them to family and friend for Christmas.

David

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432132 - 11/05/09 11:17 PM Attachment (192 downloads)

And another view showing the wide orientation for the observatory. Of course right in the center you see that big red oak.

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432141 - 11/05/09 11:26 PM Attachment (185 downloads)

So here all the cedars are down on the uphill side, and while I took down a couple big branches off the red oak, I just couldn't bring myself to cut it down.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432152 - 11/05/09 11:36 PM Attachment (170 downloads)

And finally it's down, with what should now be a clear view in all directions above the observatory walls.

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432158 - 11/05/09 11:40 PM Attachment (147 downloads)

After all was said and done, I don't feel too bad about taking that tree down after all. Turns out there was a reason for the number of dead limbs. The core of the tree was completely infested with wood ants and the whole thing would have eventually come toppling down, possibly on my new observatory!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432166 - 11/05/09 11:48 PM Attachment (158 downloads)

Ok, back to the construction! Here's the approximate location of the slab including the two piers. Of course when I initially marked it off I'd forgotten the dimensions I'd finally set on, thus the extra lines!

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432186 - 11/06/09 12:07 AM Attachment (149 downloads)

And just so you can see where I think I'm headed...

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432193 - 11/06/09 12:13 AM Attachment (144 downloads)

So, time to put the backhoe back on the tractor and start digging for the pier! I'm down about a foot here...

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432211 - 11/06/09 12:32 AM Attachment (176 downloads)

And of course at about 1.5-2 feet, I hit a nice sheet of limestone. Time to get out the redneck jackhammer! I had a pointed steel bar laying around and used my T-post pounder to break through the rock. Worked pretty well. By the time I was done the sun was down and Jupiter was bright in the sky. I managed to snap the hand-held shot shown in the upper right in which you can even make out some moons!

Beo

Post Extras:

gr0uch0
member

Reged: 10/18/08

Loc: TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432249 - 11/06/09 01:36 AM

Mark, Jeff, Ed, Kelsey, you...pretty soon there won't be anyone left going to the club's site. Gonna be lonely up there!
Looks like it is gonna be a real winner. Congrats!

Post Extras:

Chris Schroeder
Postmaster

Reged: 12/11/04

Loc: N.E. WI Sky Glow

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3432425 - 11/06/09 07:59 AM

You are going to have a great observing site when it all done. I'm looking forward to you future construction photos.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: gr0uch0]
#3433948 - 11/06/09 11:19 PM

Quote:

Mark, Jeff, Ed, Kelsey, you...pretty soon there won't be anyone left going to the club's site. Gonna be lonely up there!
Looks like it is gonna be a real winner. Congrats!

Oh I'm sure I'll still be out at COE on occasion, but I'll probably just bring the 11" for viewing. I enjoy the public star parties where we get to share the hobby with others, so I'd miss that as well as the general socializing with the rest of the group. And with the land halfway between here and COE, it's a convenient waypoint.

The real challenge will be developing complete remote automation so I can take pictures when I'm not there and without a high speed internet connection to remotely control it.

THAT will be one heck of a (fun) project. We'll see if I actually get around to it before I get around to building a house and moving out there permanently!

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3435680 - 11/08/09 12:28 AM Attachment (146 downloads)

Well, after another long day I'm only about 2.5' deep! Unfortunately a backhoe isn't the greatest match against solid rock. Chances are I could have made similar progress with a pick and shovel and probably not been much more sore. When rock doesn't move, the tractor moves instead. It beats you up pretty good!

We'll see how it goes tomorrow, but if I don't make some progress I may just have to drill the remaining stone an pin the concrete to it. I may do that anyway, but we'll see...

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3435699 - 11/08/09 12:49 AM Attachment (148 downloads)

Since I had to stop when it got dark and it was too cloudy for viewing, I spent the evening working on the form for the pier. I'm doing a 12" pier with a Dan's Pier Plate, but I didn't want to have to deal with all sorts of stuff crowded around the scope. Thus, I'm putting three junction boxes with separate conduits in the column. The goal is to have AC power, low voltage DC power for the drive with separate remote dew control, and digital (USB/serial/Ethernet) paths as needed. While I would like to have had the boxes at the same level (for at least two of the three) I was concerned that would cause too weak of a link in the concrete. As is, I staggered them in angle and height to keep the column as solid as possible. Once all the rebar is in place it should be fine as-is.

Beo

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bryansay
super member

Reged: 02/25/09

Loc: Georgetown, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3439295 - 11/09/09 11:10 PM

Wow! You have been busy. Looks like you are making great progress out there. Can't wait to see it.

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3439350 - 11/09/09 11:52 PM

Great photos following your progress! Love the little tracks on your cases

Good thing you took that tree down; that could have been bad!

Post Extras:

matthew2000tx
sage

Reged: 12/14/06

Loc: San Antonio, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#3439703 - 11/10/09 08:45 AM

Lookn' good some day my wife and I hope to have a nice roll off roof here in Texas. Can't wait to see the finished project. It looks good so far

Post Extras:

Mike I. Jones
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 07/02/06

Loc: Fort Worth TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3439762 - 11/10/09 09:27 AM

I was wondering: before you pour your pier, do you have to do anything to keep the liquid concrete from leaking into the outlets? Wrap them with Saran wrap, masking tape, etc.? Or is it a problem at all?
Thanks,
Mike

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Mike I. Jones]
#3441053 - 11/10/09 09:37 PM

Quote:

I was wondering: before you pour your pier, do you have to do anything to keep the liquid concrete from leaking into the outlets? Wrap them with Saran wrap, masking tape, etc.? Or is it a problem at all?
Thanks,
Mike

Mike:

I actually put covers over each box and set them up with duct tape at the top and bottom. I slit the tube at top and bottom of each box and pulled the duct tape through to seal top and bottom. If you look closely you should be able to see it along the outside edge of each box. I'm relying on the contact to the tube on either side to keep concrete from leaking in that way. If all goes well I'll be able to just remove the covers and install whatever I need. I'll take pictures of the outside of the tube before or when I pour the pier so you can see how that looks.

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3441084 - 11/10/09 09:50 PM Attachment (144 downloads)

Well, after another couple of long days I managed to more or less level the bottom of the hole, while at most getting another inch or so deeper overall. At this point I think that's as far as I'm going to be able to go...

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3441096 - 11/10/09 09:56 PM Attachment (113 downloads)

Since I have a bunch of unmovable rock, I might as well use it, so I'm pinning the concrete to it. I drilled about 6" deep in various directions and hammered 1/2" rebar into the rock.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3441114 - 11/10/09 10:08 PM Attachment (128 downloads)

And, after a few more hours of work I have a rebar cage made up. I probably should have made it SLIGHTLY smaller to give more concrete between walls/top/bottom and the rebar, but this'll have to do!

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3441123 - 11/10/09 10:12 PM

And thanks to Bryan, Carol, and Mathew for your comments! One more day off and I should be able to get the concrete poured!

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3444892 - 11/12/09 10:43 PM Attachment (131 downloads)

Another long day. Here's the rebar for the pier.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3444897 - 11/12/09 10:47 PM Attachment (131 downloads)

As promised, here's a shot of the outside of the pier tube where you can see one of the three outlet boxes.

Beo

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3444904 - 11/12/09 10:51 PM Attachment (131 downloads)

Here's the pier plate with the anchor bolts installed and wrapped to protect it from the concrete.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3444908 - 11/12/09 10:52 PM Attachment (136 downloads)

Mixing the last batch of concrete as the sun sets!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3444912 - 11/12/09 10:55 PM Attachment (126 downloads)

Finishing up in the dark.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3444914 - 11/12/09 10:58 PM Attachment (144 downloads)

And in case anyone every tries to take this thing out!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3444916 - 11/12/09 10:59 PM Attachment (120 downloads)

And the date (would have put the time if there was room!)

Post Extras:

David Pavlich
Transmographied

Reged: 05/18/05

Loc: Mandeville, LA USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3445331 - 11/13/09 08:57 AM

I don't know, Beo...looks a bit flimsy to me.

I can't imagine a whole lot of vibration from it.

David

Post Extras:

HunterofPhotons
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 04/26/08

Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3445806 - 11/13/09 01:12 PM

Quote:

Here's the pier plate with the anchor bolts installed and wrapped to protect it from the concrete.

Did you forget to insert the pier plate into the wet concrete?

dan

Post Extras:

quantumac
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 12/17/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: HunterofPhotons]
#3445872 - 11/13/09 01:46 PM

Looks like your pier has about the same amount of concrete in it as mine. My pier hasn't budged in 15 years. At the time, my step-dad thought it was overkill, but I figured concrete is cheap and you can't have too much stability.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: HunterofPhotons]
#3446596 - 11/13/09 06:57 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Here's the pier plate with the anchor bolts installed and wrapped to protect it from the concrete.

Did you forget to insert the pier plate into the wet concrete?

dan

Dan, no, it's there. If you look at the column with the level sitting on top, that's sitting on the pier plate. The concrete stops just below the hole you can see poked in the side of the tube. I did that so I could see how well the concrete had leveled after insertion of the anchor bolts. Beyond that, the idea of using the tube to make sure the plate was aligned really came from the docs on Dan's Pier Plates site. It wasn't perfect because my tube is about 12.5" in diameter, but it was good enough.

Beo

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3447528 - 11/14/09 10:46 AM

Now, you're ready to go!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#3450423 - 11/15/09 11:55 PM Attachment (145 downloads)

Here's the pier with the pier plate exposed and a temporary pad around it. Now just to get some clear skies to try it out! At least I'm avoiding the temptation to put something on it and giving it time to cure instead.

Beo

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3451296 - 11/16/09 01:04 PM

Quote:

And in case anyone every tries to take this thing out!

In this day and age, people will take anything that's not nailed down, and even things that are!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: hm insulators]
#3452802 - 11/17/09 08:56 AM Attachment (129 downloads)

Well, the skies cleared last night so we had to give the pillar a shot at first light. The real goal was to watch for the Leonids, but we chickened out before it was late enough to see any. At any rate, the 11" looks great up on that pier!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3453837 - 11/17/09 06:54 PM Attachment (151 downloads)

Wow, we caught one! On going through my wide-field shots of Orion rising over Orion Ranch I actually found one meteorite trail amongst all the airplane trails through the pictures. Check out the lower left corner of this shot.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3453843 - 11/17/09 06:55 PM Attachment (145 downloads)

And here's the full resolution portion.

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3455131 - 11/18/09 01:32 PM

Nice setup! Beautiful astrophotography, as well. You are on your way to your Observatory!

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bryansay
super member

Reged: 02/25/09

Loc: Georgetown, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#3456666 - 11/19/09 10:46 AM

I was just looking at this during our conf call and all I can say is WOW!

Post Extras:

Tsarbomba
member

Reged: 11/10/09

Loc: Ajax, Canada

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: bryansay]
#3458425 - 11/20/09 09:07 AM

Very cool, looks like a great location.

Clear skys,

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Tsarbomba]
#3463197 - 11/23/09 12:37 AM Attachment (161 downloads)

I pulled the tube today. Looks like the outlet boxes did well. There are a few voids near the edges, but that works well since it will help hold the plaster when I go for a finish coat. Here are views from each of the three sides showing each outlet box.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3463213 - 11/23/09 12:55 AM Attachment (153 downloads)

Here's the pier plate adjusted for North and with the pier adapter plate for the CGEM installed.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3463221 - 11/23/09 01:02 AM Attachment (145 downloads)

And here's the CGEM all mounted up. After contacting Astronomics support and getting a response from SkyWatcher, I was able to adjust the focuser on the ED100 so now it holds fine when vertical.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3463224 - 11/23/09 01:08 AM Attachment (138 downloads)

After using the pier with the NexStar for one night, it's time for an eyepiece holder. Here's the plan...

