Telescope Reviews: Astrogazer

I'm still using mine for remote sites, but only a few times a year.

For a remote site, especially if I'm going to be there for a few days, it's great.

There are some that have had them sent up on a more permanent basis and there are issues that crop up. The hook and loop is glued to the PVC or thick wall conduit and over time it comes loose and needs to be reglued. Another problem that I heard develop is a "saddle" at the top that collects rain water or snow. The solution to that is to run a piece of sheet metal to keep the fabric from dishing in.

The floor on the AG is of course open, so if it is a permanent setup you'd want to do something to close the opening. There are optional "skirt" sections that shed water away, but doesn't really seal the base.

As far as comparing one to a POD, it depends on what you want it to do. If you're looking for 'portable' the AG is far more portable being that it can be folded up. The POD would require an entire truck bed or separate trailer. To transport the AG you have two 5 foot long bags to hold the structure. These bages are about the width of a golf bag but longer. The fabric fits in a soft bag a little bit larger than a large suitcase. I can fit the entire thing inside the short 5 foot bed of my Colorado pickup. It doesn't leave enough space for the scopes so I usually transport it on a trailer I tow. If I had a larger truck or van, I probably could get the whole shooting match in a single vehicle or on roof carriers.

From an assembly standpoint, the POD and the AG probably take about the same amount of time. With practice I found I could erect the AG in a little over an hour. I've never assembled a POD (nor seen one actually assembled at a star party) but I'm guessing it would be about the same. The AG can be assembled by one person and can be done entirely from the ground, but does require a step ladder to open or close the shutter which rolls up or down. I think most of the POD could be assembled by one person, but I think a person would be hard pressed to lift a dome half up onto the walls by themselves. I think I've heard that the dome half is around 180 lbs, but don't know for sure.Maybe it's 180 total for the whole dome, I don't remember. The weight of the entire AG is about 150 lbs.

As far as internal space (10 feet), the AG is huge. It easily accomodates my C14 with enough room for gear and two or three people to easily move around inside. The POD has an ID something like 7.5 feet which makes it pretty tight especially for more than one person. The bays are nice to move gear out of the way, but this doesn't really help the walk around room. Having the dome open though does make it easier to be able to communicate with people outside. The POD also doesn't have a lot of head clearance for large or long scopes because of the dome halves riding inside of each other. I've heard of problems with long refractors hitting the dome or large SCT's not being able to run dew shields. The AG has plenty of head clearance for scopes and dew shields.

Because of the dome overhang in the POD, it also has a blind area overhead. The scope tripod/pier either needs to be offset, removal of the dome or purchasing the "PZT" to shove the dome off on to, to see near the zenith. How big the blind spot is or how much offset is needed depends on the size of the scope. The AG can open beyond the zenith, be used as a clamshell with half the dome removed, or removed entirely like a rolloff roof.

The AG is very light tight, the fabric is very opaque where the POD has quite a bit of light transparency through the plastic. This also lets in a lot of IR and causes the interior to heat with a greenhouse effect. The AG blocks IR and runs very close to ambient temperature. There's now a foam filled version of the POD that would probably block the IR and allow them to run a lot cooler. The AG would also offer better dew and wind protection when used as a slotted observatory.

The AG also allows about 5 inches of height adjustment for it's legs making easier to set up on an uneven surface. The POD needs to be set up on a pretty level surface for the dome to rotate.

So it really kind of depends what you are looking to use the observatory for. As a portable I think the AG wins hands down, ease of transport, size, runs cool, wind, dew and light protection. a plus for the POD though would be the ability to lock up the equipment when unattended.

With a more permanent setup, (if I couldn't choose an Exploradome), I would probably pick the POD over the AG because of the ability to lock it up.

I haven't checked prices for a while, but by the time you figure in the foam insulation, the PZT and shower cap for the POD, I think it would be quite a bit more expensive than the AG, (and that's before factoring shipping costs too).

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-Jim-
Happiness is a clear sky and a Denk II

old AP images and some new C14 Hyperstar images

Edited by Snaproll (02/26/09 05:11 PM)