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barry.armstead
Posted:
Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:46 pm
Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 61
Location: canberra
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Barry's home made observatory
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Here's a free website for anyone interested in a DIY observatory. I have had a lot of fun building the observatory and the website, so please take a squizz at it and enjoy!
Barry From Canberra.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~armstead/
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barry.armstead
Posted:
Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:08 am
Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 61
Location: canberra
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Well, how is everyones observatories coming along? Mine has hit the skids coz Im out of funds for the fibreglassing. Patience is a virtue they say. I had some rain the other day, woke up at about 7 hearing it on the roof, when I got this chill.....the tarpaulin is not on the dome!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!! Raced outside to find the bare plywood soaked. Unlocked the door to find everything in there....telescope and electronics, books,everything soaked!! Crap! Asked for rain too. Should have prepared huh?
Baz.
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Marc
Site Admin
Posted:
Sun Oct 29, 2006 9:41 am
Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 106
Location: Ireland
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I guess building an observatory is a lot like invading Russia - you have to be finished before winter sets in! It's been raining here in Britain & Ireland since September ...
Hopefully it'll ease off in Canberra for a while so you can protect your observatory and equipment.
Best of luck,
Marc
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barry.armstead
Posted:
Sat Nov 04, 2006 2:54 pm
Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 61
Location: canberra
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Well, I got the steel bent up and I've been head down, bum up all day. I'm feeling sore now.
Got my fibreglass too! I'll have to get the old man around tomorrow with the backhoe, so I can take the dome off, place it on the new ring and fibreglass the lot!!
Soooo excited!!!!
Baz
http://members.iinet.net.au/~armstead/support%20ring.html
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barry.armstead
Posted:
Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:22 pm
Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 61
Location: canberra
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The dome is fibreglassed, and today I got the flocoat and applied it. It looks a million bucks now! I will post some pics later in the week so stay tuned!
Baz.
P.s. hows life there Lydia?
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barry.armstead
Posted:
Thu Feb 08, 2007 1:51 pm
Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 61
Location: canberra
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Lydia
Site Admin
Posted:
Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:53 pm
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 591
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We finally got a day over 50 deg. and no rain...
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Hey, Barry, I think I saw something like this in Roswell.
Darn it, I have a three day weekend and it's gonna be cloudy.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr................
LL
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barry.armstead
Posted:
Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:32 am
Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 61
Location: canberra
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barry.armstead
Posted:
Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:55 pm
Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 61
Location: canberra
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I have just had the busiest of weekends inside the dome. Constructed a reinforced pier of thick chipboard and re-enforcing steel frame inside, Welded it to the bolts hanging out of the cubic metre of subterranean cement I have there. Then I mixed concrete bucket by bucket to fill up a 7 foot tall by one foot square pillar from the top. That had set by this morning so then I painted the entire contents of the dome and its furnishings, dressed off the hole in the floor with a spaced skirt around the pier, mounted a top plate to the pier and installed the wedge. Shoveled the remaining half a cubic metre of gravel mix off the truck at my neighbors place. Cleaned up all tools, washed the truck and vaccumed the observatory.
Then settled down to eat a cold dinner and the last two inches of flat warm beer in the longneck sitting beside my PC from last night.
I'm Knackered. Going back to work tomorrow for a rest.
Baz.
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Lydia
Site Admin
Posted:
Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:29 pm
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 591
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.. and a well-earned and deserving rest is yours to enjoy.
Well, now we know whom to call whenever any of us gets " a hankerin' " for building an observatory.
Wishing you well.
LL 
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