Beo

Post Extras:

blatterjr
sage

Reged: 08/13/07

Loc: Saint Petersburg Florida

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3468581 - 11/25/09 08:05 PM

Nice project. =)

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: blatterjr]
#3471887 - 11/27/09 10:51 PM

Thanks Robert.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3471889 - 11/27/09 10:52 PM Attachment (127 downloads)

After a week of chipping branches...

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3471899 - 11/27/09 11:04 PM Attachment (118 downloads)

Prepping to dig the second pier.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3471903 - 11/27/09 11:09 PM Attachment (119 downloads)

After one day of digging. First foot took about 10 minutes and the next 6-8" took the rest of the day!

Beo

Post Extras:

Chris Schroeder
Postmaster

Reged: 12/11/04

Loc: N.E. WI Sky Glow

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3472367 - 11/28/09 09:45 AM

Looks like some real nasty soil to be digging in.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Chris Schroeder]
#3473345 - 11/28/09 10:59 PM

Soil? What Soil?

It's pretty much one big rock!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3473369 - 11/28/09 11:14 PM Attachment (94 downloads)

So, after another day of digging, I finally made it to the same depth as the other pier.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3473371 - 11/28/09 11:15 PM Attachment (88 downloads)

And here's the rebar cage for the new pier. This one's a bit more robust than the previous one.

Beo

Post Extras:

BajaPaco
sage

Reged: 10/30/09

Loc: Baja California, Mexico

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3480904 - 12/03/09 03:41 AM

I'm impressed already - thanks for sharing I look forward to following your progress. Clear skies!

Post Extras:

eplumer
member

Reged: 01/24/09

Loc: Georgetown, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: BajaPaco]
#3483901 - 12/04/09 07:12 PM

Hi Michael,

Thought I would drop you a note ... progress looks great! We can swap observatory open house tours next year. That rock looks like it was a nightmare. I was glad my rock was not so solid.

If I don't catch you beforehand, Merry Christmas!

Edward

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: eplumer]
#3485125 - 12/05/09 03:12 PM

Hello Beo and Edward,

I've been following both of your progress. Looks great on both ends. All I want to know is when is the Observatory Open House (or Housewarming)? Pictures are great, but I want to see the results with my own MkII eyeballs.

Warm regards from SA,

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Skip]
#3485933 - 12/06/09 12:18 AM

Hi to both Skip and Ed. I definitely want to have a star party out there before too long, whether or not the observatory's complete. My only rule is don't bring any sand burs from COE! I've had enough to do getting rid of cactus; I don't want to start fighting those too. I've actually quarantined all my ground cover stuff we use at COE...

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3485942 - 12/06/09 12:24 AM Attachment (105 downloads)

Pouring day. Here's the start of the pins to tie the concrete to the surrounding rock.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3485965 - 12/06/09 12:37 AM Attachment (89 downloads)

Here's the rebar cage for the pier itself.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3485970 - 12/06/09 12:42 AM Attachment (103 downloads)

The outlets and form are done the same as before, but with the boxes in a mirror image configuration from the first. That way, the communication and low voltage power conduits are headed in the same direction from both piers. In order to get the second pier properly aligned with the first, I expected to need bracing for the form this time.

Can you see the one mistake I made here? I forgot that the covers for the outlet boxes are actually bigger than the box itself. The slits in the tube for the top and bottom were measured and cut to match the box, not the cover. Thus, I'll have a bit of chipping to do once it comes time to open those boxes. I wasn't about to go back and redo it once I'd realized that (about the time I finished putting all three boxes in).

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3485973 - 12/06/09 12:49 AM Attachment (156 downloads)

And of course the pier plate all protected and ready to go.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3485975 - 12/06/09 12:50 AM Attachment (118 downloads)

Rebar cage and pins all in place.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3485977 - 12/06/09 12:53 AM Attachment (132 downloads)

Did the pour a bit different this time. Poured most of the footer and THEN added the rebar cage for the pier and finally the tube form. Went much smoother without having to work around the pier form.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3485981 - 12/06/09 12:58 AM Attachment (150 downloads)

Finishing up as the sun sets. What a sunset!

Beo

Post Extras:

andyschlei
professor emeritus

Reged: 03/05/06

Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3487694 - 12/06/09 11:59 PM

Wow, great progress. Keep those pictures coming!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: andyschlei]
#3500107 - 12/13/09 10:11 PM

No new pictures tonight (forgot the camera) but we had a nice clear day with a temporarily mostly clear evening, so we set up for first light on the second pier. I set up some old wood pallets and a couple of pieces of plywood to have a walking area the height of the eventual floor. Worked pretty well.

Beo

Post Extras:

rodney
Vendor - Explora Dome

Reged: 03/08/05

Loc: Asbury, NJ

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3503817 - 12/15/09 10:15 PM

Following your thread. Looking forward to more images. Both of the build and your astro shots.

Clear skies,

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: rodney]
#3512143 - 12/20/09 12:41 PM Attachment (167 downloads)

So after another day of working on non-astro related projects on the land, I decided to brave the cold and wait to see if it cleared up as was predicted. It did finally clear up so I was able to get first light on both piers simultaneously. I'm still looking forward to getting a slab poured, but it's nice to have something to use.

Now if I could just get my CGEM to track properly! For some reason ever since putting it on the pier I haven't been able to take steady long exposures. I don't know if it's my power supply, the mount not liking the cold, or what. Surely it couldn't be the pier or pier plate... I guess the other possibility with what I'm seeing is the field flattener I just added, but I can't imagine that's the case.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3515039 - 12/21/09 10:26 PM Attachment (143 downloads)

Patiently awaiting nightfall...

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3515073 - 12/21/09 10:42 PM Attachment (155 downloads)

And one dream realized. Now to get it mounted! I ended up going with quarters to make them smaller and easier to machine. And the price was unbeatable thanks to some good friends in the machine shop.

Beo

Post Extras:

BajaPaco
sage

Reged: 10/30/09

Loc: Baja California, Mexico

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3515847 - 12/22/09 12:06 PM

Beo, thanks for sharing all of the details. It's fun to follow your journey and maybe even learn something in the process.

Post Extras:

TeleTex
member

Reged: 01/27/08

Loc: Texas

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: BajaPaco]
#3521320 - 12/25/09 03:49 PM

Did Orion Ranch get snowed on. We got hammered up here in the Texas panhandle.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: TeleTex]
#3521375 - 12/25/09 04:40 PM

We had a few flurries and bits of sleet, but mostly we just got blown away! While I was curious how viewing would be using the pier in 20 MPH winds, I wasn't curious enough to find out in below freezing temperatures!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3523449 - 12/27/09 02:34 AM Attachment (129 downloads)

After a number of headaches, including some rather cold and windy weather, I finally managed to get one eyepiece holder assembled and mounted.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3523451 - 12/27/09 02:35 AM Attachment (129 downloads)

And here it is in "operation". Works like a charm!

Beo

Post Extras:

Chris Schroeder
Postmaster

Reged: 12/11/04

Loc: N.E. WI Sky Glow

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3523812 - 12/27/09 11:03 AM

Looks great Beo

Post Extras:

JumboFlex
sage

Reged: 01/20/09

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Chris Schroeder]
#3526666 - 12/28/09 09:18 PM

Im jealous, your planned observatory is almost bigger than my backyard!!!

You are doing a fine job, sir. You obviously put a lot of thought into this as well as work.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: JumboFlex]
#3528430 - 12/29/09 08:17 PM

Thanks Chris, Jumbo, and everyone else for your comments. I'm looking forward to taking the next step and getting a slab poured, but I really need to decide what I'm going to do regarding a warm room, etc. before I go there. And in the meantime I have a few other projects to do in order to keep up the ag exemption on the property, so I might not have much new to show for a while (unless someone wants to see pictures of a goat shed, etc.!

)

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3611812 - 02/07/10 11:43 PM Attachment (136 downloads)

Well, I had a rather productive weekend. Friday was the first clear night coinciding with a weekend for some time, and I made the best of it. I finally resolved my tracking/guiding problem by swapping my ST-80 for the C8. Apparently I was suffering from mirror flop that was causing my long exposures to drift. Switching to the ST-80 opened up 10 minute exposures with no problem! So, in celebration, here's a picture of the observatory's namesake (or at least the nebula in said constellation).

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3611814 - 02/07/10 11:44 PM Attachment (149 downloads)

And the setup used to capture it!

Beo

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3612411 - 02/08/10 10:59 AM

Wow! That is outstanding! I'm so envious of talent such as this!

Thanks for posting that beautiful image!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#3613460 - 02/08/10 08:03 PM

Thanks Carol. Always happy to share!

Beo

Post Extras:

John Wunderlin
Vendor - Spike-a Focusing Mask

Reged: 10/01/04

Loc: Mineral Point, Wi

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3616792 - 02/10/10 01:14 PM

The custom eyepiece holder is fantastic. I may need to contact my local shop here for something like that.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: John Wunderlin]
#3617557 - 02/10/10 08:29 PM

Thanks. If you want I could send you a DXF of the print that they could machine it from.

Beo

Post Extras:

antimorris
Vendor (Enterprise Astronomy)

Reged: 08/16/09

Loc: Suffolk, England

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3621189 - 02/12/10 04:29 PM

This is fantastic! I am already getting ideas for my observatory for whenever I have the land to build one!

How did you attach the eyepiece holder onto your pier? It looks fantastic - job well done.

Do let me know if you have a star party, San Antonio isnt all that far - I'd love to see your observatory in action (and enjoy some dark skies for my scope and camera, they are both tired of city lights!)

Post Extras:

Mike I. Jones
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 07/02/06

Loc: Fort Worth TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3622642 - 02/13/10 12:51 PM

I dunno - you may need a gentle heater blanket for the EP's otherwise they are all going to start fogging over at the same time once they cool off below the dewpoint. Insulation over the heater blanket will help keep a heat chimney from rising around the scope.
Mike

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: antimorris]
#3625236 - 02/14/10 11:49 PM

Thanks Anna.

Quote:

How did you attach the eyepiece holder onto your pier?

That was a bit tricky, only because no one seems to sell slotted angle brackets. I finally just bought some brass brackets from Home Depot and cut slots into them to give me the adjustment I needed. Beyond that it was just a masonry bit to drill holes into the pier and insert plastic screw anchors.

If I can ever get back to working on the observatory enough to get it finished I'll definitely have to have a star party!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Mike I. Jones]
#3625242 - 02/14/10 11:52 PM

So far dew on the eyepieces hasn't been a real problem (although dew/frost on everything else has!) I always have the trusty blow dryer for a quick temporary fix, but once I get the permanent power in place I may have to come up with something more elaborate.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3662350 - 03/05/10 07:28 PM Attachment (128 downloads)

So, what's in a name? A HECKUVA LOT OF WORK!

Still, this is FINALLY almost done. Only took me almost 3 months to get this far. At least now I know how to make it rain (and rain, and rain)!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3662365 - 03/05/10 07:34 PM Attachment (127 downloads)

And while I'll have to wait until next fall to take the picture I wanted to get in December, here's a shot of its namesake already risen over the sign. (Orion rises directly over the driveway, so I'm looking forward to an excellently framed picture of the sign with Orion directly above it.) This one's a little out of focus, but I was in a hurry to catch this through a break in the clouds. The good news is that it makes the stars a bit more visible in the reduced image.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3662392 - 03/05/10 07:48 PM Attachment (129 downloads)

At this point, I think I've decided to compromise on the roof and roll it off the long axis, while also moving the warm room off to the end as well. The result is an incredibly long profile, but beyond just moving it, the level of difficulty in making the roof self supporting is drastically reduced. We'll see...

