UNIVERSITY HILLS OBSERVATORY CONSTRUCTION PAGE

Construction period: March 2002-July 2004

     
Initial 14"x16" hole cut into wooden deck. Note the "post hole digger" double-shovel device at the far right; Mr. J. Tompkins main observatory contractor!   Cylindrical 12" diameter hole dug 4 feet deep into the soil, with top portion surrounded within a 13"x13" wooden & rebar framework   Cement poured into hole up to the rim of the rectangular wooden/rebar framework. It is after this point, before the cement is set, that the 12" diameter sonotube is placed   Cement in hole/rectangular framework and sonotube is set. The cardboard 1foot high 12" diameter cardboard sonotube was removed just prior to this picture.
     
Aluminum (Al) cement-to-pier cap. This connects the cement pier to the ap1200's pier   1/2" diameter bolts embedded into the pier with cement anchor sleves   Al cement-to-pier cap connected to cement pier.   Three foot (36") Al pier connected to Al cement-to-pier cap with AP1200 and 13" classical cassegrain
     
Myself standing next to the finished, set pier   My 6'4" dad next to the telescope/pier   A look at the telescope/mount in its stowed position ("AP Mount's Park 1" position)   Myself showing how the "North-Wall" latches into place
     
Shot of the pre roll-off roof observatory configuration   Telescope and AP Mount in "park 3" position   Concrete 10"h pedestals from Home Depot to serve at feet for roll-off roof   Concrete pedestals mounted to 3.5"w by 3.5"l by x 47"h support struts
     
SW corner of Observatory walls being modified for roll-off roof construction   SE corner of Observatory walls being modified for roll-off roof construction   Observatory North door/wall   NE view of observatory showing roll-off roof components to install
    Other miscellaneous items done:

1.)  Cleaned, sanded, and repainted North and East walls to defeat mildew build-up.  Added anti-Mildew additive to paint; as of May 2006, no sign of recurrence of mildew.

2.)  Added Temp/Humidity sensor to inside of observatory.

3.)  Added USB-CAT5-USB cables and boxes to use STL-11K remotely; cable can be 165 ft long!

  Future Mods:

1.)  Add shelve to pier for temporary cable storage.

2.)  Add Metal and or plastic box at foot of pier to contain small astro equipment; ST-7E, WebCam, etc.

3.)  Electrify the opening and closing of the roll-off roof - will need to permanently install north wall and add a door enclosure

Finished roll-off roof modification, image taken 5 July 2004   Present Configuration, showing the addition of a 0.3 amp solar panel for AP mount's marine battery        

 

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Please send feedback to: James R. Foster E-Mail at jrfcomet@sbcglobal.net