Beo

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3662468 - 03/05/10 08:25 PM

Very cool, indeed! Beautiful sign!

Post Extras:

Fimpster
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 09/24/09

Loc: Aprox. 1 AU from Sun

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#3662869 - 03/06/10 12:38 AM

The sign looks great!

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Fimpster]
#3663612 - 03/06/10 12:46 PM

Great looking sign and plan, Beo. Can't wait to see it in person!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Skip]
#3690729 - 03/19/10 02:07 AM

Thanks to all! Well, I went ahead and bit the bullet and bought the domain name, so now you can find my new website at www.orionranchobservatory.com. It's not much of a webpage yet, but at least it's a portal to some hi res pictures. We'll see which progresses faster; the observatory or the web page!

Beo

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3691893 - 03/19/10 03:25 PM

Wow Beo! That's a really nice start on your website! And your image gallery is astounding.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Skip]
#4105605 - 10/10/10 03:05 PM

Ok, not much progress on the observatory, although there are fewer cedar and cactus on the land than before. We've also added the neighboring ten acres so that now I have to make sure that this location is really where I want my observatory in the long run. Nonetheless I've been managing to get some decent AP and observing now that the weather's cleared for a bit. And I finally captured the picture I'd planned a year ago!

Beo

Post Extras:

nytecam
Postmaster

Reged: 08/20/05

Loc: London UK

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4105910 - 10/10/10 06:25 PM

Nice M42 shot and setup - hope future RoR proceeds well;-)

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: nytecam]
#4107548 - 10/11/10 01:02 PM

Mike,

That picture is GREAT! Hope to see you some time in the future.

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Skip]
#4108263 - 10/11/10 05:36 PM

That picture is perfect!

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4109119 - 10/11/10 11:46 PM

Great photo! That took a little planning!

Post Extras:

Chris Schroeder
Postmaster

Reged: 12/11/04

Loc: N.E. WI Sky Glow

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#4109477 - 10/12/10 07:17 AM

One picture is worth a thousand word, great photo

Post Extras:

Peter9
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/30/08

Loc: Yorkshire - Born & Bred

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Chris Schroeder]
#4114756 - 10/14/10 09:45 AM

Good to see you back Beo, thought we had lost you.

Nice image which will no doubt stir the heart in later years.

Regards Peter..

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Peter9]
#4128499 - 10/19/10 11:37 PM

Thanks all. These days I haven't had much time to spend on CN either, so it's always great to receive such a warm welcome when I do get a chance to pop in and say hi.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Orion Setting on Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4556304 - 05/02/11 12:30 AM

Well, I took this at the start of my last imaging session for a while. I made the difficult decision to tear down my mount for the summer to try to get back to work on the observatory and at least get the slab poured. Of course the fact that my camera cooler failed part way through this imaging session only serves to help support giving up on imaging for a while! Great...more work to do!

Hopefully I'll have things back up and running before Orion graces our skies again.

For reference, I'm including a couple of pics of the piers before the next stage of work.

Beo

Post Extras:

Peter9
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/30/08

Loc: Yorkshire - Born & Bred

Re: Orion Setting on Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4556731 - 05/02/11 09:30 AM

Good to hear from you again Beo.
Skip mentioned your name on the Nexstar forum the other night and it got me thinking about your Orion ranch project.
Pleased it's still on going.

Regards. Peter.

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Setting on Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Peter9]
#4556890 - 05/02/11 10:57 AM

Hi Beo, I sent youi a PM. Sorry I missed you at CTSP!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Setting on Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Skip]
#4557888 - 05/02/11 08:33 PM

Thanks Peter and Skip. Skip, I don't see a PM from you, but sorry I missed you at CTSP. I've posted some pictures from there on my website as well.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: hm insulators]
#4777116 - 08/30/11 12:29 AM

Hi All,

Well, I'm getting closer to trying to get my observatory slab poured, but have decided I need to get much more thorough in my planning to be successful. I still have a number of decisions to make, like windows, construction materials, etc., but I'm making progress and thought I'd share.

Beo

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4778245 - 08/30/11 02:17 PM

Hi Beo,

I looked at your animation and I have a question. It looks like your roof will partially open over your warm room? Would it be better to have a permanent roof over that part and have the roll-off move in the opposite direction? Maybe that complicates the construction too much.

Are you planning to use one of the ROR observatories available on the web? Or do it all yourself?

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Skip]
#4778825 - 08/30/11 07:35 PM

Hey Skip,

The goal is to not have any obstructed view directions. Thus, the angle of the hip roof is roughly the same as the expected light cone between the scopes and the walls. The only way to accomplish that was to run the roof completely off the observatory itself. Splitting the roof anywhere and running off either side would have required moving even further to get to an unobstructed view. Of course adding the warm room complicated things regardless of where I considered putting it.

What I have planned is to make the warm room slab almost a foot lower than the observatory slab, which gives room for a ceiling and some sort of flat roof just to seal the warm room. It's always possible I'll decide it doesn't make a lot of difference moving the roof those last few feet, but either way the warm room needs to be sealed even if the roof covers everything completely.

Beo

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4779750 - 08/31/11 10:06 AM

Hi Beo,

I get it. I also thought about a more unobstructed view after I posted. Your plan sounds perfect! Anxious to see how it all plays out.

A guy on CN NexStar forum (Alex Post) has just completed his obs and it has been fun and instructive to watch. Looking forward to frequent updates on the Orion Ranch!

Best regards,

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Skip]
#4804777 - 09/13/11 12:27 AM

Quote:

Quote:

Hey Chris,

Welcome! I look forward to your input on my project... <SNIP>
Beo

Project looks good!

I might be tempted to completely close and insulate the control room to keep heat convection currents out of the views of the telescopes. Pipe the heat away from the control room using insulated ducting. Use a squirrel cage fan for maximum efficiency and minimum noise. Install a big, openable thermopane window between the control room and the telescope room.

I also like the idea of a floor channel with segmented removable cover panels between the control room and the telescope piers.

That's probably more nit-picking than you were looking for!

Hi Chris,

I'm moving this thread over to here to keep from annoying anyone on your welcome thread.

I definitely plan to have the warm/cool room hermetically sealed. I just haven't drawn the ceiling joists in yet. Things are going to get a bit tight there whatever I do, as I also want to have the drive sprocket over the warm room as that's the one location that will provide continuous contact with the roll-off. Problem is, that's perpendicular to the logical direction of the ceiling joists. I really don't want to have a 16' span going the other way! There's also door clearance and other issues to deal with. I still have some playing around to do there before I'm totally satisfied. I've already made the observatory walls a bit taller than I'd planned to allow for a standard code door and header. I know I could always go to a steel lintel to allow a shorter header, but the additional height is currently keeping me from having to make a step down inside the observatory (as opposed to a step up in the warm room). As far as heat from the control room, I figure that anything that makes it through the insulation in the ceiling will be caught under the open roll-off and tend to dissipate out away from the observatory. Either that or it will make a chimney flue out the ridge vents!

The window between warm/cold/control room is an interesting idea. I'd envisioned the possibility of using a fan in the doorway to pull air conditioned air into the observatory if needed (although that's basically a waste of electricity). I'm not exactly sure what other purpose a window there would serve. On the one hand, it seems you could check your equipment from the control room, but then you'd also have to shutter any lights. It also brings up the same security questions with windows. I'm not sure which room will be more secure, but I want SOMETHING to be secure!

As for cabling, I have three outlet boxes embedded in the piers, one for AC, one for DC, and one for digital. However, I was planning to go ahead and run at least one 3-4" PVC tube under the concrete as well for routing anything too big to fit through the conduit. The channel's not a bad idea either, but would require a bit of structural adjustment, not to mention added cost and a bump to roll my chair across! Of course the hole at the end of the PVC pipe won't be much of a picnic either. I'll have to think about that.

Currently the plan is for the north pier (closest to the warm room) to be the dedicated AP mount (as it has been) and the south pier to be for the visual scope. The setups are identical in case there's ever reason to change, but the north pier will have a better view of the southern sky. While I plan to have a remote PC in the warm room for monitoring the progress and possibly doing some processing, I still envision the need for a PC and display in the observatory proper so that I can find guide stars. Given that requires futzing with the OAG, etc. I don't think running back and forth to the control room is such a good idea! In that case, then all I really need is an Ethernet or even wireless connection back to the control room for accessing a shared drive and remote desktop.

Beo

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Chris Erickson
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 05/08/06

Loc: Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4805000 - 09/13/11 07:00 AM

Quote:

...As far as heat from the control room, I figure that anything that makes it through the insulation in the ceiling will be caught under the open roll-off and tend to dissipate out away from the observatory. Either that or it will make a chimney flue out the ridge vents!

One of two things will happen. Either you will be completely cooked out of the control room by trapped heat or you will have a big thermal source in the telescope view. That darn conservation of energy thing. And FWIW, every computer, light and other electrical device gives off heat. If a PC burns 200 watts of electricity, it is also radiating 200 watts of heat. Humans give off lots of heat too. Better to insulate and have ventilation with the exhaust piped well away from the observatory. Of course most people don't bother with thermal energy management in their amateur observatories. Personally I believe that is a mistake.

Your control room will naturally seek thermal equilibrium. If you are generating 1000 or so watts of heat in the control room, the temperature of the control room will rise until the amount of heat leakage matches the amount of heat generation and the amount of heat leakage will be based on the delta between inside and outside temperatures. So in other words, without active ventilation, if you are generating 1000 watts of heat in the control room, the control room will be radiating 1000 watts of heat, no matter how well insulated it is. The insulation will determine the inside temperature that will be reached before that equilibrium is reached. The best solution is active ventilation of the heat well away form the observatory. This is a standard feature of all modern professional observatories.

And heat will not be caught under the roof. It will simply heat the roof until it reaches its thermal equalization temperature and then radiates just as much heat as it receives from the control room.

The only other variable in the thermodynamics of an observatory is what is carried away laterally by any wind. And that will depend on wind speed, altitude and ambient humidity.

Quote:

The window between warm/cold/control room is an interesting idea. I'd envisioned the possibility of using a fan in the doorway to pull air conditioned air into the observatory if needed (although that's basically a waste of electricity). I'm not exactly sure what other purpose a window there would serve.

It is pretty convenient for testing and troubleshooting. And it is a nice touch for visitors. Make sure to have reasonably heavy, lightproof curtains or shutters.

Quote:

As for cabling, I have three outlet boxes embedded in the piers, one for AC, one for DC, and one for digital. However, I was planning to go ahead and run at least one 3-4" PVC tube under the concrete as well for routing anything too big to fit through the conduit. The channel's not a bad idea either, but would require a bit of structural adjustment, not to mention added cost and a bump to roll my chair across! Of course the hole at the end of the PVC pipe won't be much of a picnic either. I'll have to think about that.

Conduit is several orders of magnitude more difficult to deal with than a floor channel when it comes to installing and changing wiring. Most PC-class wires really do not like to be pulled through conduits and especially past existing wiring. Network cables and Teflon-coated electrical wire are nominal exceptions.

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buddyjesus
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 07/07/10

Loc: Davison, Michigan

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Chris Erickson]
#4806070 - 09/13/11 06:07 PM

could just try an electric blanket in that control room.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: buddyjesus]
#4806622 - 09/14/11 12:56 AM

Generally I don't expect to be heating the control room too much in winter, beyond the electric blanket that I currently use in my travel trailer during the winter. I'm actually more concerned about summer months where I'll be running an air conditioner out the far side of the control room. That will be a bit of a heat plume, and again be captured under the roll-off, provided it's still enough, and probably eventually make it's way out of the ridge vents. I'd expect the additional heat gradient to be pretty diffuse by that point and probably be no worse than the heat radiating from the roof itself until that cools down. And it's not like those 90 degree Texas nights won't be causing all sorts of thermal havoc as it is!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4840500 - 10/02/11 11:49 PM

Hi all,

I've made a bit more progress in my framing design and thought I'd share another picture. Still a long way to go, but at least I'm getting an idea of what it's really going to take. I'm a bit scared to convert materials to cost here though!

Beo

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4841125 - 10/03/11 11:14 AM

Lookin' good, Beo, lookin' good!

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: Skip]
#5022770 - 01/17/12 12:56 PM

Ok, after about a six month long effort, I finally have the next stage for my observatory completed. I haven't posted anything on this, so this will be one big long summary. As you may recall, I'd shut down my astrophotography at the start of last summer. However, the unbearably hot and dry summer we had made doing any work under full sun pretty impossible. Thus, it wasn't until this fall that I started making any sort of progress on preparing the footings, and that took me right into this last week before I was ready to have the foundation poured.

So I managed to dig holes through the rock for a couple of batter board posts at the start of July, and a couple more a few weeks later. (Note: This pictures are linked to my website. If I re-arrange things at a later date, the embedded images may break, but the link typically still works.

It wasn't until October that I finally got the batter boards in place and leveled so that I could really start!

I used an old fashioned water level to make sure that the lines were good. For something this size, that's more accurate than the cheap laser level I had.

So finally I can string level lines and start the ground work for the foundation.

Digging the first of the footers near the end of October.

I had to chip a bit of one of the pier footings to allow me to run a 4" pipe for cables under the slab and maintain vibration isolation.

Getting the pad under one end leveled out.

And the west footing with various conduits for the piers.

Working some more on the warm room side:

And the east footings.

By mid November I had footings for the observatory proper:

Digging through all that rock, the footings tend to get too wide, so I had to fill back in.

Before completing the warm room footing, I had to trench for the main power cable:

And then fill that back in and finish up the warm room footings.

Driving a ground rod into solid rock doesn't work so well, even with a jack hammer!

So finally by January 8th I've filled in some more areas and cleaned up the site, ready to have a contractor set forms and pour the concrete!

I put about an inch of foam around the base of each pier to isolate them from the slab.

I also had to take down the Orion Ranch sign and trim a few trees to make clearance for the concrete trucks!

At the end of day one, about 3/4 of the forms are up.

By the end of day two, they have the perimeter forms complete and rebar in the beams. I've also tied my pier vapor barrier into theirs.

By the end of day three, they have the rebar finished, and the forms for the step, and I've tied in all my conduits to come up out of the slab. Time to pour!

The first concrete truck arrives!

Pouring all the footings for the upper section first.

Second truck pours the slab (after getting lost).

Oops! The contractor kind of messed up when trying to thin the last of the concrete a bit and left the water on. Now I have a lake of concrete. Guess that's what I get for pouring on Friday the 13th!

Just a bit more on the last truck for the lower slab.

Then it's just a day of troweling the surface and watching concrete cure!

By the end of the day they've already popped the forms and continue to trowel the face.

They come back the next day to underpin the face and clean up a bit. Here's the finished foundation.

Of course there are tons more photos on my webpage now. Enjoy!

Beo

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Gastrol
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 11/04/11

Loc: los angeles

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5022814 - 01/17/12 01:13 PM

Fantastic job on laying out the foundation!
Water levels are dead accurate I use it as well.

Post Extras:

andyschlei
professor emeritus

Reged: 03/05/06

Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5022830 - 01/17/12 01:24 PM

Great shots! Great progress too.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: andyschlei]
#5026494 - 01/19/12 10:35 AM

Thanks for the comments guys!

Beo

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hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5026727 - 01/19/12 12:41 PM

Man, Texas has had an awful time with the drought. It's a wonder you were able to dig the soil at all! We're starting to dry up over here in Arizona, too; we had a poor monsoon (more like a "non-soon") this past summer and with the La Nina conditions, we haven't had the usual snowfall in the mountains so far this winter.

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starbob1
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 03/11/07

Loc: IN

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: hm insulators]
#5027258 - 01/19/12 06:06 PM

Really nice job.I never heard of a water level.That is pretty cool.Then again I am just a Painter.You should have plenty of room.That was my biggest mistake not making my room bigger.Thanks Bob

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Gastrol
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 11/04/11

Loc: los angeles

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: starbob1]
#5027274 - 01/19/12 06:19 PM

Quote:

I never heard of a water level.

It's a simple method and it's dead accurate.
The Egyptians used it to level their pyramid's foundations.

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MANDII
professor emeritus

Reged: 11/23/10

Loc: HONG KONG

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: Gastrol]
#5027653 - 01/19/12 10:14 PM

Ambitious PLAN
Really to Keep on till the end
Good Progress so far
Good explination and pictures so far
GOOD WORK !!!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: hm insulators]
#5028138 - 01/20/12 07:42 AM

Quote:

Man, Texas has had an awful time with the drought. It's a wonder you were able to dig the soil at all! We're starting to dry up over here in Arizona, too; we had a poor monsoon (more like a "non-soon") this past summer and with the La Nina conditions, we haven't had the usual snowfall in the mountains so far this winter.

Yeah, it's been pretty rough. My ground is bare and hay is incredibly expensive. We've had some rain, but not enough to break the drought. I just hope I don't lose any more big oak trees!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: starbob1]
#5028146 - 01/20/12 07:47 AM

Quote:

Really nice job.I never heard of a water level.That is pretty cool.Then again I am just a Painter.You should have plenty of room.That was my biggest mistake not making my room bigger.Thanks Bob

Yeah, I'm glad I enlarged over what I'd originally planned. I think it's really going to be comfortable! Of course I recently realized I should probably have made the piers about 3' further apart to give my wife room for her chaise lounge that she likes to use to watch for meteors!

On the water level, that's what they used when they built my pool years ago and I was impressed with the concept. Just glad I remembered it.

Beo

Post Extras:

Peter9
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/30/08

Loc: Yorkshire - Born & Bred

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5028213 - 01/20/12 08:44 AM

Thanks for the up-dates Beo. Its been a long time, but well worth the wait.

Hope all continues to go smoothly.

Regards. Peter.

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Foundation Done! new

[Re: Peter9]
#5028588 - 01/20/12 12:50 PM

Great job, Beo. Can't wait till it's finshed so I can come down to see the obs.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Utilities new

[Re: Skip]
#5298640 - 07/01/12 10:27 PM

Hi guys! After several months of digging and chipping through tons of Texas limestone, I have the power out to my observatory. Below's a summary of the process, although there are more details on my website. Just click on a picture for more detail.

So the first thing I had to do was replace this disastrous corroded and burnt up little breaker box with something having some room for expansion and a better current rating. This was at the end of January after completing the observatory slab...

And this one will do! I'll never fill it up, but it gives me a 200 amp main.

Hanging the new higher current drop. I didn't plan to do this when I started the day, but after talking to the guys from the power company, it made sense to do it all at once so I didn't have to expand later.

Finished up after a good day's work.

First day of trenching from the observatory site towards the power pole. A friend and co-worker is enjoying his lifelong dream of running a backhoe! Note the jackhammer in front of the backhoe. No chance of just digging through this rock!

After another day of hard work.

And where we're headed...

Another day, a week later, getting through the area between the fence and well house.

After the next weekend, the trenches are connected and extended a bit.

The interesting thing about all this digging was the difference in soil types we dug through. While most is Texas limestone/caliche with some black topsoil, there's also sandstone/sandy soil.

The depth of topsoil and easily diggable (with a backhoe) soil varied from ~0.5 to over four feet. There was even an area with a fissure full of topsoil to full depth. In other areas, there were big boulders in deep topsoil that had to be chipped through.

On the next weekend, I dug up to the driveway where I stopped until I had time to get all the way across and done burying the power lines in one shot.

Before that, I also have to get the trench over to the animal stalls/"barn" where I need to route power and water. Here's where I was at the next weekend.

The next weekend and that trench is quite a bit further:

Taking a few days off to make the cut across the driveway and hitting the hardest rock yet!

And a ways further on the trench to the barn.

Here's the two rolls of wire. The larger is for the observatory's 230 foot run, and the smaller for the 190' to the barn.

That is one LONG trench!

Running the observatory power cable and adding conduit:

Observatory conduit finished...

And then the conduit for the barn:

Covering enough to get the driveway back.

Trench and conduit finished to the barn the next weekend.

Breaker box added in the barn.

And conduit run back to the RV outlet for my trailer.

Here's the rock filter I built at the start of this. It lets me sort between four different rock sizes, from dirt, gravel, and larger.

After a layer of select fill (rock dust & caliche) and rock, I ran water lines to both the observatory location and barn.

Let there be water!

Temporary power connection at the observatory.

Filling in with another layer of select fill and rock.

And finally filling in with topsoil by the first of June!

And what a pile of rock left over! Hopefully I'll still have topsoil after the first good rain (if we ever get any).

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5298686 - 07/01/12 10:57 PM

After finally completing the power, there was one more thing to do before I could start construction of the observatory proper. I needed to pour the pier footings for the roll-off rails. I decided to go for 16' spans, which will take three laminated 2x12s per beam.

Marking the location of the piers.

The typical hole with the strings for both the slab edge line and the height setting string going diagonal across the hole. The central post hole is at least 3' deep, with about a 16" square hole at the top.

Rebar cage in one of the holes.

Getting ready to pour...

With the summer heat, I had to split the pour across two days. Here's the start of the second day. You can see the post hole digger on the tractor.

The two piers furthest from the slab were done the first day.

And everything was finished off the next day.

Showing each rail line.

Here's the water level I used to get the height.

I finished by covering everything with mulch and cardboard to slow the curing time.

Now, given the summer heat, and just how hard it was to finish this; not to mention everything else I need to do out on the land; I think I'm going to put off the rest of the construction effort until this fall when we actually get some cooler weather!

Beo

Post Extras:

Mirzam
Post Laureate

Reged: 04/01/08

Loc: Lovettsville, VA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Utilities new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5298982 - 07/02/12 07:35 AM

Nice!!

JimC

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Utilities new

[Re: Mirzam]
#5299575 - 07/02/12 06:19 PM

You've got more gumption than I. I think after encountering that much rock, I would have planted some C4 and blown the whole thing to rock dust!

OK, not really. Looking good Beo. Keep us informed. This is fun - building your observatory while sitting here in air conditioned comfort.

Post Extras:

Jeff in Austin
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/26/07

Loc: TEXAS

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Utilities new

[Re: Skip]
#5299868 - 07/02/12 09:23 PM

Wow! You have been busy! That's going to be quite an obs when you are done. Good luck with the rest of the build.

Post Extras:

stkoepke
sage

Reged: 01/11/08

Loc: Abilene, Texas

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5300111 - 07/03/12 01:49 AM

Looks like it is all coming together, you've made a great deal of progress. Dealing with rock can be a real challenge...

Although I could use a couple of pickup loads of the bigger rocks there....

Quote:

Now, given the summer heat, and just how hard it was to finish this; not to mention everything else I need to do out on the land; I think I'm going to put off the rest of the construction effort until this fall when we actually get some cooler weather!

High temps have put a hold on my obs too. Fall is looking like a much better idea

.

Looking forward to more posts later on.

Post Extras:

Peter9
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/30/08

Loc: Yorkshire - Born & Bred

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: stkoepke]
#5300176 - 07/03/12 05:41 AM

Nice to hear from you again Beo. PLeased to see you are further along the road to completing your Obs.

Good luck in the fall.

Regards. Peter.

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: Peter9]
#5300942 - 07/03/12 04:56 PM

Quite the ambitious project!

Post Extras:

andyschlei
professor emeritus

Reged: 03/05/06

Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: hm insulators]
#5302706 - 07/04/12 06:09 PM

Great work and thanks for all the pictures!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: andyschlei]
#5463012 - 10/09/12 10:49 PM

Hi all. As things are finally cooling off in Central Texas, I'm hoping to get out and start putting up some walls sometime next month. After numerous setbacks where my model kept getting corrupted (backups, backups, backups!), I'm finally just about done and will be posting some detailed pics in the not too distant future. However, I have posted one shot of the way I plan to capture the roof along the entire length of the roll-off.

Basically the plan is to have the top plate on the wall be wider than the rest of the frame, and use a 2x8 across the top of the beam to provide a lip along the entire length of the rail. I can then capture that along the outside edge with an additional 2x8 running down the side and a small piece underneath. Somewhere in there I want to add a continuous brush to prevent pest infiltration, but I'm still worried about having too much friction along the entire length! Thoughts?

Beo

Post Extras:

jblaschke
super member

Reged: 03/07/08

Loc: New Braunfels, Texas

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5465451 - 10/11/12 02:13 PM

Wow. Having dug and and put up fence through that Hill Country limestone, I have to applaud your tenacity! Looks like it's going to be a beauty when finished!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: jblaschke]
#5466151 - 10/11/12 11:25 PM

Thanks Jayme!

I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

Beo

Post Extras:

mikey cee
Postmaster

Reged: 01/18/07

Loc: bellevue ne.

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Roll-off Rail Piers new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5466627 - 10/12/12 10:25 AM

No pain no gain.

Mike

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Walk-through new

[Re: mikey cee]
#5571928 - 12/15/12 01:44 AM

Hi All:

I'm cross-posting this same message to my original thread, as this is where I'll be posting the other pictures later this week... I'm about ready to start standing up some walls on Orion Ranch Observatory, and will be sharing some design photos and plans, as well as letting you follow along with the construction. I've added a lot of generally unnecessary detail to my 3-D model just trying to make sure I have everything planned out and don't forget anything (and just for the fun of it on some things) so I thought I'd share a walk-through of the nearly complete design. The resolution's not great, and there are some rendering issues, but for the most part it looks pretty good. I'll see about posting some individual screen shots over the weekend. Please let me know if I'm missing anything (other than the soffits/vents, and the box around the vent fan). It's a pain trying to make sure I've thought of all of the materials, etc. so my BOM's right and things will go smoothly!

Thanks,

Beo

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Walk-through new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5574112 - 12/16/12 12:45 PM

Lookin good, Beo! Can't wait for some more pics of construction progress. Thanks for keeping us updated.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Walk-through new

[Re: Skip]
#5575072 - 12/17/12 01:07 AM

Thanks Skip! I've put a few exterior shots of the model online. I'll try to get some interior shots put up tomorrow.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Orion Ranch Observatory - Interior and Framing new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5588724 - 12/25/12 05:54 PM

Hi all. I've been pretty busy, but here are some images of the interior as well as the framing plans for the observatory.

Enjoy!

Beo

Observatory Interior, looking East:

Looking North:

Looking South:

Looking West:

Warm room looking East:

Looking North:

Looking West:

Here are some views of the framing.

Edited by Lord Beowulf (12/25/12 06:32 PM)

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5588830 - 12/25/12 07:44 PM

And now I can start building! Last Thursday I ordered everything from Home Depot. On Friday I got out and sealed the concrete (should have done that long ago) and finished preparing the site for the arrival of materials. Finished up as the sun sets...

Saturday the materials arrived.

Weaving through the trees!

LOTS of stuff!

But eventually everything's off the truck and on palettes so it's off the ground.

Cutting the first piece of wood!

By Saturday night I have a nice stack of studs cut down to size and the ends that will become the eaves of the roll-off.

Marking the frame boundary with chalk lines.

Positioning the first couple of sill plates.

Part way through framing the first wall.

Finishing off the frame for the observatory air conditioner on Sunday evening.

Starting Monday with standing up the first wall after bracing it.

First wall up, second segment almost framed.

Second wall braced and up. We have a corner!

And by Monday night I have a third wall segment done up to the door location.

Looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow! As always, you can click on any of these to see the web page for full sized images as well as additional images not posted here.

Beo

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5588860 - 12/25/12 08:25 PM

Post Extras:

Scott Horstman
Vendor - Backyard Observatories

Reged: 03/11/04

Loc: Too Far North, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5588985 - 12/25/12 10:21 PM Attachment (23 downloads)

Nice job Beo. Not sure if your drawing depicts the ribs on the metal roofing or how you plan on running the hip rafters but you want to keep all the load on the rollers. Just put your bottom gutter boards on the north and south ends and then lay out your 16" or 24" centers up the hips from that and put your "rafters" in like this.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Scott Horstman]
#5589020 - 12/25/12 10:55 PM

Thanks Scott. You've actually shown me this picture in the past, confirming the idea I'd originally had for that part. The images show a standing seam metal roof, but that will be over an OSB decking on the wood framing. I also adopted a slightly modified version of the wheel mounting system you have here. My approach provides a continuous capture mechanism on the top rail.

Beo

Roof frame:

Capture Mechanism:

Post Extras:

JJK
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 04/28/08

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Interior and Framing new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5589219 - 12/26/12 04:46 AM

A friend of mine built a RoR observatory with a warm room/control room that had a double pane window between the two rooms. That allowed the scopes to be viewed while slewing, and made the warm room feel larger.

Post Extras:

Scott Horstman
Vendor - Backyard Observatories

Reged: 03/11/04

Loc: Too Far North, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5589294 - 12/26/12 08:17 AM Attachment (22 downloads)

Quote:

My approach provides a continuous capture mechanism on the top rail.

We've been doing this the last few years, mostly on remote observatories. It's pretty straight forward and works well. Lots of drilling in the 3/16 angle iron though. Larger buildings we'll add a third or fourth roller bracket. It's just 1 1/2 on the walls, 2" on the beams (because they are inside the plywood) and 2" for the roller brackets. Depending on the siding, somtimes we cut the brackets down to 1 1/2 x 2". It's all bolted with 5/16 lags.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Interior and Framing new

[Re: JJK]
#5590428 - 12/26/12 10:36 PM

Quote:

A friend of mine built a RoR observatory with a warm room/control room that had a double pane window between the two rooms. That allowed the scopes to be viewed while slewing, and made the warm room feel larger.

Neat idea, but I wouldn't want the light leakage from the warm room. I'm planning on adding IR security cameras at some point, which should do the job as long as the IR LEDs don't get picked up by the camera.

Beo

Post Extras:

JJK
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 04/28/08

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Interior and Framing new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5590442 - 12/26/12 10:44 PM

Quote:

Quote:

A friend of mine built a RoR observatory with a warm room/control room that had a double pane window between the two rooms. That allowed the scopes to be viewed while slewing, and made the warm room feel larger.

Neat idea, but I wouldn't want the light leakage from the warm room. I'm planning on adding IR security cameras at some point, which should do the job as long as the IR LEDs don't get picked up by the camera.

Beo

Understood.

How will the cooled CCD cameras not detect IR LED illumination picked by less sensitive security cameras? Strategic placement of the LEDs?

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Scott Horstman]
#5590452 - 12/26/12 10:50 PM

Quote:

We've been doing this the last few years, mostly on remote observatories. It's pretty straight forward and works well. Lots of drilling in the 3/16 angle iron though. Larger buildings we'll add a third or fourth roller bracket. It's just 1 1/2 on the walls, 2" on the beams (because they are inside the plywood) and 2" for the roller brackets. Depending on the siding, somtimes we cut the brackets down to 1 1/2 x 2". It's all bolted with 5/16 lags.

I'd originally been thinking of using angle iron, but didn't really like the thought of the complications for mounting it. The orientations just aren't quite right. In this case I was trying to solve a few other issues by adding bracing to the long spans of the walls and capping the laminated rails to minimize water infiltration, and this just came out of the process.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5590540 - 12/26/12 11:45 PM

A few more pictures. We had a 60% chance of rain on Christmas, and while there was no sign of a drop of rain, the wind storm that blew through played havoc, including flipping over my nice expensive sliding miter saw! The tarp acted like a parachute and that was that. Luckily the framing is no worse for wear.

Finished the observatory west wall frame.

And the east wall frame.

Tomorrow should have the north observatory wall (mid wall) done and started on the warm room.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5592238 - 12/28/12 07:59 AM

Well, I got a bit done yesterday before the 0% chance of rain that had been forecast turned into a light drizzle for the rest of the afternoon! Waiting on it to dry out a bit so I can get started this morning...

Beo

Had to heat up the PVC conduits to push them back into the wall.

And then build a wall to straddle them...

...and finally lift it from the lower floor into place. UGH! Just finished this when the drizzle started so took a quick picture and then covered everything up!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5606259 - 01/05/13 10:23 AM

As I sit here waiting on things to dry out again (and lose another work day) I figured I should update the images from last weekend.

So after the unexpected/unscheduled rain last Thursday, I had to get out and sweep all the water off the slab before I could start on Friday. At least the water proofing worked well!

I then spent a good amount of time laying out the warm room to get things square and discovering that the lower slab is not completely square with the upper portion!

That wouldn't be a big deal, except when I poured the roll-off piers, I used the lower portion of the slab to help me square them up. So the inch or so of error on the slab translates to three inches at the furthest point, moving the 6" posts halfway off the 12" footing! Look for the pencil marks in these pics to see the outside edge of the post. I'll now be drilling and adding wedge anchors at about 5-10x the cost of the anchors that were embedded there.

By the end of the day I had one warm room wall almost framed up.

On Saturday a friend and colleague came out to help and we got the two east/west warm room walls finished.

Of course not only was the warm room slab not square, but it's also not level. If you look back you'll see that this was where they finished, so they didn't quite get enough concrete in when they were working the final level. Part of that may be due to the soup the guy had made resulting in more shrinkage on this side of the slab too! Whatever the cause, we had to shim the last few feet of the walls.

On Sunday I managed to get the North wall finished and stood it up in the rain that started long before it was scheduled and ended about the time I got all the equipment put away!

I have a bit of work to finish up the end wall, then get the doorway in the mid-wall. Then it's on to railing system and warm room ceiling!

Beo

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5610023 - 01/07/13 11:31 AM

Whether it's building a house, an observatory or even a simple model car, it wouldn't be a construction project without something goofing up somewhere!

You know what they say: "Work expands to fill the time available."

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: hm insulators]
#5610180 - 01/07/13 12:52 PM

Looking good, Beo!

Post Extras:

jmasin
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 12/22/08

Loc: Murphy, TX (DFW)

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Skip]
#5636638 - 01/22/13 10:55 AM

Just WOW! Great job and progress.

I'm in the VERY early stages of looking for property in the Fredericksburg area, and an obs is in the plan...

Reading your thread has me giddy!

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5637068 - 01/22/13 02:42 PM

It's really coming along very nicely! You've overcome whatever problems you have come across, nicely!

Post Extras:

1965healey
The Snarkster

Reged: 06/23/07

Loc: San Antonio, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: csa/montana]
#5638115 - 01/23/13 12:39 AM

Great progress on what promises to be a beautiful observatory. Hats off to you for the hard work. For those of you unfamiliar with the Texas Hill Country. Just change the word "hill" to ROCK. Coming from California I was used to dirt. When I first moved to Texas I planted a 5 gallon Crepe Myrtle, after that I put my shovel in the shed and switched to potted plants!

Keep posting pix, they encourage and inspire!

Post Extras:

jmasin
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 12/22/08

Loc: Murphy, TX (DFW)

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: 1965healey]
#5638523 - 01/23/13 09:48 AM

Quote:

For those of you unfamiliar with the Texas Hill Country. Just change the word "hill" to ROCK. Coming from California I was used to dirt. When I first moved to Texas I planted a 5 gallon Crepe Myrtle, after that I put my shovel in the shed and switched to potted plants!

Not to side-track... but

I know that well!

If it's not rock it's clay, which weighs more than depleted Uranium, has an attractive force to work implements stronger than the strong nuclear force, and is the number one reason you hear the F word echo through the neighborhood on a beautiful spring day

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: 1965healey]
#5638889 - 01/23/13 12:58 PM

Quote:

Great progress on what promises to be a beautiful observatory. Hats off to you for the hard work. For those of you unfamiliar with the Texas Hill Country. Just change the word "hill" to ROCK. Coming from California I was used to dirt. When I first moved to Texas I planted a 5 gallon Crepe Myrtle, after that I put my shovel in the shed and switched to potted plants!

Keep posting pix, they encourage and inspire!

Sounds like digging a hole in Hawaii! There, it's volcanic rock!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: hm insulators]
#5649278 - 01/28/13 09:17 PM

Thanks to all for the comments. I've been wanting to post an update for a while, but I've just been too busy burning vacation days and getting stuff built! I have been keeping my picture gallery up to date, so anyone following the links has probably seen more recent pics, but I'll fill in here!

Beo

January 6th: Finishing the door framing between the warm room and the observatory.

Then drilling the new anchor bolts on the roll-off piers. After finishing the framing and re-aligning, they weren't QUITE as far off as I thought, but bad enough that the original bolts were useless.

And just to give you an idea of the depth of the anchor bolt holes. Love that hammer drill! Went through this like butter.

Then the anchor bolted down. Still well supported by the footing.

The first two posts braced temporarily.

First of three 2x12s for the laminated beam.

Skipping ahead to the finished beam completed at sunset.

With the support detail at the observatory...

...and the tongue arrangement at the post.

January 7th: Finished the second beam segment the next morning.

Then added the second pair of posts. Note the temporary cross brace on the first posts in the background.

And finishing a third beam by nightfall.

January 10th: Breaking for a couple of days for work and rain, after another full day I have the last beam section and the two primary cross braces in place.

Some detail on the corner bracing and additional outside tie piece.

As well as the gussets at the ends.

January 11th: Finished up the cross braces and cross braces for those, so that everything's braced on 8' centers.

Deformities in the slab and other issues caused some high spots along the top of the wall frame. For the worst spots I hammered the nails in deeper and ran a planer across until the appropriate depth was reach. Low spots were then shimmed to raise the top plate and cap rail.

And the first part of the top plate/rail. It's also pressure treated due to potential exposure (although I plan to paint it). A 2x6 was used to strengthen and straighten the long wall, since the roof won't actually brace it across. The overhang also serves as the capture mechanism for the roll-off roof.

January 13th: After another rain break, a sortie of helicopters comes to check out the work!

A shot down one of the completed cap rails. The portion over the roll-off rail beams is a 2x8 to prevent water infiltration into the beam.

The finished length:

And finishing up the day with the header and joist hangers for the warm room ceiling.

January 16th: After a couple more days of rain and going back to work... Finished up the ceiling framing in the morning.

Monumental step...The first piece of sheathing!

Sheathed the west wall.

And the north wall by dark.

January 17th: Finishing the sheathing on the south wall...

...the east wall...

... and the interior/warm room wall.

January 18th: Decking the top of the warm room.

It's now really a room!

Next I set up my rig for drilling the holes for the roll-off wheels. I didn't want my greasy old drill press on my nice clean observatory floor, so I set up a mobile flat platform (my trailer) near the work site. Note the two sides of the rail screwed together and the angle iron clamped to control spacing.

After drilling all the sides, I put the first roller assembly together. I bought these darn wheels over a year ago wanting to get them before the price went up!

Ok, I think that's enough for one post. I'll come back and add more later!

Beo

Post Extras:

1965healey
The Snarkster

Reged: 06/23/07

Loc: San Antonio, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5649402 - 01/28/13 10:32 PM

WOW! You have made incredible progress. Its a gonna be HUGE. Very impressive.

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5649512 - 01/28/13 11:42 PM

You've really put a lot of thought into this build, and the results are fantastic!

You are really moving right along with it; what a beauty it's going to be!

Love the copters flying over!

Post Extras:

Scott Horstman
Vendor - Backyard Observatories

Reged: 03/11/04

Loc: Too Far North, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: csa/montana]
#5649965 - 01/29/13 10:10 AM

Nice job Beo. Been a long time in the works.

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Scott Horstman]
#5650189 - 01/29/13 12:18 PM

Beo,

Absolutely fantastic job!!!

On the pic after the helicopters, the caption started with "A shot down ..." For a moment there all I could think of was, "Oh no, why did you shoot them down? I think they were friendlies!"

Great job, Beo!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Skip]
#5651125 - 01/29/13 08:38 PM

Thanks again to all. Special thanks to Scott for his guidance and suggestions that have helped me get to this point, as well as everyone else who's weighed in with suggestions.

Beo

Post Extras:

jerry10137
member

Reged: 01/26/13

Loc: Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5651173 - 01/29/13 09:11 PM

Very nice I am jealous! I know that part of Texas pretty well and the sky is very nice out that way. How much of the Austin/Georgetown light pollution are you picking up?

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5651369 - 01/29/13 11:22 PM

Quote:

Thanks again to all. Special thanks to Scott for his guidance and suggestions that have helped me get to this point, as well as everyone else who's weighed in with suggestions.

Beo

We're all anxious for you to get to be able to enjoy that beautiful observatory!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5651399 - 01/29/13 11:34 PM

Another round of pics:

September 19th: My setup for drilling the 20' sections of angle iron. I used two 16' 2x6s to help support it at either end. I only did through holes at middle and ends minimize expansion issues (hopefully) with periodic notches to clamp it vertically.

September 20th: I didn't take any interim shots because it was a relatively long and dirty process, but the angles are in place and I got the side roll-off segments in place and temporarily cross-braced to each other. Here's the assembly fully open, which should leave about 5' of exposed warm room roof. Once I decked the warm room ceiling, I realized I should have made the rails a bit longer so that I could roll the roof almost completely off the warm room. It'd be a neat place to climb up and lay on lounge chairs on those hot summer nights!

And the frame fully closed.

January 24th: Laminating the south 3x6" (actual size) end beam of the roll-off.

End rail in place.

Detail of the laminated plywood beam.

Laminating a continuous beam to the east side of the roll-off, one piece at a time.

Completed laminate beam on the east side, all bolted tight now.

January 25th: Cool looking cloud formation as the next front moves in.

West side laminated beam.

North end beam with a 2x6/2x8 combo that provides the hard stop for the roll-off.

January 26th: I set up a production line in the warm room (due to the weather) for cutting all of the full-length rafters. I had four different saws in play to make the various cuts without having to make a lot of adjustments.

The stack of all the full length rafters.

Monogramming the interior of the ridge rafter laminated beam.

Completed 22' long 1.5"x10" ridge rafter beam.

Detail of the north end cap for the roll-off frame.

January 27th: Standing up the first A-frame for the roof.

Second A-frame and ridge rafter in place with a temporary brace to keep it straight.

Halfway done with the framing of the ridge section.

And finished center section.

Probably overkill with the joists (more than I'd originally planned) but nonetheless, still room to crawl through them for anything I need to do up there.

As the sun sets on another good day's work.

Just about out of framing materials!

Tarping things up to keep the warm room ceiling dry.

Looking forward to getting out there this weekend to finish off the hip roof!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: jerry10137]
#5651404 - 01/29/13 11:37 PM

Quote:

Very nice I am jealous! I know that part of Texas pretty well and the sky is very nice out that way. How much of the Austin/Georgetown light pollution are you picking up?

It's not bad overhead. The Milky Way is clearly visible, but there's light pollution visible on all sides (Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Liberty Hill, Bertram, Burnet, and Marble Falls!). It shows in a green area on the light pollution map.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5662538 - 02/04/13 09:38 PM

After another three-day weekend...

Friday, February 1st:

So much for my brand new tarps!

Cut the hip rafters.

First two hips in place.

Finished the south hip roof.

Saturday, February 2nd:

Picked up the two exterior doors. The door between the observatory and warm room (also an exterior door) was damaged in shipping and Home Depot lost the replacement!

North hip framed.

Another stack of wood gone.

Trimming out the east eaves.

Storing the doors in the warm room.

Sunday, February 3rd:
Roof frame rolled off.

West eaves.

Framing up the eaves for the south face.

South eaves.

I noticed this odd bright spot in the clouds with a weird rainbow effect around it.

Initially I thought it was the sun shining through, then I noticed that the sun was off to the left. Then I noticed a similar spot to the left and realized there was a full ring visible. Cool!

North eaves finished.

So, the framing's done! Now I just need another dry day to get the decking down on the roof and covered with felt!

Beo

Post Extras:

Midnight Dan
Postmaster

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl...

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5662981 - 02/05/13 07:29 AM

The place is coming together! Looks gorgeous!

Just wondernig, why did you use the sideways joists on the hip ends instead of the common peak-to-eave direction for the framing:

http://www.carpentry-pro-framer.com/images/parts-of-a-hip-roof.gif

-Dan

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Midnight Dan]
#5663247 - 02/05/13 10:13 AM

You can check out Scott's post here, but the idea is to keep the weight on the side rails. If I were to use a traditional framing there, the beam between the sides would have to have been HUGE to bear the load of that entire side and transfer it to the end points while avoiding bowing under the weight. The current design still has more weight there than I like, but I think things are braced well enough to minimize that impact.

Beo

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5663342 - 02/05/13 10:51 AM

Beo; we'd like to thank you for providing such great photos of your progress! I know I'm not the only one reading this thread, that is very excited to keep following it, right up to your first light!

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5663343 - 02/05/13 10:53 AM

The colorful spots you saw near the sun are called "sundogs." They're a result of sunlight reflecting off ice crystals in the clouds just right, as is the halo. I love sundogs! I think they're even prettier than rainbows.

Post Extras:

Baxstar
member

Reged: 09/15/12

Loc: The Netherland

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#5663488 - 02/05/13 12:13 PM

Looks awesome! Keep up the good work!

Casper

Post Extras:

Peter9
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/30/08

Loc: Yorkshire - Born & Bred

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Baxstar]
#5663654 - 02/05/13 02:18 PM

Wonderful job Beo. Hope everything continues to go well for you.

Many thanks for sharing it with us.

Regards. Peter.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: csa/montana]
#5664848 - 02/06/13 09:17 AM

Thanks Carol! I was worried I might be overdoing it a bit. I didn't want everyone feeling like they were being forced to watch the boring slide show of my vacation pictures or something!

I'll keep them coming.

Beo

Post Extras:

Midnight Dan
Postmaster

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl...

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5664854 - 02/06/13 09:23 AM

I think we're all enjoying the slide show!

-Dan

Post Extras:

dandabson
super member

Reged: 10/15/08

Loc: Dover, DE

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory new

[Re: Midnight Dan]
#5664909 - 02/06/13 10:09 AM

More pics, more pics!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5666010 - 02/06/13 09:07 PM

Quote:

Another round of pics:

September 19th: ...

Ugh! Not sure what I was thinking the night I posted this! Obviously that was JANUARY, not September!

Beo

Post Extras:

Jeff Smith
sage

Reged: 04/06/10

Loc: Chicago

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5692454 - 02/21/13 10:10 AM

Looking good. You are going to love this setup. It looks very comfortable!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Jeff Smith]
#5693665 - 02/21/13 10:14 PM

Thanks All! I've been on the road the past two weeks and haven't had much chance to get pictures posted. So here's the latest update.

Thursday, February 7th

Quite a few of the rafters and joists from Home Depot had mildew growth on them in the stack. I sprayed everything down with chlorine which helped get rid of most of it, but decided to pressure wash them to get the surface clean before decking. Unfortunately the remaining mildew is all embedded deep in the wood, so there was nothing else to come off. At any rate, hopefully I won't have problems due to this.

Rather than having to wrestle each sheet up to the roof, I rigged a couple of palettes into a lifting platform for the roofing OSB. And I only almost killed myself with it once!

Screwing some 2x4s temporarily to the edges to keep the sheets of OSB from sliding off and control the location to prevent any overlap.

Lifting the first load of OSB with radiant barrier.

First piece in place.

First five sheets in place. Sliding the roof again to make installation easier.

Finished the west side except for the last partial piece at the top.

And the north side.

Working late under spotlights to try to get the east side done.

Saturday, February 9th
I had planned to get a lot done before the rains came, but instead it was a day of fog and drizzle which meant that I couldn't actually get dried in. I wasn't about to put any felt tar paper down over the wet wood!

The last triangle of daylight showing through the roof.

Finished off roof sheathing in open position.

The view from above.

You can see the water pooling on the warm room ceiling. However I'll still have a decent amount of space to add an observing deck up there.

And finally with the roof closed.

An interior view with the roof closed. Lots of light reflecting off the radiant barrier from the soffits and the ridge vent.

And finally a bit of a problem. The load on the end (and probably my weight going up and down it) has caused the beam across the end to bow into contact with the top of the end wall.

And with that cliff-hanger, I guess I'll cut this one off and post the rest of the pictures from last weekend later.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5702700 - 02/26/13 11:31 PM

Continuing on...

Saturday, February 16th:

Using a 16' 2x4 attached in the center and then lifting the edges to pull up the center point, most of the gap was recovered. Will likely add a 2x8 or 2x10 over top to finish the job.

Putting up the first piece of fascia.

Fascia done:

First half of the 30# felt.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5714031 - 03/05/13 09:21 AM

Wow, I'm actually having trouble finding time to keep up with the progress, especially now that I'm back to traveling every week or two. I've still been able to make good progress on the weekends and get the pics up on the website regularly, but just not get things posted here. We'll see what I can do about that over the next few evenings in California!

Beo

Sunday, February 17th:

Finished installing the roofing felt (tar paper). A view from above.

And giving you an idea of the area left above the warm room. There's about an extra foot that the roof could roll off once complete.

Looking back into the observatory.

The view from below. Note the temporary blocks are now hitting the fascia, so the roll-off won't go as far. I'm planning on some small pieces of angle iron that should clear the fascia but catch the roll-off frame -- I hope.

This should be the last time you see it rolled off until I have the drive system going up. The darn thing is getting HEAVY!

And then with the roof closed. Finally dried in!

And a view from inside with all the nails poking through my pretty silver lining!

Spent the rest of the afternoon doing finishing touches like the last piece of Quiet Brace over the door and making sure all the nails around the surface are flush. You can see the roll of house wrap on the ground in the foreground, which will be one of the next steps.

And closed up for the night/week.

Post Extras:

dmdouglass
professor emeritus

Reged: 12/23/07

Loc: Tempe, AZ

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5714757 - 03/05/13 03:59 PM

That is just a BIG BIG building !!!
You could hold a square dance in there, and never bother the scopes.

Post Extras:

Da Bear
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 11/21/06

Loc: Kali-Forn-Ya

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: dmdouglass]
#5715436 - 03/05/13 09:45 PM

Great thread, great observatory.. I'm totally hooked at following your progress, like many others, I'm sure.

24' x 14' = 336 sqr.ft. So, do you have a rough estimate as to the final materials cost for the enitre project, less scopes, other astro gear and interior furnishing? I'm looking to find a cost/ sqr.ft number, a benchmark, for a large, top quality, high end ro/ro ob. Thanks for any info you wish to share.

Da Bear

Edited by Da Bear (03/05/13 09:50 PM)

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: dmdouglass]
#5715503 - 03/05/13 10:25 PM

Quote:

That is just a BIG BIG building !!!
You could hold a square dance in there, and never bother the scopes.

Hey, I like my elbow room! Not to mention the wife likes to put out her lounge chair and watch for meteorites. Of course at this point I'm thinking I should have put in a third pier given some of the recent acquisitions. Of course as is I guess I have room for a 25" Obsession in the middle!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Da Bear]
#5715542 - 03/05/13 10:45 PM

Quote:

Great thread, great observatory.. I'm totally hooked at following your progress, like many others, I'm sure.

24' x 14' = 336 sqr.ft. So, do you have a rough estimate as to the final materials cost for the enitre project, less scopes, other astro gear and interior furnishing? I'm looking to find a cost/ sqr.ft number, a benchmark, for a large, top quality, high end ro/ro ob. Thanks for any info you wish to share.

Da Bear

Actually it's 26x16' for the observatory plus another 12x16' for the warm room, for a total of 38x16' = 608 SF. I really don't like to think about what I've put into it, but when all is said and done, excluding things like the land and gas to get there all the time, and all the tools that I used this as an excuse to buy, I'd say I'm into it for at least $15k, or a bit more if I include stuff like the long electrical run, etc. Now about $5.5k of that was just the slab, which would have been cheaper if I'd been willing to pour it myself, and another $2k will be the standing seam metal roof, for which there are considerably cheaper alternatives. Of course if I paid someone just to do that part, it'd be more like $6k! So paying someone else for labor will cost you. Basically on the roofing they're quoting material and labor costs as roughly the same with a ~30% profit margin for the contractor. I'm not sure how that runs for other trades, but seems about right for what I paid to have the slab poured too, vs. what I was quoted for materials. At any rate, that puts me in the $25/SF ballpark, which isn't too outrageous. Of course the sad thing is that since this time last year when I originally starting pricing materials and hoping to get started, the materials prices on most things have gone up 15-25%! So that's just depressing.

Of course when I start adding scopes, etc. that I can't seem to stop collecting... (Thus the need for a third pier!) And to think that all of this started from a little 50 mm Celestron piece of junk scope that we got on clearance for $10 at Fry's... UGH!

Beo

Post Extras:

Da Bear
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 11/21/06

Loc: Kali-Forn-Ya

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5715600 - 03/05/13 11:25 PM

Quote:

Of course when I start adding scopes, etc. that I can't seem to stop collecting...

Thanks Beo, and welcome to the madness of scope collecting...LOL. It's worse than coffee and tobacco. I have an entire garage full of astro gear....including three Cave reflectors.

$25 a sqr.ft makes a lot of sense, I may build my ob this summer, 1-2 years earlier than originally planned- as building supply costs are sky rocketing every month.

Da Bear

Edited by Da Bear (03/05/13 11:28 PM)

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5715601 - 03/05/13 11:26 PM

Saturday, February 23rd:

Home Depot finally got the replacement door in for the interior warm room/observatory wall.

I had a friend come out and help me install the vented Hardie Soffit material. This stuff is too fragile to handle with only one person. I'd debated cutting it into 6' lengths so I could do each piece by myself, but that wouldn't have been as nice.

Of course we screwed up installing one piece. See if you can tell what's wrong. For the life of me I can't figure out how it happened either! I haven't decided if it's worth the 12 bucks to rip this one out and put it in correctly. If it wasn't right past the door where I'd notice it all the time, I wouldn't worry about it. As is, I could be kicking myself for the next 20-30 years each time I see it!

Cutting the openings for windows and air conditioning units.

And finally starting the house wrap!

A bit closer so you can see all the staples...

Interior of the observatory with the small opening for the AC and forced air vent.

Continuing on down the west wall.

And finishing up after dark again.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Da Bear]
#5715617 - 03/05/13 11:37 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Of course when I start adding scopes, etc. that I can't seem to stop collecting...

Thanks Beo, and welcome to the madness of scope collecting...LOL. It's worse than coffee and tobacco. I have an entire garage full of astro gear....including three Cave reflectors.

Yeah, tell me about it. I've gotten in the habit of watching Craig's List for good local deals after getting my like new 11" NexStar GPS and JMI case for $1500 that way! What I tend to do now though is anytime I see a really nice starter scope that I can get for $50 or so, I'll grab it, clean it up and play with it for a bit, and then find some kid or family that shows an interest and give it to them with two rules: 1) You have to use it. 2) If you realize you aren't using it and it starts gathering dust, you have to give it away to someone else who will use it. Either that or give it back and I'll find someone else. You can't sell it!

Quote:

$25 a sqr.ft makes a lot of sense, I may build my ob this summer, 1-2 years earlier than originally planned- as building supply costs are sky rocketing every month.

Da Bear

Best of luck on that.

Beo

Post Extras:

1965healey
The Snarkster

Reged: 06/23/07

Loc: San Antonio, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5715709 - 03/06/13 12:51 AM

Beo, spend the 12 bucks and replace it, it'll drive you mad if you don't! Besides who knows what kind of weird vortex it'll create, you'll hear it whispering to you when it's dark and quiet.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: 1965healey]
#5715991 - 03/06/13 08:59 AM

Sunday, February 24th:

Installing the vent.

And the first window.

Interior and exterior views of the prep for the remaining windows and door.

Last two windows installed.

Looking through the warm room to the other side.

And finally a door!

Cutting a hole in the warm room wall for the breaker box before calling it a night.

Beo

Post Extras:

Skip
Starlifter Driver

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5716328 - 03/06/13 12:50 PM

Quote:

Beo, spend the 12 bucks and replace it, it'll drive you mad if you don't! Besides who knows what kind of weird vortex it'll create, you'll hear it whispering to you when it's dark and quiet.

But I disagree, Beo. As long as it isn't causing a problem, leave it there. A little self deprecation is good for the soul.

Post Extras:

1965healey
The Snarkster

Reged: 06/23/07

Loc: San Antonio, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5717058 - 03/06/13 06:54 PM

Is it just my iPad or are a lot of the recent photos not loading? I'm getting lots of little blue boxes w/ ?'s and no pix.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: 1965healey]
#5717362 - 03/06/13 09:57 PM

Quote:

Is it just my iPad or are a lot of the recent photos not loading? I'm getting lots of little blue boxes w/ ?'s and no pix.

Hmm. Works for me, but then again... I post them all as linked images, so you may be experiencing a delay or other problem between CN and my web host, but who knows...

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5717546 - 03/06/13 11:59 PM

Wednesday, February 27th:

Went out to feed the animals and check for any damage from the major wind storm that hit Central Texas on Monday the 25th, with 70 MPH (hurricane force) wind gusts. It made a bit of a mess of my remaining covered piles of construction supplies:

But I was thrilled to see that the only evidence of anything on the observatory was a bit of an upturn to the corners of the felt on the roof!

Although the tarp and boards covering the 6' door opening was moved around quite a bit at the bottom, and the landscape was scoured of all loose mulch, etc., much of which ended up inside the observatory!

Not only all the mulch, but also that black mat was outside the observatory on Sunday!

I stayed late and worked on the electrical for a while, getting the main feed connected into the breaker box and mounting the box permanently. Not exactly easy with these big 4/0 aluminum cables!

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5728003 - 03/12/13 12:08 PM

Ok, trying my new format for posting images. Clicking on the image will take you to the full side image, while clicking the link underneath will take you to the associated web page.

Friday, March 1st, 2013:

Took a day off to have a long weekend. Spent the morning getting those darn 4/0 cables connected to a big breaker that wasn't really designed for them.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Putting a conduit over the 6' door frame to allow routing power across. Meant to leave a gap in the header and forgot, but there's plenty of room above the door frame.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

I started with roughly the same setup I used on the first door to help hold the door in place when I stand it up. Of course that didn't work because the door is an out-swing door and can't be installed without opening the door!

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Of course the bigger problem turned out to be the clear opening! The standard requirement of door width + 2" didn't work here. The door frame exterior dimensions were the same 74" as the clear opening.

Thus I had to knock out the jack stud on one side and replace it with a 1x4, moving the existing 2x4 to the other side, since a portion of the header still extends outside the frame.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

I heard some rustling while I was working on the double doors and discovered a dove had decided it likes my observatory! I'm not sure if it came in before the double door was up, or thought the door knob opening was a nice place for a nest.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Finishing up the evening with the door partially installed, shimmed, and braced.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Note the small pieces of 2x4 used to hold things in place.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Beo

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5728248 - 03/12/13 02:06 PM

Glad the windstorm didn't do too much damage to your new observatory!

We had some crazy weather Friday afternoon over in the eastern part of the greater Phoenix area. Many of the spring training ball games got stormed out.

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: hm insulators]
#5729708 - 03/13/13 05:29 AM

Saturday, March 2nd, 2013:

Finishing up the door. Unfortunately with the out-swing design, the hinges are out past the framing structure of the building and it's very difficult to get the anchor screws into the meat of the building. The top also needed to be pulled up to the framing, but again is too far away for a screw to make it all the way through the spacer to the header. 'twas a bit of a pain! I've installed an old door knob temporarily. Once I get everything painted I'll install the permanent ones.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Details of the top and bottom capture for the fixed door. Again, with the gap to the header, there's not much meat to hold the door, so the spacer had to be placed to attempt to address that. You can also see where I buggered up the gasket a bit on one of the screw holes that are hidden under the gasket.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

I had to chip a bit of the slab away to insert the bottom catch in the threshold. I'm going to have to figure out what I'm going to come back and do to fill in under the lips of the thresholds that hang off the edge of the slab. I note on my house they did that with bricks on the back porch, but of course my house is brick sided. I plan to pour porches on both entries, but didn't plan on it being level with the slab. I could presumably put the pressure treated expansion joint there and make it above the top of the porch, but that's not ideal. Suggestions welcome.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

There's a bit of a gap at the top, but the door frame is square. It appears that the door may actually a bit warped, since there's a bit of a gap at both top and bottom, but the temporary doorknob isn't very tight. The real one should pull up tighter.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Marking off vertical and horizontal lines for stud locations and tops of siding.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

The first full piece of HardiePlank in place

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

First few rows going up:

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Necessity's Child: In order to get this full 12' length piece in place under the window without breaking it, I had to rig a temporary support that would let me finish the cuts in place and then attach it. The Hardie material is just too weak to stand that much stress on a cut piece like this.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Making pretty good progress as the sun goes down.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Finished up around the rear vent. This looks pretty good as-is. Chances are I won't bother with any trim around it. Just caulk it well.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Working after dark. It's getting late, I'm getting hungry, but I'm SO CLOSE!

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

So, I kept working and managed to finish off the entire west wall!

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Beo

Post Extras:

Midnight Dan
Postmaster

Reged: 01/23/08

Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl...

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5729804 - 03/13/13 07:44 AM

Hi Beo:

What's the purpose of the 4-gang breaker at the top of the box? I thought a standard 220v service just used a 2-gang main breaker.

-Dan

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5729888 - 03/13/13 09:01 AM

Sunday, March 3rd, 2013:

Spent the morning cleaning up the used AC unit for the south wall of the observatory, inside and out. That took some work!

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

My wife showed up about the time I was finishing mounting this unit in the wall, so I drafted her to help with putting up (most of) the south wall siding. Things went considerably quicker with a second pair of hands to hold an end in place while I nailed it.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

I actually quit early this day (it was still daylight) since I was at a good stopping point and had to be up at 4 AM to head to the airport the next morning!

Saturday, March 9th:

It was scheduled to rain all weekend, but of course it ended up with only a bit of drizzle and started clearing by about 5:00 and was pretty clear on Sunday. Unfortunately I was already pretty tired from my trip and had to head out of town again Sunday evening, so I was limited in what I could do.

My rack gear rails arrived while I was out of town.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

I bought two four-foot and four six-foot lengths I bought from Standard Steel Specialty Co. (great price compared to McMaster Carr or Grainger, but they don't take credit cards) to give 32 feet of total length. The racks are 12 pitch, 20 degree pressure angle, 1 inch wide.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Detail on the 12 pitch, 20 degree PA, 28 tooth pinion drive gear I bought off Amazon to attach to my drive motor.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

And with the gear sitting on one of the racks:

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Drilled the first set of holes in one of the short racks. Making a 1/2" hole to provide some adjustment for a 3/8" bolt.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Here's the drill setup to control the position of the hole. I step drilled the first couple of holes, but decided that was actually less effective because I couldn't keep good oil on the larger bit as I drilled since it would go down the previous hole. Not to mention that switching back and forth between bits for each hole was a hassle and took considerably long. So I finally just went for the 1/2" bit all the way, stopping to add oil every mm or so.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

A few hours later, all the racks are drilled with holes ~ every two feet.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Adding a pair of bearings to the motor drive box to capture the rack against the pinion. This motor drive is salvaged from a positioning product we manufacture at our company. I directed the design of it years ago and wrote the firmware for it, so I can pretty much turn it into whatever I want it to be. The rack will actually run an inch or so away from the motor box, unlike what's pictured here, but this was just for fit.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

The next step would be to start mounting things on the roof, which would require opening things up and moving stuff around. Given the (non-existent) threat of rain, and that I was tired after a week of travel and the prospect of my next trip, I didn't want to get into a potentially long process. Instead I spent a bit of time finishing fixing up the old used AC unit by repairing the condenser coils.

Before:

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

After:

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Hey! I'm finally caught up on my posts! I'm looking forward to getting home and getting back to work. I probably won't get a lot done this weekend though, since I don't get back until after midnight Saturday night.

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Midnight Dan]
#5729896 - 03/13/13 09:07 AM

Quote:

Hi Beo:

What's the purpose of the 4-gang breaker at the top of the box? I thought a standard 220v service just used a 2-gang main breaker.

-Dan

Hey Dan:

It's a 200 Amp drop, so apparently they use parallel 100A breakers to get the 200A rating. I'd think there'd be a problem with the potential of current hogging causing one breaker to dominate, but presumably the delta's small. Basically I oversized everything against possible future need (I will be running a workshop off of this one day), so I don't really expect to ever push this thing anywhere near a limit.

Beo

Post Extras:

snommisbor
sage

Reged: 06/15/09

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5730021 - 03/13/13 10:17 AM

Beo,

You gonna have a star party christening when you get this thing done? It looks really nice.

You know I met you several years ago at the Austin Under the Stars and you were the one that told me to get a CGEM as the mount. Which I of course did along with the C-8 that came with it. Those are long gone now but I always have you to thank for putting me on the right path.

I enjoy visiting your site.

Rob

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: snommisbor]
#5730145 - 03/13/13 11:38 AM

Quote:

Beo,

You gonna have a star party christening when you get this thing done? It looks really nice.

You know I met you several years ago at the Austin Under the Stars and you were the one that told me to get a CGEM as the mount. Which I of course did along with the C-8 that came with it. Those are long gone now but I always have you to thank for putting me on the right path.

I enjoy visiting your site.

Rob

Thanks Rob,

With a Tak and a TEC what a path it's been! Congrats on the scope growth. What a hobby, huh?

I'll eventually have to have some sort of AAS get together, but who knows when. Even once I'm functional, it'll take some time to really be DONE! (And I know, I'll never really be done...)

Beo

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5759193 - 03/26/13 09:14 PM

Sunday, March 17th, 2013

Got home from Germany about about 1:30 AM Sunday morning, but I couldn't let that prevent me from using a decent work day. Working on the north wall siding, I had to start with installing the new fancy AC unit that I bought for the warm room. It has both heat and cool modes and is designed for through wall installation. The shell is installed first.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

AC core installed in the frame.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Spent the rest of the evening putting up siding. Stopped a bit early to try to look for comet PAN-STARRS at sunset.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Saturday, March 23rd, 2013

I actually planned on doing some electrical on Wednesday evening after work when I went out to feed the animals, but discovered that the outlet boxes I'd bought were too deep for the wall thickness and paneling I'm using. It would have been ok for drywall, but not for the thinner wood paneling. So I installed the whole-house surge protector in the breaker box and then used the evening as an opportunity to take back all my extra materials and pick up a few other things.

Saturday morning was drizzly, so I used the opportunity for some interior work. I installed one outlet so I'd have power in the observatory separate from the warm room, allowing me to clear the extension cords out of the doorway.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Adding the first of the insulation to some of the blind sections that won't be accessible from the inside.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Finishing off the Quiet Brace insulation board.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Covering everything with house wrap.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Installing the final door. It's another exterior door that divides the observatory from the warm room. This is the door that was apparently replaced twice because the first one was damaged on arrival, the second was MIA, and now this one has a small dent at the base too! Not worth trying to get fixed though.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Finishing the north wall siding. Quite a bit of flashing to add here. Hopefully it works!

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Sunday, March 24th, 2013

Starting on the east wall siding. Stopping for a late lunch.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Time to install the last piece!

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Finished the east siding a while before dark.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Adding the first corner trim. Amazing how much difference a bit of trim makes!

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Finishing up the south wall trim in the dark. Sort of. Had a bit of a problem with the bottom piece of trim under the AC. Too dark to fix easily.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Post Extras:

rockethead26
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/21/09

Loc: Indiana, USA

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5759674 - 03/27/13 07:41 AM

Most impressive. Wish I had the skills.

Post Extras:

csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5759850 - 03/27/13 09:37 AM

Unbelievable how much you've accomplished recently! That is a most impressive observatory; more like a home!

Can't go wrong when a Dove blesses it!

Thanks Beo, for sharing all the great pictures for all of us to follow along with you!

Post Extras:

Jeff Smith
sage

Reged: 04/06/10

Loc: Chicago

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: csa/montana]
#5759994 - 03/27/13 10:58 AM

Love it! Very tidy.

Post Extras:

Starman27
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/29/06

Loc: Illinois, Iowa

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Jeff Smith]
#5761552 - 03/27/13 11:38 PM

Outstanding build!

Post Extras:

hm insulators
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/22/07

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: Starman27]
#5775466 - 04/03/13 12:36 PM

Now you can go grill yourself some steaks and pop a cold one!

Post Extras:

Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Orion Ranch Observatory - Construction Begins! new

[Re: hm insulators]
#5778834 - 04/05/13 12:17 AM

Thanks all. Not quite time for the celebration yet, but I'm getting close!

Evening of Wednesday, March 27th, 2013:
Doing some electrical work, adding the outlet boxes in the warm room as well as the first external box.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Saturday, March 30th:

Fixed the sagging end beam permanently with a 16' 2x10. The center is now the highest point, allowing for some loading.

Visit the corresponding Orion Ranch Observatory web page.

Cutting a keyway in the gearbox drive shaft.